Multiversal Crisis: A Equestria Girls Story

by DReep

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Equestria Girls, Violence, Crossover, Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer, Star Wars, Gore, Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Dark, Death, Halo, Science Fiction
Length: 223367

The Rainbooms take part in multiverse-scale conflict, after meeting with strangers from other world, and realizing friendship isn't always the solution. What would their future bring in this new adventure?

One peaceful day, the Mane 7 were heading to a picnic in the forest as an idea suggested by Applejack, before starting their last high school year. They were enjoying a peaceful time chatting until they hear a strenuous sound from above. They look up to the sky just to see a damaged spacecraft flying downwards, crashing in a zone near their picnic. Shocked by the event and worried about what can come along with that ship, the girls head to the crash zone, only to then discover that friendship can't solve everything.

This story takes place after the events of Holidays Unwrapped, so if you haven't watched the special yet, you're at your own risk. Multiversal Crisis works as my version of the series' finale, which I hope all of you can share or like as I do.

PD: The Dark genre is not shown all out of sudden, but it's a quality that appears as the story goes forward. Also, I started a Wiki regarding Multiversal Crisis, I'd appreciate it if you can jump into it and help me fill it so that most people can learn about the vast universe I created, the link is in my profile.

Published 2022-11-03 18:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-09 01:40:03 UTC

Chapter 1: Meeting The Enemy

After their first encounter, the mane 7 and the blue team decided to go to Flash's meeting point, but while they were walking in the forest, the groups began a chat.

"Where are we going?" -asks Twilight.

"We left a vehicle hidden northward of the landing zone, there should be enough space for all of us." -replies Kelly.

"How did you manage to hide a vehicle in the woods?" -asks Applejack.

"It wasn't difficult, just do it at nighttime, use a camouflage device and there you have it, an invisible secret vehicle." -answers Fred in a friendly tone.

Sunset heads toward Master Chief and asks him:
"So, how did you meet Flash?"

After looking at the teenager for a moment, he sighs and starts speaking:
"It was time ago the first time we arrived here, our mission brought us to meet him and his mother, actually, the crash site where you found us, is the landing zone whenever we come here."

Master Chief look up to the sky for a bit, and continues:
"We categorized this world as peaceful, so we established a recon outpost here, but to make it a discrete hideout, it had the facade of a modern house. As we couldn't erase neither Flash's nor his mother's memory of the events they got involved in when we arrived here, we managed to get to an agreement: they'll keep under surveillance any suspicious activity and report it to us. The thing is that a time ago, he sent us reports of many threats, a flying demon, a triad of singing 'mermaids' as he described them and a camp with paranormal activity. Luckily for us, the threats were ended in less than a week, now I'm wondering if the reason were you and your friends."

Twilight joins Sunset and Chief to ask him something:
"By the way, Mister Chief.." -says Twilight.

"Is Master Chief, don't make it sound weird." -interrupts Master Chief

"*Ehm* Master Chief, you claim to be from another universe, that means that...?" -asks Twilight

"Yes, the multiverse is something real, much bigger than you could ever imagine, endless universes, endless possibilities and therefore, endless dangers." -answers Master Chief to Twilight.

"Hey everyone, we're here." -says Linda out loud.

Then Fred deactivates the camouflage device from the vehicle and it finally shows, a big truck with room for 15 people.

(imagine this kind of vehicle, a bit more military style but normal enough not to raise suspicions around it)

"Alright everyone, jump in, there's no time to waste." -orders Master Chief

Once everyone was in the van, the journey started, although it was a bit long, no one said anything relevant, they were expecting to solve their intrigues once they get to the hideout. Sunset tries to get some sleep to make time pass by faster, but in the time it took her to find a comfortable position to finally fall asleep, she wakes by the noise of the van stopping.

"We're here, everyone, get off the van." -says Master Chief after opening the passenger's door.

After getting off the van, the mane 7 watch astonished the 'hideout' Master Chief mentioned before.

"This is a hideout? Seriously?" -says Rainbow Dash in a joking tone.

"Sometimes, the best place to hide something, is in plain sight." -says Linda.

The group heads towards the main door, once they are right before the door, Master Chief starts knocking. In just a minute, the door opened and Flash Sentry appears, with a smile on his face he says:

"John! Guys! Haha, I'm so glad that you're here, come in, suit yourselves."

The blue team comes in and Flash greets the girls:

"Hey girls! I'm happy to see you, but I'd like it to be in other circumstances, anyway, come in and make yourselves at home."

Now that everyone is in the lobby, Master Chief asks Flash:

"Does your mother know we're here?"

"No, she doesn't, she's been having a lot of work lately, anyway, she'd be happy to see you all. Anyway, what has brought you here?" -answers Flash

"We found something really important in one of the First Order's database, we might finally know where the anomalies come from." -says Master Chief.

"Alright, check that out in the lab, girls, come with me, I have so much to tell you." -says Flash

They split in two, the blue team takes a path downstairs, like if they were going to a basement. The mane 7 go with Flash to the living room so that they can clear up their questions.

"Ok, where should I start?" -asks Flash.

"How long have you been hiding this from us?" -asks Rainbow Dash

"What is the First Order?" -asks Fluttershy

"What does UNSC means? -asks Applejack

"Do you have any snacks? I'm starving" -asks Pinkie Pie

"Are those people really humans?" -asks Rarity

"How can you manage the fact that a multiverse exists and still live like it's nothing?" -asks Twilight

"Wow, wow, wow, go a bit slower..., fine, I'll try to answer them in order" -says Flash before giving a huge explanation:

"I met John like 5 years ago. I kept it in secret because I wouldn't know how would you react to the fact of an existing multiverse, plus if John knew about you, I can't even imagine what he would've done to all of you. Answering your questions Fluttershy, the First Order is a big threat, an evil army like none other before, and John along The Resistance have been fighting them all across the multiverse, it's really a chaos. Applejack, UNSC means United Nations Space Command, it's the faction where John belongs, the good guys, they teamed up with The Resistance and many other factions to create an even larger faction which, redundantly, is named The Resistance. Pinkie, there's a cookie jar in the kitchen, but I don't know where exactly, you can have it if you find it. Now, John and the rest of the Blue team are completely humans, the thing is that they were super enhanced soldiers in their world and that's why they're so, outstanding. And Twilight, I couldn't even comprehend the fact of a multiverse when I learned 'bout it, but I focused on helping my home and that's been an immense relief in my mind."

After catching his breath, Flash says:
"That was tiresome, any other questions"

"I have one" -says Sunset

"Ok, go ahead then" -replies Flash

"What did Master Chief meant with anomalies?" -asks Sunset with an intrigue face

"Oh yeah, about that, the anomalies that John mentioned are strange events that happened due to external influence, and by external influence I mean magic. To give you a better example, what happened in camp Everfree is one of those anomalies, but each one represents a different level of threat, that's why they're willing to know where the source of the anomalies come from. At first, I thought that Equestria would be the source, but now, I'm not sure."

After that, the mane 7 started to think about what they've just heard, but before giving any feedback, Cortana suddenly appars right next to Flash, but with a more human-scale size rather than a small one and says.

"Quite the chat the one you're having here, ain't it?" -says Cortana to the group

"AAAAAHH.." -screams Fluttershy

"Oh, sorry for startling you little one, I was just waiting for you to stop talking" -says Cortana to relax the group

"Cortana, you should at least say that you're hearing us" -says Flash in a slightly reprehensive tone.

"My apologies, but Chief requires your presence at the lab"

"All of you, actually" -says Cortana after taking a pause to see the mane 7 staring at her skeptics.

"Alright, tell him we're going" -says Flash to Cortana.

"C'mon girls, let's see what they've found." -says Flash to the girls

The group headed to the basement's entrance where everything seemed normal, the door, the stairs, the hall they went through. But the thing changed when they stopped at a door where Flash introduced a password and the door opened, showing an amazing lab.

In the lab, there was the Blue team watching the screen at the left, when they heard the group coming in, Master Chief turns back and tells them:

"We got a name for the source of the anomalies, I hope y'know something about it." -asks Master Chief to the group.

"We'll do our best, what's the name?" -asks Flash with excitement.

"Equestria, that's where all the energy leaks come from, there's also an encrypted line that Cortana is working on right now." -says Master Chief.

The group gets shocked by the answer, "How could that be?”, "Equestria is the source of all the multiversal anomalies?", "Should we tell them how to get there?", those were the questions that the group started asking themselves.

"I know it's weird name but...." -says Chief before being interrupted by an alarm in the lab.

"What is it?" -asks Sunset

"They've found us, Kelly get the kids to the shelter, Linda, check where was the alarm triggered, Chief, let's prepare the Warthog." -says Fred after hearing the alarm for a few seconds.

"Understood Fred, kids, follow Kelly, she'll get you to safety." -says Chief to the group.

"Wait, who has found you?" -asks Twilight in despair.

"The First Order, remember our damaged ship? it's because of them we crashed instead of landed, they probably followed our track here." -answers Kelly to Twilight's questions.

"Cortana, call back up, we're gonna need it ASAP." -says Chief.

"I already did it, they're on their way here." -replies Cortana to Chief.

The group starts dividing, Flash and the mane 7 go with Kelly to a refugee in the house, while the rest of the Blue team gets ready to confront the First Order.

"Hold a sec, everyone." -says Linda out loud.

"What is it?" -asks Chief.

"The alarm was triggered nearby our landing zone, but the sensors detected nothing bigger than a squad." -asnwers Linda

"It's Kylo and his team, damn it." -says Chief with a frustrated tone.

After thinking for a moment Chief calls Kelly by their helmet's communicator.

"What is it? I'm heading to the refugee with the..." -says Kelly before being interrupted by Chief.

"Forget that, take them to this coordinates, I've seen those girls have powers, and I'm pretty sure Kylo doesn't know about them, we're gonna use that at our advantage."

"John, they're kids, do you think they would be able to do something agains them?" -asks Kelly reprehending Master Chief.

"They're not gonna be alone, we're gonna be there too." -replies Chief

"Ok, damn it, Kids! Change of plans, we're gonna kick some butts." -says Kelly with resgination.

"So, we're going to fight against super villians?" -asks Rainbow Dash

"Yeah, kind of, but you need to know something first, you need to be fast and efective, otherwise, you're all dead." -says Kelly in a serious tone.

"No pressure, huh? -says Flash in an ironical tone.

Kelly keeps her sight forward and tells the group:
"Keep moving, I'll give you an overview about the enemy you're gonna face. There's two dangerous guys:"

"Kylo Ren, a skillfull swordsman that uses some kind of strange powers called The Force, that allows him to move things and people at will, along with the ability to choke people, stop projectiles and push anything from a distance with great power."

"And, there's Starkiller, who is basically the sames as Kylo Ren, but more powerful and violent, that's the tough one to handle."

"Also, they have a crazy amount of troops named stormtroopers which are highly trained soildiers, but nothing too exceptional."

The group heads to the garage where there's a troop transport named Troop 'Hog, Kelly starts the engine and says:

"C'mon people, the rest of the team is counting on us, hurry up."

The groups jumps in the Troop 'Hog and leaves the hideout, heading to the indicated area, meanwhile the rest of the Blue team starts looking for Kylo Ren's team in the area near the crashing zone, venturing deep in the forest, following the track of the alarm triggered.

After a few minutes the Blue team ends up in a forest glade, where the tracker started to intensify, and Kylo's team comes up from the bushes.

"Well, seems that we don't need to look for you any longer, Blue team." -says Kylo in a mocking tone.

The stormtroopers start creating a defensive perimeter around the Blue team.

"It seems that Starkiller isn't with you, why is that?" -asks Chief also in a mocking tone.

"You won't need to wait long for the answer." -replies Kylo Ren

After that, a lightsaber ignition is heard from behind the Blue team, that's Starkiller appearing.

"Seems that the ones sorround are you, spartans." -says Starkiller with an agressive tone.

"Cortana, and the backup?" -asks Chief in a low voice tone.

"It should be here already, give it a moment." -replies Cortana.

Then, a blue lightsaber comes spinning.

Slashing the stormtroopers, leaving only Kylo and Starkiller, but then Kylo evades the spinning lightsaber with a slash of his weapon, then, a cloaked figure emerges from the woods and calls the throwed lightsaber back to him, that person seems to use lightsabers dual-wielded.

"Sorry for being late guys, this forest is huge." -says the misteryous man.

"At least now it's a fair fight, thanks Galen." -says Chief.

"You!!" -says Kylo towards the enigmatic figure.

"Of all the ones I could be expecting, you're the one that actually surprises me." -adds Starkiller

Galen removes his cloak, revealing his face.

"Yeah whatever, let's finish this." -says Galen

The team now splits in two, the Blue team fights Kylo Ren and Galen fights Starkiller.

The fight includes gunshots, lightsaber slashes and lightings, while starkiller and galen have an even fight, the thing doesn't seems pretty well for the Blue team, they charged against Kylo continously firing their guns.

With just a few swings of his lighsaber Kylo blocks the first bullets and freezes the rest using the Force.

Then Kylo pushes the bullets back to the Blue team, forcing them to disperse, pushes Linda towards some trees and rocks, knocking her out in the process, Fred shoots to distract Kylo so that Chief takes him down, but Kylo blocks the shots and throws Fred up to the air and smacks him to the ground using the Force, the only one remaining is Master Chief.

"We've done this a lot of times, give up already." -says Kylo to Chief

"Like if I were to give up."-says Chief thrusting himself towards Kylo, but unsheathing an energy sword from his waist.

"Bring it." -says Kylo in an angry tone.

Both start clashing the swords, but Kylo pushes Chief backwards, then Kylo proceeds asking Chief:

"Where is the missing member of your team? I thought that you two were specially together."

"We won't give it you, so don't waste your breath." -replies Chief

"The archive you've stolen from us is really important, and I can see that you've already witnessed its content, so only one options remains. DIE!!" -yells Kylo with strength and anger.

Kylo charges to Chief, his attacks became more agressive than before, Chief is not able to block them all in time, but then, one slash reaches Chief's armor, but only his shield breaks, emmiting a yellow glow around him.

Stunned by the attack, Chief tries to fight Kylo, but Kylo dogdges the attack and slashs him in the back, Chief falls to his knees.

"Chief, hold on for a bit, they're almost here." -says Cortana inside Chief's mind

Kylo takes his lightsaber with both his hands and prepares to land the final blow to Chief.

"You won't be able to protect them all, this ends NOW!!" -says Kylo Ren rising his blade but then..

"CHIEF!!" -yells Galen while blocking Starkiller's attacks.

"GET OFF ME!!!!" -Screams while pushing Starkiller back using the Force and creating a shockwave that pushes Kylo away from Master Chief.

Then Galen heads to Chief position and clads his body with lightning.

"If your plan is to face them one on one, then you'll need this." -says Galen to Chief while handing him one of his lightsabers.

"I'm not very good with this kind of weapons." -says Chief whilst grabbing Galen's lightsaber and igniting it.

"We just have to hold them here for a bit." -says Chief to Galen in a low voice tone.

"Did Kylo managed to knock the rest of the team out?" -asks Galen to Chief

"He did, after learning how we operate, he knows how to deal with us." -replies Chief.

Kylo and Starkiller start approaching to Chief and Galen's position, but before they're able to do anything. A troop hog emerges from the woods at high speed and when Kylo sees who's driving, he receives a shotgun shot and fells to the ground, unable to fight anymore.

The vehicle stops near Chief's position and the group decends from it.

"Sorry for being late John, this spot was really hidden. We're counting on you girls" -says Kelly while the mane 7 transform, and Flash goes to help Master Chief.

"Everything's fine John, they can handle it." -says Flash to Chief while helping him with his wounds.

"Kid, who are they?" -asks Galen with surprise.

"Long story, Flash go and help the rest of the team, they suffered more damage than me" -says Chief.

"Got it." -says Flash while heading to the spots where the Fred and Linda were laying to go and wake them up and assist their injures.

"Alright girls, one of them is down, let's kick the other one's butt." -says Rainbow Dash with an inspiring voice.

The mane 7 charge against Starkiller.
"You brats, fighting is ridicuolus" -says Starkiller who lifts a big boulder from the ground using the force and throws it at them.

Applejack catches it with ease and throws it back at him.

"Right back at ya." -says Applejack while throwing the boulder.

"What the...?" -says Starkiller after seeing her lifting the boulder like if it were nothing, and after seeing the rock coming back at him, he uses the Force to throw it out of the way.

Then Rainbow Dash comes at high speed at lands a punch to him, without Starkiller even realizing what hit him, Rainbow dash proceeds to land multiple punches to him.

"Got ya." -says Starkiller after stopping Rainbow Dash's attack with the Force, and uses his lightning to stun her.

Then Rarity traps him with her whip, and Pinkie takes some sprinkles at throws theam at him, the explosion stuns Starkiller and Applejack takes the advantage and lands a punch on his face, breaking his mask, letting his face uncovered.

"That actually hurt, little brat." -says Starkiller before creating a shockwave that stuns them and frees him from Rarity's whip.

"Now then, who wants to die first?" -Starkiller ignites his blades ready to jump at attack the girls.

"Trap him with the diamonds." -orders Kelly to Rarity.

Starkiller jumps but gets trapped in the diamond cage they used against Master Chief.

"Twilight, lift me up as high as you can." -says Kelly before taking impulse and jumps to be lifted.

"I HATE CAGES!!!!!!" -screams Starkiller before destroying his prison with the Force.

Once he realizes, Kelly has him on her sights and shoots her shotgun, Starkiller barely manages to repulse them using the Force and returns the shots to Kelly, whom received the shots and fell to the ground at the same time Starkiller did. But Sunset transforms into her Daydream form.

"That's enough of you, VANISH!!" -says Sunset before using light beam agains Starkiller, who barely dodges it and sees the crater the left by the attack.

"What is that power?!! We have to go." -says Starkiller after reflecting, goes with Kylo who argues.

"Why are you *cough* running? They were brats, *cough* *cough* weren't they?" -aks Kylo with an injured voice and sees Starkiller pointing towards Sunset who says.

"Leave now, before I change my mind." -says Sunset with an angry tone and a serious face.

"These kids are beyond everything we've encountered this far." -says Starkiller whilst preparing the escaping portal.

"This isn't the end of it." -says Starkiller to the girls as he leaves along with Kylo Ren through the emergency portal, which closes right after them leaving.

Everyone finally rests, the girls detransform, Galen and Kelly help Chief with his injures, Fred and Linda get up and head to the group along with Flash.

"Sorry Chief, we didn't last long." -says Fred apologizing.

"No need for apologies Fred, Kylo learnt how to deal with us." -replies Chief with a tired voice.

"Are you going to be alright John?" -asks Linda to Chief

"Yeah, nothing that can't be repaired. Everyone, let's head to the hideout, mission here is over." -says Master Chief to the group.

"Wait, didn't the bad guys come here in a ship? if that's so, we have to find it." -says Twilight to the group.

Then a little bird comes and postrates in Fluttershy's shoulder, then she says.

"This little bird says, that the intruders appeared from a blue light in depths of the forest. There wasn't a ship."

"It's because they used a portal to arrive to this world, didn't they?" -asks Sunset while she looks to Master Chief, waiting for an answer.

He keeps in silence for a bit, but then he talks:

"Indeed, if they used a ship, we would've detected them before they even entered to this world, a portal is a more effective way, they only tracked the hints we left when we were escaping from their base, our ship was damaged and that's why they could track us here." -answer Chief

"We need to plant a jammer in this world, so that they cannot create another portal." -states Galen.

"By the way mister... Galen, was it? when I punched that guy Starkiller, his mask broke and his face was exactly like yours, care to explain why?" -asks Applejack.

"To give you the short story, we're both clones of a person named Starkiller, both of us were meant to be weapons, but the difference between us is pretty obvious, he is with the bad guys because he's a more submissive clone, the expected result of the project, in other hand, I'm more similar to the original Starkiller, that's why I didn't end up like him. Did I answered your question?" -replies Galen to Aj.

"Yeah, you did." -says Applejack

Sunset stops for a second and thinks of what Starkiller said: "This isn't the end of it." Those words still sound in her head, like some feeling of regret was starting to grow inside of her: "Maybe, being a good person wasn't the solution, but, would I be able to go any further, oh gosh, what have I done?" Her thought are scaling fast enough to create a remorse feeling in her soul.

"Hey Sunset!" -yells Pinkie Pie.

Sunset looks at Pinkie and she says:
"Don't stay like a statue, we gotta go!."

"Alright Pinkie, I'm coming." -says Sunset, erasing her thoughts for a while.

The group gets on their vehicles and drive back to the hideout, they parked in the underground garage and headed to the lab.

"Cortana, have you dealt with that encrypted file?" -asks Chief

"Yeah, and you'd be surprised of everything I've found there." -replies Cortana with a serious voice

"C'mon Cortana, shoot it." -says Kelly while removing her helmet as the rest of the Blue team, except for Master Chief, who only sits to await the news.

"I'll go for some snacks to the kitchen, anybody wants some?" -asks Kelly.

Fred and Linda raise their hands, along the mane 7.

Chief only says: "I'll have some water, please"

Kelly looks at him with a slight smile.
"I'll go and help you." -says Sunset.

"Thank you, you're so adorable." -says Kelly

Sunset and Kelly go upstairs while the rest stays in the lab waiting to learn about the file Cortana decoded.

"Ok,.." -says Cortana.

"While I was analyzing the file we retrieved from the First Order base, there was so much data codified about the anomalies and its source, when I looked at the file with detail, I got a name for the source of all the anomalies, Equestria. The thing is that there was another file decoded in a different way, it had a more complex algorithm, something the First Order didn't want to reveal to anyone, not even them. What they were hiding, was the name of a person, someone who started the anomalies and that's why space and time got so messed up...."

"Cortana." -says Chief interrupting her.

"Go straight to the point, please." -says Chief in a calm voice.

"Sure, sorry, according to the First Order, the biggest anomaly in the multiverse is someone named Sunset Shimmer. And by biggest I don't mean she was affected by external energy, but she comes from it. At least, that's what the First Order's research team says." -says Cortana in a more serious tone.

The entire room got in silence, the mane 7 and Flash couldn't understand the meaning of that.

"Wait, isn't that the name of the girl that just left with Kelly?" -asks Galen.

"It is." -Chief places his gaze upon the mane 7 and Flash, like asking them if they knew anything about it with only he looking at them.

"It appears you've got an explanation to give." -says Fred to the group, at this moment, Chief is the bad cop and Fred is the good cop.

Chief doesn't need to show his face to transmit the feeling that he's restraining himself from saying anything.

"John, remember Cortana said biggest anomalie, it doesn't mean she started all this mess." -says Linda to calm Master Chief.

"Yeah, no offense Chief, but that we know Sunset for quite the time already and she's never been someone who messes with that multiverse threat thing. So it's almost a joke what you're saying." -states Applejack.

"A joke? You don't even know what a multiverse threat means." -replies Chief to AJ.

"Chief, there's no need to....." -says Flash before being interrupted by Fred's hand.

"Kid, don't make this any harder, let's calm down and build the puzzle with the pieces we've gathered, alright?" -says Fred while looking at both sides, the mane 7 and Master Chief.

"Maybe we don't have to be so severe with them John, they're kids, teenagers." -says Linda trying to calm the situation.

Master Chief asks directly to Flash:
"Kid, did you know about this? That Sunset comes from another world?"

"Yeah, we did." -replies Flash.

After a silence and Fred along Linda and Flash stand in between Chief and the mane 7.

Chief stares at the mane 7 for a bit and then points towards the girls and says:
"I want you to explain this, if she's an anomaly, then where the hell does she come from? You know it, you're the reason the anomalies Flash reported were dealt with quickly, so c'mon, spit it out."

Kelly and Sunset return to the lab laughing for an anecdote Kelly was telling.

"And that's how we learnt that Flash falls into slumbers very frequently." -says Kelly

"Hey guys, why the long faces? These are only snacks, you won't starve for not eating some chips or cookies." -Says Kelly while putting the snacks tray in a table besides one of the lab's desk.

"Sit down, both of you, we need to talk." -orders Chief to Kelly and Sunset.

"Alright John, there's no need for being all grumpy. Y'know? I didn't thought I would hang along well with Sunset, but she is a very funny and kind person. You should give her a chance guys, we might get all along pretty well." -states Kelly while looking at the rest of her team.

"That funny and kind person you're talking about, seems to also be the First Order's top target." -says Chief in a deep but calm voice.

"Wait, me? I don't even know them." -replies Sunset

Chief takes his Assault Rifle and points it towards Sunset.

"If you're saying the truth, then tell us, where do you come from?" -ask Chief with a more frustrated voice.

Galen takes Chief's weapon using the force while Fred and Kelly hold him down.

"There's no need for violence Chief, you're better than this." -says Galen while disassembling Chief's gun.

"He's right Chief." says Fred while holding him down, "Don't loose your cool, we know that you're being overwhelmed by your thoughts, but please, listen to what she has to say.".

"Fine, but she has to be clear." says Chief at the time he relaxes a bit, just for his friends to let him free. "Tell us, who are you?" asks Chief to Sunset while he sits down and bows her head to pace himself.

"(What should I do? He said Equestria is the origin of the anomalies, if he were to know that I come from there, what would he do to me?)"

"(Now that I think of it, probably they cand find a way of fixing all the anomalies related to Equestrian magic, so its more useful if I say the truth, fine, here goes nothing.)"

"I come from Equestria, I arrived here years ago because I ran away from my home. I started living in this world, seeking for more power, but I was defeated by my friends here and after that, I've been trying to be a better person, plus the fact of fixing all the damage I caused in the past. That includes your anomalies, which are phenomenom created by Equestrian magic that came to this world, but I swear that I don't know how those First Order guys learnt about me."

"Did she said the truth?" -asks Chief while he looks at Galen.

"She is, every word she said is truth." -replies Galen.

"That's a relief, I knew you weren't bad." -says Kelly while hugging Sunset.

"That means that everything here's solved?" -asks Rarity

"I'm afraid not." says Cortana, "although I'm glad to see that our suspects were wrong, we still need to report your existence to the Resistance."

"Don't worry 'bout it." says Flash while drawing some documents from a drawer in the lab, "I've already done the paperwork following the UNSC schemes, knowing this day may come." Flash handles the documents to Linda.

"That's true efficiency." says Linda while reading the papers, "there's something missing Flash." says Linda

"What is it?" asks Flash, "photos" replies Linda, "we have to bring them to the Infinity so the report gets completed and the executives stop annoying us with ther paperwork."

"You're lucky kids." says Fred looking at the mane 7, "you'll visit humanity's biggest spaceship."

"Cortana, did you call for transport?" asks Chief, "their almost here along with a repairs team, I told them to wait for you at the crashing zone." replies Cortana, "good, let's get moving people." says Chief to everyone in the room.

It was that precise moment, where the point of no return would be crossed, and our protagonists life, would never be the same as before. Blinded by some excitement, everyone got ready to depart for the Infinity, where new friends are going to be met and news questions are about to be answered.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I know I really took my time with this chapter, but writing always results harder than you think. I write these notes to state clear something I think is really important.

Most (like 95%) of the images I used, were subtracted from DeviantArt and Google, I would've love to give the corresponding credits to the owners but first thing: they're a lot, second thing: not everyone has a specific owner. So I wrote these notes as a kind of "giving the credits to the owners, although I didn't cite them."

Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter, hope you liked it and see ya'next time.

Chapter 2: Friends or Foes?

The Blue team waits at the hideout for the mane 7 to arrive.

"Why they're taking so much? They're not going to spend a whole day at the Infinity, I think." Says Master Chief to himself while he starts getting impatient.

Kelly shows up behind him with two cups of coffee, she hands one to Chief, he grabs it, Kelly then puts her hand in his shoulder, "John, they're kids who've recently discovered that there's a multiverse out there. You think that they're gonna react normally?" says Kelly, Chief tells her "I know, but...listen Kelly" says Chief while gently removing her hand, I want to apologize for my behavior back then. I didn't manage the situation properly, I...", Chief tries to say more, but words don't come out from his mouth, Kelly understands and tells him. "Hey, I get it. We've seen too much suffering in our missions across the multiverse, it isn't easy for anyone to digest the fact that we had the possible solution right in front of us, and we didn't see it." Kelly removes Chief's helmet but Chief stops her. "No, please" says Chief while holding Kelly's hands to stop her from removing his helmet, "I don't think I can look at your face after what I did." Kelly sighs, brings up a dim smile and tells Chief "If you want to redeem for what you did, apologize to Sunset, I think both she and Flash would accept it." After hearing that Chief asks.

"Why Flash?"

"John, although I know you since we were kids, you're so clueless sometimes." says Kelly with a bigger smile, "I'll wait for you upstairs, I think the kids arrived." Kelly says before leaving the lab.

Master Chief stands still after hearing those words, then Cortana comes up and says.

"Wow, I gotta admit it Chief, you two always manage to surprise me." Says Cortana inside Chief's helmet, "Wait… Why do I detect some Oxytocin levels in your system?" She asks.

"I don't know, you're the smartest here, you tell me." Says Chief while walking upstairs, leaving by the front door and gathers with the rest of the team.

“'Bout time you showed up." Says Fred after seeing Chief coming out of the house, at the time Flash comes in driving the Troophog, and the girls come along with him.

"Everything's ready then, let's head to the meeting point." Says Linda while jumping to their warthog.

Both groups start driving, while Chief calls Flash by their troophog's communicator.

"Kid, have a moment?" Asks Chief with a neutral voice.

"What is it Chief?" Replies Flash with a slightly angered tone.

Chief notices that, he proceeds to talk anyway.
"I want to apologize, to all of you. I know I didn't behave like I should've, but I want to state something clear, not with the motivation of you pardoning me, but so that you understand how I felt back then. We've been through a lot of missions across the multiverse, dealing with those anomalies, watching so much people suffering because of them. And knowing that Sunset can be the key to solving them, but we didn't realize, just made me feel frustrated with myself. We could've stopped all this madness a long time ago, but we didn't check properly. I don't blame you for hiding them from us Flash, at the end, it was the best choice. After seeing what I've seen, you can't be the same, not anymore, I hope this serves as a proper apology to you Sunset, and your friends, I'm looking forward to start again with you..... Chief out."

*the communication finishes*

"He sounds like he truly regrets behaving like that." Comments Applejack after hearing the message.

"Because he is, I've known John for quite the while now, and this is the third time I hear him truly apologizing." Replies Flash.

"Maybe, we can become friends with them." Says Fluttershy.

"They don't seem like bad people, it just seems that they've been through a lot." Says Rainbow Dash.

"Girls, we have to give them another chance, if he's truly apologizing, then why to feel any remorse towards him?" Asks Rarity.

"I think we won't have a problem with that. Let's see in what we are getting involved." States Twilight with a bit of skepticism.

Sunset just sighs with relief, "At least is good to know that your family has finally accepted us." Says Sunset while taking Flash's hand.

"I know, but I'm just worried of what could happen in the future with all this multiverse thing." Says Flash while also grabbing Sunset's hand.

The group gets to the extraction point where Blue team's ship is no longer there, but in its place, a much larger ship and Galen is outside of it, waiting for the group.

"I was wondering what took you so long." says Galen, "The repairs team took your Pelican out to fix it, the pilot's been waiting for you." adds Galen.

Chief only greets him with the head, turns back to the group and says.
"Alright everyone, get in the Condor."

(The upper ship is the Pelican, and the lower ship is the Condor.)

"That thing is a Condor?!!" asks Pinkie Pie, "Well, not a Condor at all, it's just one of our best ships, and it's better equipped for troop transport and portal travelling." states Kelly while getting on board.

The group gets inside the ship, which is right after closing its door takes off, opens a portal that takes them instantly to the Infinity.

A panel in the Condor becomes translucent, so the passengers can see the ship, the mane 7 look astonished to the immense ship in front of them.
"Look closely kids, you're seeing the UNSC Infinity, our biggest pride, and capital ship of The Resistance." -says the Condor's pilot.

"Looks AWESOME!!" -says Rainbow Dash with excitement.

"Woww!!!" -says Twilight while being shocked by the first time seeing a real spaceship.

"Ok everyone, sorry to cut your sightseeing moment, but sit tight and buckle your belts, we're going to begin landing." -says Chief.

The Condor begins to land at one of the Infinity's hangar.

The group descends from it just to be received by some friendly faces.

"John, it's good to have you back, brother." -says the armored soldier.

Chief shakes his hand to hug him with comradery.

"It's also good to see that you're safe and sound, Jerome." -replies Chief.

The rest of the Blue team greets the soldier, while the mane 7 stays back analyzing where exactly are they.

"Y'know? Is a sign bad manner to not greet any new friend." -says a man that walks in.

"Ahm, you are?" -asks Sunset.

"Thomas Lasky, captain of the Infinity, at your service, Chief told me about your situation, it's nice to finally have good news." -says Lasky.

"Captain, how's everything around here?" asks Chief while approaching Lasky.

"Not very well, Chief, your mission to retrieve those archive had a great cost." Lasky looks at the girls, "but I guess you found something worth the sacrifice." says Lasky looking again to Chief, "ready to begin?" asks Lasky.

"Sorry sir, but I want to give our guests a tour around the Infinity, can I?" -asks Chief

"Of course you can, the examination tests will be in a while." -replies Lasky.

Jerome interrupts approaching to the mane 7 to greet them.
"Will you look at that? Sorry for my lack of manners ladies, my name's Jerome, I'm Chief's friend, he asked me to help him give you a tour around the ship, now, who wants some fun?"

The group gets excited while Chief gathers with them for the tour.

"Blue team, I need you to check some new toy we developed at the gunsmith." says Lasky to the rest of the Blue team.

"Oh, I hope this time's gadgets don't break with only one pull of the trigger." says Fred.

"Galen, aren't you coming?" asks Linda, "No, I need to meditate at my room, I'll catch with you later." replies Galen.

Jerome, who's being followed by the mane 7 starts introducing the Infinity, "this ship is one of the best The Resistance has, we use it as our headquarters too. Many people from multiple universes are brought here in the seek of refuge, others came to enlist in The Resistance, many of them suffered the lost of their families, friends, or even worlds." says Jerome while walking.

"How do you travel between universes?" asks Twilight, "Now, that's a good question, which I don't have the answer of, if you want to learn more about it, I recommend you to visit the science area later." replies Jerome.

The group gets to one of the hangars, just to witness a sparring session.

"As you can see, we use the hangars not only for departures and arrivals, sometimes, they're better used as training rooms." says Jerome, "Do all those people come from different universes?" asks Rainbow Dash with excitement, "Most of them do, the rest are soldiers from the UNSC, anyway let's..." Said jerome before being interrupted by one of the Infinity's speakers.

"Master Chief and company, you're requested on the testing room for the examination protocols."

"Already? I thought we had more time." exclaims Chief with a slightly disappointed tone. "Kids, we have to leave, sorry Jerome, we'll resume the tour later." adds Chief.

"Don't worry, oh about your luggage, it will stay at the Condor that brought you here, if you want to retrieve something, type the code 0847 at the security panel at the Condor's door." Says Jerome before watching the group leave.

Master Chief, Flash and the mane 7 arrive to the testing room, Galen and Lasky are also there, looking through the window, observing the test field.

"Glad you arrived on time, take sit if you wish." says Lasky, "What is that room?" asks Applejack, "It's the testing room, you seven are going to go inside it, we're gonna activate some protocols, just to test your capabilities with those powers of yours." answers Galen.

"Chief, have a moment?" Asks Lasky, "Sir, of course." Replies Chief, both move to a separate area of the observation room to speak privately.

"What is it captain?" Asks Chief, "We need an evaluator." says Lasky, "Then why did you call us here?" replies Chief to the question, "I wanted to make sure that I can keep them under surveillance while you go." asnwers Lasky.

"Why me specially? You could've sent anyone to look for an evaluator." Replies Chief to Lasky's statement, "yeah, about that, we need someone from the science department, and you're the best related to them, it was you who managed to recruit them in first place." says Lasky. "I know you're gonna find the best evaluator for this situation." Says Lasky while leaving Chief alone, who thinks about Captain Lasky's words and finally agreeds.

"Y'know who you're gonna call?" Asks Cortana, "Yeah, but I want to try something out." Answers Chief while approaching the group, specifically towards Twilight.

"Twilight, was it? I wanted to know if you want to come with me to the science department? You look like an enthusiast of data, statistics and all those stuffs." Says Chief.

Twilight ignites a flame inside her heart, the passion of a researcher, after witnessing the offer, she gladly accepts.

"To meet the multiversal minds you have here? Of course I want to!!" Says Twilight with such enthusiasm that even Chief gets amazed. "Well, only, if you girls agree with it." Says Twilight while looking to her friends.

"Hey Twilight, if you want to go, we won't stop you." Says Applejack with a kind smile.

"Yeah, I mean, science is your passion, we would never deny you the right to chase your ideals." Adds Sunset.

"Go and show them that Canterlot High has the brightest mind in this world, probably the universe or even more." Says Rainbow Dash with excitement.

"Thanks girls." Replies Twilight with a smile, "Alright Master Chief, I accept your offer." Adds Twilight, "good, let's get moving then." Says Chief.

Both Chief and Twilight leave the testing room, while they're walking around the ship, Twilight sees creations only being possible to be made in science fiction tales, amused by the diversity, Twilight says to Chief. "I never thought that spaceships, super robots and all this technology would be able to replicate." Chief replies, "We come from a future era, the year 2560, many of the technology here is a mixed up from our knowledge and that acquired when we started getting allies across the multiverse, endless universes.." "Endless possibilites." complements Twilight.

After this, they walked for a few more minutes and finally arrived to the science department, standing before the door, Chief says "Here, is where all the wonders and inventions are origined, thanks to them, we can still fight against the First Order."

The door opens and reveals a massive lab.

Twilight only gasps after seeing it, Chief tells her to follow him, the go downstairs and end up in a steampunk lab, where they hear someone screaming.

"Scheiße!!!!" screams the voice. "What did that mean?" asks Twilight, "Shit." replies Chief. a Scientist lays in the ground with a broken tool on his hand.

"Richtofen, get up." Says Chief.

The scientist gets up, and greets both Chief and Twilight.
"Guten Tag Master Chief! what brings you and you're guest here?" Asks the scientist.

"Oh my god!! Is this your lab? It looks old but it seemingly works." Says Twilight.

"Old? This is the best infrastructure available to handle radioactive elements, its robust composition safeguards any important item saved here and, its the best I could mount in two days." Replies the scientist.

"Let me introduce you." Says Chief, "this is Dr. Edward Richtofen, a German Scientist that has helped us to stabilize the multiversal portal formula, without his expertise in reality jumps, we wouldn't be able to keep up with the First Order."

"Und, I sometimes use my knowledge for the creation of weapons, but that's something I'm not very skilled at. I'm more a combat medic und field researcher, I don't like being in the lab, although it often blows up because of my experiments." Adds Richtofen.

"Richtofen, we're here looking for an evaluator, is HE here?" Asks Chief.

"I think, you know he never gets out of his lab, I wonder if he actually eats something." Says Richtofen.

"That's better than a no, c'mon Twilight, let's get moving." Says Chief.

They walk through the lab until they reach a security door, Twilight asks "What is behind here?" Chief replies to her "Looking for someone stubborn as a rock.".

The door opens and shows another research lab, it had a long chalkboard, along with desks and many documents on it.

Twilight grabs one of the documents and analyzes it, "What are these formulas? It's a mixture of most of the laws of physics, electromagnetism, and many more. Who is this person? Can he even hear us?"

Chief tells her, "He's the smartest human in every universe, his inventions revolutionate the world, have you ever heard of Tesla Coils? Well, he is the mind behind it."

Twilight with an amazed expression gasps and says, "No way!! then he is? Nikola Tesla?!!!". Tesla stills write in the chalkboard, ignoring the pressence of his guests.

"He is, we're here to ask him if he can be your evaluator." After answering Twilight, Chief turns to Tesla and calls him, "Tesla, we need your help." an awkward silence invades the room, Tesla stills unaware of his calls. "Mr. Tesla, we need you for an evaluation." Asks Twilight while Tesla stills ignores them, but mutters something, "Hmmm, this won't work, it has to be changed." says while correcting a formula in the chalkboard.

After seeing that Tesla isn't hearing them, they start to think of a way of getting his attention. "What should we do Chief?" Asks Twilight, "I'm not very sure, I haven't seen him this focused before, the only thing I know is that his investigations are near perfect in every aspect, there's minimum or null failure in his procedures." replies Chief. Twilight thinks about this for a bit, and she comes to a conclusion.

"I always ended up distracted in my researches with unnecessary comments about simple things, they're so simple to answer that it's like a nuisance to even think of it, maybe if we manage to state something a veteran scientist like him would hate." Says Twilight reflecting, "Any ideas?" asks Chief, "I think I have one." replies Twilight while getting into character.

"Well, Mr. Tesla won't help us, so we're gonna take what the evaluation team said at first, this kind of magic is inexplicable for the moment." Says Twilight with a mocking tone.

"That was a good one." Compliments Master Chief to Twilight in a low tone of voice.

Tesla's hand stops abruptly, creating an annoying screech. "Young lady, did you just say Magic?"Asks Tesla, "I did, that was the conclusion the team assigned for the evaluation gave us." replies Twilight.

Tesla starts hitting his hand with the chalkboard, shaking his head and saying. "No, non, nem, nein!! I hate that word, it's not magic what you're dealing with...."

"...It's SCIENCE!!!" Says Tesla while looking at Chief and Twilight. "Master Chief, I need to correct my colleagues mistakes, we're going to unveil the truth, come with me!!" Says Tesla with determination, he starts leaving the room but when he looks at Twilight, he gets intrigued about her.

"Excuse me young lady, what are you?" Asks Tesla with authentic curiosity, "What do you mean? I'm a human." Replies Twilight with a confused expression.

Tesla examines her with detail, after a few seconds, he says.

"I would like to work more closely with you, would you like to be my assistant?" Asks Tesla with determination while handing her some papers, "I need you to tell me what is the purpose of the formulas written in the pages."

Twilight grabs the pages, after a few seconds, she says. "It's a combination of many fields, but at first glance.....Seems like you're trying to create a stabilization formula for some thrusters, which according to the dimensions written here, wouldn't be bigger than a boot."

Tesla looks seriously at her, then his expression suddenly changes to a more polite one. "You passed, these are the schemes for thruster boots, but I'm actually looking for something that replaces quimic combustion more efficiently." Says Tesla, "Maybe if you look for another fuel source, something that doesn't create kinetic energy, but repulsive action." adds Twilight.

"I've thought of it, energy that creates a suspension state, where you can thrust with smalls amounts of it, I have my eyes pointed towards the anomalies energy, if we could get a useful sample, maybe we can make something better out of it." States Tesla.

Tesla gets moving and leaves his lab "Anyway, we're going late to the evaluation, we can talk more in the way there.." Tesla said, then he turns around only to add, "....my apprentice." After hearing this, Twilights puts the papers Tesla handed on his desk, then she jumps with joy.

"Yes!!! Chief! This is the chance I've been waiting for, I can probably create all the bunch of projects I haven't been able to complete because of the lack of materials. Do you have any idea of what this means to me?!!!" Says Twilight.

"Easy kid, don't get too excited, let's go to the evaluation test, then you can discuss that with your friends, let's get moving, Tesla is a lightfeet person when it comes to walking." Says Chief.

They walk all the way to the evaluation room, Tesla with a encouraged face and Twilight with noticeble excitement in her expression, "I can't imagine I'd be working with Nikola Tesla himself, this is a dream come true, I can wait to tell my friends." says Twilight. Chief only listens her but chooses not to talk. Once they arrived, Tesla comes in with passion startling Galen and Lasky and asks "Who was the foolish researcher that used Magic as an evaluation concept?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Replies Galen, "we got rid of him." Tesla after hearing this, says "Oh, fine then, let's begin the evaluation." says while seeing his new apprentice entering the room with her friends. "That's weird." Says Tesla, looking at Galen, Lasky, Flash and Chief who recently came in the room, he asks "Why is she in there?", Chief replies "She's part of a new group that arrived, I wanted to introduce her to the science department before the test, Flash told me she is a passionate researcher, if everything is going to go wrong, I wouldn't like to waste her potential." Tesla only nods with his head.

Cortana shows hup in Chief's hand and she says, "Then, what's gonna happen with the rest of them?" Chief looks at her and says.

"It was a remote possibility, I'm sure everything will go smoothly, they're.....special." Replies Chief to Cortana. Flash only looks at him then he asks.

"When did I mentioned Twilight's passion for science?" Chief looks at him and replies, "I think it was back at the... Friendship games? I think, I called to check on you, then you told me you had a strange meeting with someone you thought you knew, but that person was holding a strange device and muttering something like math variables."

"Wait.." Says Flash, "...did I say that?" Chief only answers, "Lesser or more words, but the message was the same, so I called your mother and with a few details, I determined it was Twilight that person you mentioned.", Flash only slaps his face, "Oh man, I'm so ashamed."

Lasky interrupts the conversations to start with the evaluation, "Ok girls, let me explain you what's gonna be the test about. It consists basically in you showing us what you can do with your powers, we're gonna analyze them, understand them, and then determine if they're a threat or not, but to see that kind of data, you're going to fight waves of robots programmed to harm you, give them your best shot, good luck." Said Lasky before cutting communications and starting the test.

Many robots start coming out from the walls, approaching the girls, who activates their geodes.

"Alright, let's crush some scrap." Says Aj while the girls charge towards the robots and fight them. Their teamwork is remarkable, Tesla only showed an amazed expression when they transformed, but he started to analyze the readings they were getting from the robots.

"They work together really well, almost like a Spartan team." Says Cortana. "Yeah, but they seem to be a bit cocky about this test." Says Lasky while looking towards Chief. "Lasky, are you sure 'bout that?" Asks Galen, "Yeah, he's right Captain, it won't be a good idea." Adds Flash.

"Do it..." Says Tesla, who makes a pause to add, "Gentlemen, these data is a mere fraction of what they can offer us, we need to extract as much data as possible, forcing them to go to their limit, only by doing that, we can comprehend the truth of their powers, Chief, the weapons you asked me to do to fight Kylo and Starkiller are already done. I place them in one of the gunsmith spots that are in the testing chamber." Chief after hearing his words thinks of the choose of being part of the test, he looks at Flash, who is mostly concerned about this, before leaving, Chief says to him. "Flash, I promise you, I won't hurt them, only enough to knock them out, with one blow might be enough." then Chief leaves the room and enters the testing room, the robots suddenly stopped coming out, but their destruction left a smoke screen.

"Wait, what happened? Did we scare them? Hahaha." Says Rainbow Dash.

"Something's not right, Fluttershy!!, get to safety, you're the least adapted one to fight." Replies Twilight while the rest gets ready for a new threat.

"Good conclusion, Twilight." Says Chief coming out from the smoke.

The girls are surprised by his apparition. "What's wrong Chief? Did we do anything wrong?" Asks Rarity, Chief only takes a flashbang granade from behind his waist, he throws it right before exploding so all of them get affected by it, then he runs towards the locker Tesla told him, and retrieves a dual-chained blade.

"Woah, what are those?" Asks Flash after seeing Chief's new weapon. "It's a dual-chained blade, he got the idea from someone he met in another universe, but he asked me to make modifications to the design, the material used is a metal called Beshkar, that can withstand multiple lightsaber hits, and it has a demonic-powered runes in their inscription, alongside the capability to stretch the chain as much as he pleases to." Answers Tesla who can't remove his sight from the testing chamber.

Chief wields his blades with some skill, he prepares to fight them, both sides are waiting to see who makes the first movement. Then, Chief sees Fluttershy hiding in the corner at the end of the room, after this, Cortana says "Maybe if you create a mortal situation, they'll shows us their true nature, like they did back then against Starkiller."

"Let's find out." Says Chief while charging against them, heading to Fluttershy's position.

Rarity creates a diamond wall to stop Chief from advancing, but the inscriptions in Chief's blades start to glow, engulfing the blades with a red light.

(Use this image as reference)

Chief then slashes his blades creating an X shaped-cut in Rarity's wall, then with his impulse, he breaks the wall, konicking dow Rarity, before slashing her, Twilight stops Chief's blades midair with her power, making him unable to swing them. "(That's bad.)" Thinks Chief, after a short bit, he drops his weapon to change the plan, Rainbow Dash uses her super speed and punchs him, but its unneffective against him.

"Ouch!! What the...?" Exclaims Rainbow Dash before Chief slightly punchs her in the face, only strong enough to knock her out.

"One down, 5 more to go." Says Cortana.

"Alright girls!! Change of plans!!" Screams Pinkie, Chief turns around and only sees a bunch of sprinkles starting to glow up, then they explode and blind him for a bit.

the

The girls regroup and think of a new strategy.

"He is a really tough one, what should we do?" Asks Pinkie. Chief comes out from the explosion ready to land a blow on Twilight but his arm's quickly trapped by Rarity's whip.

"AJ, there's your chance!!!" Says Rarity to Applejack, who thrusts herself to punch Chief just like she did with Starkiller. Surprisingly, Chief manages to stop her punch with the other hand, although it required a lot of his strength.

"You'll have to try harder than this." Says Chief, before pulling Rarity with his trapped arm and making her crash with Applejack who gets stunned by the hit, then Chief incapacitates her with a quick and light punch in the face.

Chief uses a smoke granade to blind Sunset and Twilight, "I can't see anything." says Twilight while dealing with the smoke, "There's no other option." Sunset says before transforming into her Daydream form, now she disipates the smoke screen and reveals Chief who wields his blades.

"I got tired of this." Says Sunset while charging a blast, "Sunset, you're gonna blow the room, think of..." tries to say Twilight, but she gets interrupted by Sunset, "Go with Fluttershy, I'll end this here." replies Sunset to her.

Chief clads his blades with the demonic energy, waiting for Sunset to attack, but then, they're stopped by Captain Lasky who says through the speaker.
"Alright people, that's enough, calm down, let's leave it right here, we don't want anyone to get hurt."

After this, Chief sheathes his blades in his back, Sunset returns to her normal form and so do Twilight and Fluttershy.

"You hurt my friends!!, why?!!" Asks a really angered Sunset to Chief.

"I was ordered to create a real situation where you'd be brought to your limit, I didn't hurt them at all, only enought to knock them out, they'll wake up soon and only have but a bruise." Replies Chief.

After this, both remaint silent, until Tesla gets inside the testing room, with a chalkboard and the medical team that extracts the unconscious girls.

"Mr. Tesla, how did you manage to change your clothes?" Asks Twilight.

Tesla says with a serious face.
"I didn't my apprentice, the material which my clothes are made of adapted to the illumination of this room, just to have be comfortable to see than any other colour. Anyway the thing is, after examinating these girls, I've managed to get the conclusion that they're powers are really special, they seem to alter the physical properties of their environment, although there's one missing, hey you!! the girl at the corner, what's your ability?" Asks Tesla to Fluttershy.

"S-Sorry sir, b-but my power isn't very helpful at fights, I can only speak to animals and understand what they're saying." Replies Fluttershy.

Tesla replies to her statement with a serious expression.

"Amazing, I wonder how far can you go with that ability, but unfortunately, no matter what I learn from your power, it won't work, the good news are, that all of you can be categorized as allies."

"What does that mean?" Asks Sunset. "It means that in every previous encounter with the anomalies' energy, we found that affected beings mutated and loss all kind of reason, but now, you're a special kind of individual, you can control the energy of the anomalies at will." Replies Tesla.

"Now we might be able to know how to track them with controlled samples, isn't it?" Asks Chief, "Indeed my friend, the only inconvenient is that creating a tracking device might take more time than expected, and that's something we are getting scarce of." Replies Tesla.

"Oh, about that, I think I can help, I made a device that can localize any energy fluctuation by analyzing electromagnetic fields, if you can upgrade, probably you can create a much better version of the scanner." Says Twilight.

"Apprentice, you're amazing, but I'm afraid I'm a bit busy for the moment, you think you can help me with this task?" Asks Tesla, "Yes sir, it'll be my pleasure."replies Twilight.

Sunset only looks at Twilight with confusion, "Apprentice?" "What does that mean?" Asks Sunset to herself, Twilight notices her intrique and tells her, "don't worry Sunset, I'll tell you and the girls once everyone wakes up."

"Let's head to the medical bay, we can make talk more about this matter there." Says Chief.

Everyone gets out of the evaluation room, Flash goes with Sunset and Twilight, Lasky and Galen leave by another door, Chief after seeing this says to Tesla. "Tesla, we need to go with them, for the final conclusion." Tesla only nods with his head and starts moving towards Lasky and Galen, Chief turns back to the group and tells them, "Go to the medical bay, the rest of the Blue team will be waiting for you there, I'll meet with you later."

"It appears this is gonna be a long day, let's get moving." Says Flash before the group gets moving.

More questions are made, "What was the purpose of this?" "What's gonna happen now?" "What's the First Order going to do about Sunset's existence?"

Many mysteries are yet to be solved, and the future stills uncertain.

END OF CHAPTER.

Chapter 3: Safety Measures

Lasky, Chief, Galen, and Tesla enter a conference room where they can discuss the date collected at the evaluation test.

"Alright, gentlemen, what can you conclude?" Asks Lasky.

"They seem to make a good team, they lack the capability to adapt to the situation, though. Nothing training can't fix, also, there's the fact that their powers seem to be more than something superficial. " Says Galen.

"I agree with Galen." States Chief, "While I was fighting them, I noticed that their powers, somehow, matches with their personality." Chief makes a pause and then calls Cortana, who appears in the middle of the table, and starts saying.

"Ok, let's start with our first participant, Fluttershy." Cortana snaps her fingers and then appears a hologram of Fluttershy in the middle of the table, Cortana starts walking around it as she says.

"She seems to be the weakest and kindest out of them all, according to what she said, her power is to speak and understand animals. Something not very useful at fights, although it's obvious she's not a violent person." After this, Cortana snaps her fingers again, now showing a hologram of Rarity.

"Rarity shares a similar spirit such as Fluttershy's, but her ability allows her to create magic diamonds she can control at will, plus the fact she can also create a whip to incapacitate foes. Her role seems to be more defensive, creating barriers to protect everyone at her reach, as a matter of fact, this defensive role diminished her offensive capabilities considerably, Chief took her down by making her collide with our next subject." Cortana snaps her fingers and shows a hologram of Applejack, but this time, Chief starts talking.

"Applejack is a direct person, whether is offensive or not, she tells the truth, I think that might help us to establish a link between their personality and their power. Applejack's power is simple yet versatile, raw super strength." Chief gets interrupted by Cortana, who adds, "One which can be categorized at the same or higher level than the strength of a Spartan like Chief or Jerome." Says Cortana.

"What about Pinkie Pie?" Asks Galen. Cortana snaps her fingers and shows a hologram of Pinkie Pie, after this, she says.

"Pinkie Pie is the most energetic member, her cheerful attitude can make everyone around her smile, using Chief's theory, her ability to create explosions from sprinkles can be related to this. These explosions' lethality is not the constant, while they could destroy the robots, it only stunned Chief for enough time to retreat and plan another strategy."

"Now, the next one in the list is, Rainbow Dash." Cortana shows a hologram of Rainbow Dash and shares the collected data around her.

"According to the info provided in Flash's report, Rainbow Dash is sometimes stubborn, reckless, but also loyal to her friends and ideals, if someone's in trouble, she'd be the first one to arrive. Her power is super speed, which, if her kinetic energy is combined properly, can grant her with additional strength while running at high speeds."

"What about my apprentice?" Asks Tesla, who also says, "I have my theories, but I want to know what did you find out." Cortana looks at him, "Ok, let's move now to Twilight." Cortana displays a hologram of Twilight, then she says.

"Twilight is a passionate researcher that found herself involved in the mess at Canterlot High, her curiosity for the strange phenomena at the school, made her build a device capable of tracking the anomalies caused by Equestria's influence. After many events, one of them includes her turning into a creature named Midnight Sparkle 'cause of Equestrian magic, who was beaten by Sunset Shimmer. Time after that, she acquired her power, which allows her to make things levitate at her will, is quite a useful power in battle, allowing her to move things around her at her favor." Tesla, after hearing this only says, "A privileged mind indeed, but her power is the one that intrigues me the most, I'll do research later to comprehend it better."

Cortana makes a pause, then she says, "Now, let's go with our last member, Sunset Shimmer." A hologram of Sunset is now being showned.

"According to our intel and Flash's report, she is the only member that's not from this world, she actually came from Equestria a time ago. Many events that involved her stealing a crown from an Equestrian princess and bring it to this world, resulted in her transforming into an evil creature, who was then defeated by her friends. After that, she struggled to fit in Canterlot High as a new version of herself. She is now a much more empathic person, someone who cares a lot for her friends and the people of this world. Her power is..." Cortana makes a pause, "According to Flash's report, her power is the capability to see the memories of others by touching them." Galen interrupts her bys asking, "and what about that form she transformed into back then while fighting Starkiller and now fighting Chief?"

"That form is achieved by the concentration of all the energy from her friends into her geode, which, if I recall, the wave meters, detected electromagnetic waves coming from specific points on their bodies." Chief adds, "I saw them, their geodes emitted a light that allowed them to transform, but they can use their powers without transforming, I saw it too when we first met."

"So.." Says Lasky to end the meeting, "can we categorized them as ally or foe?" Asks Lasky. Galen replies, "Despite the fact that their powers can be used with bad intentions, these kids aren't bad people, I sensed it when I met them, they really want to help. If you ask me Captain, I'd say they are our allies." Chief also replies, "they proved that they can fight for their home, with their help, we can finally have an advantage against the First Order, plus, they wouldn't want their home to be ruled by some like Kylo Ren.

Tesla remains silent, like he's still thinking. "Tesla..are you okay?" Asks Lasky. Tesla then he asks.

"Gentlemen, have you ever heard of linked realities?"

Everyone got shocked by the suddenness of the question, Chief replies, "There's very few intel about that, it's not something very common in the multiverse."

"I have a theory, the world where the anomalies come from, is Equestria, right?" Cortana replies to him, "Yes it is, that's what we found in the First Order's secret base." Tesla still thinks for a bit, then he says to the group, "what would you think if I tell you Equestria and the world our new guests come from, are connected?" Galen asks shocked by the question, "what do you mean with that?" Then, Dr. Richtofen comes in the room.

"Perhaps you need another perspective... Mr. Tesla, seemed I arrived on time." Says Richtofen, "You did Edward, we need you here, how can we determine if two worlds are linked?" Asks Tesla.

"Oh! That's an easy one, whenever two realities are linked, there's a gate that links them, that gate has to emit energy every once in a while, do you know how to track it down?" Tesla replies, "Not for now, but I think we just met the ideal person to help us."

"I think you didn't just call me just to ask me that, didn't you?" Asks Richtofen.

"Indeed." Replies Tesla, "We need your opinion about this situation, take a look at this." Tesla uses the table's computer and displays a hologram of the mane 7.

"What's with these girls?" Asks Richtofen, Chief then answers him.

"This girls have powers that come from the anomalies' energy, plus the fact that now we know that the anomalies' source is an unknown world named Equestria. And Tesla's theory of the linked worlds, only gives us one possible answer..." Chief makes a pause, then he continues, "The way of getting to Equestria is in this world, and we need to find before Kylo Ren does." Richtofen after hearing this, only says.

"Then we have a real problem, Tesla.." Says Richtofen while looking at Tesla, "We need the help of that person you mentioned before." Tesla only nods, while Galen says, "They should be at the medical bay by now, I'll stay here with captain Lasky to discuss another issues." Then, Chief, Tesla and Richtofen leave the conference room, heading to the medical bay.

Meanwhile at the medical bay, the girls are recovered from their injures, although they have some bandages.

"Wow, Chief really beat us up, didn't he?" Says Applejack after seeing her friends are now awake. "Yeah, he was so fast and strong at the same time, I couldn't keep up with him." Replies Rainbow Dash.

"In our first meeting, I really thought we were skilled enough to fight him, but now I realize he was holding back all this time." Says Rarity, while Pinkie Pie comes with some cookies to share whilst her head is bandaged, "Pinkie..." Says AJ, then she makes a pause and asks, "...Where did you get these?" Pinkie with a smile in her face replies, "Oh, I went to the cafeteria and borrow some, I thought that some cookies will cheer us up after being defeated by only one person."

Then, the rest of the Blue team arrives, Fred, who heard that last phrase, replied "He wasn't any ordinary person, he is one of the best soldiers there is in the Resistance."

"I got amazed that you lasted so long fighting him." Adds Fred.

Kelly asks the girls, "Hey kids, are you feeling any better?" Rainbow Dash replies.

"Pfft, you kidding? It was only a scratch we're totally.. Ouch ouch ouch!!" Said Rainbow Dash while being slightly pinched in the face by Applejack, who replies to Kelly's question while the rest laugh a bit.

"Thanks for concerning Kelly, but the doctors said we're gonna be fine with just some rest and pain pills for a week, your medical treatments are wonders compared to our world's." After this Linda adds to AJ's comment

"And John really held himself back, trust me when I say, if he went just a tiny bit serious against you, you would need a lot of bandages."

At this an angry Rarity asks.

"What kind of idea you had in mind? We could've been killed. We're only teenagers, we never fought against someone like him before." After saying this, silence dominates the room, but then, Sunset, Twilight, Fluttershy and Flash arrive. After seeing many gathered, Sunset says.

"Hey girls, is good to see that you've already recovered, but, what were you discussing with the Blue team?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about, Rarity was questioning UNSC's morality regards using a super soldier to fight a bunch of teenagers just because of a test." Replies Pinkie Pie, in an awkward way.

Fred decides to clear things up for the girls.

"Listen kids, it's simple logic. If I want to test your response time to enemy's attacks, I wouldn't tell you that you're gonna be attacked because you'd be expecting an attack. Which, in the other hand, if I don't tell you, the response I would receive is going to be completely natural, and that's what they wanted to test." Says Fred with a serious tone, really wanting to explain the controversy towards this situation.

Flash adds to Fred's commentary.

"If it helps you to cope with it girls, I know Chief, and although he was ordered to harm you, he wouldn't have."

Kelly complements Flash's statement.

"He's right girls, John always prioritizes people's safety, the damage you received, is the maximum John would accept to inflict to innocent people."

"So, did we pass the test?" Asks Rainbow Dash.

Then, Chief and his group arrived, after hearing that question, Tesla answers.

"You passed, but there's a lot of work to do." Says Tesla before calling for Twilight, "Apprentice! We require your expertise."

Twilight shocked by the exclamation, replies.

"M-Me? What can I help you with?" Says Twilight while approaching the group, right after her question, Richtofen asks.

"You made a tracker for the Equestrian anomalies right? Did you keep the blueprint?"

Twilight replies with curiosity.

"I did, it was a failed experiment by the way, but, why do you need my schemes?"

"Because maybe we can create a tracker for the anomalies, but for a much bigger scale, instead of a world, we aim to being able to track the anomalies in universes even before they've affected the world where it landed."

"Soo... You're saying that you might be able to track Equestrian magic thanks to Twilight's device?" Asks Sunset intrigued by Chief's statement.

"You're right kid, if we can get Twilight's help, we might be one step ahead of the First Order."

Cortana suddenly appears on Chief's shoulder and says to the group.

"Hold a sec everyone. Am I the only who read Flash's report about the Friendship Games? Twilight was using her invention at the school and as Flash mentioned, she did something to a statue in Canterlot High's entrance. Would you mind telling us what exactly you did, Twilight?" Asks Cortana, bringing severe questions to the conversation, Twilight gets nervous by the question, she doesn't know if she should tell the truth or avoid.

Luckily for her, Sunset steps forth and answers Cortana's question.

"Don't worry Twilight, I got this." Says Sunset before taking a deep breath and saying, "Twilight's device led her to one of the connections between our world and Equestria, the thing was that the device absorded the portal's magic, making it unable to use, but now is fixed."

Tesla asks Sunset after she stopped speaking.

"Young lady, would you mind taking us to that portal? If we can warn the people of Equestria about the First Order, maybe we can stop Kylo Ren's plans with that energy once and for all."

After thinking it for a while, Sunset takes a choice.

"I'd be too dangerous if all of you come with me, in case you want to make this as peaceful as it can be, I suggest that only one of you come with me." Says Sunset to the Chief's group.

"I will." Says Chief, who then looks at the Blue team and says, "Fred, Kelly, Linda, we need to deliver the kid's back to their homes." The Blue team agrees with the head and Chief turns again to Sunset and says, "Shall we leave now?"

After a brief discussion, everyone agreed that if they want to stop Kylo Ren and the First Order, they'd need Equestria as an ally. The Blue team and The Mane 7 head to the hangar where they arrived.

"Are you sure is safe to return just like that?" Asks Twilight, "I think we might need a very good explanation to give to our parents and friends." Kelly replies to Twilight.

"Don't worry Twilight, time moves different in every universe, what you felt like 8 hours here, was only an hour in your world."

After hearing this, AJ asks.

"Did you just said 8 hours? We've been here for 8 hours straight?" Exclaims a worried Applejack, Fred answer her question.

"You didn't feel it because you were in the test room, but it was designed with a system that alters your flow of time, making you to move slower in the outside world, but you felt that you were moving at normal speed, this was made because the scientists wanted to see every detail of the subjects in the test room."

The group finally gets to their Pelican at the hangar, but before they hop into the ship, Chief explains them the plan.

"Sunset and I are gonna be dropped near the school, the rest will be dropped near their homes, the Blue team will make sure that you get there safe and sound, everything you saw and lived here, will remain strictly secret, I know it's your first time dealing with matters that involve you leaving your world but we must be discrete with this matter, any questions?"

Rainbow Dash replies to Chief's question.

"Yeah we know, keep it secret because we don't want to raise any suspicions between the common folk, it's not the first time we kept an interdimensional travel in secret."

Master Chief remains still, while he asks in a surprised tone.

"It.... Isn't?.... Where have you gone before?"

Pinkie Pie explains to Chief with a confident smile.

"Oh, we only traveled to Equestria to find a way to stop a magical storm that was striking our vacation yacht, after that, we gathered all our classmates and went to enjoy the rest of our summer vacation back in Equestria."

Linda asks to the girls, "So, you're saying that the whole alumni knows about Equestria's existence?" The girls remained silent, but their silence was enough to answer Linda's question, after this, Chief interrupts and says it's time to leave, that they'll discuss details later. The group boards the Pelican, which after leaving the hangar, shoots a beam that creates a portal in front of it.

After the Pelican crosses the portal, it arrives to the CHS world, which is now at night time, the Pelican stops near the school and drops Sunset and Chief.

We're now in Canterlot High, Sunset and Chief walk towards the statue, then Sunset stops right before the portal and says to Chief.

"Once you cross the portal, you're going to become a pony, are you ok with that?" Asks Sunset.

"I have a device in my suit that allows me to preserve my human form no matter which world I travel to, the question is, would there be any problem with your people?" Replies Chief.

"Uhmm.... Well, I hope not, anyways, here goes nothing." Says Sunset before crossing the portal, Chief goes after her.

Although the travel feels a bit rough, Chief recovers consciousness and sees that he's in a library, he turns back and sees a mirror with devices attached, that's where he came from.

"Sunset? Are you here?" Asks Chief in a low voice tone.

"Yes I am, let me explain you my plan, ok?" Replies Sunset, now turned into her pony form.

Master Chief only agrees with his head, then Sunset starts explaining.

"Ok, we don't want to create chaos between every single pony in Equestria, we're now in Princess Twilight's castle, maybe if we look for her or anyone that can help us have an audience with Princess Celestia, we can finish our mission way sooner."

Right after Sunset finished talking, the library's door opens, it was Spike the one who did it, after seeing Master Chief he panics and uses his fire breath to defend himself, unfortunately for him, Chief managed to shut his mouth by grabbing him from the face, Sunset immediately says.

"Oh my god, Chief release him now, he's a friend."

Master Chief releases Spike, who after clearing his throat says.

"Sunset? What are you doing here? And who is this giant being who almost crushed my head?!!"

"Listen Spike, unbelievable things just happened in the other dimension, this man right here is....Master Chief, he comes from another universe to help us with his friends to fight a threat bigger than anything you've ever seen. We need an audience with Princess Celestia to explain her the situation, where's Twilight by the way?"

"She's busy right now at Canterlot but first, explain yourself clearly, what do you mean with 'another universe'?"

Chief stands forth, interrupting Spike, "Imagine your whole reality inside a bubble, now imagine that bubble floating in a sea of bubbles, each one different from the other. I come from a bubble totally different than yours because energy that comes from your bubble got leaked into the sea I mentioned before, making the affected universes aware of the existence of many other universes and now a huge group of bad guys wants to take control of the source of that energy, which means, they want control over your world."

"Wow.... That was..... Uhmmm... Why are you here?" asks Spike while in shock for all the abrupt information Chief gave him.

Chief replies with a more calm voice tone, "To warn your people of the threat that is coming, they already know that Equestria exists, but they don't know where exactly."

Sunset adds to Chief's comment, "We need to talk directly to Princess Celestia, before a catastrophe occurs."

"Then why are you telling me this? You can go with her right now." replies Spike.

"The thing is... That we need a local's assistance, so that we can increase our odds of succeding." Answers Sunset, but in that moment Chief asks her.

"Why? Doesn't she trust you enough?" Sunset begins to stress a bit for the pressure, but she manages to give a good statement.

"She does Chief, but you are the issue, she might not trust you at all, actually, anyone can suspect of you being the bad guys, it's only because I've witnessed it that I believe you don't want to harm anyone, but your intentions are yet unknown to me."

Chief stays still for a brief moment, then he replies. "It's true that you don't have any good reasons to trust me, but let me assure you this, we're only looking for peace between universes, it might still be unclear to you, but I'll explain it to you at the right moment, but for now, warning Princess Celestia seems our best shot right now." A silence remains in the room, Spike breaks it by saying...

"Well, I suggest we start moving, I'll send this message to Twilight so that she can meet with us." Says Spike

After Spike sends the message, Sunset calls to gathering up.

"Alright everyone, get close to me, it might feel a bit rough, but, here goes nothing."

"What are we doing?" ask Chief uncertain of Sunset's actions.

"We're taking a shortcut." Replies Spike, afterwards, they teleport from Twilight's castle, then to reappear at Canterlot Castle's throne room.

"Can you teleport everywhere?" Asks Chief amused by the recent event. Sunset seems a bit exhausted, Spike aks her, "Are you okay Sunset?"

"I've never warped anything like you Chief, let me catch my breath."

Right after that, a prominent voice is heard behind them.

"Sunset Shimmer, may you explain why did you appear before me along this being."

They turned their backs just to see two alicorns standing still, both of them gave different vibes, one of the moon, dark and mysterious with hair that resembled the starry sky , and the other one as the sun, astonishing and intimidating with hair that seemed as a clear sky. But the voice came from the second one, Chief looked at her and it was a matter of seconds before he realized that.

It was Princess Celestia herself, Chief understood it quickly. He was ready to act, but Sunset stood forth this time.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, I'd hope that our meeting was in better circumstances, but I'm afraid that this person comes from another world, and comes with a warning to all of us." Sunset said, she looked at Chief, who stepped forth to introduce himself. Chief stands right before the throne, looking at both monarchs, he started saying.

"Monarchs of Equestria, my name John, I'm also known as Master Chief, I come from another universe, I'd wish that this was a friendly visit, but I'm afraid this whole reality is threatened by a bigger evil."

"What evil are you talking about, stranger?" Asks Luna.

"They're called The First Order, they come from a universe different from mine, but all the destruction they've caused was thanks to the influence of magic from this world. I am member of an alliance named The Resistance, we've been fighting The First Order across many realities, they are tracking the source of that magic to obtain an unimaginable power, with it, they're looking to seize control over every reality, their numbers increase alarmingly fast, they've gather many allies that seek that same objective."

"You said that the magic from Equestria caused these unwished visitors to jump from reality to another, but, why to come all the way here, and why is my former student with you?" Asked Celestia to Chief intriqued by his story.

"In one of our recent infiltration mission, we managed to get access to a classified archive of The First Order, we decrypted it and we found that they're aware that the source of the magic that created all this anomalies is Equestria, it's just a matter of time before they get here. When we were escaping, we had to make a quick jump, so we jumped to the reality where Sunset lives, she and her friends found us, we had a brief fight, but after a quick conversation, it appeared we could trust in each other, but The First Order followed us. They arrived to our position, we had to engage in combat and if it wasn't because of Sunset and her friends' help, the damage would've been much worse. Together, we manage to force the leaders of The First Order retreat, but I'm afraid we're unsure when they will return or if even they will come back Sunset's world."

"We appreciate your concern towards our safety, but how can we trust your word being the truth about this?" Asked Luna, questioning if Chief is really of the good guys, as he mentions.

Chief stays quiet for a bit, then he replies.

"You're right by not fully trusting me, but let me ask you something." Chief proceeds to removing his helmet, revealing his face.

"Do I look like I want any more blood spilled? Even my wounds of the battle I mentioned before haven't healed yet, I want to finish this conflict, we will protect your people from The First Order as much as we can, but be ready for anything."

Everyone in the room got shocked by Chief's look, a soldier that has outlived countless battles, a silence flooded the room, but Celestia broke it by replying to Chief.

"The face of a veteran is one that you can trust, but yours, goes beyond that, by only looking at you, I can only understand your suffering, but not comprehend it completely. You said Sunset fought at your side to protect her home, if she can trust you, then I trust her."

Chief puts on his helmet again, "Thanks... Your majesties, I commit to help protect your home, for now, by installing detectors in key areas across this world, we might be able to track any infiltration."

"That seems like a good idea, I believe that you'll be in contact with us, am I right?" Replies Luna.

"Yes ma'am." Answers Chief, suddenly, the throne room's door gets bashed, they looked at their backs and it was Shining Armor with a bunch of guards, Twilight was following back, trying to convince his brother of not attacking Chief.

"Brother stop!! They're not threats!!" Screams Twilight, but Shining shoots a beam to neutralize Chief, fortunately he used a hardlight shield to protect himself and everyone behind him.

(Reference image, that's not Master Chief)

Chief moves forward while blocking, he cuts Shining's attack and grabs his horn with his whole hand but remnants of the beam start bouncing in the room, Chief brings Shining to the ground, yelling to everyone. "Get to the ground!!"

The guards use shields to protect Celestia and Luna, while protecting themselves, Chief realizes that one of the beams is still bouncing and heads to Sunset, Chief runs and manages to get in the beam's trajectory and stops it with his body, which downs his kinetic shields.

"Are you okay?" Ask Chief after he received the strike, Sunset and Spike only agree with their head.

"Shining Armor, what were you thinking?!!" Asks Celestia mad at him.

"Sorry your majesties, but when Twilight told me that an unknown visitor was comiing here, I thought that he would come through the main door but when I got word from the guards inside that the visitor was arleady at the throne room, I got scared and run here, and when I saw such a strange individual, my first reaction was to neutralize him."

"It would've been a good decision a few time ago, but now he's our guest. His name is John." Replies Luna.

"I'm sorry Mister John, I am Shining Armor, captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard, I recognize my behavior was wreckless, and someone would've been hurt if it wasn't for you."

"Don't apologize Captain, you did good by trying to neutralize a possible threat, my name is John, I come from another world, we came here to warn leaders about an inminent threat. " Replies Chief with a polite tone, after this, Chief turns around

"Hold on, inminent threat? What are you talking about? Sunset, why haven't you told me anything of this?" Asks a worried Twilight.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but I became aware of this, like...yesterday, I know almost as much as you know." Replies Sunset.

"Short story, magic from Equestria caused many people from another realities to interact between them, but some bad guys are looking for the source of that magic and it's just a matter of time before they arrive here." Explains Spike to Twilight. Then Spike moves his hand towards Chief and says, "This man here is from the good guys, he met Sunset by coincidence, they teamed up and fought the bad guys and then he came to this world to warn Princess Celestia."

"Then, shouldn't you warn about this to the other kingdoms?" Asks Shining Armor to Chief.

"I would, but I'm not sure how they will take it, I mean, even now, this was a blind shot, we have to keep this matter under secret, if The First Order came here, they would suspect of everyone rejecting them, and probably they would launch an assault directly to the kingdoms and I assure you, you won't stand a chance. Our best shot now, is that a few know about them, in case they arrived here, surprise is our best shot, you'll only need to memorize this." Says Chief, before displaying a hologram of The First Order's symbol and the images of Kylo Ren, Starkiller and a Stormtrooper.

"The individuals wearing black are the leaders of The First Order, they use abilities that go beyond your comprehension, manipulate objects and their environment at will, plus the fact that emotions like rage make them stronger, the one with the white armor is a stormtrooper, the basic troop in their lines, most soldiers use this armor, but every member of The First Order will use this symbol, in their supplies, ships, banners or badges." Described Chief after switching holograms.

After turning off the hologram, Chief goes with Celestia and gives her a device. "What is this?" asks Celestia while holding the device in the air with her magic.

"It's a wrist communicator." Replies Chief, then he adds, "It already has my contact in it, only attach it to your... Uhmm.. Hooves, press the green button twice to call me, when it rings, press the green button once to answer the call, and the red button is to finish the call. I'd give one to everyone here, but I didn't imagine things would've turned out this great and only brought one, I think it'll be enough."

Chief returns back to Sunset and says, "I think it's time we take our leave, time moves differently in every reality, we should've gone for hours now." after this, the group makes a reverence and leaves, Shining Armor stays at the throne room while Twilight goes with Sunset, Spike and Chief leave the castle.

Now outside, Chief tells the group, "We have to leave before civilians start noticing my presence." Twilight replies, "Yeah, you're right, we'll go back to my castle." after this, the group teleports from Canterlot and reappears at Twilight's Castle hallway.

"It still feels weird." says Chief after the teleport.

"Wow John, how much do you weight? I had to put some effort." Says Twilight.

The group starts walking heading to the library where Chief and Sunset appeared, Chief answers Twilight question by saying.

"If you really want to know, I weight half a ton."

"Half a ton??!!" Says Twilight. "Yes, but I am a totally different being, my anatomical compisition is different from yours, I don't have any Equestrian magic within me, I am not in the same wavelength as ya'll, so it's like dragging something really heavy, that's why you push yourself a bit." Replies Chief.

"Ok, I hope that you can explain in detail all this matter of alternate universes." Says Twilight, "If what you want is something you can write down as a research report, I'll bring a friend of mine to explain it better to you." Replies Chief. "You promise?" Asks Twilight, "I do." Replies Chief with a tone that assures you that he really means it.

"Anyways, Sunset, how's been everything back in Canterlot High?"

"Well, excluding the recent events and the fact that there's people hunting, everything's fine, although school starts in a few days, ugh, it hasn't started and I'm already stressed." Replies Sunset.

"Relax Sunset, it's not like you have to cope with all of this all by yourself, this time, there's people willing to help." Says Twilight, trying to relief some of Sunset's stress.

"Twilight's right Sunset, we are now together in this fight, and be sure that you won't be alone, there's a ton of people in the multiverse willing to stop The First Order." Says Chief.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate it, but there's something that bothers me." Replies Sunset after Chief and Twilight helped her relief just a bit of stress.

"What is it?" Asks Spike.

The group arrives at the library, before going through the portal, Sunset replies to Spike's question, "If The First Order is going to be a constant threat to everyone, what should me and my friends do to protect everyone?"

Chief replies with a deep voice, "You have to learn how to fight, use your abilities not only to help others, but also to protect yourselves. We can start your training tomorrow."

"Ok." Says Sunset with a serious voice, while looking back to Twilight and Spike, "Wish me luck." she says, Twilight and Spike reply with a "Good luck.", then Sunset and Chief go through the portal, returning to the other world.

A new chapter is opened in their story, one that will change everyone's fate forever, heroes and villains, innocents and guilties. What would be the next move of The First Order after their defeat at Canterlot High's reality.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone, I know this chapter really took some time to come out, I had to reorganize the whole story, change some future events, characters, etc. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and see ya on the next one.

Chapter 4: A Convenient Misunderstanding

A day has passed since Chief and Sunset's visit to Equestria, but now, we're on a dreadnought destroyer, located in another reality.

Kylo Ren stands in the bridge of his ship, looking at the vacuum of space, then an officer enters alongside Starkiller.

“What happened?” Asks Kylo with an angry voice.

“You haven't said anything since our battle in that world, what worries you?” Asks Starkiller.

“We were defeated by a bunch of teenagers, why am I the only one mad at it?” Asks Kylo, expressing his frustration.

“They have powers we didn't know, plus the fact that the other me and Master Chief were with them.” Replies Starkiller.

Kylo Ren began to analyze the events and made a conclusion, “After all our time fighting against The Resistance, this time they were desperate to vanquish us, and those girls, they are hiding something.”

“So, you mean that probably we'll find our way to Equestria in that world?” Asks Starkiller, who seems to comprehend Kylo's theory.

“In fact, we might have the golden ticket if we find that Sunset Shimmer. But how can we find her without the Blue Team hunting us?” Asks Kylo aloud.

The officer replies to Kylo's question by saying. “If I may say Lord Kylo, if they manage to find you when you arrived, probably they have some sort of portal-detection device, but probably has some range. If we start our search far from that place, you may have a brief window where you can find that person.”

Kylo and Starkiller look at the officer with amaze. “That's a wonderful idea, officer, prepare the portal, we're going back to that world.”

“Are you sure, sir? If you bring a squadron, they will detect right away.” Asked the officer worried about Kylo's decision.

“It'll be fine, only Starkiller and I are going, plus, we'll only go as a scout mission, we won't raise any suspicion.” Replies Kylo to the officer, right after that, he puts his helmet on and says.

“Let's get going.”

The duo goes to the lab, where a scientist gives them some backpacks.

“What's this?” Asks Starkiller.

“Some devices that'll help you, the kit includes a cloaking device, macrobinoculars, emergency teleporters, and communicators.”

“You have our thanks.” Says Kylo.

After preparing everything, the scientist gives the sign to start the travel machine.

Once activated, the duo walks towards it and after cruising it, they arrive to an alley at Canterlot City, Kylo takes a peek outside the alley, then he sees that they're next to a building.

“Where are we?” Asks Starkiller who is behind Kylo, in a low tone of voice.

“I don't know, seems like a cafeteria, we have to use the cloak devices before…” Said Kylo Ren before being interrupted by the door being opened sound and a person inside says “Good night Sunset”, he quickly peeks around the corner and sees a girl really familiar.

“You too, I'll come again tomorrow” Says Sunset, Kylo hides again and tells Starkiller, “it's our lucky day.”

Then, both use their cloaking device, and see Sunset walking to what logically be her home. They decide to follow her, and when they're next to a lone alley, Kylo and Starkiller get in position and then, Kylo pulls Sunset with the Force and smacked her to the wall.

“Ouch… What the F…” said Sunset before seeing Kylo decloaking and preparing his lightsaber to stab her.

Sunset kicks Kylo's hand to dodge the lightsaber, Kylo had released her due to the surprise of the hit, then Sunset lands a bunch of fast blows to him, and kicks him. Kylo got stunned by the hit for a bit, time enough for Sunset to do a sweeping kick, bringing him to the ground.

Sunset started running deep the alley to avoid them easier, but then, she sees Starkiller swinging his blade to decapitate her.

In a brief moment, Sunset manages to slide, dodging the hit. She runs even deeper but Starkiller throws his lightsaber, forcing Sunset to prone, when she gets up, is paralyzed by Kylo's force grasp.

“You really surprised me there, not using your powers and attacking with your fists.” Said Kylo while igniting his sword to land the final blow.

“Powers? Who are you?! What do you want from me?!!!” Asks a scared Sunset.

“Don't you remember us? After you forced us to leave this world.” Asks Starkiller looking at Sunset, surprised by her previous response.

“Hey guys, you have to be mistaking me, I haven't seen you like never before, I swear for my life.” Replies Sunset, in a desperate attempt to survive her unknown attackers.

“Lie as much as you want, you will tell us the truth eventually.” Said Kylo Ren while trying to search in Sunset's mind for the path to Equestria, he seems to struggle, so does Sunset.

But there isn't a path, Sunset's mind truly has no memories about these two individuals and knows nothing about Equestria. Kylo has no option but to release her.

“What did you find, Kylo?” Asks Starkiller while pointing his blade to Sunset's neck.

“She's saying the truth, she doesn't even know what Equestria is.” Said Kylo Ren, expressing a bit of disappointment.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Said Sunset, but Starkiller's blade stills points to her. “Listen, I think we can solve all our questions if we just find a quiet place and talk as civilized people, sooo..... Would you take that energy blade out of my neck, please?" Starkiller doubt a bit, but then turned off his lightsaber, so did Kylo.

"Then tell us… Sunset Shimmer, where can we talk? Oh, and don't try to do anything stupid." Asked Kylo while pointing to his lightsaber.

"Follow me." Says Sunset. The group moves to her place, thanks to the cloak of the night, they were unnoticed, the trip was a bit long but now they have to clarify what is going on.

"Nice place that you got, seems... rustic." Says Kylo while looking around, a design of a home never seen by him.

"Well thanks, but let me change my clothes because of you, I got my best outfit ruined, and don't worry, I won't go anywhere nor do anything stupid." Said Sunset while leaving Kylo and Starkiller in the kitchen.

Starkiller approaches to Kylo and tells him. "So, we found Sunset Shimmer, but she's not the Sunset Shimmer we're looking for, what now?" Kylo proceeds to remove his helmet and placing it on the table right next to him.

"We'll listen to her story, once clarified all this mess, we can think of what we'll do." Replies Kylo to Starkiller's question.

Sunset returns, she wears her pijama, she leans in the corner of the kitchen's wall with a confident smile and talks to Kylo and Starkiller.

"Y'know that I heard everything you just said? Now speak, who the hell are you and why did you almost kill me?" Says Sunset, who quickly changes her smile into an angry expression.

"My apologies Sunset, as you said before, it was a misunderstanding. Let's pretend that didn't happen and let me introduce us properly. My name is Kylo Ren and my companion here is Starkiller, we come from another universe."

"You serious? Like the theory that stablishes that our universe is just one of many in a sea of infinite realities?" Asks Sunset, the excitement can be slightly noticed in her voice.

"It seems you're aware of it, that makes our job easier, what else do you know?" Replies Starkiller.

"If you come from another universe, it means that you have the technology to do it at will, am I right? what is it? Black Holes?" Asks again Sunset, it appears the topic really excites her.

"Basically, yes, but we manage to open those portals thanks to external energy, which is the one we're tracking right now?" Replies Kylo, seemingly surprised by Sunset's words. He can't help but to ask her, "how do you know so much of the multiverse if this is your first encounter with people that come from another reality?"

Sunset stays silent for a bit, then she explains, "I became an enthusiast of all the multiversal matter after something that happened encouraged me to learn more about it, although every scientific article is a theory yet, Sci-Fi is a good tool that help you create an image of how the multiverse would be."

Kylo Ren keeps something that Sunset said, "something that happened...", with that aknowledged, he asks Sunset.

"Pardon my intromission Sunset, but you said that something happened to you, would you mind to explain?"

"It was time ago... but it stills angers me every time I remember it." Sunset gives an expression that shows off some restrained fury. "I wished that I could make her pay." adds Sunset.

"May we sit then?" Asks Starkiller pointing at the couches in the living room. "If it's a long story, we better get ourselves comfortable, don't you think?" Adds Starkiller.

After that, everyone sits, and Sunset takes a breath, and with a bit of sadness in her face, she starts telling her story.

"It was time ago, like 6 years or somethin' like that. Middle School was about to start, I was so excited, being in a new school, meeting new people, *sighs* I still remember that my parents told me to go to bed early, I didn't listen to them. The day arrived, my parents didn't do it because I always wake up by myself. Anyways, when I got up from bed, it was late, I was in a hush to catch the bus, when I arrived at the school, I went through the main door, and was looking for my classroom. When I found it, I had only to knock the door, but when I peeked through the window, I....saw...myself right there, sitting in the classroom."

Sunset makes a pause to take a deep breath, she was controlling her emotions, after that, she continued her story.

"I couldn't believe it, another me?!! It had to be a fucking joke, that was impossible, she was wearing my same clothes. After that, I decided to hide, wait for the classes to end and confront her, I mean, I've been practicing martial arts since I was a kid, I would connect 6 blows minimum."

"Did she threatened you when you faced her?" Asked Kylo, who is really intrigued by her story.

"When I managed to call her attention, we went to the school backyard, where no one could see us. I was nervous but at the same time I was trying to settle things and trust me, that Sunset was nothing like me, she was rude, agressive and even threatened to erase me from this world, when that happened, I couldn't even clench my hand, I was a kid dammit!!!" Sunset stands up from the couch and keeps saying.

"I was scared of her, what kind of being is she? why the hell she looks a lot like me? And, what the fuck is she doing here? I had no other option but to surrender, I couldn't fight against something you don't even know. That day, I was forced to leave my life behind and begin to survive on my own."

Kylo and Starkiller cannot believe what she said, there are two Sunset Shimmers and the one that lives in this world, hates the other one, an opportunity is now before them.

"Do you still hate her?" Asks Starkiller to Sunset, his intentions seem clear.

"Absolutely, I'd say that even more than before." Replies Sunset while taking her phone and searching for something.

"Look." Says Sunset and shows Kylo and Starkiller some videos at her cellphone gallery.

Videos of the Sprin Fling showing Sunset's demon form, another video of the Battle of the Bands showing the Dazzlings levitating and transforming, and a last video showing Midnight Sparkle fighting Daydream Shimmer at the Friendship Games.

"Everyone thinks is an animated video but I've seen every single one of them, these events were actually real, all the magical stuff that happened, it has to be something from another world." Says Sunset after showing Kylo and Starkiller the videos.

"Well, it seems your doppelgänger is now beloved instead of hated." Says Starkiller.

"That's not even the worse part." Says Sunset, who then starts explaining with frustration. "Recently, she appeared in a musical video alongside some other girls from another school, and they were dancing like they were good friends. The other me, she had that good girl face the whole time, now everyone thinks she's a kind person, but guess what?!!!" Asks Sunset aloud.

"What?" Replies Kylo, amazed by her anger.

"She also appeared in the Daring Do movie, she was an extra in the movie of one of the most acclaimed sagas in literature's history!!!" Sunset then builts up more anger and says. "What about me?!! Since she appeared I left my home and had to earn my money by being waiter at cafeterias, working at the movie theaters, at a moving company, even supermarkets and now I'm working at bars as a singer and I can barely get my bills paid. Why the FUCK is she living my life like nothing happened and I'm left to rot here, HUH?!!!" Sunset breaks to tears, she can no longer hide her emotions. "And now everytime I see her, all I want is to beat her so damn hard. Tell me, am I wrong for asking for some minimum justice?" Asks Sunset with tears on her face.

"I cannot imagine the pain that you've gone through, Sunset. I can only understand your anger and hatred, which is comprehensible, you're only a victim of Equestrian magic."

"What's your obsession with this Equestria anyways?" Asks Sunset while slightly sobbing.

Kylo then replies to her. "Remember that external energy I mentioned earlier? Well, it comes from a world called Equestria, but that energy is out of control, it leaks into universes creating alterations that affect that universe's population. We've been looking for it for years, but there are some individuals that get in our way, they called themselves The Resistance and condemned our actions and they've befriended with your doppelgänger and her friends, but they don't understand it, we want to seize control over this Equestrian magic to prevent any more anomalies from happening."

Sunset, who has calmed down, asks. "Don't you think that Equestrians would be trying to fix those anomalies?"

"It would be the logical answer Sunset..." Said Kylo while getting up from the couch, "...but they are not even aware of the consequences they're undirectly provoking, tell me Sunset. Would you leave such a great power in hands of its so irresponsible owners?" Sunset remains silent, "We have to make sure chaos doesn't prevails, for everyone's sake. Only imagine it Sunset, with that power we can change everyone's lives for better, no more wars, no more famine, none of that will exist." Adds Kylo, Sunset, who is now doubtful of their true intentions, asks Kylo.

"So, you want the power of this Equestrian magic to fix the whole multiverse at your image?" Kylo seems reflexive, after a short bit, he replies.

"I only want to stop this senseless conflict, think of this, everyone thinks of good and evil, right or wrong, but they miss something important, determination. If you want to make changes for the better, there will always people that'll be against you, if you ask me, getting rid of them is a sacrifice for a greater good, isn't it?" Asking Sunset.

"It depends on how you see it, but under your perspective, seems like a factible plan. I have a question though, why are you telling me this?" Replies Sunset, confused of Kylo's intentions.

"Because you can be a crucial part of this plan Sunset, we can help you to finally consummate your revenge against your doppelgänger." Says Kylo, after listening at Sunset's story and witnessing her true feelings towards her counterpart, he's certain that she will accept his offer.

"Revenge? How can you do that?" Asks Sunset, intrigued by Kylo's proposal.

"We have an ability some would consider unnatural..." Kylo said before pulling a flower pot with The Force and giving it to Sunset. "...But for us, we call it The Force. It connects every living being in harmony and allows us to manipulate our environment at will." Kylo makes a pause and then adds. "After all our time researching the Equestrian magic, we manage to learn that works in individuals as The Force does, its fueled by the user's emotions, it can be mastered through practice and it becomes much more stronger with emotions such as anger."

"You want to teach me that?!" Asks Sunset amazed by this ability.

"I'm afraid we can't assure you that for the moment, but if we find a way to use magic as them, we might have a chance of winning." Said Kylo, who seemed to wait a response directly from Sunset, which eventually happens after a short bit.

"I can help." Said Sunset, Starkiller, who's been quiet until now, says. "The girls use geodes as collars, they activate them at will and grants them superpowers, superspeed, superstrength, ability to make things levitate and a few more. We might need to find a magical artifact that matches theirs."

Kylo thinks of Starkiller's commentary and asks Sunset. "Thanks for lending us your aid but Starkiller's right, where would you look for any magical artifact that ressembles theirs?"

"Maybe in the woods or caves, I mean, if magic has been growing in this world, it has to be in a place where common folk can't notice it, plus, I know how to go incognito, so I won't raise any suspscions." Replies Sunset, she really seems determined to help Kylo.

"It's settled then." Kylo then lends Sunset with the communicator and macrobinoculars he brought, "What's this?" asks Sunset while trying to understand the devices.

"The first one is a communication device, it was adapted with the design of a watch, in order to make it a discrete tool, it has a contact in it, you can call it and I will answer, and the other device is basically binoculars but have a much larger range." Said Kylo, who picked his helmet from the table and is now heading to the exit with Starkiller.

"Wait, are you leaving already?" Asks Sunset. "I'm afraid yes Sunset, we've stayed more than we could, its just a matter of time before they find that we were here." Replies Kylo, while opening the door but before leaving, Sunset interrupts him.

"Kylo.." Says Sunset, he turns around and sees Sunset with a glimpse of happines in her eyes, "...thanks, I haven't talked properly to someone until now. And, thanks for listening to me.'" Kylo gives a smile and says, "Don't worry Sunset, by the way, I have a question, why didn't you escape when you had the chance?" Asked Kylo.

"Well, I knew that I wasn't match for you, so fighting was not an option and I don't have anywhere to go nor anyone that may help me, so staying here was the smartest choice and I haven't survived this long by making foolish decisions." Replied Sunset, Kylo only agreeds with his head and says. "Wise choice my friend, I'll be looking forward to our next meeting." Kylo stretches his hand to Sunset, she replies to the gesture and shake hands. Then, Kylo and Starkiller leave and go back to the alley where they appeared.

"It appears we got ourselves a useful ally." Said Starkiller.

"Yes, her hatred might be helpful to our cause." Replied Kylo Ren while putting on his helmet.

After that, the duo uses their teleport devices to return at their ship, leaving not with their hands empty, but with an ally that might help them in the near future.

A new day begins and by petition of Rarity the mane 7 go at the mall to make up their minds about everything that has happened until now alongside some hamburguers.

"So, Sunset, how went your visit to Equestria?" Asks Applejack.

"It was better than I thought actually, although I was extremely nervous, Chief managed to get Celestia and Luna's trust, suddenly after that, Shining Armor came in and attacked Chief because of his unknown procedence, but Chief won." Replies Sunset.

"Woah, Princess Twilight's brother? That's surprising, what happened next?" Asks Twilight.

"Well, Chief commited to help avoid The First Order from infiltrating in Equestria by installing some alarms throughout the land, but it was a close shot, for a moment, I thought that he'd fight against Celestia... or Luna... or both." Answered Sunset, the stress could be heard in Sunset's voice, fortunately, it was nothing a bite on her hamburguer can't fix.

"Then....What now?" Asks Rainbow Dash to Sunset.

Sunset swallows the food he was chewing and replies, "I was wondering that, The First Order is going to come after us and the Blue Team won't be always there to help us, so we need to learn how to defend ourselves against them in order to protect everyone."

"But what can we do? Every threat we've faced uses magic just as us, there's nothing like a Kylo Ren in this world?" Asks Fluttershy.

"Oh Oh, I have an idea..." Says Pinkie aloud, once she has everyone's attention, she asks. "...What if Twilight and Microchips create a super tough robot so that we can practice our abilities by taking it down? I mean, beating up a super strong enemy will make Kylo Ren look like nothing."

Everyone shows their confusion faces at Pinkie's proposal, the silence was broken by Sunset's commentary. "That's not how it works Pinkie, Kylo and Starkiller have abilities that escape our knowledge, actually... Chief said to me back in Equestria that our training was starting tomorrow... or was it today? Time moving differently is really affecting me, anyway I think he might have an idea of what can we train to fight The First Order. By the way Twilight, what happened to those schematics?"

"Oh right, yesterday when the Blue Team left me at my home, I gave the schematics alongside some advices to Fred, I think he has already given them to Mr. Tesla." Replies Twilight.

"You really are a fan of him, aren't you?" Asks Pinkie Pie due to Twilight's noticeable excitement.

"I admire his job, after all, he created the basis of modern civilization, and he is also known as Human History's One and Only Sorcerer, just the fact that he asked personally for the schematics of my invention, brings joy to my whole career as a researcher." Answered Twilight, whom got excited by simply answering that question.

"By the way girls, where's Rarity? She's the one that proposed that we met here in first place." Asks Sunset while looking around.

"Oh, I texted her and she said that he's on her way here, but something came up and she's delayed." Replies Applejack.

A while ago at the Infinity, Chief is at the lab with Tesla, discussing some topics.

"Tesla, did you want to tell me something?" Asks Chief.

Tesla takes off his coat and replies.

"Well, I made some progress in our investigations, thanks to Twilight's schemes we manage to create the tracker we need, the thing is, we could only make two, one has been installed at the portal room, and the other one is made for portable use. Also, Galen brought some metals from his world, and we made an alloy with your blades, now they should withstand more effectively the clash between them and lightsabers, but also I need to warn you something about your blades." After that, Tesla takes the blades from an experimentation table and throws them at Chief.

"What is it?" Asks Chief while catching his blades and attaches them to his back.

"The runes of your blades, the demonic energy that they hold, is like a poison, while you're using the blades' power, that energy flows through your whole body, if you use them nonstop, you'll become as violent and merciless as the demons themselves, fortunately for you, that poison gets out of your body as long as you're not using it, I suggest a moderate use of the blades in order to make them a versatile weapon." Explains Tesla.

"So, only use the blades' power in extreme situations, got it, what else?" Asks Chief, he's going straight to the point.

"Everything fine Chief? You seem more serious than usual." Replies Tesla, Chief only stares at him for a bit and then he says.

"It's.... *sighs* about those girls, Kylo Ren knows that they have powers, he'll probably have his sight upon them, that's why I need to teach them how to fight, I've been thinking of ways to teach them how to enhance their physical capabilities and make a more effective use of their powers, that's why I've been more serious."

"Oh about that..." Tesla takes some papers from a desk nearby, "... After the events at the testing room, I got more excited to investigating the truth of their powers, they say it's magic, but once we manage to understand the fundaments of their powers, haha, then, we would have a great advantage against The First Order. So, if you're going to train them, please let me know." Tesla said to Chief, he is now curious about something else. "I will but, what about The Force? That's Kylo and Starkiller's greatest advantage." Asks Chief.

Tesla stares at Chief, then he says. "I'm actually going to run some tests with Galen to comprehend how it works, then I will ask to Stark if he wants to lend me a hand developing a system to counter it."

"Got it, I'll be leaving now. Good luck Tesla." Chief said while turning his back and exiting the lab, heading to the barracks to reunite with his team and get some rest, but on his way to the barracks Cortana appears on his hand and asks him.

"Chief, what's bothering you? Since we came back from Equestria, you've been thinking of something, but I haven't figured it out yet, what is it?" The question was really straightforward, Chief stopped walking and looked at Cortana, whom goes back again to Chief's helmet, the walk is resumed and Chief says.

"After reading Flash's report, the idea of counterparts became real, and after witnessing it by myself, I had no doubt about it. There's a another Twilight, and I saw a picture at her castle where she was with her friends, another Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy. The problem now is regarding Sunset Shimmer, if the one living in this world is the Equestrian counterpart, what happened to the version of her that lives in the other world? What if Kylo Ren ends up meeting her and therefore, kidnapping her thinking that she's the Equestrian Sunset Shimmer?"

Cortana remains silent due to the shock of the question itself, "Now that's..... a really good question, maybe we should look for her before The First Order finds her." says Cortana.

"You're right but, where do we start looking?" Asks Chief, Cortana thinks of many possibilities, after getting a conclusion, she replies. "I think I have an idea, but we need to be subtle."

A new day has begun and back at the hideout, Flash's practicing with his guitar in his room, the voice of a woman voice is heard downstairs.

"I'll be leaving now sweetie, be careful!"

"Sure mom, good luck." Said Flash, then his mother replied, "Oh and if you see John again, tell him that he owes me a favor for leaving, and not cleaning his bullet shells mess at the garage." Flash seems amazed by that, "Wait, there were more? I thought I cleaned most of them." he replies. Then, the sound of the door closing can be heard, his mom just left, after that, he receives an incoming call from Kelly, he picks up the phone and the conversation starts.

"Hey Kelly, everything fine?" Asks Flash in a cheering tone.

"So far so good, by the way Flash, are you home right now?" Replies Kelly.

"Yeah, but I'll leave soon, what happened?" Asks Flash, in a worrying tone, like if something bad just happened and they need his help.

"Oh nothing super important, John and I will use a portal to get there, Chief just wanted to make sure if someone was there." Replied Kelly.

"Ok, I'll be waiting, see you soon." Says Flash before ending the call.

After a short time, a portal is opened in the lab, Chief and Kelly came through it, but with different looks.

Chief wears a leather coat, along armored bracers that resemble the ones of his Spartan armor and his blades attached to his back.

Kelly wears a green leather jacket, black pants and a blue shirt, although she also wears armored bracers but are more subtle than Chief's.

"Hey, where are you going?" Asks Flash after seeing them wearing such normal clothes.

"John is here for a mission and I'm here for another reason." Replies Kelly

"Oh really?" Asks Flash, "what is it? Equestrian magic? The First Order? Another threat that remains unknown to us?" adds Flash with a slightly worried tone.

"Don't worry kid." Replies Chief, "I'm here because residual energy of a portal was detected in this world and I was sent to track down anything that could've come through it and Kelly's here to do some shopping."

"Really? Only that?" Asks Flash confused by that particular reason.

"Of course, this are the only civilian clothes I have, the whole team needs to wear something that doesn't weight hundreds kilograms, and Chief's outfit was made for missions where he needs to go unnoticed." Replies Kelly with an excited face.

"Ok, I'll see if Rarity can help you with that, Chief, do you want me to go with you? Y'know I can fight." Says Flash.

"Thanks but there's no need kid, if there's a big threat, I don't want you to get involved. Mostly because we don't know what came through the portal and if anything were to happen to you, your mother wouldn't forgive me." Replies Chief. Flash stares at him with a face of "Ok, if you say so." but then he remembers something.

"Oh Chief, my mother said you owe her a favor, it appears there were more bullet shells in the garage." Chief only replies, "Oh, sorry, please give her my thanks if you see her before I do."

"Ok, if there isn't anything else to discuss, I'll be leaving." Says Flash while taking his keys and his guitar. "Where are you going?" Asks Kelly. Flash opens the door, Chief and Kelly exit the house. "I need to buy a new pair of strings, practice session with my band and I'll be hanging out with someone, I'll probably come back home late, so if you need me, you have my number." Said Flash while locking the door and putting his guitar in his car.

"Alright, please send my regards to Sunset Shimmer." Says Kelly while Flash turns on his car, after hearing that, he blushes a bit and replies with a "I will, take care you two." Flash then leaves the house, after seeing him leave, Kelly asks Chief, "Do you want Rarity to come with me?"

"Yes, I've never been witness of your fashion taste so it's safer if a connoisseur goes with you." Replies Chief.

"Hahaha, so you have a sense of humor after all, fine, oh, and don't worry about the other thing, I will also look for any clue that leads us to the other Sunset." Says Kelly, she really didn't expected Chief to make a joke.

"Thanks, I will be heading to the coordinates of the portal." Replies Chief, after that, both of them take separate ways.

Chief arrives at the alley where Kylo and the human Sunset met, then he starts inspecting the zone, noticing some curious burn marks.

"Cortana, what cause these marks?" Asks Chief while scanning the marks.

"Judging by their direction, these marks are slashes from a blade, most probably a lightsaber." Replies Cortana.

"So either Kylo Ren or Starkiller were here, or maybe both of them, in any case, they fought against something or someone, but what happened after that?" Asks Chief, while looking at the sorrounding to catch any minimal detail.

"Chief look!, there are some footprints at the end of the alley." Says Cortana, then Chief sees that the footprints lead to the street.

"This track leads down the street, but it dissappears right away." Replies Chief after taking a look at the direction the footprints point.

"It's better to have this clue than nothing, I suggest you follow it by using the rooftops, then I can have a better look to any other clue that may appear." Says Cortana, Chief then presses a button in his bracer and activates his cloaking device before doing some parkour to get to the rooftops and replying, "I'm on it."

Time later, we're now at the mall where Kelly and Rarity are exchanging some words.

"So this is how it looks a mall." Says Kelly after seeing the liveliness of the place.

"Kelly, have you ever come to a mall before?" Asks Rarity confused by Kelly's previous statement.

"Well...I mean, yeah of course I've been in malls but, all of them were in warzones so they were destroyed, burnt or have collapsed, so it's not like I had many things to see.

After hearing that, Rarity couldn't stand still after hearing that and took Kelly into a tour through every store at the mall.

A time passed, Rarity and Kelly are now walking together with plenty of shopping bags in their hands.

"And that's how you go shopping darling." Says Rarity, with a triumphant smile.

"Hahahaha, sure Rarity, I never thought that this could be such a lively place, I mean, excluding the fact that many of hte things we bought were a bit expensive, I really liked coming here." Replies Kelly.

"Uhm, Kelly, you sure you can handle those bags? They seem heavy." Asks Rarity offering Kelly some help, but she replies with a overrelaxed tone.

"Oh, this? Nah, don't worry girl, I've lifted much heavier things for longer time, this is a piece of cake. Actually, where are we going now?" Asks Kelly.

"Oh, I already had some plans with my friends before meeting up with you, and is already late so we're heading there, I hope it doesn't bother you." Says Rarity while checking the hour. "Bother me?" Replies Kelly, "I'd be more than glad to hang out with your friends." she adds.

Few minutes later, they arrive at the Food Court meeting up with the rest of the Mane 7.

"Hello darlings, sorry we kept you waiting." Says Rarity while waving at her friends, Kelly does too with more excitement, once everyone's together, Kelly says.

"Hey girls, sorry to have stolen your friend for a bit, but I really needed an expert at shopping." She said while putting the bags on the floor and taking a seat after Rarity did.

Pinkie Pie is the first one to greet Kelly. "Oh hi Kelly! What are you doing here? Oh! Don't tell me, you're here to try the new line of cake at the bakery shop?" Asks Pinkie.

"Haha, although I wanted to, I'm not here to try a whole new kind of cake, that's why I only bought one of them, I hope the team likes it. Anyway, Chief had a mission here and I wanted to buy some new clothes for the team." Said Kelly.

"Wait, a mission? What happened now?!" Asks Sunset with a worried voice.

"Relax girl." Replies Kelly, "I can't tell what is it because of 'protocol procedures', but what I can tell you is that John was the one assigned to this mission, so rest assured that everything will be just fine. Oh, before cominig here, John told me that your training will start tomorrow."

"Yeah, what kind of training actually?" Asks Twilight.

"I don't know, but probably is going to be very tough, you need to be ready for anything." Replies Kelly.

After seeing everyone's face of doubtness, Kelly says with a encouraging smile. "Hey quit the grumpy faces, I've seen you work together, and if I may say, you have a coordination that exceeds the average standards, you'll do great, I'm sure of it."

The girls respond with a cheer smile, the pressure was relieved for a bit, then Rainbow Dash says to Kelly.

"Wow, you are a lot less intimidating than Chief." Kelly replies with a smile, "Oh, John always takes everything seriously, plus he's not very open to strangers, and keeps his emotions for himself but..." Kelly seems to be thoughtful about his childhood friend, then she replies, "...It's just a matter of time, y'know? His actions are always motivated by his duty and that's what makes him intimidating, but the truth is that most of the time he follows his own code, he worries about his team and the people under his command, he doesn't show any kind of emotion when someone gets hurt but inside him, there's a hurricane of emotions, it's complicated but, once you understand him he's..... kinda cute actually."

"Aw, you really are close friends." Says Fluttershy.

Kelly smiles due to what Fluttershy said, nostalgia is evident in her face, then she replies. "Of course, we know each other since we were six years old, you learn a thing or two eventually. Anyways, I've been looking forward to enjoy my free time here, so, what funny stuff you normally do when you're free?" Asks Kelly.

"Well, If you're so eager to find out, what about if we show her all the fun she can get while in our world?" Asked Applejack to the group with an excitement smile.

"Yeah!! Let's do this, you won't regret it Kelly!!" Said Rainbow Dash with even more excitement.

The group then gets up from their seats and heads to a new destination. Meanwhile in the woods, Chief seems to be stressed about something.

"John, it's been hours since we started looking for any more clues than those footprints and we haven't found any other solid evidence." Said Cortana, despite being an AI, her voice shows a bit tiredness.

"I know but, if we keep looking, we might find something useful." Replied Chief, his voice shows even more tiredness than Cortana's.

"Chief, our search started at the city, we're now in the middle of the forest, I think we lost track of the footprints quite a while ago, don't you think?" Asked Cortana in a comical tone.

"Fine, let me use the magic tracker just to verify there isn't anything important here." Said Chief while pulling out a device that ressembled Twilight's design, but a less colorful and with a more subtle design.

The device has a dim reading, the coordinates lead to a cave nearby, without hesitation, Chief follows it and arrives at the cave.

"Now that's weird, Chief you better be careful, I'll record everything." Said Cortana, Chief draws his handgun and proceeds with caution.

At the beginning, it seemed like a normal cave, but as Chief went deeper, crystals began to appear down their path.

"What kind of mineral are these?" Asks Chief while examinating one of them, it seemed like an ordinary crystal but pitch black in the inside.

"They don't seem like any new mineral, but it appears they had something inside, but now they're empty. Keep moving Chief, the signal came from the deepest part of the cave." Replies Cortana.

Chief keeps moving downwards, the cave becomes darker and the path turns even rougher, Chief attaches his flashlight to his gun and lights his way, few more steps and Chief faces a small cliff just right ahead.

"The signal came from whatever is down there." Said Chief before jumping off the cliff, once he lands, he proceeds to attach his flashlight to his chest, holsters his gun and unsheathes his blades, then he quietly moves forward, expecting any possible threat.

"Chief, I know there's something going up down here, but this place seems really off." Said Cortana.

"I know, since we entered the cave, I felt this cave was dark but not in the logical way, whatever emitted the signal, it has some negative vibes." Replied Chief.

The echo of waterdrops hitting the ground floods the path, sleeping bats hanging from stalactites, the sound of Chief's steps on puddles and the lack of knowledge about what could be in the depths of this cave, create enough tension in the atmosphere for Chief to clench his blades. After five minutes walking into the depths of the cave, a dim light is visible at a corner, Chief peeks at the corner and sees some sort of natural altar at the center sorrounded by a small pond, its reflection was the one emiting the light.

At the altar, a crystal similar to the previous ones can be seen, but this one is bigger but has a missing part at the top.

"What is this place?" Asks Chief while looking around and sheathing his blades, then he turns back to the altar.

"The crystal at the altar was the source of the signal, and like the rest of the others, it's empty, but also has a cleave, like something's been cut from it." Replied Cortana while scanning the altar.

"It was a medium sized fragment, it couldn't be erosion because the whole cristal would have crumbled, someone was here, I have no doubt about it." Said Chief while examinating the empty space of the cristal.

"John, whoever did this, was really cautious, there are no fingerprints, the only things I see are the marks that show usage of a sharp tool to cut the crystal, however, this evidence still don't lead us to the culprit." Says Cortana, who appears on Chief's palm.

After thinking for a bit, his face expresses more doubt than resolution, yet he concludes. "I know is not enough, but this helps as a background, that crystal had Equestrian magic, most probably every other crystal in this cave, so whenever we detect a similar frequence as this one, we'll end up facing the one who came to this cave and took that fragment." Replied Chief, "Did you take photos of this place?" Asks Chief to Cortana.

"Of course I did." She replies, "I have recorded every possible data about this cave and the altar, but I suggest we tell the girls about this, probably they can help us finding out the culprit." Adds Cortana.

"We'll see, for the moment, let's get out of here." Said Chief while going back where they came from.

Once they're out of the cave Chief receives a message.

"Who is it?" Asks Cortana, "It's Kelly, she says that if I'm free, I can head to these coordinates." Replies Chief.

"Oh ok, then let's start moving before we arrive late, I'm tired of following tracks." Says Cortana, Chief makes a face of fine, whatever and starts walking

"But I was the one who's been walking the whole time." Replied Chief, Cortana gets angry but realizes that's a joke, then she replies. "Oh, but I was analyzing a thousand possible clues while you were just walking and pointing out stuff." Chief comprehends the sign and both start a war of arguments that were trying to blame each other for spending the whole morning in this mission, but at the end, Cortana ends up laughing and Chief shows a very small sign of a smile.

Chief and Cortana were arriving ar the coordinates Kelly sent Chief, it's Sweet Apple Acres, but there's some music sounding aloud, Chief heads to the garage and finds the girls playing their instruments and Kelly singing along them with passion.

🎵 "...We'll carry on, we'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone, believe me
Your memory will carry on" 🎵

🎵 "You'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches, oh..." 🎵

John remembers that song, it was in Kelly's playlist, unfortunately, he arrived at the song's end, but it surprised him to hear Kelly singing for the first time. When the music stops and the group laughs and Kelly excites, Chief asks.

"Was that Welcome to The Black Parade?" Everyone turns at him and Kelly is the first one to reply.

"Sure it was, the whole day has been a bomb, I've never had so much funny in my whole life, hahahaha!! You should hang out more often with them."

"Oh really? What have you done until now?" Asks Chief and looks to the girls looking for an answer.

"Well..." Started saying Pinkie Pie popping from Chief's back, startling him for a bit. "...We played bowling, then Kelly challenged Rainbow Dash to a race, after that we went to the amusement park and Kelly insisted on seeing us playing music and we invited her to sing and minutes later, you arrived."

"Hey Chief, you here to join us?" Asks Sunset with a smile.

Chief sighs while looking at Kelly, like he didn't want to let her down but doesn't have any other option, then he says. "I would've liked to but as Kelly probably told you, I was on a mission and I found something that I need to report back to the infinity."

"What is it, did you find Kylo Ren or a strange creature?" Asks Twilight, who's being a bit paranoid about it, Chief then replies.

"It's more related to the first thing, remnants of a portal were found in an alley here in this world, I went there and I found lightsaber burn marks and footprints that led downtown, I followed the track but found nothing, time later I ended up in the woods where I used the tracker Tesla made thanks to Twilight's schemes and received a weak signal that came from a cave, this is what I found there." Applejack closes the garage's gates so that no one sees whatever Chief is gonna show or say.

Chief proceeds to show the group images of the cave from his bracer's holo displayer, the crystals, the altar, the broken crystlal, everything seems genuinely new for the girls and Chief notices it, so none of them could be culprit.

"What kind of crystals are those?" Asks Rainbow Dash.

"That's still unsure but they seemed to contain something within them, but now they're empty and so is the main crystal at the altar I showed you." Replies Chief while interleaving the images.

"Wait, the crystal at the altar seems broken, what happened to it?" Asks Rarity pointing the altar image.

"Someone else went to the before before me and used a sharp tool to break the crystal at the altar, but I couldn't find any evidence that led me to the culprit." Chief said then he turns off the holo displayer, Applejack opens the garage's gates.

"And now I need your help." Add Chief after the gates opened.

"Our..help?" Asks Fluttershy, she seems dubious and wonders what does Chief mean with that.

"Yes, I have other business to attend to at the Infinity, I was hoping that you could lend us a hand finding our culprit. Don't take it as a full time job, I don't want you to put your responsibilities away just because of what I'm asking you to do, so let's leave it on, if you find anything suspiscious, let me know, Cortana already put my contact in all your phones so you won't have to worry about my number."

"Don't worry Chief, nothing will escape our sights." Said Rainbow Dash, she seems really commited to this.

"Alright, oh! before I forget it, on my way here I received a transmission from Tesla, he wanted to discuss some matters regarding the magic from your world, he insisted that was for the sake of understanding how it works and how can we use it. So stay put because he may call you later." Said Chief.

"Ok girls, you heard him, from now on you're members of The Resistance, and I can personally say that I'm glad not simply because now we're teammates, but also because we're friends." Said Kelly with a heartwarming voice.

The group then ends up chattering about any other stuff, that moment symbolized a beggining of a new friendship, one that will probably endure for years in the far future, doubts become present but trust will be the light that'll guide them to the truth.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! I know I took a while writing this chapter, but since I was lacking a good design for the human Sunset, most of the story was focused on writing and not so many images to make reference. I hope you like this chapter, which is the longest until now, but probably won't be the last.

Thanks for your patience and see you on the next chapter.

Chapter 5: The Past Will Always Catch You.

At the infinity's lab, a portal opens and Fred comes through alongside an engineer.

“Close the darn portal!!” Shouts Fred to Richtofen, who tried as fast as he could, but before closing it some Necromorphs crossed the portal.

“Oh Scheiße.” Said Richtofen while hiding behind his desk.

Fred shoots at them, but they're fast and attacked in group, sorrounding Fred and before one of them tried to stab him, its limbs and head got cut off by a weapon.

“Take that motherfucker.” Said the engineer, after killing one of them, then forced to drop his gun due to the lack of ammo.

Fred takes the chance and unsheathes his knives to kill them.

"Let's dance." Said Fred while slashing the necromorphs' limbs with ease, then he encrusts a grenade in the last one's torso, making it blow up and covering Fred in blood and guts.

“Isaac! Was that the last Necromorph?!” Asked Fred while turning around, sheathing his knife, picking up his gun and removing the guts from his armor.

“Let's make sure this one's truly dead.” Said Isaac while heading to the necromorph he killed with his weapon.

A stomp on the creature's body was enough to tear it apart and cover Isaac in blood.

“It's always so damn gross, but it's the only way to be certain they're death.” Said Isaac while shaking his leg to remove the blood on it.

Richtofen came up from his desk and asked.

“Gentlemen, before I start cleaning this mess, please tell me you got the anomaly.” Asked Richtofen while seeing the amount of blood spilled in the floor.

Fred takes a capsule that contains some kind of energy from the back part of his waist and shows it to Richtofen, who only agrees with his head and says. “Good, Tesla might give a good use to that sample. And please tell him that Stark and I checked his little project, und it needs a much more powerful energy source if he wants to be accurate with his schematics.” Then Richtofen takes a floor mop and a strange liquid for cleaning purposes.

Fred and Isaac proceed to Tesla's lab, on his way there, Fred says.

“Hey Isaac, thanks for lending me a hand out there, I don't think I could've made it on my own.”

“Don't worry Fred, I might be a simple engineer but when John said that involved killing Necromorphs, I had to help you out, but this time, you owe a cold beer.” Replied Isaac with a friendly voice, he and Fred proceed to shake hands and part their own ways.

Fred enters Tesla's lab and the first thing he sees is a huge amount of chalk remnants on the floor and many but many papers on his desk. While Tesla was writing so many equations on his chalkboard, that seemed he was about to write on the walls.

“Hey, Mr. Tesla, I brought you a gift.” Said Fred while placing the capsule in the table.

“It's the best sample we've brought this far, maybe you can work something with it.” Said Fred. Tesla stops writing and analyzes the capsule, he can be heard muttering “Good.”, then Fred asks Tesla.

“Any progress you wanna share, sir?” Tesla looks at his chalkboard for a bit, then he replies. “Actually yes, thanks to a conversation I had with Twilight recently I managed to have better idea of how does this energy work. And I can say as a hypothesis that Equestrian energy fluctuates in its very own frequency, so every anomaly has its unique frequency, that's what makes it hard to track down. Also, I have some hypothetical conclusions about those girls' powers, but I need to witness it in practice. Hmmm, when did John say he would've returned?” Asked Tesla.

“I don't know, but knowing that Chief was the one assigned to the mission, he won't return until he's done.” Replied Fred while taking his helmet off.

Tesla then agrees with the head, and then he receives a weird smell, after figuring out that the smell comes from Fred, he asks, “What did you kill that makes you smell so awfully bad?” Fred remains serious for a bit, then he replies. “Necromorphs...” Fred makes a pause and then adds, “… They're gross.”

Fred remembers what Richtofen said and gives the message to Tesla. “Oh Tesla, Richtofen said that he and Stark checked your project, and they concluded that you're gonna need a much more powerful energy source if you want it to match your expectations.”

Tesla reflects on what he said and then says, “Yeah, I was expecting that...” Tesla looks at the capsule Fred brought and says. “...But probably if I understand how does the anomalies' energy works, I won't need to look far for another power source.”

"Ok, I'll be leaving now." Said Fred while leaving the room and putting his helmet on, Tesla didn't even notice it, so there were no goodbyes.

Once out of the lab, Fred heads to the barracks to take a shower but before leaving the science division, someone calls his name.

"Fred!!" Said the voice behind him, Fred turns back and sees John who has returned from his mission carrying shopping bags but Fred doesn't notice it. They both salute each other and Fred asks, "Chief, how the mission went?" Chief sighs a bit, then he replies. "Not as good as I thought, but I need to give the report to captain Lasky, mind to join me?" Asked Chief but Fred replies, "I'd be glad to but, my mission really made a mess of my armor, so I need to go to the barracks and...." Fred sees all the bags that Kelly bought and asks with a curious voice, "....what are those?"

Chief gives him the bags and while doing that, he replies, "These are the things Kelly bought, she said that there are clothes, a cake and much other stuff I don't recall right now."

"Ah cake? Sweet! I'll bring them to our barrack and ask Linda to lend me a hand with all of this. By the way, where's Kelly?" Asked Fred, wondering if she isn't behind Chief.

"She said she wanted to stay a bit longer to check other things, I wanted to stay with her, but she told me this was more important." Replied Chief.

"What did you find that is so important?" Asked Fred, Chief replied with a tired voice, "I tracked some footprints for hours and found nothing, then I found a cave that emitted a frequency of an anomaly, there were just crystals and signs that someone was there. And that's the only thing that I have to report, anyway, Kelly's right, any finding had to be reported."

Chief and Fred part their own ways, meanwhile back at the CHS dimension, Sunset Shimmer and Flash are at the observatory's lookout.

"So.." Said Flash while giving Sunset a soda. "...How was your meeting with Kelly?" Asked Flashy while leaning on the railing.

Sunset opens the can and says, "Pretty good actually, we even sang together." Sunset takes a drink of her soda and remains quiet, her face shows discomfort, Flash can't help but to ask.

"But...?" Asked Flash with a gentle voice. Sunset can't hold her thoughts any longer and replies.

"After everything I've done to fix the damage I did to the people of this world, and witnessing the threats that lie beyond my understanding, I think it's time I fix the biggest mistake of my past." Said Sunset with a slight sign of fear in her voice.

"What is it?" Asked Flash, concerned about her.

Sunset takes some courage, a deep breath and after placing her soda on the railing, she explains.

"I'll go straight to the point, when I arrived to this world, I met my counterpart and as you might think, I was really mean to her, she even got scared, ran way and never came back. I didn't care much about it but, once I began to fix my mistakes at Canterlot High, that guilt has been haunting every day."

"That's why you were so focused on become a better person." Replied Flash.

"Yeah..." Said Sunset while looking at the city scenery, "...I wanted to be better, so the day when I manage find her, I can finally come into terms with her, but I'm also scared of that day." Said Sunset while taking her hand to her head, the wave of thoughts that flood her mind is beginning to stress her, but she continues. "...I don't know how she'll take it or if she's even going to listen to me. I really harmed her and I don't know how can I fix it... A sorry won't be enough and so wouldn't be all the progress I made to be better." The stress and guilt overwhelmed her, forcing Sunset to take both of her hands to her face and

Flash remains silent, reflective of what Sunset just said, amidst the silence, Sunset tells Flash.

"Sorry Flash, I rambled a lot, it's ok if..." Sunset was saying while turning to Flash, who is also seeing the scenery, but before completing her sentence, Flash interrupts her.

"I can't imagine the pressure that puts on you. I can't give you a full advice because I haven't been through the same as you did, but I can tell you something John told me a time ago." Flash makes a pause and turns towards Sunset and adds with a determined voice. "Mistakes will be made, ones will be worse than others, and that's normal, they won't define you, but what you do regarding them is what will define your future." Flash makes a pause and continued with a compassive voice.

"Yeah, you weren't the best person in the past, but now you're someone new, and all the effort you put on starting over, only shows that you truly wanted to change, if you explain it to her, she most probably understand it." Flash slightly takes Sunset's hand and says. "If you ask me, that's more than enough to be proud of yourself."

Sunset gives a thankful smile and blushes before hugging Flash, briefly after that, both were hugging each other.

"Thanks Flash." Said Sunset moved by Flash's words.

"Don't worry, I'll always be at your side when you need it." Said Flash with a gentle smile.

The moment was brief but for them was long enough to share their feelings, once they stop hugging, Flash asks her.

"So.....do you know where she is?"

"I think I have an idea, but I need to go on my own." Replied Sunset, who's now determined about her decision.

Flash agreeded on not interfering with Sunset's plan, hours passed and as night falls and the city lights up, Sunset can be seen exploring the city wearing a disguise which is no other than her black jacket with her hood on. She is looking for any clue that can lead her towards her counterpart. Finally, after finding nothing she gives up for the day and goes to a cafeteria. Where she sits at the furthest part to make up her mind.

"(Maybe she doesn't want to be found and has been erasing every track she leaves.)" Said Sunset in her thoughts, then she takes her phone and opens a list of possible places where her counterpart could be, but before eliminating cafeterias from the list, an awfully familiar voice speaks.

"Sorry for the wait, now this is a song I heard time ago from a band, it's named Northern Downpour, I hope you like it."

It was her counterpart, she was on a small stage setup with a chair and a small tabled right beside her. She was wearing a dark brown leather jacket, a black t-shirt, fingerless gloves, dark blue jeans and black boots with red curved lines on the sides. Her guitar was color black with red flame shapes on it.

Sunset couldn't believe it, she was right there, but to make things faster, she stayed hidden during the perfomance, her counterpart's voice was melodious and her skills with her guitar showed that she's in total synchrony with her instrument.

The show continues and after a couple of English and Spanish songs, the human Sunset finished her perfomance, the public gave their applauses, but after she thanked the public, she buckled up her guitar strap to her back, picked a bottle from the table next to her and went with the manager who was at the bar and received her pay. Without delay, she left the cafeteria from the back door, Sunset followed her silently, leaving through the main exit and going to the alley where her counterpart was.

Sunset sees her walking down the sidewalk and follows her discreetly, suddenly her counterpart turns right and enters an alley, Sunset speeds up to not loose track of her, but when she peeks at the alley, there was no one there, just a trash can therefore she went deeper into the alley, but her counterpart was hiding behind the trash can, and tells Sunset.

"Y'know? I saw you back at the cafeteria, if you wanted to remain unnoticed, you should have at least ordered a drink." Said the human Sunset with a confident voice before taking a drink from her bottle.

Sunset turns around quickly as she hears her counterpart talk and before she can say something, the human Sunset asked with a serious and angry voice.

"Who the hell are you? And why are you following me?"

"I know we get angry easily but, there's no need to be agressive towards each other." Said Sunset, trying to calm her counterpart while taking off her hood revealing her face. The human Sunset remained silent while showing extreme surprise and confusion on her face.

"I just want to talk. I know I screw it up but now I want to fix it." Add Sunset with a gentle but nervous voice.

"Oh yeah?!" Asks the human Sunset, her voice became a bit angrier and then she added. "How can you fix my situation, huh?!"

"Hey, I've fixed most of my past's mistakes, I'll find a way, I swear but..." Said Sunset while looking around the alley, she turned back to her counterpart and asked. "... We can't discuss it in a place like this, can't we?"

The human Sunset struggled but at the end, she agreed with her statement, after a deep sigh to calm herself, she said.

"Fine, then, my place or yours?" Asked the human Sunset to her equestrian counterpart.

"Mine is really far from here, so..." Replied Sunset to her counterpart's question, but before finishing her sentence, the human Sunset interrupted her by saying.

"Ok, my place will be then." After that, both go to the human Sunset's apartment, thanfully, it wasn't far from the cafeteria so the walk wasn't awkward at all. Once they arrive, the human Sunset places her guitar on a couch at the living room, then she asks to her counterpart.

"So....Sunset, do you want a drink? I have water, soda, beer, apple cider and.... milk." Asked the human Sunset while searching in her fridge.

"Well, if you insist I'll.... wait, beer?" Asked Sunset shocked by what her counterpart just said.

The human Sunset closes the fridge and replies. "Yeah, sometimes the bars where I work give me beers to drink while I'm singing, but it's not like a I'm big fan of it, actually, I drink them hardly ever, that's why I keep them in the fridge." She said with a friendly voice.

"An apple cider will be fine." Replied Sunset also with a friendly smile.

The human Sunset hands her counterpart an apple cider bottle, then both take a drink from their bottles at the same time, after that, Sunset asks her counterpart.

"Y'know? I really wasn't expecting that you could sing in Spanish." Asked Sunset with curious voice.

"Oh, yeah, since I had plenty of time to practice my musical skills, I chose to learn another language in order to expand my musical vision." Replied the human Sunset with a calmed voice, which made the situation a bit awkward acknowledging that's beacuse of Sunset that her counterpart couldn't go to school anymore.

"I'm sorry, back then when we talked in the school backyard, I wasn't aware of everything I said and now...." Said Sunset to her counterpart, the guilt along regret can be heard in her voice, but she's interrupted by her counterpart.

"Well, fortunately..." Said the human Sunset with a serious voice. "...I found my ways to thrive, which included on spending several hours in the public library reading practically everything." Added the human Sunset with a more friendly voice.

"But it's because of me that you're in this situation, I can't imagine the suffering you had to go through because of my actions." Said Sunset with a regretful voice.

The human Sunset remaint silent for a bit, then she said. "Yeah, it's been a hell, the sleepless nights, the friends I could've had if I was in Canterlot High, the sleepovers, birthday parties, science fairs, musical festivals I could've gone and the days where I wanted to be with my family, although I know my parents weren't the best in anything, I had a bit of affection towards them, and everything happened because of another me who thought that it was a good idea to screw with her counterpart's life, right?!!" The angriness takes lead in the human Sunset's voice, she then takes her counterpart by the shoulders and said with an even angrier voice.

"Tell me Sunset, what took you fucking so long to start looking out for me, HUH?!!" Sunset feels a bit intimidated by her counterpart's agressive reaction, but she takes courage and replies.

"You weren't the only person I hurt, therefore, I had to be a better person, fix the damage I caused to the people around me, to at least be worthy of standing here right in front you." Said Sunset while gently taking her counterpart's hands off her shoulders, but the human Sunset takes her hands off in a more rude way.

"What is your plan anyway?" Asked the human Sunset with a rejecting voice and attitude.

"I know I can't return you your life, but..." Sunset thinks of a plan for a bit, then she says. "...We can create something new, we can start by introducing you to my friends and then you won't be alone anymore, everything will be easier then, I'm sure of it." Replied Sunset with confident voice, her determination is noticeable, she truly wants to help her counterpart.

The human Sunset seems interested in her counterpart's plan, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to begin with, but a sudden headache comes to her, she puts her hand on his head and seems confused about why is she suffering that.

Sunset worries about what just happened and concerns on her counterpart's health, therefore, she asks her.

"Hey..." Said Sunset, but after seeing her counterpart's face of pain, she asks worried. "...Are you okay?"

Human Sunset manages to cope with the pain long enough for it to disappear, then she looks at her counterpart and replies.

"Yeah, I'm fine, nothing medicine can't cure." Said the human Sunset with a fake smile that tried to relieve her counterpart's worriness.

"If there's a problem, feel free to tell me, I want to help you Sunset." Said Sunset to her human counterpart, who then takes her bottle and looks at it with a reflective face, then she says with a thoughtful voice.

"Y'know? Now that I think of it, maybe that plan of yours isn't that bad, I think I'll give it a try."

"Really?!! That's great..." Said Sunset with excitement, "...I have things to do tomorrow but it won't take too much, so... would you give me your number?" Asked Sunset while pulling out her phone with a smile on her face, the human Sunset notices that what she's saying is serious, so she accepts and takes her phone and adds her contact number with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks, I know it's already late so I'll let you get some rest." Said Sunset while taking her phone and heading towards the door, but before she leaves, she says.

"See you tomorrow Sunset." Said Sunset as she left the apartment, her counterpart waves at her as a sign of goodbye, she's optimistic but at the same time corcerned about the headache she suffered moments ago,after waiting until no one can see nor listen to her, she went to her bedroom and opened a drawer of her bureau. She took a metal box hidden inside it and by opening it, she reveals a necklace similar to Sunset's, but this one is dark purple with black outlines, and the sun in the middle has a more violent shape.

"You almost screw it up back there." Said Sunset to her geode, which glows in response to what she said. Then, Sunset with determination and a serious voice, says. "I have to learn how to control you before you control me." Said Sunset, who nows puts her necklace on, unleashing a magical spiral around her that resembles the color of her geode, with a serious voice, she adds. "With this power, I will fnially be able to have my revenge, but that can wait, I've waited years for this moment, what would be to wait a few more couple days."

The day ended, and a new one begins. At the Infinity's training room, Chief seems to lecture the girls who seem tired, about something.

"Ok, we've fought for 5 rounds already, so I'll give you my observations to each one of you." Chief takes a deep breath, then he says.

"Rainbow Dash..." Said Chief whille looking towards her, "...You're fast and have a bit of technique, but you lack the strength enough to land a good blow on your opponent." Rainbow Dash makes a tired face, then Chief makes a pause and looks at Applejack, "On the other hand, Applejack, your strength is enough to defeat most of enemies, but you're also slow and lack technique, which makes you an easy target." Applejack only reacts with a bit of shame.

Chief makes another pause and continues, "Pinkie Pie, the strength of your explosion stuns your enemy and creates a window where your team can retreat or push the enemy, but that window is extremely short, I suggest you focus on making them more powerful so that you can at least have a chance to fight." Pinkie makes a gesture of noted.

"Rarity..." Said Chief while looking at her, she seems to be the most tired out of them all. "...Your diamonds are a good tool that protect your team from any danger, the problem comes when your enemy can destroy them easily, so if you want to attack, you better use multiple but small diamonds rather than a single large diamond." Rarity listens but she's so tired, that almost didn't pay attention to Chief's advice.

"Twilight, your ability to make things and people float is good to seize the enemy's mobility, but only use it on people when you think you have a clear advantage." Said Chief, Twilight couldn't remain silent despite feeling tired, so she couldn't resist to ask.

"What,,, do you... mean with that?" Said Twilight while catching her breath.

"It means that if you use on the enemy, they're gonna be aware there's something or someone making them float, which means that they'll probably start looking for the source of the problem and eliminate it." Replied Chief, Twilight only answered with a "Ok.." before falling to the ground due to exhaustion, Fluttershy and Sunset help her to be back on her feet, but whilst doing that, Chief continued.

"Fluttershy..." Chief makes a pause and seems really dubious about what to say, "...I don't what to say, you aren't into fighting but you're gonna need to fight eventually, maybe Fred can teach you something to at least defend yourself." Fluttershy remaint silent with, and her expression was shouting I'm sorry which Chief noticed and added.

"Oh but don't be sorry, everyone can learn something from this, don't take my words as reprimendal, but as an advice to improve yourselves." Chief makes a pause, and says his final observation. "In general, you were all good, managed to adapt to the situation and thought of many strategies, but there was a constant problem." Said Chief while looking towards Sunset, who seems surprised by that.

"Wait...how am I the problem?" Asked Sunset confused and offended at the same time.

"Your Daydream form makes you one of the strongest members of your group, but you lost every fight we had until now because of one particular reason." Chief makes a pause and says, "You're holding back. And that's why you've failed to defeat me until now, I know is a big responsibility but I must be sure that when the moment comes, you'll be able to finish your enemy instead of neutralizing it."

"Chief, our powers aren't meant to harm people but to help them. What you're asking us is too much. Kill our enemies? We're not soldiers." Replied Sunset, who became a little angry after what Chief said.

"Do you think The First Order cares about that? They don't, are you going to let them kill your friends just because none of you can't cross a line?" Asked Chief with a serious voice.

"Of course we won't!! Is just that..." Said Sunset with a higher voice tone, but she's interrupted by Chief abruptly.

"Then show me that at least you have the will to do what it has to be done." Said Chief, he's really going serious now, Sunset notices this is a duel, but she can't decline it.

"Fine, let's do this!!" Said Sunset aloud while transforming into her Daydream form and pushing Chief back with a shockwave, the duel started.

Sunset makes the first move by shooting light beams, but Chief blocks them with a hardlight shield while approaching her, Sunset notices that and charges her punch with energy and flies towards Chief at high speed, leaving Chief a small chance for him to dodge her attack, he noticed Sunset's angry and won't give up easily.

Sunset then elevates in the air and charges towards Chief with both her fists imbued with energy. Chief waits for the right moment and before Sunset hits him, he crouches and punches her right into the stomach, then Chief takes her arm and smacks her into the ground, Sunset's stunned by the impact, but she won't give up, before Chief lands another blow she charges a much more powerful beam and shoots it at the ceiling, hoping to hit Chief, the moment was so quick that Chief dodged it by almost pure luck, but then he takes Sunset's arm again and lifts her, in a brief moment Chief kicks her while taking her necklace off, Sunset got blown away and lost her Daydream form.

The duel ended and the girls go and aid Sunset, while Chief looks at the ceiling and sees a hole big enough that showed that the beam Sunset shot was powerful enough to have calcinated him. Only by looking at that, Chief got his answer, he approaches to Sunset who's sorrounded by her friends asking her to react, fortunately she does and sits on the floor.

"Ouch!!" Said Sunset while sitting and placing her hand on her back as a sign of pain.

"Easy now, don't push yourself too hard." Said Applejack while helping Sunset to stand up.

Chief approaches towards them and Twilight who was upset towards Chief, asks.

"Are you satisfied now?" Asked Twilight while grabbing Chief by the arm, he then takes off her hand and replies.

"Actually yes, although you had to pushed to the limit, I can rest assured that you will make the right decision when the moment comes." Said Chief towards Sunset, giving back her necklace, but when Sunset grabbed it, its power got activated and Sunset sees Chief's mind, witnessing every moment of his life, from the moment when he was kidnapped at the age of 6 to be part of a supersoldier program, until the moment when Chief met Kylo for the first time.

"Sunset, Sunset!!" Were screaming her friends, trying to make her react, but when she returns to her senses, she's on a bed at the infirmary with her friends, Chief and Tesla around her.

Sunset was shocked for what she saw at Chief's mind, Sunset asked with confusion, "What happened? Why am I at the infirmary?" Fluttershy is the first one to say.

"Uhmm, when you grabbed your necklace from Chief's hand, you were having a vision but it lasted for minutes, we began to worry when you started crying and screaming, we shouted your name but you didn't listen, then you collapsed and Chief took you in his arms and we came running towards here."

"What did you saw?" Asked Rainbow worried about her friend

Sunset starts remembering what she saw. "Well, there was Chief as a kid playing with his friends, then..." Sunset makes a pause and relives those memories, "...he's kidnapped... forced to train every day... his friends...dead... the augmentations..." Sunset starts panicking but continues her explanation. "...They died, the Covenant... Reach... the Halos... The Flood, they're everywhere!!" Sunset starts grabbing her face as a sign of panic, suddenly, Chief takes Sunset by the shoulder in a gentle way, then he says.

"Sunset, calm down, they can't hurt you." Sunset calms down, but she looks toward Chief and says with a saddened voice.

"Chief... I'm sorry, about Sam... and Parisa, I can't..." She's then interrupted by Chief, who said, "It's...fine, Sunset..." Said Chief with a saddened voice, "...There's nothing we can do for them... thanks to their sacrifice we managed to win the war against the covenant. We... we must honor their memory by moving forward and keep fighting." Chief sounded deeply moved by those names, but after showing a bit of his emotions, he returned to being serious again.

Then the doctor comes into the room, and says.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, but I have good news. Sunset Shimmer, your neural activity is stable right now, so you are clear to leave the infirmary, but I recommend that you don't use that power of mind reading for the rest of the day and you'll be completely fine by tomorrow."

"Thanks doctor, sorry to give you trouble." Replied Sunset

"Thanks Dr. Ziegler, we'll be more cautious next time." Said Chief while looking at Dr. Ziegler.

"John, we've fought together side by side, you can call me Angela, also please don't be extremely cautious, I like having new visitors from now and then." Replied Dr. Ziegler

"Noted." Replied Chief, who now looks towards the group and says, "Girls, your training's over for today, let's head back to the lab so that you can return home."

Twilight helps Sunset to get up from the bed she was on, Tesla remains silent while analyzing information at his datapad. The trip to the lab was full of chit-chatting and once they arrive at the portal room, Tesla finally talks.

"Aright people, thanks to my apprentice's research and today's training, I now have enough data to finally understand your powers." Said Tesla with an over confident voice.

"What do you have?" Asks Chief.

Tesla then brings a holo table, loads the information of his datapad and begins his explanation.

"Girls, your powers are indeed unique, they emit their own frequency, but they also follow laws of physic, therefore I managed to comprehend their nature." Tesla displays graphics for each member of the mane 7, the firt one is Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, you manage to accelerate to ultra high speeds, therefore, you can access a dimension where everything moves slower except you, the kinetic energy you create seems to be focused on your legs, but if we manage to refocus it, probably you can built up power to land a powerful blow."

The next one is Applejack, "Applejack, your super strength is caused to an exponential increase in the mass of your hands, but the energy that sorrounds them is basically light, that's why you can move them so easily, I'm sure we can create a tool that manages to use that energy to make you even stronger." Said Tesla, who now goes to the next graph, which is Rarity.

"Rarity, you capability to create solid diamonds its amazing, but you're using them with a defensive focus, you can alter their size at will, then maybe if you focus it on creating weapons, just imagine the usefulness of a shield or a blade made of pure diamond, but that's just thinking at short term." Tesla's now speeding up a bit.

"Fluttershy, you can talk to animals, which means that your ability lets you hear really low frequences, maybe if we expand its reach, you might be able of not only talking to animals, but detecting low frequences nearby, seems hard to achieve but I'll think of something." Tesla goes now at Pinkie's graph and says.

"Pinkie Pie, you can create explosions with sprinkles, but your power seems to give the detonation ability to the sprinkles, so instead of only using sprinkles, you can try using more substances, and maybe you can create much more diversal explosions."

"Sunset Shimmer.." Said Tesla while displaying Sunset's graph. "...you read minds, which in short words, is you establishing a neural link by electric impulses, but you're able to witness the memories of only one individual, but..." Tesla then changes the graph to a new one where insted of Sunset's normal image, is Daydream Shimmer. "...Your transformation, allows you to use focused light to attack and to revert anomalies, such as the portals that appeared at the Friendship Games my apprentice mentioned in her report. Also you can change their energy output at will, which is useful, but if you can create light from your body and manipulate it, maybe you can do much more than simply shooting beams, creating weapons would be a possibility, but it requires further analyzing."

Tesla then moves to the last graph, which is Twilight's, and this one is a bit weird because instead of using 2D graphics, uses 3D holograms.

"Twilight, your power is the one that called my attention the most, you create electromagenetic fields around objects that allow you to change the gravitational force inside it, but I have to test something to be sure..." Tesla then looks for something beneath the holo table.

"What is it?" Asks Twilight with a curious and also axcited voice.

Tesla then takes an empty metal box, "Catch!" said Tesla while throwing the box at Twilight, who grabs it with her power midair. "What should I do with it?" Asks Twilight confused about what Tesla just did, but he seems excited for what's coming next.

"Ok, I want you to crush it using your powers." Said Tesla, Twilight then focuses on the box, and after a small struggle, she managed to crush the box, but then she drops it, Tesla then takes the box and continues his explanation.

"Now, you can't only change the gravitational force inside the fields making whatever's inside it float, but also put gravitational pressure inside the fields to crush what's inside, but now I have a theory." Tesla makes a pause, makes some adjustments to the holo table and it displays only Twilight's graph and it shows many metrics, Tesla then adds. "If we manage to develop your abilities even more, maybe you can create controllable Black Holes." Said Tesla, and the holo table shows the model of a Black Hole, alongside a green description that said "Simulation successful."

The group remains shocked by Tesla's conclusions, he managed to comprehend and even develop factible theories about Equestrian magic, something neither Sunset nor Twilight could certainly determine. Tesla notices that, and says with excitement.

"All this time we've been craving to understand this energy, but now thanks to your help Twilight, we finally understand it. And it's not magic as you know it, it's SCIENCE!!!"

Tesla laughs from excitement, Twilight also shares a bit of it, but Chief interrupts the moment.

"Good job you both.." Chief said while looking at both Tesla and Twilight, then he adds. "...but I think the girls want to rest instead of listening to all this information, right girls?" Asked Chief while looking at the girls, although they couldn't see his face, his question made obvious that he doesn't want to hear long explanations anymore, Sunset notices it and makes a discrete sign towards the girls to follow along.

"Yeah, we also have actually important to do back home and it can't wait any longer." Replied Sunset, the girls agree with her, everyone is tired at this point, the portal to their home opens and Tesla says while the girls head to the portal.

"Ok, you have to leave and I have so much work to do, Twilight..." Twilight turns around and asks him, "What happened?" Tesla replies with a smile. "...Stay close to your phone, we might need to work together here instead of remote collaboration."

Twilight agrees with her head and says, "I will." then, everyone takes the portal and arrives at Canterlot High, the girls take this chance to stretch and take a deep breath of fresh air, after that, Applejack asks.

"Uhm, Sunset.. back there you said we have something important to do, would you mind explaining what is?"

"Oh, it's something I've been excited since I woke up, actually, I was wondering if you can help me with it."

"Sure thing Sunset, what is it?" Asked a confident Rainbow Dash.

Sunset then says with a smile in her face.

"There's someone I wanted to introduce you and we arranged to hang out today, so... we better not keep her waiting."

The girls head now to The Sweet Shoppe, once there, they take their seat and Rarity asks Sunset.

"So Sunset, would mind to tell us who is the person you wanted to introduce us?"

"You'll meet her soon..." Said Sunset while looking at her phone, "...but please, don't make it awkward, I want to treat her as best as I can." Added Sunset, she seems worried about making things right.

The group agrees and after waiting for a bit, someone enters the cafeteria and after taking off her hood, she reveals her face, it's the human Sunset but with a new hairstyle.

"Sunset!!" Said her equestrian counterpart while waving at her with excitement. The human Sunset sees her and replies the waving with awkwardness, then she approaches at the group and asks.

"Hey there, am I late?"

The girls are shocked by what they're seeing, there are two Sunsets now, fortunately Pinkie Pie is the one to greet her with excitement.

"Hi Sunset!!" Said Pinkie and then hugs the human Sunset and says. "Pleasure to be meeting you, you are Sunset's counterpart that's native of this world, am I right? But don't worry we can also be friends, my name is Pinkie Pie, the girls here are, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and as you already now, Sunset Shimmer. Actually, how should we call you? Shimmer? Sunshimmer? Sunset 1? Sunset 2? Human Sunset?"

Twilight then interrupts Pinkie Pie. "Ahem! Pinkie, don't you think you're overwhelming her?" Asked Twilight with a slightly mad voice.

"Nah, don't worry, but, is she always this energetic?" Asked the human Sunset while being hugged by Pinkie, who slowly takes her arms off her in a shamed way.

"Most of the time yes, she is, and sometimes even more." Replied Applejack with funny intentions, afterwards, Sunset says to her human counterpart while she's taking a seat.

"Hey! I like what you did to your hair, it suits you." Said Sunset while looking at her counterpart, whom replies with awkwardness.

"Oh, really? Thanks! it's just that...if I was going to hang out with you, there might be confusions if we share hairstyles, so I decided to cut it short because that way it won't hinder my training." She replied, it's obvious she doesn't receive compliments very often.

Rainbow Dash got interested by what the human Sunset just said, she couldn't help but to say with excitement. "Training? Are you in a sports team? Because if so, I wouldn't mind to test out your skills."

"It's martial arts, I've been training since I was a kid, but I decided to train different discplines in order to find my own." Replied the human Sunset while making a gesture of denial towards Rainbow's proposal, but then she says. "But if what you want is a challenge, what about a musical duel?"

"Oh, and what instrument do you play darling?" Asked Rarity to human Sunset, whom replies with a confident voice.

"I've played guitar since I at elementary school, I perfected my technique with both acoustic and electric guitar, and now I play almost every instrument, except for the harp because I haven't found a good one that I can buy. But nowadays, I main play at bars and cafeterias with my guitars."

"That's true, I've witnessed her perfomance and she's really good." Added Sunset with a positive voice.

"It's settled then, let's go and find out who's the best guitarist!" Said Rainbow with enthusiasm and passion, as always, she takes this seriously.

Sunset seems happy about how things are going, the duel is arranged at Applejack's garage. The afternoon arrives and everyone's now at applejack's garage, Rainbow Dash explains the rules.

"Ok, the rules are the following, we're gonna play different songs that are graded by difficulty, the first one that fails to keep up with the song, looses, any doubts?"

The human Sunset takes her electric guitar from its case, this one's red with black flames shapes on it, and plugs it on a speaker next to where Rainbow Dash's standing. "Got it." She replies with confidence, Rainbow Dash gives the sign to Fluttershy to turn on a music player, the screen shows the name of the song which is "AC/DC - Back In Black" and then the music starts. Both Rainbow and the human Sunset have the same rythm, you can say they are at the same level, the song ends and both did it great, then the song changes to the next one, "Guns n' Roses - Welcome to The Jungle".

Same result as the previous song, but this time, human Sunset seemed more passionate while playing it, both look at each other acknowledging each other's ability. After another couple songs, the result didn't change, then Applejack says, "Uhmm girls, I can surely say both of you have the same skill, why don't we leave as a tie?" Asked Applejack.

"Well... maybe we can, what do you think Sun...?" Rainbow was about to ask but she's suddenly interrupted by the human Sunset.

"No way! there has to be a tie breaker." said the human Sunset, now she's even more determined to win than Rainbow Dash.

"But you've played every song in the list. What are you going to do?" Replied Rarity.

"There's one song we haven't played yet." Replied the human Sunset while raising a finger.

"Which one is it?" Asks Twilight with confusion.

"Through Fire and Flames." Said the human Sunset with a dramatic voice, none of the girls seem to know that song except for Sunset and Rainbow Dash, who got a bit shocked what the human Sunset said.

"Fine, if that's is going to be the tie breaker, let's rock with everything we have!" Said Rainbow Dash who now is excited again for the challenge.

Rainbow and the human Sunset get ready for the final round, the song starts and both are at the same level, but as the song continues, Rainbow seems to struggle to keep up with her rival, the solo part comes in and although both manage to keep a good rythm, the human Sunset plays with passion and determination, creating the feeling of confidence which made Rainbow got a bit nervous, making her commit a single mistake in a chord, messing up the song, leaving the human Sunset as the winner of the competition.

"Ah c'mon!! I was so close." Said Rainbow Dash which frustation, after all, she was taking the competition as serious as the human Sunset, but after her victory, she tells Rainbow who seems a bit down.

"Hey don't be angry..." Said the human Sunset while putting her guitar on the ground, "... being honest,you're of the best guitarists I've ever met, you might even beat me next time..."

"Awww thank you, but I won't stop practicing until I surpass you. Promise there'll be a next time?" Said Rainbow Dash, she seems fine now, both shake hands as a sign of sportmanship, "Promise." Replied the human Sunset.

It's already late and the girls say goodbye to the human Sunset, not before arranging many other plans to hang out with her, Sunset seems happy and relieved after this day.

The next day, the human Sunset and Fluttershy seem to have a chat at the park.

"Thanks for coming Sunset, I wasn't sure you wanted to come with to feed the ducks." Said Fluttershy while giving her a bag of duck food, both start throwing the food at the pond, and the human Sunset replies.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'm giving myself some time to process things, and I thought that a visit to the park would suit best for it."

"Oh...do you... wanna talk about it?" Asked Fluttershy, but a silence remains, "...Sometimes, talking about your problems can help your relief a bit of that burden." Added Fluttershy, she wants to help the human Sunset, although they barely know each other.

The human Sunset looks at Fluttershy, then closes her eyes and takes a deep sigh, then she sees with a reflective voice.

"Time ago, I had a conflict with my counterpart because she stole my life and practically banished me from having a normal life, and I've grown bitter since then, a part of me hates her, and when I saw he changed and started living with a smile on her face everyday... it sickened me... why's the Sunset from another world living in the place of the Sunset native of this world? That question tormented me for years, but then when we met again, she was willing to help me, she feels guilty for what she did and... I... thought that this is a good idea, to build a new life, but... I don't think I can be called Sunset Shimmer, I mean, it's my name and all but, whenever I look at my counterpart..." Sunset then look at the pond and sees her reflection. "I don't feel like that's the same person I'm seeing here."

"Well... that's because the other Sunset lived through different things than you, don't feel bad because of not being like your counterpart, you two are Sunsets but you can choose how do you want to be. And about hating her, I know she was really mean back then, but just as you said, she's a different person now, and the fact that you gave her a chance means that you're also willing to change your life for the better." Said Fluttershy, but when she says that, Sunset rubs her neck as a sign that shows she feels bad about something, but then she says.

"The thing is that I can't forgive her, yeah I can change my life, but at the end the damage is done, and that's something I can't forget easily, but... AHH!!" Sunset then grabs her head with pain due to headache, even stronger than the one she had when she was with her counterpart.

"Sunset... are you ok?!" Asked Fluttershy worried about her, then she notices a purple glow from a pocket inside her jacket, but she acts like it wasn't there.

"I'm... fine... Fluttershy, I... just need to... go home, sorry for leaving but... thanks for the chat Fluttershy!" Said Sunset with pain while running away, leaving Fluttershy alone at the park, confused about what just happened, she can't ignore that purple glow, after some time, she meets with Twilight at her house to tell her what she saw.

"So, in short words, you saw a mysterious purple glow in the other Sunset's jacket while she was in pain due to a sudden headache?" Asked Twilight, she can't believe what Fluttershy's saying.

"Yes, and then she ran away, but she said she had to go home, do you think she's related to those crystals Chief showed us yesterday?" Asked Fluttershy with a worried voice, at this point, she doesn't know what to do.

"It's a possibility, but for the moment, we have to tell Sunset, she must be aware of this." Replied Twilight while taking her phone, she's going to call Sunset.

"What about Chief?" Asks Fluttershy, Twilight turns around and replies. "We can tell him later, this is a matter Sunset must solve first, after all, it's her counterpart the one we're talking about."

The next day, Applejack and the human Sunset are at Sweet Apple Acres, cutting down some trees for wood.

"Whew!" Said Applejack before the last tree's down, "You're pretty good at this Sunset, thanks for lending me a hand."

"Don't worry Applejack, I want to ease my mind, cutting down trees seemed like a good therapy." Said Sunset while cutting the logs into smaller pieces with an axe, Applejack sees how she cuts with enough strength to make the axe stick to the trunk she's using as base to cut the rest of the logs.

"You're quite strong too, that explains why you seem robuster than our Sunset. I bet you can even beat Big Mac at arm wrestling with your eyes closed" Said Applejack while Sunset was cutting the last log, then se throws a towel to Sunset.

"Is this the last one?" Asked Sunset while catching the towel and then cleaning the sweat from her face.

"That's right, now what about if we go inside? I bet Granny Smith made some fresh lemonade." Said Applejack with a happy face.

"Sure, why not? Let me take my jacket." Said Sunset, she sticks the axe to the trunk, and then she crouches to pick up her jacket from the ground, she puts it on, but then, they're interrupted by an unexpected visit.

"Applejack, are you here?!!" Asked Rainbow Dash, followed along by Sunset and Twilight.

"There they are." Said Twilight while pointing at where AJ and the human Sunset are standing. The girls approach and then Applejack says.

"What's the matter Twilight? Did something bad happen?" Asked Applejack, confused of her friends' sudden visit.

"Not yet, but there's something we need to know." Said Sunset while approaching to her counterpart, they're standing one in front of the other, then Sunset asks. "Tell me Sunset, did you go to the cave?"

The human Sunset doesn't react by her counterpart's question, she remains serious, and replies with another question, "What if I did go there?"

"Please Sunset, if you have the stolen fragment of the crystal, hand it over, it will only cause more damage instead of helping you, no matter what purpose you have for them." Replied Sunset, she doesn't want to hurt her counterpart.

"What if I don't?" Asked the human Sunset with an agressive voice.

Rainbow Dash then uses her super speed to search the human Sunset for the stolen fragment, "Hey!" Said aloud the human Sunset while Rainbow Dash shows the girls, the geode she's been hiding.

Sunset can't believe it, that crystal, looks exactly like hers but she feels it overflowing with dark magic, in a brief moment, the human Sunset punches Rainbow on the face, forcing her to let go the dark crystal, then, the human Sunset takes it but she's brought to the ground by Twilight's power and Applejack took a lasso to tie her up, but the human Sunset manages to put on her necklace and the energy wave frees her from Twilight's grasp, while pushing everyone away.

A dark aura envelops the human Sunset and, the dark magic now flows through her, dyeing her hair black in the red sections and dark purple in the yellow sections of her hair, her jacket shows red stripes that create the shape of a skull on her back, her iris looses its green color to be replaced by a dark purple color, her forearms and legs got covered with armor created by the crystal's magic, the aura disipates revealing her transformation to the girls, who remain shocked for what they're seeing.

In a brief moment, the human Sunset thrusts herself at high speed and takes Twilight by the head and slams her to the ground, knocking her out of the fight. Then, Rainbow Dash uses her super speed to land a few blows, but the human Sunset blocks all of them while predicting Rainbow's erratic movement, with a swift poke, she stops Rainbow Dash, but the strength of the hit makes her spill some blood from her nose while falling to the ground.

"Enough of this!" Applejack said with anger while transforming, she throws a punch at the human Sunset, but she dodges it with ease and counters it with a storm of quick jabs and knocks her out with an uppercut.

"Sunset! Please STOP!!!" Said Sunset aloud with a restrained anger, but she wants to solve things peacefully, she said with the intention to make her counterpart to come to her senses. "You don't want to this, whatever Kylo Ren told you to do..."

"It's because of Kylo Ren that I was peaceful at the beginning, I could've finished you off SO damn easy!!! All I've ever wanted since that day at the school backyard, was to beat you, to make you pay for what you took from me!!" Said the human Sunset with a violent voice, interrupting her counterpart, who transforms into her Daydream form and said with a compassive voice.

"Sunset, I know that you're angry, and you think that crystal can help you achieve your revenge, but its dark magic will corrupt you, trust me, I know how it feels to..."

"Shut UP!!!" Said the human Sunset aloud with the same agressive voice as before, "There's nothing you have to say, that I want to hear!! Now, are you going to run away looking for help, or are you going to stand forth and face the consequences of your actions ONCE AND FOR ALL?!!!" Yelled the human Sunset towards her counterpart, who after giving an expression of lamentation, she's now determined to stop her counterpart's madness, both stand in front of each other, looking at each other with determination.

The light that ressembles the sun and can illuminate even the deepest of darkness, against the hatred that swallows even the brightest of lights with its darkness, their battle is inminent, what outcome would this battle bring?

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone, here's another chapter, which I think will be the cornerstone of this story, I'm very excited of how things are going, and I hope you also are. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

See you next time

Chapter 6: The Radiant Sun vs The Eclipsed Light

Chief and Galen come out of Flash's house, Chief is talking with someone through his communicator.

"Twilight, make yourself clear, what happened with the other Sunset?" Asked Chief while him and Galen head to the garage, then Twilight replies.

"Sunset's... fighting... please... help her." Said Twilight, she sounded like she was hurt, which made Chief worry even more, but before he was able to ask Twilight where's the fight, the call ended.

"Where do we start looking then?" Asked Galen while turning on the warthog.

"Cortana." Said Chief, she appears at his hand, then Chief tells her.

"Track down Twilight's location, maybe if we head there we'll find Sunset." Said Chief while picking up an assault rifle and attaching it to his back along his blades.

Once in the warthog and out of the garage, they were about to follow Twilight's location, but Galen tells Chief to look up to the sky. Two lights are seen clashing and falling at the same time, one is a golden light, while the other one is a purple light with black outlines.

"Forget those coordinates, we're following those lights!" Said Chief before going full throttle.

The lights in the sky were Sunset and her counterpart fighting, while also falling deep into the forest, both seem damaged, but the human Sunset seems to have the upper hand at melee combat. Before crashing into the forest, Sunset takes her counterpart by the head and smacks her into the ground, forming a crater, Sunset flies away to the air to take her distance, she's breathing heavily, but she can't give up. Suddenly, her human counterpart emerges from the crater with blood dripping from the left side of her forehead.

(use it as background music if you wish.)

"Y'know? You aren't that bad at fighting, after all." Said the human Sunset with an arrogant smile. "But now is my turn." added the human Sunset before using her power to jump, in a brief moment, she closes the distance between her and her counterpart, Sunset flew back because of that, but it was too late. The human Sunset punched her in the face and with a powerful blow, she brings her to the ground, creating another crater.

Sunset then stands up struggling, and from the dust cloud created by the impact, the human Sunset appears and lands multiple blows on her, then she grabs Sunset by the leg and throws her at the trees.

"You're weak!" Said the human Sunset while throwing her counterpart away, crashing with a tree, then Sunset was about to stand up, but is received by a kick on the face, making her spit out some blood from her mouth, and start bleeding from her right cheek. Her counterpart was about to grab her from her hair, but she shoots a beam that sends her flying away. Sunset takes this chance to fight back, she flies towards her counterpart and imbueds her fists with energy, she lands a few blows on her human counterpart, but then she grabs Sunset's fist, and says.

"Is this all you have?!!" Said the human Sunset arrogantly, then she lands consecutive blows with one hand, while grabbing Sunset's fist with the other hand. "You're insulting me by holding back, Sunset!!!" Said the human Sunset to her counterpart, who now takes it seriously and lands a heavy blow on her human counterpart. Then she charges up a much more powerful beam and shoots it at the human Sunset, sending her even deeper in the forest, crashing with a mountain.

The sound of the crash was heard throughout the forest, scaring the wildlife, but as the fight goes on, the blue sky is now covered with thick clouds.

Sunset approaches to her counterpart flying with a powered-up fist, the human Sunset sees that and charges up and shoots a beam just like Sunset did moments ago. Sunset does the same with her other hand, the beams clash and create an explosion that blinds both of them.

Both Sunsets are using the smoke of the explosion to hide from their enemy, however, this didn't last long because they both found each other at the same time, their fists clashed creating powerful shockwaves. Purple and golden lights are seen in the deep part of the forest, both of them are now heavily injured, bleeding due to their wounds. It's been a close fight, what Sunset lacks on melee combat, is compensated with magical power, and the opposite happens to the human Sunset.

"We have to stop this, one of us will end up dying!!" Said Sunset, she's still trying to make her counterpart come back to her senses.

"Stop pretending this can be fixed, Sunset, there's no way back!!!" Replied the human Sunset, she then creates multiple daggers and throws them at her counterpart, but Sunset manages to eliminate them with precision, but a sneaky dagger stabbed her on her right thigh. Sunset groans due to the pain, she takes the dagger off and says with anger, "I HATE these cheap tricks!!"

"It was a diversion, dumbass!!" Said an angered human Sunset, closing the distance between them, clashing with her counterpart, both start trading blows again, but Sunset can't keep up with her counterpart's speed and strength. The human Sunset lands a kick on Sunset's left side, managing to break her left ribs, making her scream of pain and losing the defensive.

Fortunately, Sunset moves away quickly, breathes heavily, checks her wound, it doesn't seem like anything fatal, she then cleans a blood stain from her mouth and with determination, charges up her fist with energy and charges forward. Her counterpart does the same, thinking she'll win the clash, but she wasn't fully aware of Sunset's power, and she ends up being overpowered by her, receiving the whole blow and being sent away to the forest, clashing with many trees, breaking them and receiving the damage.

The human Sunset now is the one breathing heavily and also with many bleeding wounds, that blow really was powerful, Sunset arrives flying but holding the left side of her torso, and tells her counterpart with small signs of anger.

"I don't want to hurt you, Sunset... but you're leaving me no other choice, surrender now, and you may still have a chance to make things right." The human Sunset looks at her counterpart, there's still a deepless hatred towards her equestrian counterpart, after cleaning some blood from her mouth, she says.

"Surrender? We are Sunsets, remember? Then you know I HATE LOOSING!!" Said the human Sunset while taking a downed tree and hitting Sunset with it. The sound of a lightning is heard at the distance, and as the rain started falling, the human Sunset jumps onto her counterpart inmobilizing her. she then takes position over her equestrian counterpart and starts punching her on the face.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time!!!" Said the human Sunset while still punching Daydream Shimmer, the blood spills all over the place, "You... won't... take it... away from ME!!!" The human Sunset landed even heavier punches, then she stops suddenly, she ends her rampage and sees Sunset's beaten up, bleeding from her forehead, cheeks, mouth, and nose while also both are covered in mud. Sunset then turns back to her normal form and says.

"I'm... sorry... Sunset, I... won't... ever... forgive myself... for... what... I did" Said Sunset with sorrow, she can't fight any longer and tears fall from her eyes.

The human Sunset remains in shock, breathing heavily as she sees her fists covered in blood with bewilderment, she can't believe it, she's never done this kind of damage to anyone before, except for someone in her past. Her mind sends her back to taht cold night, the breeze blows with strength through the dark trees, the glowing lightings of a strange blade illuminates her face as a wounded girl lies before her. "NO, NO, NO, NOT THIS!" Shouted the Human Sunset, returning to reality as she hears within her head."Kill her... Kill her... Kill her..." Those words resound in her head, but they don't come from her consciousness, they come from the crystal. Then she creates a small blade and aims it to Sunset's chest. A part of her doesn't want to do it, but this desire... it can't be stopped, the blade moves slowly as the human Sunset tries to stop herself. Before stabbing her, she sees double blades with red lightnings around it and two blue lightsabers out of the corner of her eyes approaching her head. She jumps to avoid them, failing the killing attempt, once she lands, she turns around and sees the owners of those weapons.

Galen and Chief arrived, "You're faster than me, take Sunset back to the Infinity." Said Chief while assuming a battle stance, Galen takes Sunset, but she says. "Chief...*cough* please... don't *cough* hurt her... too... much *cough cough*"

"I can't completely promise you that." Said Chief, Galen and Sunset leave, and Chief now talks to the human Sunset.

"This doesn't have to end like this, Sunset." Said Chief, trying to be reasonable.

"The Master Chief himself, finally I have the chance to meet you." Replied the human Sunset, she then takes the initiative, throwing a storm of flurry attacks, her fists clash with Chief's blades. He only defends himself, but in a brief chance where Sunset is opened, Chief lands a punch on her stomach, making her spit out blood and falling to her knees.

"You're too wounded, if you want to keep fighting, you won't survive." Said Chief with a deep voice, Sunset only looks at Chief, and laughs while saying.

"Hahaha! Now THAT's *cough* a good hit." Sunset stands up and says. "But I won't let this chance slip away from ME!!!" Said Sunset, then, her sclera turns pitch black, and her eyes start overflowing with dark magic. In a brief moment, although being hurt, she moves like nothing and approaches Chief at high speed, and lands a clean hit on Chief's torso, sending him away deep into the forest, crashing with many trees and finally crashing against a rock.

"Chief, she's on a whole other level now." Said Cortana after the impact.

"I've noticed..." Chief then stands and activates the runes of his blades, imbuing them with the demonic energy, and red lightnings start flowing around the blades. "...Let's take this seriously then." Then Chief moves at a high speed thanks to the power of his blades, Sunset notices him and throws a punch, clashing with Chief's charge attack. Then both start trading blows, they seem to be at the same level of speed and strength, but Chief swings his blades, Sunset barely dodges it, but received a cut on her right cheek, after this, Sunset becomes angrier and keeps fighting, although she's now fighting without a proper technique.

Chief's now able to handle Sunset properly, since she's led only by anger now, but he still doesn't take the offensive, only attacks occasionally, but most of the time he's having the defensive. Sunset then suddenly stops, her body aches as hell, she feels like her muscles are about to explode, Chief also stops fighting.

"This power of yours is now passing you bill, you have to stop using it!!" Said Chief, he wants to help her, but Sunset makes an effort and manages to take a device from her jacket, and presses a button, then she's teleported to somewhere else.

"She's... gone." Said Cortana, Chief sheathes his blades and runs towards the warthog, an incoming transmission appears on the warthogs communicator, Chief takes the call.

"Chief?! Where are you? Is Sunset alright?" Asks Flash, he's worried about the situation.

"I'm in the forest, I'm heading towards Twilight's coordinates, Sunset was taken to the Infinity by Galen, where are you?" Replied Chief while turning on the warthog.

"I'm at Sweet Apple Acres with Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, they are fine but what happened to Sunset?" Said Flash with a worried voice.

"She's heavily injured because of her fight with her counterpart, go to the Infinity, I'll meet you there." Chief shuts the call and starts driving.

Now at the Infinity, Chief meets with Flash, Galen and the girls at the waiting room, it seemed they all gathered up there.

"How is she?" Asks Chief, he looks at Flash who seems to be the most worried about Sunset, he looks through the window, staring at the infirmary.

Sunset lies on the bed, along many doctors around her, including Dr. Ziegler, they're examiniting the damage caused to her by her counterpart.

Flash's truly worried, he looks at Chief with a sad face and says. "She arrived with multiple injuries, broken ribs, bruises, and... *sigh* John, if I were there, this wouldn't have happened, I don't know if..." Chief takes Flash shoulder to calm him down, he gives a fatherly vibe towards him, then he says. "She'll be fine, although I don't know her as much as you do, I'm certain she has one of the strongest wills I've seen." Chief then looks at the girls and says, "Don't worry girls, Dr. Ziegler is there helping Sunset, I've seen her saving people from much worse situations, trust me when I say, she truly does miracles."

Time goes by, and after few hours, Dr. Ziegler comes out of the room.

"Doctor, how is Sunset?" Asks Chief.

"Well John, despite the multiple wounds, she responded positively to the medical treatment, her wounds are healed and so are her broken bones, the only problem would be that she'll feel general pain, but nothing pills can't treat, if she takes them periodically, the pain will disappear in week in the worst of cases, but in general, she'll be in perfect conditions in no time." Said Dr. Ziegler, suddenly Flash hugs her and says.

"Thank you so much Dr. Ziegler, you really are the best." Angela smiles and says. "Danke Flash, but I'm doing my job..." Then she looks at everyone and says, "...you can come in already, but please, be gentle with the patient, she might feel a bit sensitive."

Then, everyone gets in the room to check on Sunset, except for Galen and Chief, Dr. Ziegler then asks Chief with a low voice.

"John, what happened to that girl? Those injuries were really severe." Chief then looks at Sunset, turns back to Dr. Ziegler and replies.

"I don't know much details, the only thing I'm aware is that she fought against her..." Chief was about to finish his sentene but is then interrupted by the arrival of Tesla, with a datapad and exclaiming.

"May someone explain why we almost loose a whole timeline in the last 8 hours?" Everyone seems confused about that, Galen then asks.

"What do you mean with that?" Tesla then shows him and John the datapad, showing readings of the stability of the timeline of the CHS world, erratic spikes were present during the time Sunset and her counterpart were spending time together, and the spikes ceased within the hours when Sunset and her counterpart fought.

"If the events that provoked the metrics going haywire continued, we would've had a big problem." Said Tesla, Chief then asks him, intrigued by Tesla's statement.

"What kind of problem, Tesla?" Then Tesla takes his datapad and starts a simulation and says, "Well, probably time and space would've been smashed and merged, erradicating a continuity anomaly. This kinds of things happen because of two possible things, there are two versions of one same being existing at the same place and time, or someone is screwing with time travel. And Chief, we both know that the second option is yet to be discovered."

Galen remembers the readings and he recalls the fact that the anomaly ceased, "Then why it ceased?" Asks Galen, Tesla then takes his datapad and writes on it while saying. "If we keep the existence of two same beings at the same moment in space and time as the cause of it, then the readings stabilized because one of them stopped existing, or were no longer that person, which is complicated to explain, but not impossible."

Then everyone remains silent, but Tesla breaks the silence with a question. "Do you know who or what caused it?" Chief looks at Sunset, then he turns back and says, "I think I know, but I don't know why those spikes ceased." Then, Chief and Galen into the medical room, Sunset has bandages on her arms and forehead, she sees Chief and says.

"Chief...thanks for... saving me back there. I fought as I could, but it wasn't enough." Said Sunset, she stills feels bad for not being able to help her counterpart.

"Don't feel bad about it, but if we arrived seconds later, you would've died." Replied Chief, the girls are in shock, "Sunset... almost died?" that's what they thought, Sunset then says with regret.

"I know, you told me to make the right decision, I knew what I had to do, but I couldn't do it, I hurt her so much in the past that... I couln't take the shot, and now she teamed up with Kylo Ren and got dark magical powers...."

"Wait..." Chief Interrupted her and said, "...what do you mean with that?" Twilight then replies Chief's question. "She was the one to steal that fragment from the crystal you showed us, but about her alliance with Kylo Ren, that's still unsure to us."

"No it isn't, Twilight..." Replied Sunset, "...Chief said that probably Kylo Ren was here, what if he found her and lured her into teaming up with him? This is all my fault, I spent so much time fixing my other mistakes instead of focusing on helping her, now it's too late." Said Sunset with a sad voice.

"Maybe it isn't, Sunset." Said Galen, trying to cheer up Sunset, but she seems more confused than anything. "What... do you mean?" Asks Sunset.

"Y'know, this magic and the Force are quite alike, I've felt it and, if my assumption is correct, she'll stop being evil if we manage to destroy the necklace or if her soul is redeemed. But both options seem to be extremely difficult to achieve, but yet not impossible." Replied Galen, a spark of hope is illuminated within her, not everything seems lost.

"Hold on..." Said Chief, "...the stolen fragment, it was big enough to... if the other Sunset has a necklace then it means that... Dammit!!" Said Chief slightly angered, but no one understood what he meant, so Applejack asked.

"Ehm, Chief... what do you mean?" Chief looks at them and replies with a worried voice.

"That fragment had the size to create more that one necklace like yours, if the other Sunset has one, then it's highly probable that now Kylo and Starkiller have one."

"Now that's... a big problem." Said Pinkie Pie, she didn't witness the power of dark magic, but only looking at the damage it caused to her friend was enough to make her realize the threat it is that now there's three people with that kind of power.

"It is indeed, but we can focus on it later, for the moment, go home and get some rest, Chief and I will make sure neither the other Sunset nor Kylo and Starkiller are in your world." Replied Galen, although the situation calmed, Chief remains worried but in silent, what kind of dangers would bring this event. The only certain thing, is that everything will go from bad to worse if nothing is done about it, and he won't let anyone else in such a danger, not again.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! I know this chapter is shorter than usual, but the fight of Sunset and her counterpart was something I wanted to write separately from the main narrative, I hope you like it and see ya' next chapter.

Chapter 7: The Eagle and The Shield

A day passed since Sunset's battle, now at the same forest where the battle occurred, Chief and Flash are patrolling, but they stop at a pond nearby.

"Chief, we've been walking for quite the time already and found nothing, can we please return home? School starts tomorrow." Said Flash, he seems tired of walking through a deep forest for quite a while.

"Then we better finish our patrolling route as soon as possible, don't you think?" Asked Chief, who unlike Flash, is not even exhausted due to the walking.

Flash puts on the ground a bag he has been carrying, he opens it and takes:

An exoskeleton that he wears on.

A katana which's design was made according to someone Chief met, but is made from an alloy of different special metals. He attaches it to the left side of his waist.

An energy pistol he holsters it on the right side of his waist.

Along some armored bracers and a chestplate, he finishes suiting up, and Chief asks.

"Why did you suit up until now?" Asked Chief, while he takes the anomaly tracker Tesla made and checks it to see if there is any unusual readings.

"Because the bag was too heavy, I rather wear my equipment than carrying it. C'mon, let's get this over with." Replies Flash while taking the empty bag on his back and then both resume their patrolling.

Amidst the silence and the forest ambiance, Chief asks.

"So...Flash, can I ask you something?" Said Chief with a much friendlier voice.

"Huh...? Sure, why not." Replied Flash, he seems shocked because of Chief being this... normal.

"What's your relationship with Sunset?" Asked Chief, his voice didn't flinch to ask that, but that really caught Flash off guard.

"Well...we're... how can I say it... why the question though?" Flash seems nervous due to the question, fortunately for him, Chief replied.

"I saw how were you reacting back at the infinity, you were worried about Sunset's welfare, but not at the level of a close friend nor a relative, that's why I ask." Flash calms a bit, then he takes enough courage to properly reply to Chief's question.

"We're close, maybe you can say as a... couple. And yes, we've been dating if you want to call it that way. Plus the fact we've had moments where our feelings were corresponded to each other, but she's more reserved to these kinds of things, and also including the fact that we haven't said the phrase yet." Chief then replies.

"What phrase?" He seems to genuinely be unaware of what Flash is meaning. "Y'know... the one that goes with..." Flash makes a long pause, then Chief asks. "I... love you? Is that the phrase?"

"Yeah! That one! But is something that you don't simply say like that, it has to come straight out of the heart." Replied Flash, she seems a bit nervous though.

"The why haven't you said it, you lover her, don't you?" Asks Chief, he's trying to understand the situation.

"That's...! True... But as I said, you have to wait for the right moment, it has to be special, y'know?" Said Flash, who feels like he's having the first normal conversation with Chief since they meet.

"You shouldn't wait for too long, when you think that moment arrived, it'll be too late." Replied Chief, he seems to know what that feeling's like.

"Whoa! You're giving me love lessons, Chief?" Asks Flash with a surprised voice, this is a topic he would've never expected to talk about with Chief.

"I'm just saying kid, anyway..." Chief then hits Flash on his shoulder in a friendly way, "...Don't mess it up, you won the lottery with her." Said Chief, Flash then turns aside and with a smile on his face, he says, "Yeah, I know..." Then, a strange sound is heard near them, both Chief and Flash take defensive positions, Flash unsheathes his blade and Chief aims his assault rifle.

Then, from the woods, strange figures emerge, they have humanoid anatomy, while also carrying ice weapons, and their skin is blue as the cold winter.

"Hel-Walkers." Said Chief while changing his fire weapon for his blades, the fight starts, Flash and Chief manage to take them down easily due to the Hel-Walker's lack of fighting skill, but then appears a much bigger Hel-Walker carrying a mace. In a brief moment, he strikes his mace on the ground, creating a barrage of ice spikes, which pushed Chief away. Flash then uses the spikes to approach the enemy, once he's in the air, he raises his blade and says.

"Flame Breathing technique, Third Form: Blazing Universe!!" Then Flash swings his blade downwards, creating a fire trail and slashing the Hel-Walker, teh strength of the the attack was such that split the Hel-Walker's torso in two. After landing, Flash sees the enemy falling to the ground, he managed to kill it, then he exhales while sheathing his blade and the corpse of the enemy fades away.

"That was the last one. Chief, where does these things come from?" Asks Flash, confused because he's never seen a creature like these before.

Chief stands up, attaches his blades on his back and replies. "They come from the netherworld of another universe, we must go there and check what's happening, an anomaly like this one can't be let loose, we have to fix it."

"Hold on... We're going to another universe?! What about school?"Asks Flash, he can't believe what Chief's insinuating.

"Relax Flash, time moves will move differently, a day there would be an hour here, so when we return here, not half a day would have even passed." Replied Chief, he's taken a device from his waist, is like a portal device Starkiller used time ago, but this one has more buttons, after a short waiting, Chief manages to open a portal.

"C'mon, let's go." Said Chief while standing next to the portal. Flash makes a face of resignation and goes through it and Chief follows him.

Once through, both arrive to what it seems like a forest, but is covered in snow, and the wind blows cold.

"C-C-Chief, w-why is so cold here?" Asked Flash while slightly shivering, then he uses a breathing technique to keep himself warm.

"It's called Midgard, the land of mortals, we're here because we need to find someone that can help us finding out the Hel-Wakers' issue." Said Chief, both start walking through the forest, but amidst the silence, Flash asks.

"What if more Hel-Walkers appear back into our world? Who's gonna deal with them?" He seems concerned about leaving his world unprotected, but Cortana gladly replies his questions.

"Don't worry Flash, I've already told the Blue Team about the situation, they'll be watching over your world." Flash seems a bit less worried but yet, this is of his few times where he wandered in another universe, so he's still nervous about what could happen.

As the duo keeps moving, a snow storm catches them, blinding their sight. They managed to keep moving forward, but suddenly, a frozen axe stuck in a rock, right in front of Flash's face, he looks the axe's frozen edges and sees what appear to be runes carved in it. Then the axe flies backwards to where it came from. Chief noticed it and takes his blades, a cloaked figure approaches them quickly wielding the axe, both Chief and the stranger clash their weapons. The ice of the axe and the demonic energy of Chief's blades create a shockwave that clears the snowstorm, revealing the stranger's identity.

"John?!" Asks the man, surprised to see Master Chief.

"Kratos, is nice seeing you're doing fine." Replied Chief, then both put their weapons down, Kratos then says.

"Sorry for my behavior..." Said Kratos while looking at Flash, "...I confused you with those other outlanders due to the snow storm." Added Kratos, Chief then recalls the word other outlanders, he couldn't help but to ask.

"Other outlanders? Who's been here before us?" Asks Chief, expecting the worse.

"A group of soldiers, their armors were white as snow, but they were led by a man wearing a black armor, they tried to inspect a rift that appeared time ago here in Midgard. I don't know what it does, but as you said the last time you were here, it's better not to touch them, that's why I've been keeping them away from the rift." Replied Kratos while attaching his axe to his back.

Chief's suspicions were true, Kylo or Starkiller are here to take control of an anomaly, but the question now is. Why they haven't been able to detect the anomaly if it appeared time ago? The answer of this question can be found later, for the moment, they have to stop whatever The First Order's doing in this world.

"Ok, so we eliminate the First Order forces in this world and we head to the anomaly to try and fix it, everyone agrees?" Asks Flash as an overview of what Kratos said and what's obvious to do in these cases.

"Hold on, kid. We still don't know if their leader is still here, and if so, would you attack directly Starkiller or Kylo Ren, even though we already know that they have new dark magical powers?" Replies Chief, this situation has to be dealt with cautiosness, one mistake can jeopardize this world. Chief then looks at Kratos and says. "Kratos, is there a place where we can discuss the situation?"

"Follow me." Replied Kratos with a deep voice. Then, the group starts walking, everyone remained serious, but fortunately, Chief broke the silence with a question.

"Where's Atreus? The last time I saw him, he was a little boy." Asked Chief, but Flash doesn't know who's talking about, his face reveals it.

"He... left... to walk down his own path, that was 2 years ago." Replied Kratos, his face shows no emotion, but in his voice, he misses that person.

Flash couldn't keep the doubt any longer, so he asked in the most polite way possible. "Please excuse my ignorance but, who's this Atreus you're talking about?"

"It's my son." Replied Kratos with a serious voice, the silence became prominent again as the group kept walking, not long after, they finally arrive to their destination.

"We're here." Says Kratos while the group approaches the door.

Once inside the cabin, Flash takes a quick look around and sees damaged pieces of stormtrooper armor covered in blood, he then asks.

"Why there's stormtrooper armor here?" Chief then also looks at it, chestpaltes, helmets, bracers, the whole set, but as they looked at the armor, Kratos replied.

"I wanted to understand the enemy, their armor was nothing I've seen before, but nothing an axe can't cut, theri weapons on the other hand, are the true danger, I've seen how the projectiles they shoot burn the area where they impact, although I have a shield to protect myself, direct confrontation is not an option." Said Kratos while taking the armor pieces and taking a look at them.

"Kratos, where is the rift located?" Asked Chief, he's more concerned in dealing with the anomaly than with The First Order.

"It appeared far from here, passing the Lake of Nine, deep into the Well of Urd, we can arrive there before night comes if we leave now." Replied Kratos while heading to a chest in the room, he opens it and takes his weapons.

Two blades bond to his forearms by chains, they seem affected by rust, but also look pretty sharp.

A ring that turns into a spear and it's able to create infinite copies of itself.

Now ready to leave, Kratos says. "The enemy will be there, so we better be cautious." The group was heading to the door to exit the cabin, but they're stopped due to strange person coming in.

"Kratos, the enemy has sorrounded the..." The woman sees Flash and Chief, confusing them with enemies, she raises her blade, Chief aims his handgun and Flash was about to unsheath his blade, but Kratos stops everyone by saying.

"No!..." Said Kratos aloud, he then looks at the woman and says, "...Freya, they're allies, I met them time ago, they're here to stop the rift." And as the woman heard those words, she put her sword down slowly, so did Chief, and Flash released the grip of his blade.

Freya didn't sheathed his sword, she finds it hard to trust such unknown individuals. "Kratos trusts you, the righteous thing is that I also do, but I prefer be cautious, hope it doesn't offend you." Said Freya.

"Not all..." Says Chief, Kratos introduces her to the group, "She's Freya, a friend of mine, she's been helping me to deal with these outlanders you've been talking about." Chief then says, "...Anyway, Freya... you were saying something before, mind to tell us what was it?" Asks Chief.

"I was about to say the enemy... the outlanders, were sorrounding the Well of Urd, they're now creating a perimeter around it." Replied Freya, then, another voice said. "...Indeed brother, so if we wanna stop them, we better hurry up before they twist with that stupid rift." Flash can't find who said that, confusion invades his mind, fortunately, Chief knew who said that.

"Mimir? Is that you?" Asks Chief, then Freya lifts a head that was hanging from the back of her waist.

"The one and only brother, it's been 5 long years since I saw you." Replies Mimir, he seems content to meet Chief again, in some sort of way.

"Ok, how is that head... alive?" Asks Flash, astonished for what he's seeing. "Short answer, magic." Replies Chief, now that everyone is grouped up, Chief takes the lead and says, "Let's go."

The journey was rough, but the group managed to get to the Lake of Nine safely, the group sees activity ahed of them and moves cautiously.

The group hides behind rocks, there's a First Order Patrol ahead, Chief then proceeds with a plan. "Listen everyone, I'll create a smoke screen, they won't see where do we come from, Kratos... you and I are the vandguard, Freya will support with suppressive fire from behind and Flash will finish off the remaining troopers, understood?" Asks Chief, everyone agrees and the assault begins.

Chief throws a smoke grenade, blinding the troopers, then an arrow pierces through the smoke and the commander's armor, bringing him down, then, Kratos and Chief come out of the smoke charging against the troopers, Chief uses his assault rifle killing a couple of troopers, Kratos throws his axe, hitting a stormtrooper and with his blades, he pulls himself towards the enemies, forcing them to break formation, but Freya's arrows start reaching them, and those who escaped are hit by Flash's energy gun, but one of stormtroopers manages to escape, reaching a snowspeeder.

Before the trooper manages to leave, the speeder is hit by Kratos' blades, anchoring it and stopping it from leaving, then Chief jumps on the speeder and throws the trooper off it, Flash stops him by using the edge of his blade to intimidate him, and as the trooper is the only remaining survivor, he can't do anything but obey.

"What does the First Order want with the rift?" Asks Chief while grabbing the stormtrooper, "I won't tell you, rebel scum..." Chief then puts the cannon of his handgun below the chin of the stormtrooper. "Are you so eager to die?" Asked Chief while slowly pulling the trigger, but not firing his weapon, the trooper sucumbs to despair and reveals his mission.

"F-Fine, you win. The rift is not like any anomaly we've seen before, this one leads to somewhere we don't know yet, but when you arrive, it'll be already too late." Chief then takes his gun off the trooper's chin and holsters it, "We'll see about that." Said Chief, but before the trooper thought he saved his life, Chief's knife pierces through his armor, making him bleed, the trooper falls to the ground and tries to use his bracer's communicator, but Chief destroys it by stomping on it, then on a mercyless move, Chief shoots at the trooper's head, killing him instantly.

"We better keep moving." Said Chief, Freya and Kratos follow him indifferently, but Flash stays in shock for what he saw, "Flash, move!" Said Chief aloud, then Flash comes back to his senses and rejoins with the group.

Now the group finally arrived at the path to the Well of Urd. It seems to be clear from the First Order's influence.

"We have to climb, but we have to be quiet, we don't want them to be alerted of our presence." Said Chief, everyone starts climbing using the rocks, they reached the entrance to the cave, but it seems a mining operation took place there, due to the cave's depth that increased. In the lower part of of the cave, the rift lies at the middle of it, sorrounded by many equipment and stormtroopers around it.

"This is our chance, move!" Said Chief while dropping into the cave, the group followed him and with ease, finished the stormtroopers, Chief took a device from a computer they had and brings it in front of the rift.

"What's that?" Asks Freya after looking at the device. Chief activates it and says. "Short story, it'll contain the anomaly completely, but as I see it, it'll take some time.

Chief activates the device, but the rift responds violently and opens itself, creating a portal from what was a rift.

"Why did it open?" Asks Kratos, nervous of what he's seeing. "It's resisting, but it won't be able to do it for much longer." Said Chief, the portal seemed to be almost contained inside the device, but suddenly, lightning strikes hit Chief, bringing him to the ground, stopping the process.

The group turns around and sees Starkiller alone, but with a necklace similar to the human Sunset's, he then charges up dark energy with his other hand and creates a shockwave sending everyone away, but Flash was the one absorded by the portal, which nows closes the gate but doesn't dissapear.

"Bastard, where did you send him?!" Asks an angered Chief, he stands up and takes his blades, while Kratos takes his axe and Freya her sword.

"Anywhere but here, if he runs with luck, he'd probably die from any mysterious threat that lies through that portal." Said Starkiller and raises his hand, chanelling dark magic from the necklace, the group tried to stop him but he freezes them with The Force, he gives an arrogant smile and says.

"This dark magic works just like the Dark Side, but it has more benefits, such as... mind control." Starkiller closes his fist and a group of enemies appeared, from Hel-Walkers,

Ogres.

And Nightmares. All of these creatures were being manipulated by dark magic.

"This is not going to end good, brothers." Said Mimir, hanging from Kratos's belt. "Not for them." Said Kratos, then the fight begins, Starkiller didn't involve in the fight, he let his minions do the hard work, he seems to be testing the result of controlling other creatures' mind.

Meanwhile, Flash was lying on the floor of was it appeared, an invisible platform, he then looks around and sees himself sorrounded by the cosmos.

"What is this place?" Asks Flash aloud, he's astonished by the place he's standing right now.

After a while, the image he sees as the background, starts approaching him at a alarming speed, before he realized, he was already inside the nebula, a blinding light is sorrounding Flash, he puts his hand to block it, but an unknown voice whispers him.

"Look... you have to look... don't resist it... embrace... the light." Said the voice, Flash couldn't do anything but to give a blind shot at it, he takes his hand off his face, he witnesses the light and this one consumes him as he saw many events, from the past, the present and the future, when he thought that his existence's gone, he suddenly appears back at the cave, he looks back and sees the portal closing and dissappearing from existence. Flash stands up and sees many corpses of the creautes lying around, there's blood everywhere. Flash unsheathes his sword and moves through the piles of corpses, he manages to leave the cave and sees even more corpses indicating a path to the Lake of Nine, Flash follows it and sees Chief, Kratos and Freya fighting Starkiller, all of them seem wounded and covered in blood, which explains what happened to the creatures back at the cave.

Kratos throws his axe with strength at Starkiller, but he stops it with the Force and pushes it back to Kratos, but he dodges it and throws his blades to the ground below Starkiller and thrusting himself, charging against Starkiller and hitting him with a shoulder bash. Starkiller is thrown away due to the attack, he recovers quickly though. Freya starts shooting multiple arrows but starkiller uses his necklace to create a shield, stopping the arrows from hitting him. Chief approaches from his blind spot, but he manages to counter Chief by using his lightsaber, he uses the Force to push Chief away and gather dark magic with his other hand and puts his palm on the ground, the dark energy flows through the ice, everyone's now inside the area of effect, the shockwave created pushes everyone upwards.

Kratos takes this chance to throw a spear at Starkiller, he misses but Kratos manages to detonate it, pushing Starkiller away, he recovers quickly and uses the Force to pull Freya towards him, she's lying beneath Starkiller and he creates a dark blade with his necklace's power, before he's able to land the blow, Flash appears from the corner of his eye, Starkiller stops the attack and tries to block it.

"(Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!)" Said Flash in his mind while swinging his blade, creating a fire trail and aiming to behead Starkiller, but he manages to block Flash's hit, although he's pushed away due to the attack's power. Flash helps Freya stand, Kratos and Chief stand up, sorrounding Starkiller. Chief sees Flash surprised and relieved, but he can't help but to ask.

"Flash?! How did...?" Flash then interrupts him, "Short story, the anomaly's gone for good, let's finish this already." Said Flash aloud, Starkiller stand up and says.

"So... the anomaly didn't kill you..." Starkiller then leaps at him with a overwhelming speed, raising his lightsaber and his dark sword. "But now you DIE!" Said Starkiller before swinging his blades downwards, fortunately, Flash was fast enough to pull out another technique, but he had to pull the trigger of his blade's scabbard, giving it more speed and strength.

"...Rising Scorching Sun!" Said Flash while unleashing an upward slash, creating a fire trail that takes an arc shape, ressembling that one of a sun. Unfortunately, the attack didn't land on Starkiller, but saved Flash from his attack, forcing Starkiller to leap backwards as to avoid any other surprise attack. Then, the group attack simultaneously, overwhelming Starkiller, who manages to block and counter the incoming attacks, he uses dual blades to keep up the fight, combining them with Force lightnings and pushes, he manages to even the battlefield.

Starkiller managed to push everyone away, he the uses the Force to shatter the ice beneath them, and creates many icicles from that move, he then lifts them with the Force and throws them at the group at a high speed. Freya stands behind Kratos, who pulls out his shield and blocks the icicles, Flash stands behindChief, who does multiple slashes in a large area with his blades to break the icicles mid way, but both their efforts aren't enough. Flash then takes the initiative, charges forward and with his sword technique, he uses a defensive skill to push towards Starkiller.

"Flame Breathing technique, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Ondulation!" Said Flash while moving forward, spinning his blade in circular motion at rapid speeds, deflecting and breaking the icicles, this creates an opportunity to take Starkiller down, the group charges along with Flash, who starts clashing blades with Starkiller.

Their sword skill seems to be at the same level, but as their blades clashed, Starkiller punches Flash, "Ouch! You son of a.... that's fighting dirty." Said Flash drawing his gun and shooting multiple energy shots, Freya joins him, shooting multiple arrows, forcing Starkiller to fall back while blocking their attacks. Kratos and Chief approach him, the use of multiple weapons makes it almost impossible for Starkiller to block all of the attacks, then he decides to push everyone away with a Force repulse, he then manages to use the teleportation device just as the human Sunset did, escaping from the group.

"Slippery bastard." Said an angered Freya, after all they've fought, he managed to get away. "The rift was closed and they didn't manage to use it, that's what matters." Replied Kratos while sheathing his weapons, Chief approaches them and says. "At least Flash managed to close the rift, but how?" Said Chief intrigued by how exactly did Flash manage to get out of the portal. The group looks at Flash also with the same question in mind.

"Ok, so... when I cross the portal, I appeared at a... cosmic... plain. There was a nebula thousands of miles away, but after a bit, the nebula approached me at a extremely high speed and, when I was inside the nebula a blinding light came from the center of it, and it told me to look a it, and I did. But all I could see were visions multiple events from the past, things that were happening and weird visions of things that'll happen." Said Flash, remebering what happened and also confused about what he saw in those visions.

"How do you know that?" Asks Chief, he's surprised of what Flash's saying, he can't believe it, so he has to make sure what Flash's saying is true.

"Well... I saw the Infinity arriving at an enormous ring, I know is from the past because you told me the last time you went there was years ago. But I also heard sounds of a battle taking place there." Said Flash, Chief hears that and adds. "It was Zeta Halo and, you're right, the last time I went there was years ago, a year later we had our first interaction with people from another universe, anyway... what else did you see?" Said Chief, Flash's vision is right, for the moment.

"I saw my mother doing some paperwork at her office, and I know it's from today because she was wearing the same clothes with which she left home today. And I heard a strange melody playing in the background." Said Flash, Chief tries to understand. "(What's the relation between Zeta Halo and Flash's Mother?" But no matter how much times he thinks of it, there's no sense.

"Hmmm.... ok... what else did you see there?" Asks Chief, "(we have a vision from the past, one from the present and the remaining one has to be from the future.)" That's Chief's conclusion.

"I saw... a corpse... it was someone dead... covered in blood, with... multiple wounds... but I couldn't recognize the body. And I heard...people... mourning... crying that person's death in the background." Said Flash, he seems confused for what he saw, why would these visions showed that to him?

"We have to investigate the reason behind these visions." Chief then turns at Kratos and Freya, and says. "Kratos, Freya, Mimir, we have to leave, but have this..." Chief then lends them a device. "Whenever you need me, press the button and that device will let me know." Chief then extends his arm to greet Kratos, he replies the gesture by grabbing Chief's arm

"Thanks John, also, if you ever need it, we'll be glad to help you." Replies Kratos, then, Chief uses the portal device to create a gate back to the CHS world, once the portal opens, both cross the portal, arriving at the same spot where they left.

"What now?" Asks Flash, he seems worried and confused at the same time. "We have to split up, I'll go to the Infinity and report this to Captain Lasky, although there's a high chance we leave to Zeta Halo, that vision of yours wasn't a mere coincidence, I'm sure of it. You on the other hand, go and check on your mother, if there's a problem, please let me know." Said Chief, while preparing another portal to the Infinity, Chief leaves without even saying goodbye, he seemed worried though. Flash then starts heading home.

Once there, Flash changes his clothes quickly, and hides his equipment, so no one suspects of the situation, but then the beep of a car can be heard outside of the house, it's his mother. Flash then panicks and tries to clean his scratches and wound from the battle with Starkiller, but they just won't go off.

It's too late, the main door opens and an adult woman carrying a bag comes in, she's wearing a brown coat with blue jeans, her long blue hair stands out, no wonder where Flash's hair color came from. The woman closes the door behind her and puts her keys on a table next to her. "Flash, I'm home!" Said the woman with a happy voice.

"Ok mom! Give me... a... second... please!" Replied Flash, he's struggling to take off a wound from the icicles, but his mother wasn't aware of that, so she is confused by her son's voice. "Sweetie, is everything alright?" Asks his mother, Flash then gives up and comes out from the bathroom upstairs, he goes downstairs, his mother sees the wound and quickly says. "Flash!" The woman approaches his son and checks him. "It's no big deal mom, how was job today?" Asks Flash, trying to avoid the topic of his wound.

"Don't try to change the conversation topic, Flash. What caused you this wound, let me guess. You got wounded in one of John's high risky missions, right? He's not gonna escape this one, no sir!" Said Flash's mom, she seems to be a bit angry, although she knows is not such big of a deal.

"Mom, I'll explain you later, but please tell me, are you ok? Nothing bad happened while I was gone?" Asks Flash worried, his mother sees that and with an affectionate smile she says. "I'm fine honey, why wouldn't I? Actually, what stung you that made you this paranoic?" Flash exhales with relief, looks at his mother's eyes and says. "Chief told me to check on you, he had a bad feeling about something."

"Haha, Flash, it's John who we're talking about, whatever that problem is, he'd solve it even before we realize the was a problem in the first place." Replied his mother, she's confident of Chief's capabilities, after all, she hasn't found a single reason to not completely trust him.

"Yeah, you're right, so... what about we sit on the couch and we have a chat? There are a few... things that I can't handle completely, so I would appreciate if you can give me your advice." Flash said, and then, both go to the living room and start talking about everyday stuff.

Meanwhile, at the First Order Star Destroyer.

Kylo Ren stands at the bridge, he seems to be thinking of something, then, the human Sunset comes in and asks him.

"Hey Kylo! What happened?" Asks the human Sunset, she's wearing a few bandages due to her wound of the fight she had with her counterpart, Kylo then turns around and says.

"Starkiller returned from his mission, which was... unsuccesful, but we can discuss that later, for now, there's one thing I've been thinking." Said Kylo, he seems more serious than usual.

"What is it? Did you find something important?" Asks the human Sunset with a jaded voice, she feels frustrated for not being able to finish her counterpart when she had the chance.

"Is about what you're feeling..." Said Kylo, Sunset changes her expression to doubt, it appears Kylo knows what's troubling Sunset, he then continues. "I can feel it, that... frustration you emanate, you couldn't finish your counterpart but... why?" Asks Kylo, Sunset replies with a slightly angered voice.

"I don't know! I had the upper hand, but then I saw her...I saw... myself? *tch* I can't understand it, it was a strange feeling, like... like I was stopping myself from doing it. She apologized but... it felt so... real... I felt pity of her and then... I couldn't kill her."

"I see..." Said Kylo with a reflective voice. "...Then it's time to do this." Kylo then ignites his lightsaber, Sunset steps back, she doesn't know what Kylo's up to, so she asks.

"Time, for what exactly?" Kylo then replies, "Time for you to reborn. Please, if you can step a bit closer, I promise it won't hurt you." Sunset accepts but moves forward cautiously to prevent any possible outcome. She's standing right in fronf of Kylo Ren, who now raises his light saber and says.

"The person once was Sunset Shimmer, has died by the flames of her rage, and now from her ashes, led by the determination to seek retribution, and the hate that'll fuel her crusade..." Said Kylo, who knows leans the blade on Sunset's shoulders without touching them, raises his blade again and says.

"Rises, Eclipsed Sunlight..." Kylo turns off his lightsaber and puts his hand on Sunset's shoulder, the dark magic from his necklace flows through her and changes the skull shape of her back to Sunset's sun but the yellow sections are replaced with a dark purple color, and the center is covered by darkness, creating an eclipse. "...Head of the Ren Knights, they'll now serve you to achieve the revenge you innerly desire, and so will I, together... we're going to change the tides of fate at our favor."

Sunlight seems surprised, she wasn't expecting this, but thanks to Kylo and the dark magic, she now has the chance to change her fate, something she could only imagine time ago, now, embracing the power of dark magic, she puts an evil smile on her face. "Eclipsed Sunlight, huh? Sounds good... now tell me, Kylo. Which is our next move?" Asks Eclipsed Sunlight.

With her new identity accepted, Ecplised Sunlight will use any tool at her disposition to achieve her vengeance. A new enemy has been born, and it's a threat at the level of Kylo Ren and Starkiller, what can be possibly done to redeem someone twisted this much by dark magic? As the evil team approaches their new destination...

...An ancient evil lies there, awaiting to be awakened.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I know this chapter wasn't focused on the mane 7, but is part of the main narrative anyway, so I had to include it. I've also been playing with some tools to add better effects to the story, in order to make it more dynamic for you. Hope you like what I did in this chapter.
Also, I have to say this, but I'm very grateful if you've arrived to this point, seeing people that's genuinely interested in this story encourages me to write the chapters and publish them even sooner than I have planned to.

Anyway, again, thank you and I hope to see you all next chapter.

PD: Next chapter is not going to be chapter 8, is going to be 7.5 because as how I see it, my plans for the next chapter are more a direct continuation of this chapter, rather than a whole new one.

Chapter 7.5: A Buried Nightmare

Now at the Infinity, Master Chief's at the captain's deck, along with captain Lasky and Galen, they're discussing the visions Flash had back in Midgard.

"So... Chief, what's our plan?" Asks Lasky while leaning on the holo table.

"For the moment, the only actual information that we have is Zeta Halo, we must head there, I hope that vision was truly from the past." Said Chief with a rejection voice, he doesn't want to go there, again.

"There's only one way to find out..." Said Lasky, then, suddenly an alarm triggered at the captain's deck.

"Roland...!" Said Lasky aloud, then an AI appears at the holo table. "...What's the situation?" Asked Lasky.

"Captain, our sensors detected a portal breach into another world..." Replied Roland, then a hologram of a fleet of star destroyers is displayed at the holo table.

"Bad news are... That they breached into our world, more specifically, they're now at Zeta Halo." Said Roland, Chief, and Lasky change their expressions from doubt to determination. Lasky then presses a button and starts using the speakers throughout the Infinity.

"To all personnel on the Infinity, this is captain Lasky take position, we have a possible Omega level threat, we're going to jump to Zeta Halo, I repeat, all units, take position!"

Lasky orders the crew at the deck to prepare a portal, Chief and Galen leave, heading to the barracks in order to prepare fo the incoming battle. The Infinity's now at Zeta Halo and for their surprise, the First Order fleet was fighting against another fleet.

As the Infinity approaches the ring, a transmission is received by Lasky at the holo table.

"Infinity...we meet again." Said the being, Lasky recognizes that face. "Atriox... Thanks for helping us fighting them but, do you mind telling how did you get involved in this?" Asks Lasky.

"We track down an unknown signal that was heading here, and as you might already know, we face this old enemy, but they're stronger this time, they've brought living machines that can destroy our best vehicles in seconds, and their leader, has some new powers and a new ally." Said Atriox, it seems they've already fought the First Order in the past.

"Don't worry, Atriox, we're already dispatching our forces to aid the Banished, they won't take anything from the ring." Said Lasky, Atriox's hologram then disappears.

Now at the ring's surface, Atriox's forces are fighting the First Order. But as the fight goes on, we have a glance of the threats Atriox mentioned. A robotic being destroys a Banished tank, then it says.

"We're almost at the Palace! Fight, kill them all!!" Said the robot, then, a horde of more robotics creatures and stormtroopers charge agains the Banished forces, and when it seemed like a defeat, the robot leader receives a shot in the shoulder.

"I hit the damned Megatron!" Exclaimed the Spartan, the Resistance's troops have arrived, Chief leading the Blue Team and Jerome leading the Red Team, both Spartan groups lead the vanguard, Autobots, UNSC troops, Resistance soldiers and Galen join the battle.

(Use it as ambiance, if you wish. Although I recommend to use both of them at the same time.)

"All troops!! Atta...!!" Was Megatron about to say, but then he's suddenly interrupted by another robot that charged against him, both fall to the ground, breaking the enemy's formation.

"Megatron!!" Said the robot with an angered voice. "Optimus Prime!! I never thought I'd see you here." Replied Megatron, Optimus then charges against him, both then start fighting and clash their blades. "I will stop you!!!" Said Optimus aloud, the fight continues and as the Banished and the Resistance manage to fight back against the First Order, it isn't enough to make them retreat.

On the other side of the battlefield, Atriox fights with his brothers to stop the First Order from passing through them. But then, Eclipsed Sunlight arrives, breaking the Banished's formation with a dark magic shockwave, she and Atriox see each other with anger, as Sunlight prepares to charge against him, Atriox ignites his gravity hammer, waiting for the right moment. Sunlight makes the first move, but unfortunately, Atriox foresaw this and with a swift swing of his hammer, hits Sunlight, pushing her to the side, crashing with a rock.

"Good...!! Hahaha... you really are worth the effort!!" Said Sunlight before hitting the ground with her fists, shattering the ground and making Atriox to lose his ground. Sunlight takes this chance to charge against him, kicking him up to the air, and with a powered jump, she gets to Atriox and with a punch, she sends him down, crashing with the ground. Atriox seems wounded, Sunlight approaches him with a dark magic blade, and before she's even able to stab him, Chief's blades clash with hers.

"Now it's my turn." Said Chief, and with a strike of his blades clad with the demonic power, sends Sunlight flying away because she manage to protect herself with her bracer. Chief helps Atriox stand up, "...She's a nuisance." Said Atriox, tired of fighting her. "I know, where are they heading anyway?" Asks Chief while preparing to engage combat with Eclipsed Sunlight.

"They're heading to a Palace of Pain, and you know nothing good comes from there." Replied Atriox while igniting his hammer again.

Eclipsed Sunlight comes out of the smoke. "I will destroy you here and now!!" she says before charging against the duo, but she's suddenly teleported to a hall where Kylo and a few stormtroopers are. It seems that Kylo was the one that brought her because he's holding a pocket teleportation device. Also, one of the stormtroopers seems to be moving a big cage along a portal gun.

"Why did you bring me here?! I already had Atriox and Master Chief at my hand!" Said Sunlight with frustration, her targets escaped her and not because she wanted to.

"They would've taken you down, although it might have taken them a while, but the result would be your death anyway." Replied Kylo, he couldn't afford to lose his ally, he starts walking down the hall, Eclipsed Sunlight follows him reluctantly.

They approached to the door and Sunlight asks. "What are we doing here anyway? I thought that we were heading to a Palace o Pain." Kylo uses the panel at the door to open it. "We're already in the Palace of Pain, the battle out there is just a diversion to stop the Resistance, and because it went as planned, we're going to change the tides of war, my friend."

The door opens and reveals a hall with a big amount of containment capsules. Eclipsed Sunlight approaches one of them and asks.

"What are... these things?" Asks Sunlight confused, the creatures inside of them look, horrible, yet they don't seem like they're actually alive.

"Get away from those capsules!!! You're going to awake them otherwise..." Said a nervous Kylo to Sunlight, whatever these things are, they're dangerous enough to make Kylo Ren himself be consumed by fear.

Meanwhile at the battlefield, the Resistance's and Banished's forces managed to push away the First Order, but they don't give up. Blue and Red team are fighting while taking cover at a natural trench.

(Use it as ambiance, hehe.)

"Chief, they're not going to fall back any further than this!! Whatever the First Order want at that Palace of Pain, it has to be stopped! Go there and check if they haven't breach into it!" Said Jerome aloud, Galen then arrives blocking many shots with his lightsabers.

"Jerome's right, you have to go, we'll make sure they don't pass through here!!" Said Galen, Chief comprehends the situation and before he leaves Atriox arrives while destroying a Decepticon's face with his hammer.

"I'll go with you... they have killed many of my brothers, if their leader is at the Palace of Pain, I'll kill him personally." Said Atriox, Chief agrees to go with Atriox, both leave and now Fred asks Jerome.

"Now two of our best fighters are gone, any ideas, Jerome?" Asked Fred while shooting.

"Just one..." Replied Jerome, he then presses a button from his bracer. Then, a robot arrives from the air, and starts shooting at the enemies.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Asks Jerome. "Yeah, I think so." Replies Fred, everyone starts shooting again, and Galen turned back to the robot and asks Jerome. "Since when do you own a robot?!" Jerome replies while shooting, "I own Theseus since quite the time already, sorry for using it this late." Galen only accepts the answer with a smile and focuses again on the battle.

On the other side, Atriox and Chief move through the battlefield to get to the path that leads to the Palace of Pain.

"There it is, we need a vehicle." Said Atriox, then Chief sees a tipped over Warthog and approaches it, he managed to flip it and he hops into it, Atriox takes the gunner's place and now they approach faster to the Palace.

Meanwhile, at the laboratory.

Kylo calms down and replies to Sunlight's question. "These creatures are one of the biggest threats that there exists in the whole multiverse, they call it...The Flood, a parasite that consumes biomass to become stronger, and also can reanimate dead bodies." Said Kylo while looking at the capsules, the stormtroopers and Sunlight can't believe, a parasite doesn't seem like the best of tools.

"What do you want from them? They're parasites, as you said, their only purpose it's to consume." Asked a baffled Eclipsed Sunlight, Kylo ordered the stormtroopers to remain there to surveil as they inspected the room, he takes the cage and the portal gun with the Force and brings them along with him, Sunlight follows him, still looking for an answer, then, both arrived a table at the other side of the room.

"What I want is to have a weapon, just imagine, if we are loosing a battle, we can free a small amount of the Flood and they will bring back the dead soldiers, and charge against our enemies, slaying and consuming them, once the job's done, we only terminate them all and there won't be a Flood plague." Replied Kylo, Sunlight remains shocked for what he's saying. "Nothing guarantees you that it'll work." Replied Sunlight, she doesn't want to see what these creatures are capable of doing.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, the plan will succeed because unlike the people of this world, I have the power to dominate them, just see me doing it." Said Kylo while pressing a button at the table, then, the part of the room where Kylo and Sunlight are get isolated from the capsules' area, leaving the stormtroopers out. The capsules start opening one by one, freeing the creatures that were sleeping inside of them.

The Flood then attacks the stormtroopers, who didn't stand a chance, Sunlight and Kylo only witness the events, how the stormtroopers are killed, gutted by the Flood, the infection forms introduced in the stormtroopers' bodies, they screams are heard throughout the room, Eclipsed Sunlight is in shock, such violent beings shouldn't even exist, Kylo, on the other hand turns towards her and says.

"Leave them to me, I have my mission, you have yours." Kylo then takes the portal gun and calibrates it, shooting and creating a portal to another universe.

"What about you?" Asks Eclipsed Sunlight, she seems worried about Kylo. "I'll be fine, now go! Starkiller and the Ren Knights will meet you there." Replies Kylo Ren, Sunlight leaves not before saying "...Be careful, Kylo." She then leaves through the portal leaving Kylo alone, he was about the raise the sealing doors to control the Flood, but suddenly, he's interrupted by Master Chief.

"Kylo!!! Don't you dare release them!!! They're a threat not even you can handle!!!!" Said Chief with a desperate voice while approaching along Atriox to Kylo's position, Kylo only stopped because this is the first time he hears Master Chief being so frightened about something. Kylo listens to him, but he takes his lightsaber and creates a dark sword and says.

"You won't stop me, not now!!" Said Kylo, Chief and Atriox prepare their weapons and the fight starts. Kylo manages to keep up agains both of them by being fast enough to dodge their attacks. With a Force push he sends Atriox away, leaving the fight between him and Chief, they clash their blades and Chief says.

"You have to stop this, Kylo!" Said Chief, but Kylo swings his blades making Chief loose the clash and its Force pushed away, Atriox and Chief stand up, they're at each of Kylo's sides, but before they're able to keep fighting, the sound of a breaking glass interrupts them.

The Flood managed to break the glass and now they've breach out of the lab. "Oh fuck, MOVE!!!!" Said Chief aloud, the fight stops and the trio rushes to a blast door and shuts it, sealing the Flood inside there.

"This facility was made to contain them, why they managed to break that glass?" Asks Kylo confused of what just happened, he's interrupted by Chief who sheathes his blades and grabs him by the shoulders.

"This place was made for experimentation, there are procedures to contain any possible breach but we have to go at the top of the Palace. God dammit Kylo, why did you free them in the FIRST PLACE?!!!" Asks Chief, he's frightened and also angered.

"I rather keep that to myself..." Said Kylo, he's then interrupted by Atriox. "We can kill you right now and deal with The Flood on our own." Said Atriox, Kylo then manages to state a point of the current situation.

"Gentlemen, we are in quite the predicament, I have the power to deal with them, but you have the knowledge I need to finish them swiftly, and unless you don't want to get out of here alive, we have to work together." Chief then releases Kylo, and says.

"I'm afraid you're right, the facility has sealed every exit, so there aren't any other option than activating the containment procedures..." Chief looks at Atriox, then turns back to Kylo and says. "...We're going to work together, but we won't mind if you die here, got it?"

"Same goes to you, now then, how are we going to climb to the top of the Palace?" Asks Kylo, Chief takes his assault rifle and loads it, Atriox ignites his hammer. "We have to make our way through them, move!" Said Chief, the trio moves towards another door but midway, the door they left behind gets destroyed and a Flood horde starts chasing them.

"Go!!" Ordered Chief, he stayed a bit longer to provide covering fire and to diminish their population, even if are small numbers, Chief then goes through the door meeting up with the group. "Run, the elevator is ahead, move!!!" Said Chief aloud, the group now runs through the hallway.

As they run to the elevator, multiple pod infector forms crawl out of the walls, they've learn how to sneak throughout the whole facility.

Chief shoots at them to buy some time, they were about to get in the elevator, but before they manage to escape, two Flood Tanks get in their way.

"Dammit! Deal with them, I'll manage the ones behind us!!" Says Chief, he turns around and shoots his assault rifle to keep the infection forms at bay, Kylo and Atriox fight the Flood Tanks. Atriox with a swing of his hammer gets one of them on the ground and smashes its head, while Kylo dodges the arm attack of the Flood Tank and cuts its limbs with his light saber and pierces it with a storm of dark swords, then Kylo decapitates it. When they turn around, Chief seems to be struggling to keep them at bay, there are not only infection forms but now they've mutated.

A spider-like form that jumped towards Chief, but he kills it with an attack of his blades, then a multiple spikes hit Chief, downing his shields.

Flood Ranged Forms start shooting even more spikes, forcing Chief to fall back. "Get in the elevator!!" Said Chief while moving backwards and shooting, once they're in the elevator, Atriox closes the door and the elevator starts moving.

"It's been less than 15 minutes, how these things managed to grow this fast?!" Asks Kylo, he's surprised by the Flood's evolution speed. "They have a collective-conscience so they learn everything from the organisms they consume. This infestation, isn't new, Atriox and I had to face it when we were fighting in this ring." Replied Chief.

"Does this thing will get us to the upper floor?" Asks Atriox, he doesn't want to deal with the parasite any longer. "I'm afraid not, it'll stop at the second floor, we'll have to take another elevator from there and that one will take us to the top." Replied Chief, who reloads his assault rifle, the elevator stops and the group gets out of it, the room seems quiet, they speed up to not be caught by the Flood but midway, Atriox is hit by a plasma shot, the group turns around and sees the stormtrooper squad that Kylo brought, turned into Flood forms, their bodies were deformed and their armor was the only thing that showed that they were stormtroopers, but they are wielding blasters and start shooting at the group while more infestation forms get inside the room. Everyone goes to take cover behind metal structures.

"Why the FUCK are stormtroopers controlled by the Flood?!!" Asks Chief angered, Kylo blocks the shots with his lightsaber to then take cover and replies. "My bad, I have a plan though, I'll cover you from their fire and you eliminate them from the distance." As Kylo said, the horde approaches, they have less time to choose a proper solution. "Screw this!" Said Atriox, he then leaps into the air and hits the ground with his hammer, bringing the infestation forms to the ground due to the shockwave.

Kylo then uses force lightnings to incinerate them, unfortunately, a Flood Ranged Form escapes and shoots multiples spikes at Kylo, he realizes soon enough to block them with his lightsaber, but he stopped lightning the other infestations forms, which now stand up and charge towards them.

Chief provides covering fire to help them escape, now they're on the run, again, but Chief takes a fire grenade and throws it at the horde, stopping them for a bit while they burn, Kylo stops and charges an dark magical attack, when he shoots it, it takes the nature of fire, but this one doesn't extinguishes like common fire, taking this chance, the group runs and approaches to the elevator door. Once inside of it, Chief activates it and the elevator moves, as they approach their final destination, Kylo says. "They managed to get to us in a matter of seconds, they should already know where are we heading and will probably wait us there." Chief and Atriox think of what Kylo said, after thinking for a short moment, Atriox says. "Then we should destroy the whole building, it's the only possible option now that they're throughout the whole facility."

"Yeah, it seems so, but first, let's focus on not dying before arriving at the control center." Replies Chief, the elevator then stops and just as Kylo said, the Flood arrived first and they're taking possession of the control center's table, which has an enormous window behind that shows the progress in the battle between the Resistance and First Order. "They're trying to lift the quarantine protocol!" Said Chief, the group charges desperately, the combination of gravity strikes, dark fire and bullets gives the group a chance to make way through the horde, Kylo jumps into the air and arrives first to the control table, he's looking for the self-destruction protocol while Chief and Atriox fight the infestation forms.

"I got it! Brace you....!!" Kylo said, but he's grabbed by a tentacle and is pulled all the way back to the entrance of the room, Kylo looks up and sees an enormous infestation form.

"Get the FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!" Said Kylo while pushing the giant away with the Force, he then stands up and runs at a high speed, but he's grabbed by another of the creature's tentacle and got smacked into the ground, Kylo only lets out a scream of pain, Chief and Atriox then decide to go and help him. Chief cuts one of the tentacles with his blades and Atriox brings it down with a hammer strike, unfortunately, the creature waves its remaining tentacle wildly, pushing Atriox away and making space for itselft to stand up, the creature has gone berserk.

Before it can land a blow, it's stopped by Kylo's Force lightning and before he manages to cut off it's last tentacle, 4 Flood Tanks sprout from the creature's back. "Go to the center and activate the self-destruction sequence, Atriox and I will take care of them!!!" Said Kylo to Chief with a desperate voice, Chief agrees and runs back at the table, but he's stopped by many infestations forms.

"I got TIRED OF YOU!!" Chief takes his blades and activates their power, killing even the Flood Tanks with ease, then a swarm of pod infectors tried to jump over Chief to infect him, but he slashes savagely around himself, he manages to kill every single one of them, now, he's able to use the the control table, he then sets up the timer for the explosion up to 30 seconds and activates it.

"We have thirty seconds, COME HERE NOW!!!" Ordered Chief, Kylo and Atriox stop fighting and run towards Chief, Kylo moves faster and approaches there first, he then pulls Atriox with the Force to help him get with them faster, Atriox then hits the window with his hammer and breaks it. "We have to jump!!" Said Atriox, everyone prepares, there are only 7 seconds remaining, Kylo uses the Force to grab Chief and Atriox with the Force and jumps with his dark power, managing to get away from the palace within short time, once they land, the palace explodes, creating a shockwave that destabilizes the TIE-Fighters, X-Wings and Broadswords in the air.

They made it, they managed to destroy the whole building along with the Flood infestation. Kylo stands up first and says. "Thanks... for saving me back there, I... I was fool to think I could control something as The Flood." Said Kylo as he breaths deeply and turns around, observing the landscape, Chief and Atriox stand up and Chief replies.

"Don't worry, when it comes to dealing with that... monster... no one must die by their hands, but..." Chief and Atriox start taking their weapons and move slowly towards Kylo, to not make any noise. "...There's one thing left to solve." Said Chief, a prominent silence along the battle ambiance creates tension between them.

"Yes... only one... thing... LEFT!!" Kylo said as he turns back and freezes both of them with the Force, Chief and Atriox's murder attempt failed. "Did you think I was FOOL enough to think that this alliance would last any longer than this?!" Said Kylo with an arrogant voice.

"I'm going to kill YOU! No matter if it's the last thing I do, I'll KILL you human!!" Said Atriox with frustration, they were so close but now, they're so far of achieving their goal.

"You'll have to excuse me Atriox, but I'm afraid that dream of yours won't be possible, although I gladly invite you to... TRY!" Kylo pierces Atriox's chest with a dark magic sword, Atriox spits out blood and curses Kylo in his language before falling to the ground.

"Atriox!!" Said Chief while looking at Atriox's body lying on the ground, Kylo then approaches him and says. "Y'know Master Chief, I could've killed you years ago, but you were always lucky enough to be saved by your friends or the circumstances, but not this time, this time I'll finally..!!!" Kylo raises his lightsaber with his right hand, and prepares to land the final blow, but then, a communication from his commanding officer arrives, "Supreme Lord! We're being overwhelmed by the enemy, what..."

"Retreat, we're done here!!" Kylo shuts the communication and before he swings his blade, a cloaked figure uncamouflages from behind him and with an energy, sword cuts off his right arm, Kylo screams in extreme pain and before the stranger kills him, he throws Master Chief at him, both fall to the ground as Kylo groans and the stranger takes off his cape.

"Sorry for not killing him, Chief. But I couldn't take the risk of loosing you." Said the stranger.

"Thanks, Arbiter... now, let's finish him off." Said Chief, the duo prepare to fight again, but Kylo angers and makes a tauntrum while holding his wound.

"WHY?!!! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GET SAVED?!!! THIS IS NOT GOING TO END LIKE THIS, I'LL MAKE SURE TO KILL YOU NEXT TIME!!!" As Kylo said this, a dark magic cloud sorrounds him completely, once it dissipated, he was no longer here, the duo didn't waste any second and ran to aid Atriox.

"Atriox! Can you stand?!" Asks Chief worried. Atriox's holding his wound, with effort he managed to say. "I can...*cough* that...*cough* idiot... knows nothing of ...*cough* Jiralhanae anatomy... he aimed for my heart...*cough* but he missed and hit... *cough* my lung." The Arbiter and Chief help Atriox stand up. "All units, the First Order is retreating, I repeat, the First Order is retreating, we won." Said Captain Lasky through all Resistance channels.

"It appears we won this battle, but not this war." Said the Arbiter. "This was a small fraction of the First Order's fleet, next time, we must be prepared." Replied Chief, Cortana then appears at Chief's shoulder and says.

"Chief, I know you're tired from fighting the Flood, but there's something we need to discuss." Chief looks at her and asks. "What is it?" Cortana then makes up some notes she wrote while the fight was going on. "What happened to Sunset Shimmer's counterpart, I mean, we faced her when we arrived here, but where did she went? She was not with Kylo Ren."

Chief understands the question, but he's mentally tired, so he only replies. "I don't know, we can check the portal detectors when we're back at the Infinity, we can find a clue there."

"You fought the parasite? How could that happen?" Ask the Arbiter, he was aware that there was Flood activity once in this Halo, but not that the First Order wanted to free the parasite. "They...wanted to... *cough* use it as a... *cough* weapon." Replies Atriox, the team now focuses on regrouping with the rest of the Resistance.

Time later, at a Star Destroyer's medical bay, Kylo Ren is on the surgery table.

"Sir, stop denying the anesthesia, the surgery might be extremely painful and you might die from that." Said a medical robot, Kylo Ren then says with an angered voice. "I don't care! Do the surgery, NOW!!"

The medical robots start the surgery and Kylo Ren screams due to the extreme pain, his suffering makes everything at the medical room shake by the Force, his screams resound through the hallways and throughout the Force itself.

At the Infinity, Galen is meditating, but he's interrupted by Kylo's screams, Galen stands up and looks at the void. "That's... not...any good news, Kylo...finally...achieved it."

Chief goes his room at the barracks, someone told him Tesla was looking for him there, but as he couldn't find him, Tesla left the report in his room. Chief walks in, takes off his helmet and takes Tesla's report, it was related to the anomalies' research, the document describes the functionality of Equestrian energy as a power source, also describes how the magic has unknown aspects, it behaves following the laws of physics but, each anomaly is different from the other, so the tracker they desgined is only capable of tracking the energy emition, but not how strong is that anomaly or what predilection has, Chief takes the datapad to a drawer beneath his bed, but as he opens it and places the datapad, he sees his communicator, he forgot to take it with him due to the rush of the moment, Chief turns it on and sees he has 4 missing calls, 1 from Princess Celestia, 1 from Flash's mother, another one from Flash and the last one is from Tesla, Chief worries and calls Flash, he waits and after a bit, someone picked the phone.

"Flash, sorry for not responding, I was..." Then a sobbing voice interrupts him, the message is unintelligible for everyone except him, Chiecan't believe it, he makes a negation face, he drops the coommunicator, takes his helmet and puts it on, Chief runs out of his room and calls the rest of the Blue team, Chief heads to the portal room and meets with the rest of his team, they were waiting for him, Richtofen had already opened a portal.

"Chief! What happened?!" Asks Kelly worried by the sudden message, but Chief ignores it and runs through the portal,the rest of the team follows him, and after that, the portal closes, leaving a veil of ignorance to us.

What kind of message did Chief receive to make him run desperately.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! Thanks for reading this new chapter, as I said the last chapter, this part of the narrative was a direct continuation of the events of the previous chapter. In addition, I have to say, next chapter, is a twist in history that'll change the course of many future events.

I hope you liked this chapter, feel free to comment, again, thank you very much and see you next chapter.

Set your hearts ablaze!

Chapter 8: The Duty Of A Sentry

A day ago, after the events of The Eagle And The Shield

At nighttime in Canterlot City, Flash's mother walks on her way home, after going out for some food, she's thinking on asking Chief out, they need to talk about important things. As she walks down the street, she hears a strange noise coming from an alley, she takes a look at the alley but sees nothing but darkness.

"H-Hello? Who's there?" Said Flash's mother while slowly pulling out an energy gun from her waist.

Dark figures emerge from the alley, three Knights of Ren

Ap'Lek, The Monk.

Kuruk, The Sniper.

Trudgen, The Samurai

"You're going to come with us, Aura." Said Ap'Lek, Aura stays in shock "(Who are these people and why do they know my name?)" she thinks, but there's no time to waste. Without hesitation, she shoots her energy gun towards them, but Ap'Lek manages to block the shots with his staff, Aura runs away and takes her phone to call Chief, unfortunately he doesn't respond. She then tries to call Flash, but before she's able to do it, Eclipsed Sunlight appears right in front of her, knocking her down with a punch.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but... is nothing personal." Eclipsed Sunlight says, then she injects Aura with a sedative, falling asleep, the Knights arrive shortly after Aura was sedated by Sunlight.

"What shall we do with her now? That gun of hers looks like it'll be a fine addition to my collection." Says Trudgen while looking at Aura's pistol, but he's interrupted by Sunlight. "Only take away any kind of weapon and take her to the location we arranged..." Sunlight takes Aura's phone with her and says. "I have a trap to set."

Time later, at Sunset's house, she and Twilight seem to be having a chat, which is interrupted by her ringing cellphone, she looks who's calling her and for her surprise, is Flash, he usually isn't awake this late.

"And...who is it?" Asks Twilight, she became interested since Sunset stared at the phone's screen for a bit longer than usual.

"It's.. Flash." Replies Sunset, she answers the call. "Hey Flash, everythin..." Sunset was about to say, but she's interrupted abruptly by Flash, who can be heard to be extremely worried.

"I'm afraid not Sunset, it's...your counterpart...they have kidnapped my mother! John didn't answer my call, and I'm running out of..." Flash is then interrupted by Sunset.

"Hey! Calm down, I'll meet you at your house, we'll find a solution, ok?" Asks Sunset with determination, then she cuts the call and says to Twilight.

"Flash's mother was kidnapped by my counterpart..." Sunset then takes her jacket and says. "Call the others, if we're dealing with my counterpart, all of us need to deal with her." Sunset then leaves her house and Twilight proceeds to call the rest of the girls.

Not at Flash's house, he and Sunset are in the living room, discussing the situation.

"How did they manage to kidnap your mother?" Asks Sunset. Flash grabs his head, as a sign of guilt he looks at Sunset and says.

"She went out to buy something for dinner, I offered to go with her, but she told me not to worry... *sigh* how fool I was, if only I insisted, none of this would've happened. I was beginning to worry when I received a live video call from her, but it was your counterpart, she threatened me to bring all of you where she is or...she would kill my mother. After that, she gave 2 hours to make a decision, and then she ended the video call." Sunset puts her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but then, the door rings and the girls come in, everyone gathers in the living room and Flash brings them up to date.

"Flash, no offense but, this situation seems like a trap, maybe she already's sure that you won't accept her terms and is expecting us to attack her. It'll be too risky if we go straight where she is." Said Applejack after learning which is the situation.

"I know Applejack, but it's my mother who's in danger, I simply can't remain still." Replies Flash, he stands up with a frustration face.

"Flash, have you tried to contact someone else, like... the Blue Team or... Galen?" Asks Rarity, she thinks there might be still someone that can help them out.

"I already have Rarity, everyone, Fred, Kelly, and Linda, none of them answered my calls or my messages, and Galen doesn't use his communicator very often." Replies Flash, there aren't other options, fortunately, Twilight brings up an idea, she takes out her phone and calls someone.

"Who are you calling?" Asks Fluttershy. "I hope he answers..." Said Twilight with a low voice tone. Someone picks up the phone and says.

"Twilight! Glad that you called, tell me... did you discover something new about the anomalies or have any new idea of experiment?" Asks the voice, Twilight then replies.

"Mr. Tesla, look... we have a problem, something bad really happened in our world and we've tried to contact Master Chief and the Blue Team, but they don't respond, do you know why?" Asks Twilight, this seems like their only hope.

"They're having a... battle against The First Order in... another universe, what's this... problem anyway?" Asks Tesla, he sounds to be struggling with something.

"Sunset's counterpart kidnapped Flash's mother and threatens to kill her if we don't surrender to her." Said Twilight, she's starting to lose patience, Tesla laughs and replies.

"That's impossible Twilight, she's... it's a diversion! Send me coordinates where your meeting with her will be, I'll meet with you there!!" Tesla ended the call, he runs to the project development division, once there, he says to the only head of that division.

"Stark! Prepare the anomaly Frederic brought and load it into the fuel section, I need the Super Automaton α ready! I'll check if any other part of the suit requires double-checking." Said Tesla.

"Tesla, they need me at the Halo, there's a big battle going on if you haven't noticed yet." Said Stark, who was about to leave, but he's again interrupted by Tesla.

"I need to test if the anomaly can be used as a power source, you can leave once we're done, got it?" Asks Tesla, he insists on preparing that Super Automaton.

"Fine, let's hurry up then!" Said Stark, who agreed to help Tesla reluctantly.

Meanwhile, at the CHS world, The girls, and Flash prepare a plan to fight the human Sunset.

"Maybe my counterpart brought reinforcements, although she can handle 2 or 3 people, 8 will be a lot, even for her, but how exactly are we going to defeat her?" Asks Sunset, she can't think of any good strategy.

Flash then comes out of the lab, wearing his equipment, he then takes his katana and attaches it to his back.

"Our best shot is being smarter than her, Sunset, you were the one who's fought against her for the longest time, what can you tell us?" Asks Flash to Sunset, although he's worried, he remains calm.

"Well... in our fight, she focused on closing distances with me, she's more skilled in close combats so we have to plan a strategy that mixes up both fighting styles. But being honest, she's more capable than all of us, in speed only Rainbow Dash can beat her and in strength only AJ can keep up with her, but as Galen said, if we can taker her necklace off, we should have the upper hand." Replies Sunset, her fight with Eclipsed Sunlight served as a good reference.

"Twilight, did Tesla told you if he's going to be there?" Asks Flash with a serious voice.

"I hope so, we were talking and he just... cut the call, but I'm sure he'll help us one way or another." Replies Twilight, not even she's certain if there's going to be any help.

Flash looks at the rest of the girls and says. "Listen up! This is a challenge none of us have ever faced before, please... be cautious, I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"Don't worry Flash! She'll know what all of us are capable of!" Replies Rainbow Dash, she wants to fight Sunlight again since their previous encounter resulted in Rainbow Dash defeated with one hit.

As the group leaves, in the observatory, Aura finally awakes just to find herself tied to the statue of Star Swirl The Bearded.

"Wha...Hello!! Is anyone in here?!!" Asks Aura aloud, in a desperate attempt to call for help. Then, a person comes out of the shadows and says.

"Save your breath, no one is here anyway, for the moment." Said Eclipsed Sunlight, Aura recognizes that voice, she asks with confusion.

"Wait... Sunset... what happened to you?! Why are you wearing those clothes?!" Sunlight approaches her and replies her questions with an angered expression.

"I'm NOT the Sunset Shimmer you know, I'm the one native of this world and MY name is Eclipsed Sunlight, do you get it?" Aura can't beleive it, another Sunset, working with the bad guys, she can't help but to reply.

"You have to be joking, why would someone accept to work with the First Order in first place? They're controlling you, you have to break free!" Aura is then interrupted by Sunlight, who's now smiling and her eyes start to glow by the dark magic of her necklace.

"Oh, I'm really aware of the situation, but they have offered me a chance I never imagined. Taking revenge on Sunset Shimmer for what she did to me. Mark my words, I'll never stop until I achieve that goal." Sunlight then leaves Aura, but she says as she leaves. "...You better rest, there's still time until the fun begins." Sunlight now left the room.

After a few minutes, the group arrives at the observatory, Fluttershy stays hidden in the bushes to prevent anyone sneaking them from behind, Flash uses a tracker to locate his mother, the group goes inside it and starts looking for her, it didn't take them much time to find Aura, Flash quickly approaches her and releases her.

"Mom, are you ok? Did they hurt you?" Asks Flash, he's releived because he sees his mother safe and sound.

"Flash, we better hurry, Eclipsed Sunlight left and so did her minions, there's not much time left." Said Aura, the group starts moving towards the exit but before they can leave, Pinkie turns around to check if the area is clear, but as soon as she turned around, she sees Eclipsed Sunlight, who was about to land an energy shockwave on all of them.

"Watch out!!!" Said Pinkie aloud, fortunately, Rarity managed to create a diamond to protect them all, but the strength of the attack was such that they got blown away, exiting the observatory and landing on the floor near the entrance. Fluttershy approaches them and as she helps them standing up, they're now sorrounded by Eclipsed Sunlight, the Knights of Ren, and Starkiller.

"Look, what do we have here, I never thought that you'd actually come here by yourselves." Said Sunlight, the girls activate their powers and stand in circular formation.

"Surrender, you don't stand a chance against us." Said Starkiller as he ignited his lightsaber, they were about to attack all at once but then, a portal opens above them, and a powerful thunder strike lands, breaking the enemy formation, from the dust, a tall figure, wearing a robotic suit emerges and says.

"Then let's even the battlefield, shall we?" Asks Tesla, the girls cannot help but to smile, after all, they won't be alone.

"Who the hell are you?!!" Asks Starkiller while standing up, the Knights of Ren change their formatuon and Sunlight remains in the same position. Tesla then stands forth and with a confident smile in his face, he says.

"I'm the one that'll show you the true power of science!! My name is..."

"...NIKOLA...TESLA!!" Starkiller can't tolerate this any longer, he tries to grab Tesla with the Force and throw him away, but it doesn't work, Starkiller is shocked by that, this has never happened before, the moment created a opportunity for Tesla to land a punch.

Starkiller is sent flying by Tesla's punch, he then turns around to the group and says. "I'll deal with him, you deal with the rest!" Said Tesla while leaping towards starkiller and creating a shockwave with the anomaly engine he has in his suit, displacing Eclipsed Sunlight and the Kinghts of Ren.

Flash then attaches his sword to his waist and says as he unsheathes it. "I'll deal with her." Sunset then stops him. "No! I won't let you face her alone!" Flash looks at Sunset and with a serious face, he replies.

"Please Sunset, I could've done more in the past, instead of only cheering you from the backlines or running away, this time, I have to fight to protect you all!" Flash then charges at a high speed towards Eclipsed Sunlight, he raises his blade and swings it downwards creating a fire trial, Sunlight managed to stand up and blocks Flash's blade with her bracer.

"Woah!! That's fire coming out of your blade?!.." Sunlight asks, Flash then swings his blade sideways to land a hit on Sunlight, but she manages to dodge the hit by jumping backwards, Flash chases her down and swings his blade horizontally, not before saying.

"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unkowing Fire!!" Sunlight blocks the hit but receives the damage from it, her right bracer has a deep cut, she uses her dark magic to regenerate it. "Nice hit Flash! Now it's my turn!!!" Sunlight said, she approaches quickly to Flash and throws many punches, Flash managed to block most of them, but one landed him, receiving the damage and got thrown away to the woods, Sunlight chases him down.

The girls are fighting against the Knights of Ren, whom despite being intimidating and skilled, they lack experience against magical beings, which makes it easy to handle them, but then Ap'Lek managed to stop Rainbow Dash with a hit of his staff, once in the ground, he's about to land the final blow, but he's punched away by Applejack, Kuruk shoots at her but Rarity creates a diamond to protect her, while Twilight raises him in the air and smacks him into the ground, loosing his weapon, Aura realizes that and runs to take it, but on her way, she's intercepted by another knight.

Ushar, The Armory swings his battle club to hit Aura, but he's stopped by Sunset, who grabs the club and with a energy charged fist, she start hitting him, but he becomes stronger thanks to his link with the dark side and manages to stop her, unfortunately for him, Pinkie Pie attacks him with multiple explosions, stunning him and giving Sunset a chance to knock him down.

Then, another Knight of Ren appears from the distance, creating disruption with his explosive blasters.

Cardo, The Heavy, shoots his arm cannon alongside his blaster to break the girls' formation and sorround them easier, once they covered themselves with Rarity's diamond wall, two more Knights appear from behind the girls.

Vicrul, The Rogue alongside Trudgen prepare to ambush the girls, but blaster shots impact them, bringing both of them down. It was Aura, who managed to take Kuruk's blaster, began to give the girls covering fire, alongside supressing Cardo's barrage, she shoots as she moves to Rarity's wall to take cover, Applejack then tries to thank her.

"Thanks Mrs..." Aura then interrupts her with a smile. "My name's Aura, Applejack, pleasure to meet you all, although I wished it was in better circumstances." Aura gets out from cover to shoot Cardo down, but her shots are blocked by Ap'Lek's axe, he then uses a smoke dispensar to hide themselves, just when Ap'Lek was about to bring down Rarity with a swing of his axe, a bear appears hitting him with his paw, Ap'Lek is surprised, he then engages combat with the bear, who takes him into the deep woods.

"Thanks Fluttershy!" Said Rarity as she put up another shield to protect themselves from Cardo's opressive fire.

"I just hope he's alright! Watch out!!" Said Flutterhsy while pointing to the sky, it was Tesla falling to the ground near them, Starkiller appears wielding his blades and with anger he asks.

"The Force is something beyond mortal knowledge, then WHY CAN'T I USE IT ON YOU?!!" Tesla then comes out of the dust cloud and with a confident smile, he says.

"The Force?!! No...Non...Nem...NEIN!!! It's not something mystical as you think...!!!"

"...IT'S SCIENCE!!!"

Starkiller then get even more angrier, he destroys his dark sword and with his dark power, he charges a beam and shoots it at him. "DIE ALREADY!!!!" Said Starkiller aloud.

Tesla holds his hands together and charges energy, then to be released in a double punch that creates enough energy to counter Starkiller's beam.

"If you want to help, now's the chance girls!!!" Said Tesla to the girls, but before they could move to help him, the beam dispels and Starkiller is now in front of Tesla with a charged fist, just like Sunlight, Tesla tries to block but it too late and the blow lands on Tesla, sending him flying away, and Starkiller chases him down.

Tesla crashes down, breaking the parking lot where he lands, Starkiller catches up quickly and aims his lightsaber at Tesla's neck as he says. "I don't know what kind of trick you use to inhibit the Force, but let me tell you, understanding the basis of the universe won't help you survive." Tesla only looks at the Sith with an open grin and says.

"Nonsense, my dear enemy, knowledge is meant to outstand from all known powers, eventually, people will know how to dominate their universe." Starkiller is surprised by the confidence in the scientist's face, as if he's ignoring the crimson blade aiming at his neck, but with a serious expression he says. "It appears you haven't learned of Entropy, what a shame." Starkiller then raises prepares to land the final blow but Tesla overcharged the coil on his right hand and grabbed Starkiller's lightsaber by the blade with his gauntlet. "What the...?!!" Asked Starkiller, but his words were shut by Tesla, who said with pride. "Now, let me show you how MY knowledge outstands from YOUR power!" Landing a punch with his other hand on the Sith Lord, resuming their fight.

Meanwhile, at the woods, Flash and Sunlight talk for a bit.

(Use it as background music, I had to use this theme.)

"Y'know Flash... the whole thing with your mother... was a bait to lure Sunset here, so... I can let both of you go if you leave without interfering in our business... deal?" Said Sunlight, she doesn't want to fight him at all, but Flash doesn't think the same, he replies with a serious voice.

"I will never do such a coward action, my masters would be really dissapointed... Also, I have to protect those whom I love. And I'll fight to ensure no one dies here!" Flash said, he then takes a combat position, Sunlight also uses a martial stance, she sighs deeply and says.

"*sigh* I know you would say that... Fine then, if a fight is what you wish for... Let's get started!!" Sunlight then charges forward, her fist and Flash's blade clash, creating a small shockwave, Flash cannot compare to Sunlight's strength so he has to aim for being faster and inflicting gradual damage to her. His blade starts creating fire trails due to Flash's Flame Breathing, which creates a light show of purple and orange lights battling around constantly.

Surprisingly, Flash's blade withstands every hit it blocks from Eclipsed Sunlight, but Flash is pushed back by one of Sunlight's charged fists, as Flash regains equilibrium, Sunlight jumps and was about to land a charged punch from above, but Flash dodges it by jumping backwards, making Sunlight miss the hit and creating a crater where she landed, in a brief moment, she closes the distances between both of them and quickly attacks Flash with multiple punches, he only blocks them as he's being overwhelmed by his opponent's speed.

After a bit, Flash retakes his ground and starts attacking Sunlight, who instead of using a defensive position, she blocks Flash slashes with hits of her fists. She then tries to land a blow on Flash's head, but he dodges it and counterattacks with his technique.

"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!!!" Said Flash as he swung his blade upwards creating a sun-like shape, slashing the front part of Sunlight's chestplate, forcing her to jump backwards. Flash takes now the offensive, their fight continues, but Sunlight makes a sweeping kick, destabilizing Flash and kicking him midair, sending him to crash with trees, but not before he trows mini bombs to her. Sunlight used her arms to protect herself from the explosions and when she looked again, Flash got lost in the deep woods, forcing her to chase him down to a small forest glade.

"Where are you?! Stop hiding!" Said Sunlight, she stands still waiting for Flash to make a move, it didn't take her long to realize that Flash will attack her from her blind spot, and as he shows up swinging his blade diagonally upwards, Sunlight dodges it with ease.

"Nice try!!" Both start trading blows again, but this time, Sunlight managed to break Flash's guard and with a blow on his belly, break the lower part of his chestplate, sending Flash away and crashing with a tree, he falls to the ground, but as he raises his sight, he sees Sunlight about to kick him, he then rolls sideways to doge the hit, Sunlight misses and hits the tree, breaking it and making it fall to the ground.

"(I have to blind her in order to have a chance of fighting back.)" Thought Flash as he grabbed multiple mini bombs and threw them at Sunlight, but she kept charging while blocking her eyes with one arm and charging energy with the other one, she then throws the charged punch abut Flash managed to deviate it by using the side of his blade, he then uses a tool from his bracer that creates shockwave that pushes Sunlight away, as she stands up, Flash approaches her. "Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!!" Said Flash, attacking Sunlight who dodged the attack and started trading blows again with Flash, but his sword strikes were even stronger than before and the vibration of his blade made Sunlight lose ground due to the double effort she has to make to block and repair the damage to her bracers. In a desperate attempt, she launches a punch powered up by a huge amount of dark magic, Flash blocked it but he was sent flying away out of the woods, crashing with the fountain at the middle of the observatory.

"Flash!!" Scream both Aura and Sunset, the group was about to help him but Sunlight who was wounded by Flash's attacks interfered with their plan, with quick attacks she managed to take down Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, she was about to take down Sunset but she's stopped by Applejack, who seems to struggle to hold her down.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash head to help their friends while Aura gave them covering fire against Cardo, who runs to the deep forest to help Ap'Lek. Sunset was about to attack Sunlight with an energy fist but she sees Flash whom despite being wounded and bleeding from his forehead, jumps from behind, attacking Sunlight first.

"Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe!!!!" Said Flash while swinging his blade downwards, slashing Sunlight's back, she explodes in a shockwave as she screams of pain, she turns around and engages combat again with Flash, Tesla now reappears wounded and with cracks on his armor. He sees the situation and tries to help Flash by throwing a punch to Sunlight. A wounded Starkiller then jumps from above and approaches the girls, the fight has changed

Although the hit was effective, Sunlight blocked it. "Go and help the girls!!!" Said Tesla to Flash, who follows and blocked Starkiller's blades with his own sword. The battlefield becomes chaotic, Starkiller used his dark power alongside his Force lightnings to incapacitate his enemies, but Flash managed to absorb most of the hit with his blade and body, ending up heavily wounded and bleeding from many places. He then throws a marbel behind him, creating a energy field that protects the girls and his mother.

"What are you doing?!!!" Asks Sunset. Flash turns around and says. "Protecting you!" Starkiller then creates multiple blades and shoots them at Flash. "...Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Ondulation!!" Said Flash as he spinned his blade in circular motion to block every sword Starkiller throwed at thim. Flash then engages combat with Starkiller, as the fight progresses and both sides end up heavily wounded, Flash and Tesla are the ones damaged the most. Flash then uses a smoke bomb to hide themselves from the enemy.

"We're running out of options, this is our last shot." Said Tesla to Flash as he grabbed his blade and imbued it with Equestrian energy, making the blade able to create true flames with the Flame Breathing, but sacrificing one of his Tesla coils in the process. Sunlight creates a shockwave to clear the smoke, revealing Tesla and Flash's location, Tesla then charges thrusts himself with one hand and hits Starkiller with the other hand, realising energy with the impact.

Sunlight turns around and sees Flash, he raises his blade and goes for a last assault.

"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!!!" Flash swings his blade doing multiple slashes, the aura of his attacks has such power that his attacks take the form of a tiger covered in flames, Sunlight blocks it but she's affected by both the technique and the flames created by the blade, ended heavily wounded. Flash and Tesla start overwhelming their opponents with multiple constant attacks, they seem to have the upper hand now, Starkiller then throws a massive dark energy ball that aims to the shield Flash created. Tesla moves fast enough to be in the middle of its trajectory. Tesla charged his tesla coil with a high amount of energy, realising a punch with enough energy output to destroy Starkiller's attack, creating an explosion as a result of the colission.

Tesla managed to protect everyone behind him, but he's now extremely injured an lost his second Tesla Coil. Flash still manages to keep Sunlight at bay, but Starkiller escapes his reach, he's heading towards Tesla, who regains composure and charges against Starkiller, but he's now so weak that he can't stand a direct clash between him and Starkiller, as a result, Tesla is thrown away to the shield, falling to the ground almost defeated and destroying the shield. The girls take this chance to finally help, Flash is now exhausted to fight both Sunlight and Starkiller, but as he sees Starkiller overpowering the girls, he rushes towards there. Aura supresses Sunlight with multiple shots from Kuruk's blaster to stop her from moving any further.

Starkiller managed to take the most of the girls down easily, but Twilight managed to immobilize him, but he uses a Force Repulse to release from Twilight's gravity grasp. The shockwave brings the girls down, and as he creates a dark sword to stab Sunset, Flash rushes desperately getting in the way of the sword, receiving the hit and being pierced through the abdomen, making him spit out blood. Aura and the girls are shocked for what they're seeing, even Sunlight herself, but she takes this chance to jump and finish them off, but Sunset intercepts her midair, both fall to the ground and Sunlight takes Sunset's necklace away, and throws it deep into the woods. Aura then tries to shoot down Starkiller but her blaster got destroyed by a dagger Eclipsed Sunlight throwed to the weapon, destroying it but causing an explosion that sends her flying. Applejack then jumps to help Sunset, she and Sunlight start fighting, although Sunlight manages to dodge every single attack AJ does, and counters with quick punches, but Applejack doesn't lose any ground. Meanwhile as Aura raises her sight, she sees Flash's communicator ringing, it should've dropped from him as he was fighting. Aura then grabs it and takes the call, it's Master Chief the one talking, but he's then interrupted by Aura, who's now almost crying.

"John you have to come here quickly...F-Flash's... about... to die!" Suddenly, the call ends, and as Aura tries to recover from the explosion, she sees his son raising his blade, but he lacks the strength to swing his blade.

Flash then begins to remember his masters' words as everything moves slower.

"...In order to protect your beloved ones, you have to be ready to fight with everything you got! Even if you feel defeated, exhausted or overwhelmed, remember you have the duty to protect them, take your sword and set your heart ablaze!!!"

"...We fight not to destroy the ones in front of us... but to protect those behind us, and as long as you have someone or something to fight for, you must never give up, Flash."

"Rainbow Dash!..." Said Flash aloud, Rainbow looks at him with confusion, but he says with determination. "...Take Sunset and go for her necklace!"

As Flash said those words, he grabbed Starkiller's hand and swung his blade to decapitate him, Starkiller wasn't expecting that attack, he was only able to create a bracer to protect himself, but he feels how the blade is slowly cutting through it, he tries to take his dark sword off him, but he's restrained by Flash's hand, that doesn't let him even unclench his hand.

Tesla uses his last Tesla coil to charge against Sunlight, taking her off Sunset, allowing Rainbow Dash to take Sunset to the forest in search of her necklace.

"Why don't you give up?!!" Asks Sunlight to Tesla. "That word doesn't exist in my dictionary!!" Replied Tesla, alongside with Applejack, they started fighting. Tesla fights using the last energy source of his suit and Applejack is giving everything she has to keep Sunlight at bay, but she is frustrated because if she doesn't finishes them off quickly, Starkiller will probably die.

Rainbow and Sunset start looking for the necklace desperately, Fluttershy joined the search, asking for the wildlife if they can help them find it, but they have to go even deeper into the forest.

"DIE ALREADY!!" Said Starkiller desperately, he can't even swing his sword to cut Flash into half, he can't do anything.

"I WON'T DIE UNTIL I KILL YOU!!" Replied Flash, who shouts with anger as he's determined to kill him.

Both start screaming with anger, whilst one tries to survive, the other one tries to kill. At the woods, a little squirrel found Sunset's necklace and lend it to Fluttershy. "Sunset! Catch!" Said Fluttershy as she throwed it, Sunset catched it and wore it, activating her Daydream form, she then elevates high into the air, it's almost dawn, she then flies back at the observatory at high speed.

"(If I'm fast enough, I can help him!!)" Said Sunset in her mind. The situation turns out to be at the groups' favor, Tesla and Applejack had Eclipsed Sunlight, and Flash is extremely close to cut's Starkiller arm alongside his head, unfortunately, Sunlight and Starkiller are sorrounded by dark magic clouds that teleported them away.

"NO!!!" Said Sunset as she arrived, although she did her best to arrive sooner, she couldn't. Flash falls to the ground, dropping his blade, but he is caught by Sunset, who turns back to her normal form. "Flash! Stay with me! Don't you dare to close your eyes!" Said Sunset, she wants to keep him alive as long as it takes for the help to arrive.

"*Cough* *cough* It appears...*cough* I *cough* missed... my chance." Said Flash, despite the wounds he has received, he said that with a smile.

"Don't push yourself Flash...focus on breathing, w-w...we'll save you!" Sunset looks at his wound, is too deep that it even peirced through his organs, but she holds it in a desperate attempt to save him, the frustration is such that she begans to drop some tears, along with everyone else. "There's...not much...you *cough* can do *cough* Sunset." Said Flash, as he bleeds out, he grabs Sunset's crying face and says.

"Hey...don't cry...look, I...have...something to tell you." Sunset grabs his hand and asks with tears dropping from her face, "*Sob* W-What is it?"

"Sunset...you're... the most *cough* beautiful person... I've met in my life...and...I know we... hadn't say this properly...but..." Sunset starts blushing and with tears in her face she says. "Flash stop, you...have to... save your strengths."

"...I love you, Sunset" Said Flash with a smile, Sunset is surprised by the words, not in this moment, she then blushes even more and says with a sad smile and tears on her face. "...I love you too... dorky." Flash then slightly laughs and says. "Haha *cough* I'm glad... to... hear...that, but... I think ther...." He's then interrupted by Sunset, who kisses him passionately, both get carried away for the moment, sharing this demonstration of affection. but as Sunset caresess his hair, life starts escaping Flash's body, who leaves this world with a smile on his face. Sunset and Aura then break to tears, the rest of the girls also start crying. From the deep Forest, the Blue Team arrives, Chief is the first one to approach Flash, although he wears his helmet, it is clear he's in shock.

"We have to take him to the Infinity, NOW!!" Said Chief while taking Flash's body in his arms. "The portal will take 2 minutes!" Replied Fred.

"We don't HAVE 2 minutes!!" Said Kelly with desperation, Tesla then stands up and approaches the group.

"There's... one thing I can try. Everyone around me!!" As the group sorrounded Tesla, he unleashed the maximum energy output of his last Tesla Coil, creating an energy sphere around eveyone, as the sphere started spinning, the Tesla Coil began to break, but it only took them a few seconds to arrive at the entrance of Tesla's lab.

Twilight looks around, they teleported to another universe. "How did...?"

"RUN!!" Said Tesla, everyone followed Chief to the medical section, leaving Tesla behind as he can't stand up and his last Tesla Coil finally broke.

The group arrives rushing through the doors, Angela receives them.

"What happened, John?!" Asks Angela while looking at Flash's body. "Angela, you have to save him!!" Said John, his voice sounds not only with desperation, but also at the edge of crying.

"This too bad, come in Chief, I'm gonna need your help, the rest, please stay here!" Angela and Chief go into the surgery room. Moments turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, and hours felt like centuries.

The door opens, everyone stands up and hope the best, but what they saw crossing that door, wasn't what they expected.

Chief appears, without his helmet, and his hands are covered in blood, but it's not his. Angela follows him from behind, both share a sad expression. "What happened? How is Flash?" Asks Aura, Sunset is besides here waiting for an answer, Chief raises his sight and reveals his face with tears dropping from his eyes.

"He's...He's...dead." As Chief said, everyone couldn't believe it, Aura lets out a scream of pain, but not physical, but internal. Sunset drops on her knees while crying and so does the rest, the Blue Team also share the feeling of sorrow, but what hurts them the most, is that their brother, Master Chief, is crying for the first time.

The person that created the relationships between people of his world and from outside of it, lies dead on the medical rooms' gurney. A devastating event this was for sure, but one question still remains. What will the mane 7 and the Blue Team do after this,dark times are coming... for everyone.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! I wish you all are doing fine. I hope you like reading this chapter as much as I did writing it, and if anyone has a doubt of when are these events taking place, it is at the same moment as the events of the previous chapter.

Anyway, I wish you the best, thanks for reading this chapter and stay tuned for the next one.

Chapter 9: Aftermath

Eclipsed Sunlight and Starkiller appear at the captain's bridge, heavily wounded, but Kylo Ren gives welcomes them by asking.

"How did the mission go?" Starkiller and Eclipsed Sunlight stand up with effort. "Partially succesful." Replied Starkiller, then he's taken from the shoulder by Sunlight, she seems mad at him for some reason.

"Partially?! You killed the wrong target! You promised Sunset Shimmer will be the only one dead!" Said Sunlight, despite her wounds, she ignores the pain to argue with Starkiller.

"What happened?" Asked Kylo, he doesn't understand who they're talking about.

"I was about to kill Sunset Shimmer, but her little boyfriend got in the way and got killed instead of her..." Starkiller makes a pause to take Sunlight's hand off him. "... Yet I don't know why are you mad at me, I did us a favor! He was a bigger threat than you thought, just look at yourself! He really beat you up." Added Starkiller.

"But he was innocent!! And now you killed someone close to Master Chief, do you know what that means?!" Replied Eclipsed Sunlight, although her words seem to show a tactical focus, she truly didn't want Flash to die.

"Enough!" Kylo froze both of them with the Force and interrupted their conversation. "It means Master Chief will do everything to hunt us down, but he'll do it alone as he always does, and when he notices it, it'll be too late for him. In addition, Sunset Shimmer must be morally destroyed, which means they're weak right now. Our best shot now is to prepare a trap for Master Chief, and then we'll be able to eliminate those girls once and for all.

Kylo releases them. "Fine! I'll go to my room." Said Eclipsed Sunlight as she left the room with anger, Starkiller turns to Kylo and asks him.

"What is that thing you did? I thought teleportation could only be done with those devices." Kylo then looks at his new robotic arm and says.

"While you were gone, I received a gift from our enemies, and along to this dark powers, I've been able to go beyond my current state in less time than I thought."

Starkiller smiles and says. "Good, now then...what shall we do now, Darth Ren?" Kylo then replies. "First, get yourselves healed, then you'll regroup with the remaining Knights of Ren to plan our next move." Starkiller looks at him confused and says. "You know that most of the Knights of Ren died, right?" Kylo then turns around and replies. "Yeah, I'm aware of that, although I managed to bring back Cardo and Ap'Lek, we might need to do some adjustments to the line-up."

A new day begun and the mane 7 assisted to school, they were trying to hide their emotions to the rest of people, but Flash's absence wasn't something easy to avoid. Now at the cafeteria, Sunset is eating alone, trying to make up her mind, but the sad expression on her face was indelible, suddenly Principal Celestia called for Sunset to go at her office. Sunset stopped eating like nothing and went her way. Once she arrives, Sunset asks.

"Principal Celestia, you called for me?" Then, she sees a tall man in her office, the man's expression seems grieving, his face shows that he cried not much while ago, Sunset look at him and thanks to the scars on the man's face, she recognizes him.

"C-Chief... is... that you?" Asks Sunset, he seems different from the last time she saw him with his helmet off.

"Hi... Sunset, how you've...." Chief was about to ask how was she, but he's interrupted by Sunset, who hugs him.

Chief then puts his hand on her shoulder, both were trying to cope with the pain in silence, but Sunset broke in tears, whils Chief only gives a sad expression on his face.

"H-He... d-did... his b-best, to protect... all of you." Chief says while holding back from crying, Principal Celestia stands from her desk and says.

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Sunset, it's fine if you want to take some time off, Aura told me she doesn't want to make the event public yet." Said Principal Celestia as she looked at Sunset with compassion.

Sunset wipes the tears off her face and says. "Thanks Principal Celestia, but... I think I'm not the one who needs to take time."

"Aura feel asleep, she was crying the whole night, you can make her some company..." Chief makes a pause just to be interrupted by Sunset.

"Where are you going?" Asks Sunset, she thought he'd stay in this world a bit longer. "I have other businesses to attend at the Infinity, I hope you understand." Replies Chief with a serious voice.

"Mr. John, if I may ask but, isn't this event more important than any other matter?" Asks Principal Celestia. Chief looks at her with a serious expression, intimidating Celestia, but she doesn't flinch.

"With all due respect Principal Celestia but, don't misunderstand me. I'm a soldier from another world, and therefore I have the job to protect all of you from something that escapes your comprehension, that's a duty I can't avoid even if I wanted to..." Chief said, then he turns around and says. "We all cry in different ways." Chief was about to leave, but he's interrupted by Sunset, who says. "John, wait!" Chief then suddenly stops before opening the door and letting Sunset talk. "I want to train." Said Sunset, although her heart is grieving, she's determined to what she's saying. "Pack your stuff, then." Said Chief right before opening the door and leaving.

Now at the Infinity, Chief, and Sunset are in the training room, but this time, it's only the two of them. Chief wears a simple training t-shirt and camouflaged pants, revealing multiple scars of both his augmentations and the battles he has fought. Sunset also wears the same, but she tied her hair back as a ponytail and has bandages around her fists as a safety measure.

Chief then assumed a fighting stance, he looked at Sunset and said with a calm voice. "Bring it." Sunset then approaches him and starts launching many punches, Chief only dodges every single one of them with extreme ease. But he notices that Sunset has an angry expression on her face, her attacks begin to lack technique and are only brute force.

"Stop attacking senselessly, focus!" Said Chief as he pushed Sunset back. "Agh! It doesn't matter!" Sunset then used her geode's power to create a light rapier, she then assumes a fencing stance and starts attacking Chief, who quickly grabs a pair of knuckles from the back of his waist, and they turn into armored bracers. Chief's now blocking instead of dodging Sunset's attacks, she's fast and also has a surprising skill with the rapier, but it didn't take long for Chief to see an opening in her guard.

Chief then takes Sunset's attacking hand, stopping her from continuing her assault, Chief then acts quickly enough to perform an arm lock on Sunset, once she's immobilized, Chief tells her. "You're letting your anger drive you! It's blinding your mind and therefore, you are loosing!" Sunset tries to free from Chief's grab, but she's unable to do anything, she then relaxes a bit so that Chief releases her, once freed, she confronts Chief.

"How wouldn't I be angry?! They killed Flash and I couldn't do anything because I was weak!!" Sunset said with a grieving voice while looking at Chief, she then asks. "You two were really close, why aren't you angry?! Huh?!" Chief then looks at her with an even deeper expression and says.

"I am angry... at levels you can't imagine, but I don't lose my cool because I have discipline, which is something that you lack! Focus your anger correctly and you won't..." Chief is then interrupted by Sunset, who asks Chief.

"Why weren't you there, John?!! Flash said that he called you, and you didn't respond!! What were you doing when we needed your HELP?!!!" Chief then gives an expression that shows slight signs of anger and replies.

"The First Order attacked MY world, they released a threat not even you can comprehend, Sunset!! We had to work together with Kylo Ren to stop that threat from escaping to other universes."

"Worked with Kylo Ren?!! Are you FUCKING SERIOUS?!! You could've killed him and probably neither Starkiller nor my counterpart would've escaped, John!! Why didn't you do it?!! Asked Sunset back at Chief, her frustration is starting to overflow and is beginning to annoy Chief, who replies even angrier.

"Don't you DARE blame me for not killing someone!!! If we hadn't worked together, everyone would've died..." Chief makes a pause and approaches Sunset with anger. "...Tell me Sunset, have you ever killed someone?!!! Do you know how does it feel to take someone else's life?!!!" Sunset remains silent and gives an ashamed face, she can't argue with that, but Chief isn't over lecturing her. "You haven't right?!! Then let me ask you something... You promised me to do what you had to do when the moment comes, right?... Then why the FUCK you couldn't kill your counterpart?!!!" Sunset then replies. "It's not the SAME!! I've taken too much from her, I won't take away her life just because she got corrupted by dark magic." Chief then replies back to Sunset. "But she's a threat at the level of Kylo Ren and Starkiller, in the current state of things, there's no saving her and only a fool would let her live!"

After hearing that, Sunset gets angrier and replies. "The HECK DID YOU SAY?!!! I'm not giving up on saving her, and I never will!!" Chief looks at her with disappointment and says. "Then I was also a fool to trust you. If you're not going to do it...I will." Said Chief, at this moment, both him and Sunset are angered and frustrated, and therefore, this is the right moment for them to release some steam.

Sunset uses her geode and instead of transforming in Daydream Shimmer as usual, she now imbues her fists with her light energy, Chief on the other hand, assumes a fighting stance with his armored bracers, before they engage into combat, Sunset asks John. "Answer me something, why did you always hold back whenever we trained?" Chief looks at her with determination and replies with a serious voice. "Because I only use my full strength to fight a serious threat, but I won't make that mistake again with your counterpart."

"Don't...you dare!!" Said Sunset before chargin against Chief, this time, she tries to overwhelm Chief with multiple attacks, but he manages to block them until Sunset throws a punch charged with energy and anger to Chief, making him fall back many steps, when he raises his sight, he sees Sunset and tells her. "I don't want to hurt you Sunset..." He said while Sunset charged at him, he blocked the attack Sunset threw at him, Chief looks at Sunset in the eyes and says. "You're becoming quite annoying, give up before you get hurt!!" Chief then uses Sunset's momentum to bring her to the ground, smacking her on the floor, Chief then falls back a bit and raises his guard, waiting for Sunset to get up.

Sunset gets up and says with sorrow in her voice. "You...don't... get it...I want to fix everything I've done wrong, but... right now... I don't know what to fucking do... a part of me wants to help my counterpart... but another part of me wants to make her pay... this... fight, is the only thing I can do... to see if I would be able to fight her again... she beat me up the first time... the second time, she took my necklace away in no time... tell me John... why the hell... do I have this power, if I...can't protect... those whom I love?!"

Chief looks at her and replies with sadness. "That's the same burden I've been coping with for years, this time... if I were faster... or maybe if I took my communicator with me... I could've saved him... but now... all I can do is to focus and keep moving forward, despite the frustration that consumes my heart." Both recognize that neither of them is okay.

"I guess... this is the only way we understand each other, am I right?" Asks Sunset with a sad smile, Chief then replies with another question. "Listen, we said our things... I offended you and I apologize for it but... do you still want to do this?" Asked Chief referring to the fight they're having.

"Yes, I need to prove myself how strong I am right now." Replies Sunset, taking a fighting stance similar to her counterpart's, Chief looks at her and also prepares to fight, not before saying. "Very well then." Both run towards each other and the fight now begun.

A while passed and Jerome came into the training room looking for John. "Chief! Are you here?!" Asks Jerome, he then turns at his right side and sees a cloud of dust that begins to dissipate, revealing both Chief and Sunset, both seem full of punches, but Sunset seems to be the most injured out of them, she then charges flying in a last assault, her stance seems to show that she's going to attack with her right fist, Chief moves to the right in order to dodge it, but as Sunset was about to throw a punch with her right fist, she changed her tactic midway, as Chief moved to the right side, ending in front of her left hand, Sunset stop her right fist and in a brief moment, she started moving her left fist, catching Chief off guard, he was about to receive that energy punch, but he had no other choice but to punch Sunset with his right fist, he exceeded a bit on his strength, but it was the only way to end the fight.

Blood and a few teeth got spilled on the floor as Sunset fell to the ground, the battle was over, both were tired but finally relieved a bit from the weight of their frustrations and burdens.

"John what the hell?!!" Asks Jerome as he approaches them, Sunset lies unconscious on the ground while Chief breaths heavily as he takes off his bracers, Chief looks at Jerome and says.

"She wanted to train... we were both frustrated, and... she... wouldn't stop unless one of us got knocked down, and... I think...I went a little bit... too far." Said Chief as he was taking Sunset in his arms, proceeding to leave the training room.

"Oh, you think? We better take her to the infirmary right away." Replied Jerome who now goes with John to the infirmary, but suddenly on their way there, Sunset wakes up and stands on her own.

"Do you feel fine already?" Asks Chief as Sunset stood up, she then puts her hand on the bruise that the punch left on her cheek, then, a small but warm fire comes from her hand and heals her wound and restores the teeth she lost from the punch.

"Yeah...I'm fine...just a bit... dizzy." Replied Sunset as she now looks at Chief, but he and Jerome look at her with amaze. "What was that?" Asks Jerome, pointing out the fire that just appeared.

"Sunset...since when... can you heal yourself?" Asks Chief, that's a power he never witnessed before. "What do you mean? I don't have that ability." Replies Sunset, confused of what he asked.

"You didn't notice the fire that just came out from your hand? Really?" Asks back Jerome, he also can't believe it. Sunset gives the same response, she's unaware of having that ability. "Maybe Tesla knows what is going on with me, shall we go to his lab?" Asks Sunset, she's even more intrigued than Chief and Jerome for this new ability of hers. The group then agrees and everyone heads to Tesla's lab, once there, they meet with the scientist.

"Oh, hello there! What brings you here?" Asks Tesla as he checks some formulas at his chalkboard. He seems to have bandages around his forehead and a few band-aids on his face, he seems full of enthusiasm despite his wounds.

"Hi Mr. Tesla, something happened regarding my powers and we want to know why exactly. You think you can help us?" Asks Sunset, she seems less stressed than before, the fight she had served right for her one way or another.

"Sure thing! But first..." Tesla then approaches Sunset and Chief, hugging them and also surprising both of them, Tesla is not known for doing this kind of gestures, with a sad expression he says. "I'm sorry for your loss, he was... a geat person... although... I could've done more, but I couldn't keep up with him." Said Tesla, Sunset thanks the gesture in silence, while Chief only looks anywhere else to avoid contact with him.

"Thanks... Mr. Tesla but, you don't have to blame yourself... I am the one who could've done more." Replies Sunset, she still regrets not being able to fight more back then, although Flash wanted to protect her at all cost.

Tesla then steps back and sighs, after that, he says. "You know he wanted to protect you all, right? You were even more special for him, it's normal that he didn't want you to get hurt.... that's why I've been innovating the Super Automaton, that Equestrian energy has proven to be an excellent source of power..." Tesla makes a pause and realizes his drifting from the original topic. "*Ehem* Please excuse me, tell me, what kind of power did you discover?" Asks Tesla excited for the topic in question.

Sunset then says. "Well... I was training with John and I received a super strong punch from him, Chief says I lost a few teeth and had a terrible bruise on my face, but then I woke up and after placing my hand on the wound, I didn't feel any pain at all, and my teeth are complete!" Tesla remains attentive, but Chief then adds.

"When she put her hand on her face, a weird fire came from her hand and healed her, and we asked Sunset since when she has that ability, but she doesn't know." Tesla then looks at Sunset and asks her.

"Tell me, Sunset... what exactly did you feel when you put your hand on your face?" Sunset makes apuase on goes back on her steps to remember that feeling, after a while, she replies. "It was... warm, and... cozy, it dissipated the pain really fast."

Tesla then turns around and starts thinking aloud. "Fire... warm... cozy... flames... f-flames... that's it!" Tesla quiclly found the answer, he turned around and started explaining.

"Listen, this might sound weird at first, but let me give you the whole context..." Tesla then takes his chalkboard and cleans it, just for him to start drawing as he was also explaining.

"Back in your world Sunset, when we... fought... against your counterpart, I used one of my Tesla Coils to imbue Flash's blade with Equestrian energy, that energy got mixed into him and, after many procedures that remain unknown for me, Flash became able to create genuine flames from his blade, so... after the battle ended, Flash dropped his blade, but the energy was all throughout his body, and after both of you... kissed... it appears that same energy got into you as well, giving you the ability to use those same flames Flash used to protect you, but now as a way of self-healing."

His theory seems understandable, Sunset takes his necklace and looks at it with sorrow, a last gift from Flash, she feels unworthy of it, but there's nothing she can do for it.

"I-I w-wish to speak to you...one...last...moment." Said Sunset with a grieving voice as she put her necklace near her mouth, she wanted to share a few words with her beloved, but she knew that there's nothing she can do to fix that, Chief approaches her and after putting his hand on her shoulder, he said. "Sunset... do you... want... to see him?" Chief knew that probably that could help her, but he's uncertain of the result.

"Y-Yeah, I want to." Replied Sunset, regaining composure, the group leaves the lab and goes to the medical bay, inside a cryogenic chamber lies Flash's lifeless body, Sunset only approaches and places her hand on the chamber, hoping to receive and answer from him, but as she expected, nothing happened, she then leans on her arm covering her eyes, in order to not reveal that she's crying.

Jerome approaches Chief who remains still but with a sad face and says. "John... I'll go to Equestria on your behalf, please... rest, this is not... something easy to cope with." Jerome then places his hand on his shoulder to say goodbye, Chief only looks at him and agrees, once Jerome left, Sunset recovers and whipes her tears off her face, she then asks Chief.

"Why... is he frozen? Shouldn't he be on his world?" Asked Sunset, she didn't think of it before, but now she's intrigued by that.

"That can wait, as for now, he's staying here." Said Chief witha serious voice, Sunset can't understand it, then she asks again. "What do you want to do?" Chief remains silent as he looks at her, Sunset approaches Chief and asks him. "What's on your mind, John? Do you know... how to bring him back?" Sunset hopes to hear an answer that gives her any trace of hope, but Chief looks at her and replies. "No...Sunset... I-I'm afraid, there's no plan. I just wanted to preserve his body as much as I can before the funeral. I'm... s-sorry"

Sunset receives the discouraging answer and says. "Of course... why would there be a way of bringing him back... *sigh* I'll go home... thanks John, for... helping me..." Sunset then looks back at Chief and says goodbye, as she leaves the room. Chief's now alone, he seems immersed in his thoughts, he looks at the cryogenic chamber and changes his sad expression to a determination one, he now leaves the room, heading to a place where he can sort his thoughts better.

Back to her home, Sunset visits Flash's place along with her friends and the Blue Team, everyone gathers at the living room and start sharing memories they had with Flash, Sunset wasn't part of the conversation for too long, he went upstairs and visited Flash's room, it looked clean, but also slightly messy, Sunset took Flash's guitar and passed her hand over it with a finesse touch, she remembers the hours he used to practice with it, the songs he wrote, the shows he played, that guitar, was his loyal companion.

"It's weird to see his guitar out off its case, he always put it on its case when he wasn't using it." Says Aura, who's leaning on the door frame, Sunset turns around and looks at Aura with sadness. "Y'know? He said to me that he was writing a song dedicated to you, probably... you might want to read it." Said Aura as she opened a drawer and took a notebook out from it, it was Flash's music compendium, Aura then lends it to Sunset for her to read it, Sunset takes it with delicacy and opens it, just to see all the songs he wrote, drawings of musical sheets. "I'll be at the living room, I'll wait you there." Said Aura as she left the room and closes the door to give Sunset some space. As she navigates through the pages, she found the song Aura mentioned and reads it.

🎵When I see your smile, my heart begins to soar,
A symphony of emotions I've never felt before.
Your presence lights up my world, like the sun's warm embrace,
I'm falling deeper into love, with each step we chase.

I'm in love with you, it's a feeling so divine,
Every moment spent together, feels like a sweet valentine.
You're the melody to my song, the lyrics to my rhyme,
I'll cherish this love forever, till the end of time.

Your laughter is a melody, that dances in the air,
I'm captivated by your essence, a love beyond compare.
In your arms, I've found solace, a haven I call home,
With you, I am complete, no longer feeling alone.

I'm in love with you, it's a feeling so divine,
Every moment spent together, feels like a sweet valentine.
You're the melody to my song, the lyrics to my rhyme,
I'll cherish this love forever, till the end of time.

In your eyes, I find a universe, so vast and deep,
A love that's everlasting, a secret I will keep.
With every beat of my heart, I'll be there by your side,
Together, we'll conquer the world, love as our guide.

I'm in love with you, it's a feeling so divine,
Every moment spent together, feels like a sweet valentine.
You're the melody to my song, the lyrics to my rhyme,
I'll cherish this love forever, till the end of time.

So, let our love story unfold, like a timeless tale,
Through the highs and lows, our love will never fail.
With you, my love, my heart has truly found its home,
Forever entwined, forever in love, we'll never be alone.🎵

Sunset can't help herself but to shed some tears as she reads this and realizes the void that lies in her heart right now, she keeps reading all of Flash's annotations, kuje sine self-feedback from every perfomance he did, as Sunset gets to the final pages of the notebook, she finds annotations, but they weren't lyrics, they were writings from a diary.

"First vision: The Infinity at a Halo ring orbit, I can't stop hearing battle sounds with that image, probably is something that happened before, or maybe not, it's confusing for me to determine the exact date of this vision, I only hope that nothing bad comes from this."

"Second vision: My mother working at the office, this one seemed pretty normal, there were no 'special' sounds in the background, I recognize the outfit she was wearing in the vision, it's from today, but I can't find the relation with the previous vision. What did that voice mean with '...embrace the light.'?"

"Third vision: There's someone lying on the ground, dead, but I can't recognize who is it no matter how much I try to focus. I can hear people mourning that person's death, I'm afraid of the identity of that person, what if it's Sunset, or my mother, or John, or it can be me.... agh, this is confusing me instead of illuminating my consciousness."

"Fourth vision: It's Galen, he seems to be struggling to stop something, I can hear... explosions... on the background, and someone screaming, but I can't recognize that voice."

"Fifth vision: Twilight and Tesla seem to be looking at someone with determination, but both of them look quite injured and also they're wearing suits that I can't explain how they look because I don't understand them, they work with... electricity... I think... anyway, they are in a battlefield, but I can't recognize the background, it looks like a city, a destroyed one for sure. I hear 'energy'... flowing... in the background, it's quite weird to describe, but feels like power."

"Sixth vision: A...phoenix?... well, not a phoenix at all... is like a flaming phoenix, but it's weird because I hear a 'surge' in the background. I've written all the visions I had after interacting with a 'magical' rift in another world. If I find the answers to them, I'll write them here, in case of the opposite, no one will know about the existance of this notebook besides of me."

Sunset can't believe it, these visions, their meaning remains hidden even for her, maybe if she consults someone else, she can find the meaning behind Flash's visions, but for the moment, she'll leave the notebook back to its place, Sunset leaves the room with a confused face, but she ignores it for the moment, she has other things to focus right now.

Time passed and now at night time, Chief is on the CHS world, exploring the deep forest under the cloak of night and rain, he's heading to the location that appears on his map, but he suddenly stops after hearing a branch crack, he quickly takes his gun and points it out to the source of the sound, he uses a scanner from his helmet to scan out the area in front of him, but right after he's done scanning, bushes moving can be heard behind him, he turns around aiming his gun, just to reveal Eclipsed Sunlight with her hands up, she's not wearing her armor, but only a casual outfit with her jacket.

"John, calm down, don't be wreckless." Says Cortana, Chief still aims his gun but now directly to Sunlight's head, before something bad happens, she says.

"W-wait! Please! I don't want to fight, for real, I just..." Eclipsed Sunlight is then interrupted by Chief. "15 seconds." He said as he hammered his gun, Sunlight then tries to calm down Chief.

"Listen Master Chief, I'm sorry for what I did! and I truly mean it, the plan went wrong and an innocent person paid the price of my actions, all I want..." Chief only gets angrier and shoots his gun, Sunlight manages to block the shot with a dark bracer, but before she realized, Chief was already landing a punch on her belly, stunning her.

"You say SORRY?!!" Said Chief as he grabbed Sunlight by the head and smacked her into many trees, he then throws her away to crash against a rock, Sunlight is overwhelmed by Chief's strength, she then activates her geode and gets ready for battle, as she raises her sight, she sees Chief about to land a blow from above, she barely dodges the hit, but the rock got destroyed by Chief's punch, throwing many rocks away and creating a dust screen.

"Chief... I just want to talk..." Sunlight then receives a punch right on the side of her head, she couldn't even dodge it, it felt like if she was hit by a car or something, she falls to the ground, spiting out a considerable amount of blood, Chief then takes her by the hair and says.

"You lost your chance to talk! Do you know why haven't I killed you?!" Sunlight then uses a repulsive shockwave to take Chief off her, he only won a few moments to think, whatever she wants to say, Chief's not gonna listen in his current state, maybe if she immobilizes him, there might be a chance.

"Why?!" Asks Sunlight in a desperate attempt to buy more time. Chief then shoots his grapple hook and pierces through Sunlight's shoulder, all of this happened so quick, she can't even think of a strategy that can counter Chief's years of experience, she anchors herself to the ground so that Chief doesn't pull her, but Chief retracts his grapple, thrusting himself towards her, in a brief moment, Chief landed another punch on Sunlight, bringing her to the ground while also leaving a blood trail on the ground, Chief now stands in front of her and says with a serious angry voice.

"Because Sunset didn't let me, but now... I don't care about what she can tell me." Chief now moves slowly towards Sunlight menacingly, Sunlight's now genuinely frightened of Chief, in a desperate act of creating space, she shoots an energy beam to Chief, but he managed to block and now he's only a few steps back where he was.

Sunlight stands and focuses her dark magic to heal the wound on her shoulder, it took her a bit of effort, but is now time to fight back. Sunlight uses her pain to gain more power and thrusts towards Chief at high speed, she was aiming to land a heavy blow on him, but as expected, Chief reacted faster, with a spinning kick, Chief took Sunlight out of the way and sent her flying to crash with more trees.

"You think those cheap tactics will work on me?! I've faced threats BIGGER than you, brat!!" Said Chief as he now pulls out his gun, Sunlight lies on the ground, catching her breath amidst the blood and sweat she's dropping, she has to wait for the right moment to strike, otherwise, she's dead for sure.

Chief slowly pulls the trigger, as the sound of the hammer can be heard, a thunder struck nearby, Sunlight uses this as a chance to move, she moved swiftly enough to dodge the bullet, she then turns around and approaches Chief with a jump, both fall to the ground, but now Sunlight takes the upper hand.

Although he blows doesn't affect Chief as much as she thought, it makes him flinch enough to make him loose ground quickly, Sunlight continues attacking and with a storm of attacks from multiple directions, she managed to drop Chief with a sweeping kick, she then uses her powers to tie Chief to the ground, she finally can talk properly, after taking a deep breath to relax a bit, she says.

"Chief, I know you're angry at me, but I was also fooled by Starkiller... the plan was simple... Flash would've called the girls, they will go to rescue Aura, we sorrounded and take Sunset out... But Starkiller knew that Flash will also fight and didn't told me about it. I tried to solve it the peaceful way by letting him and his mother leave, but... he declined. When... Starkiller... pierced him... I couldn't believe it... he said that everything would go as planned... and... although Flash got in the way, I know perfectly that Starkiller could've dodged him but... he just wanted to kill someone." Pain can be seen and heard on her, Chief recognizes this and replies.

"Why are YOU here in the first place?!" He tries to free himself from Sunlight's magic. "Because I want to help!..." Sunlight makes a pause and then says. "...I know I won't be forgiven, but I want to fix my mistake." She wants to bring Flash back, Chief can't comprehend it, that's why he asks.

"What EXACTLY makes you think I have a plan?" Chief seems confused about this, Sunlight replies with determination. "Oh, I've read your profile in the Firt Order archives, the verb give up is not in it, literally, it doesn't exists. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you take years to come up with a plan, I... want... to help." Sunlight then realises Chief, who stands up slowly, he now comprehends the situation, he looks at Sunlight and asks her.

"Are you so sure you want to help me?" Sunlight only looks at him with a serious face and replies. "I'm sure, what do you have on mind?" Chief turns around and says. "Follow me." Now, both head to the coordiantes Chief was following in first place, it only took them a few minutes to arrive.

A device similar to a portal machine lies there, sorrounded by leafy trees, someone can be seen using a computer next to the machine, he's a strapping man wearing a green armor, similar to Master Chief, but this person has a dagger in the side of his bracer. "Who is he?" Asks Sunlight, Chief looks at her and says. "Our guide." Chief then steps forth and calls that person. "Slayer! We're here!" The person turns around and approaches both of them.

The Slayer looks at Sunlight confused and turns back at Chief, who replies. "Don't be rude with her, she's willing to help, also... she has powers that will be useful in our mission." As Chief said that, the machine opens a portal, the Slayer turns around and takes his shotgun, he's now standing right before the portal.

Chief and Sunlight also approach the portal, Chief takes his blades and assault rifle from a supply box near the computer but, before going throught the portal, Sunlight asks. "Where are we going?" Chief looks at her and replies with a serious voice as he attaches his blades to his back and loads his assault rifle.

"We're going to hell. The Devil owes me a favor." Sunlight is surprised by that answer, she then asks. "Why didn't you bring anyone else?" Chief then replies while looking at the portal. "I don't want to put anyone else in such danger. Originally, this mission is top secret, only Doom Slayer and I were the ones to go there, but now... you're coming with us... last chance kid, do you want to do this?" Asks Chief, Sunlight then looks at the portal and says with determination. "Yeah, let's do this!"

"Fine, let's go!" Said Chief aloud and now the whole team goes through the portal, and as the passed through it, the gate closes and the machine is teleported back to the place where it came from.

Author's Note

Hello everyone!! First, I want to apologize for the time it took for this chapter to be released, but I had many matters to attend to in my personal life, but don't worry. I managed to solve most of the problems, and now I have time to write this story, but don't expect the next chapter to come out in less than a week. But I deeply thank all of you for your patience and consideration.

I hope you liked this chapter as much as I did, and be ready for the next one.

It's time to Rip and Tear.

Chapter 11: A Deal With The Devil

Once they entered the city, Chief stops and says.

"Listen up Sunlight, the city if full of sinners and hell born creatures, we must be cautious in order to not being detected by anyone." Chief then puts on the hood of his cloak, hiding his armor from the common sight.

"Hold on, you have a cloak, what am I supposed to wear?" Asks Sunlight regarding the possibility that they find out that she is a human. “Just keep your geode activated, you look like a sinner with those purple eyes and the dark aura... no offense.” Replies Chief, Sunlight accepts it reluctantly, as they began to wander through pentagram city streets, Sunlight sees how it works as a common civilization, yet here are no rules. There is a dead body on the sidewalk, Sunlight looks at it with disgust while Chief acts indifferently. After walking for a while, Sunlight asks with a low voice.

"Where are we going exactly?" Chief then replies with a low voice. "...We're heading to a place where we might find shelter..." After saying that and walking for a few more minutes, they arrive to a tall building. "Here we are." Says Chief while Sunlight looks at the top of the building and reads the sign on top of it.

"...H-Hazbin Hotel? What kind of hotel is this one." Says Sunlight with confusion, there's a ship at the side of the building, a radio cabin at the top of it and a zeppelin at the other side of it.

"Hmph... weird...the last time I came here, it was named Happy Hotel... let me go first to check if we're on the right place." Chief then steps forward and knocks on the door gently, then the door opens and a small creature appears.

"Hi there! I'm Niffty and welcome to the Hazbin Hotel, are you sinners craving to be redeemed?" Asks Niffty with a cheerful voice.

"We are on the right place, John." Says Cortana in Chief's mind. Chief agrees silently and then replies to Niffty's question. "Not at all, you'll see, we are..." Chief is then interrupted by Niffty who got astonished by Chief and Sunlight's look, full of scratches, wounds, and a few drops of blood.

"Woah!! You really are covered in filth, guys, c'mon come in, let's get yourself cleaned up!" Said Niffty as she grabbed Sunlight and Chief by their hands and brought them inside the hotel. Once they're in, the door closes behind them and Sunlight says. "We appreciate your concern Niffty, but we're not here to check in at your hotel, we're..."

"Niffty then throws water from a bucket at Sunlight, removing the dirt that was on her, while also cleaning her with a sponge. Niffty's amazingly fast and in a few seconds, Sunlight was already clean from all the scratches and dirt, while also had her jacket sewed from all the scratches it had. "Holy sh... Hahaha! Thanks Niffty! I really need it." Replies Sunlight while admiring Niffty's efficiency.

Before Chief realizes, Niffty already took his cloak and started washing it. "Hey!!" Said Chief aloud, after realizing he screwed up, a voice can be heard upstairs.

"Who is it Niffty?!" Asks the voice, Chief and Sunlight look upwards but they can't see who said that. "Oh just some people that knocked on our door, but they are in such lame conditions... no offense, and I'm trying to at least make them look decent." Replies Niffty, she then dries Chief's cloak with two irons and puts it back on him. "See? Now you can go and scare children with your grumpy appearance." Said Niffty at Chief, who only looks at her with confusion, he's never seen any being like this before.

Then, someone comes out from another room and says.

"Finally! More guests, I was starting to feel that this hotel was going to be lonely forever!" Says the being while going downstairs.

"What or who are you?" Asks Sunlight while looking at the spider-like being, who got outraged by the question and replies. "Hold on! You really don't know who I am? Really?!" Sunlight and Chief deny it with their heads.

"Haven't you heard the name Angel Dust?" Asks the being with a proud smile, it was sure that the name would be enough to resound in their memories, but unfortunately, it got no positive answer. "Really?! C'mon!! Angel Dust?! The porn star? Ugh... What kind of shitty things you see on your phones and TV then?!"

"Relax, Angel, don't feel bad because two people in Hell don't know about all the pervy stuff you do." Said a voice behind her, it was another woman.

"So... who are you and why are you here?" Then, Angel Dust interrupts the woman and says. "Y'know, for being sinners, you look kinda weird, the man seems to be a tough guy and the girl looks very... humanized." The Angel approaches them and says. "What do you say if we have some fun the three of us, huh? I think you two can do wonders in bed, especially you, tough guy..." Angel then tries to take Chief's hood off, but he grabs her hand and says with a serious voice. "No." He then realizes Angel, who replies. "Oh fine then, I guess it'll be only you and me babe." Said Angel while looking and Sunlight, who blushes, but the other woman says. "Angel, stop trying to fuck with the new guests, you know that's against the rules." Angel then turns around and says. "I know Vaggie, but you know I can't help but to tease every new person I come across with... HAHAHA!!" Sunlight then quickly says. "S-sorry... Angel, but I'll have to say no, we're looking for someone, actually." Said Sunlight with a serious voice, erasing the blushed expression from her face.

"And who might be the one you're looking for?" Asks Vaggie, Chief, who steps forth and replies. "I wonder if Charlie Morningstar is here?" Then, Vaggie points at Chief with a spear. "What do you want with her?" Asked Vaggie with a serious voice, Chief takes his hood off, revealing his helmet and replies. "Don't you remember me... Vaggie?"

"It's you! I never thought that you'd return here... uh mm... sorry, what was your name again?" Asks Vaggie who instantly recognized Chief by his helmet, she then dissolves her spear and has a more friendly tone, then a cheerful voice can be heard from the top of the hotel. "I'm coming!!" Said the voice with a singing voice. A girl then jumps from the top and is caught by Vaggie.

"Hahaha, that was so much fun... though I almost died there, thanks Vaggie! Tell me mister, what can I... John!!" Charlie then stands up from excitement and hugs Chief, everyone is now confused as no one expected that both of them already knew each other. "You... knew each other?" Asks a confused Angel Dust, Charlie then turns around and replies with a cheerful voice. "Of course! He saved my life in an Extermination a few years ago, you should've seen my dad, he was at edge of crying after seeing John carrying me in his arms while leaving a trace of dead Exorcists behind him."

"I can't imagine the King of Hell himself being... emotional." Says Sunlight after hearing Charlie, Charlie then approaches her and after looking at Sunlight for a bit, she asks with a friendly voice. "And who might you be, young lady?" Charlie extends her hand to shake Sunlight's, who replies the gesture and says. "My name is Eclipsed Sunlight, pleasure to meet you... Princess Charlie... or Charlotte... Morningstar.... hehe, sorry, I'm not good with titles." Charlie then, with a very friendly voice, replies. "Nah, don't overdo it, call me Charlie." Charlie then turns back at Chief and asks him. "So... John, what brings you here?"

Master Chief then replies. "Actually... Charlie, we're here because I'm looking to cash the favor your father owes me, I was hoping that you can take us where he is." Charlie starts thinking over Chief's idea, after a few seconds, she says with a cheerful smile. "Ok, I'll help you, but he has a tight schedule, so we better leave now... Charlie then turns back to Vaggie and tells her. "...I'll be back in a while, you think you can handle the hotel while I'm off?" Said Charlie while grabbing Vaggie's hands. "Hon, don't worry about it, I'll keep everything under control here, you make sure nothing bad happens with your dad." Said Vaggie while looking at Charlie directly in her eyes, then both smile and after a quick kiss, Charlie parts her way along Chief and Sunlight.

The group then leaves the hotel and stands out the door, seemingly out of nowhere, a limousine arrives, and the group gets into it. Despite having multiple seats, Sunlight and Charlie share a row, while Chief occupies a whole row by himself.

"Y'know... Hell doesn't seem that bad after all." Says Sunlight while stretching her arms, Charlie then takes off her dress jacket and says with a serious voice. "I'm afraid to say that you're wrong, Hell is a chaotic place, sinners in here are treated as scum, people die almost every day and authority is almost unperceived by everyone..." Sunlight then looks by the window of the limo and sees what Charlie means. Although Hell seems like civilization, it is made from the worst souls that there have existed, discrimination, violence, and abuses of power can be seen to be the common stuff on a daily basis. "...But I think they can change, as long as their hearts want to, they can reach redemption and although everyone says my idea is stupid or has no future, I won't give up, these people were humans once, if they can choose to do bad things, then they can choose to do the righteous thing to fix their mistakes."

"You... believe... in second chances?" Asks Sunligth with a serious voice, she really wants an answer, Charlie then replies with a cheerful smile. "Of course I believe! Despite how hard it is to make a sinner change, it's not impossible, and the same goes for humans like you! While you're alive, the choices you make have a certain weight when you go to the Afterlife, you're like vessels that cultivate experiences during your lifetime and once you die, those consequences will decide your fate, but you can change the direction of you actions during the time you're alive. Whether to do good things and help others, or do evil things and hurt the people around you, if you ask me, those constant changes are... fascinating." After hearing that, Sunlight is even more reflective over her past actions, maybe this path she's been following hasn't been the best option after all.

"We're here!" Says Charlie as the limousine stopped, everyone gets out of it and is now in front of a tall building, seemingly a huge office, as the group enters the building, Chief and Sunlight appreciate the decoration of the place, which shouts "Royalty" aloud, after walking through the lobby, they stopped at the receptionist's desk, Charlie then tells the receptionist. "We request to see Lucifer Morningstar." The receptionist only raises its sight with laziness and asks. "And who might you be?" Charlie is now confused by the question, as she supposed it'll be obvious who is she. "Ehm... I'm his daughter." Said Charlie witdiscomfort, she's not a fan of using her title to get things, although this is a special situation.

"And who are those creeps behind you?" Asks the receptionist pointing towards Chief and Sunlight, Charlie looks at them hesitant of what to say, fortunately Sunlight managed the situation perfectly. "I'm just a humble sinner interested in making business with Mr. Morningstar, I bring with me a prototype of a security android that'll keep safety and order no matter what..." Sunlight then takes off Chief's cloak, revealing his intimidating presence, he then silently approaches the receptionist without breaking eye contact. "Now then... if I were to describe this tough guy with one word I'd say... mercyless, and trust me when I say it, in fact... maybe you want to test him out?" Said Sunlight grinning mischievously as she now leans on the receptionist's desk.

"*gulp* Ok... you can go, I'll notify Mr. Morningstar you're coming." Said the receptionist while looking at Chief's menacing presence. "Perfect! Let's get moving, people!" Said Charlie cheerfully as everyone now heads to the elevator, once inside, Sunlight returns Chief his cloak, whom after that, said. "I didn't think she'd fall for it." Charlie then turns around and says. "You were amazing there, tell me, Sunlight, where did you learn to act like that?" Asked Charlie with enthusiasm.

"Charlie's right, where did you learn to perform like that?" Asks Chief while putting his cloak as a cape. Sunlight got a bit nervous, after all, she's not used to compliments, but after thinking briefly, she decides to reply. "Well... as I told John before, I had many jobs, and one of them it was being a salesperson, that's where I learnt to perform like that."

"You have a talent for this, Sunlight, and I mean it for real." Says Chief after hearing Sunlight, who now blushes a bit and says with a smile. "Thanks... it's the first time I hear those words at all." After that the elevator stops. "We're here." Says Charlie with a smile, and as the door opens, they come out of the elevator, Sunlight looks around and sees how the place is filled with a dim red light, a dark red carpet that leads to Lucifer's throne, where is Lucifer himself seated, with his legs crossed and a broad smile.

"Charlie! So you've finally decided to make something useful with your time instead of pursuing your silly idea of redemption? you couldn't make more proud." Said Lucifer with a cheerful voice.

"Hi Dad, I'm afraid to say that... no, I'm still running my hotel and I won't give up on redeeming sinners, no matter what... anyway, there's some people who want to see you." Said Charlie while introducing Chief and SUnlight to Lucifer, he seems a bit confused at first, but he quickly recognizes Chief and with cheer he says.

"Oh! Hahah... Johnny!" Said Lucifer as he stood up and began to approach Chief, who remains serious unlike Sunlight who is totally surprised for what she is seeing, he's kinda short, at least... shorter than Charlie. "...How you've been?" Asks Lucifer who now stands before Master Chief, who remains silent. "Ah... not so talkative now, are we?" Lucifer then looks at Sunlight and says.

"Well... who might you be young lady? I hope that we can get along just fine, I'm Lucifer Morningstar, at your service." Said Lucifer as he was looking to shake Sunlight's hand. "Hi... my name is Eclipsed Sunlight, it's a pl..." before she replies the gesture, Chief stops her and says with a serious voice. "Don't shake his hand, he might seem friendly, but who knows what his truly intentions are."

Lucifer then looks at Chief and with a mocking smile, he says. "Oh.... Johnny, you're hurting my feelings. How can you possibly imagine that I'm any kind of evil being? I'm nothing but grateful to you, after all, you saved my little sunshine's life time ago."

"Please, excuse him Mr... Devil, in his defense, he wouldn't trust very much in the encarnation of all malice... no offense." Said Sunlight with low traces of nerves in her voice, after all, she's talking directly to the Devil himself.

Lucifer, who changed his cheerful expression to one that shows that he's tired of listening the same story over and over again, says.

"Ugh... I'm tired of that misconception of me!..." Lucifer then turns around and heads to his throne, he stops midway, turns around again and continues. "...Y'know, kid? I'm not evil, and I didn't create evilness, you mortals are like that by nature, the only thing I do is encourage you to ignore those absurd rules, after all, those sinful emotions are the ones that make life worth living, otherwise everything will be too fucking boring. And at the end, it's not like I control you! you're the ones that take the final choice! But because you mortals can't admit your inner chaotic tendencies... I'm the one to blame!" He then calms down, and with his cheerful smile says. "...Anyway, as you're a friend of Johnny, Mrs. Sunlight, just call me... Lucifer." After finishing his monologue, Charlie is then interrupted by an incoming call.

"What?!... Hold them on Vaggie, but... don't kill them, I'm on my way there!" Said Charlie who after hanging up the call, said to the group with an optimistic smile.

"Sorry... Alastor just pissed off a huge crowd on his recent radio episode, and now they're looking for him at the hotel. I gotta go and save his ass, by guys, bye dad, ove you!" Said Charlie as she was leaving in a rush, at the same time Lucifer said with a loud voice. "Bye darling, I love you more, and remember..." Charlie then interrupted her father and said. "Don't take shit from other demons. Got it." Said Charlie with a smile as she left through the elevator.

"Awww... the grow up so fast, am I right?" Said Lucifer as he looked as how his daughter left, he then sits on his throne, looks at Chief and says.

"Tell me, my friends, what is your true motivation to visit my humble kingdom?" Asks Lucifer, now that they can finally talk about business, Chief takes the card he had in his shoulder pad and shows it to Lucifer. "I'm here to use this." Said Chief as the card glows with a radiant golden light, Lucifer looks at it with detainment and then says.

"Oh my... and what are you looking to be more precise?" Asks Lucifer, Chief then puts the card down and says with a serious voice. "A soul... from a human named Flash Sentry."

Lucifer then changes his expression to one that shows more intrigue than other thing. "And what am I receiving in exchange?" Sunlight and Chief didn't expect that answer, with a confused voice, Chief asks. "Exchange? What do you mean?" As he said that, Lucifer stands up from his throne, he approaches the group and explains.

"You'll se Johnny, I gave you a trading card, it's like a guarantee that I'll fulfill any request done as long as the thing the favor istraded for has the same value to me, in this case I'd ask for another soul, you see. That kid's soul is a really precious one, he was such a a nice person, but if you want him back, I'll need something of equal value."

Sunlight and Chief remain completely serious, not even Cortana saw that one coming, fortunately, Lucifer made a twist with his staff and said. "Hahahaha! You should see your faces... haha, don't worry my friends, it's obvious you wouldn't know how those work, after all, you're only mortals... but, to proof Sunlight I'm not evil or whatever, I'll make you a discount." Lucifer than says with a mischievous smile.

"I need to ask you for a favor, in exchange you'll have your friend's soul." Sunlight is a bit esceptic about this, making a deal with the Devil sounds not like the best of ideas, but Chief thinks otherwise. "What's the mission?" Said Chief without hesitation, Lucifer then has an even broader smile and starts explaining.

"You'll see, recently some mafia kingpins at the Greed Ring have been seen trafficking guns between them, and when those little freakbags work together, nothing good can come out of it, so I want YOU to go there and finish every single one of those families involved in this deeds."

"Why?" Ask Sunlight legitemaly confused, why would the Devil care for a few lives? Lucifer then replies. "Because despite I don't like to admit it, those greedy motherfuckers can be a real pain in the ass when they work together, and that means double job for me, and I can't imagine a world where I have to be behind a desk more than 2 hours, that'd be torture!"

"And where did they got this weapons? What do they want with them?" Asks Chief, if he's going to kill such valuable targets, he needs intel, unfortunately, it's the Devil who he's talking with.

"Pfft! The fuck do I know? They're fucking guns, Johnny! It's not like they're going to use them to peg themselves. Finding out the why would be your job, people. I'm not a freaking source of knowledge." Said Lucifer on a mocking tone, Sunlight chuckles a bit, but Chief finds no grace on that comment, with a serious voice, Chief replies.

"Why do you want us to do your dirty job? I mean... you could've send some mercenaries and the job would be done." Lucifer then warps behind them and puts his hand on Chief's shoulder and says. "Because I required someone capable of killing such a big amount of folks, and you my friend, are the psychopathic killer for the job I need..." Lucifer then grabs Chief's blades with one hand and says with mocking tone."...By the way, how you've been using these... things? Any secondary effect yet?" Asked Lucifer referring to the blades' power.

"No." Replied Chief abruptly with small signs of nervousness in his voice, Lucifer notices that and says. "Hahaha, you've already experienced it, right? How the rage overflows you and drivens your inner self to a path where the only outcome is you turning into a bloodthirsty killer? Hahaha... I warned you that those demonic runes won't bring nothing but trouble to your life, Johnny... Oh! and the same goes to you Mrs. Sunlight, that dark magic necklace of yours... will do the same to you if you don't moderate the use, and both of you... ahahaha, ended up in THIS place! HAHAHAHA, this will be a show worthy of seeing." Lucifer starts laughing by their disgrace, the situation turns a bit awkward as only Lucifer is the one laughing, Chief then with a serious voice says.

"I want a guarantee that you'll fulfill your part of the deal." Lucifer stops laughing and says. "Haha... of course Johnny, give me the card." Said Lucifer as he extended his hand, but Chief didn't believe him, so he didn't lend anything.

"Oh c'mon! I have never lied and I never will, Johnny! So you can stop being a paranoic freak already." Said Lucifer outraged by Chief's reaction, at the end, Chief lends Lucifer the card reluctantly, after that, Lucifer uses it to create a portal and he goes through it, leaving Sunlight and Chief alone for a moment.

"What do you think he'll do?" Asks a concerned Sunlight, Chief looks at her and says. "I hope he doesn't fool us, otherwise, I will kill him, no matter what." Replied Chief with a serious voice, but he is interrupted by Cortana who makes him come back to his senses. "Chief, you perfectly know that you're not even a threat to Lucifer, he helps us because he doesn't want a pain in the neck like you."

"You're right, for the moment, let's just wait." Said Chief while taking a seat around the room, Sunlight does the same, but she remains serious to reflect on her thoughts about what Chief and Charlie have told her, maybe there is... another way to fix her life other than senseless violence.

As they wait, we're now at the Purgatory, where someone has been waiting for his turn to be "judged".

"Uhmmm... Hello?!! Is anyone else in here, beside us?" Asked Flash aloud, he's on a white room, sitting on chair, with two other seats at his side and there are human-like figures, they lack any facial feature except their eyes, that glow with a bright white color.

"Next!" Said a prominent voice, then, the soul at Flash's left side stood up and move forwards as a door opened in front of it, as the being went through the door, this one got closed. "Am I... in some sort of like... waiting room?" Asks Flash, despite he said that aloud, the other soul didn't listen to him in the slightest way, Flash has a discouraged expression, he doesn't know how much he'd have to wait there.

Then, a portal opens emitting a golden light, and a man comes out from it, and says.

"There you are kiddo! C'mon let's get you out of this hell-a boring place." Lucifer then grabs Flash's hand and the teleported from there, arriving to a dark room, illuminated only where Flash stands, he looks up and is startled by flames appearing right in front of him midair, then Lucifer comes out of the flames and says.

"Welcome to the VIP waiting room, you'd be much comfortable here than in those creepy shitty chairs from purgatory, let me introduce myself... Lucifer Morningstar, at your service."

Flash got totally surprised by the man's indentity, he with confusion asks. "Isn't that the name of the Devil?" Lucifer then stands properly, puts on his hat and says with his cheerful smile. "Yes indeed, and I'm the Devil himself, but don't worry little guy, your father Johnny asked me to bring your soul back as a favor for saving my daughter time ago, but as we made a deal, I need him to run an errand for me, so you'd wait here for a while, got it?"

"Uhmmm, yeah but... there's nothing in this place." Said Flash nervously, he wonders what to do while waiting, but Lucifer replies with optimism. "Nothing yet, my friend... you only need to think of it and as long as it's under this realm's capability, it shall be granted to you."

Flash then thinks of a couch and suddenly one appears right behind him, he then sits and says. "And how much time would I be here?" Lucifer is now creating a portal with his staff, he looks at Flash and says. "Don't worry about that, you'll see when the time comes, bye bye!" Said Lucifer as he went through the portal, returning to his throne room, but he holds an old oil lamp with his powers and places it besides his throne.

"Ok, this little lamp was created with the card's magic and now has your friend's soul in it, he's on a separate realm than ours, so he'll be fine..." Lucifer then hands over the card Chief gave him, but this time, the card is beggining to burn slowly from one of its corners. "...You have to fulfill your part of the deal in order to return your friend's soul to his body, the card will burn completely in 18 hell hours, so you better be fast, or the loser at the purgatory's executive chair will notice he's gone and will start to piss me off." Added Lucifer with a broad smile.

"How are we going to get to the Greed Ring?" Asks Sunlight, they have scarce time and they don't know how to move from ring to ring, fortunately Lucifer replied. "Don't worry, I can warp you to the Greed Ring, but in order to return, you'll have to take the Hell Elevator to arrive here. Oh! And before you leave, you'll need to bring some evidence to me that shows what does the Mafia want to do with those guns and then I shall break the seal to free your friend, got it?"

"Understood, take us there, Lucifer." Replied Chief without hesitation, then with a snap of his fingers, Lucifer summons golden light that sorrounds Chief and Sunlight, and after a bit, they both dissapeared and end up arriving to the Greed Ring.

"What a shit of a place." Says Sunlight after looking at the city, the pollution and over exploitation of resources creates a gloomy ambiance that disgusts her. "C'mon, we have to hurry." Says Chief as he puts his hood on and both start moving, hunting down those Mafia goons and find out what they're up to that Lucifer is so eager to stop them.

They move cautiosly through the alleys of the Greed Ring, fortunately for them, mafias are a constant in this place, it only took them an hour to track down a low grade mafia and after beating them, Chief proceeds to interrogate them in a abandoned depot.

"What do you know about the guns mafia is trading between them?!" Asked Chief violently as he points a goon's handgun towards an imp, which replied desperately. "H-Hey! I only know that they're planning something big, it will change the power jerarchy in hell forever..." Chief aims his weapon ven closer, placing it below the imp's chin, Chief then hammers the gun and asks. "What exactly?" The imp starts sweating even more and says with an euphoric voice. "I don't know pal! That's all I know, I swear!" Chief then draws back his gun and says. "Fine, I believe you." Chief then points the gun to the imp's head and shoots it, killing the imp with a single shot. "We got what we could get, let's move!" Said Chief as he turned around and he left the depot along with Sunlight, who remain silent for a little while and said.

"So... what we got until now is that they are gathering a huge arsenal to change the tides of power in Hell, but what does that mean?" Asked Sunlight, Chief then gives her that goon's hand gun and replies. "Maybe they want to empower themselves by killing the Overlords from Hell and create their own regime, but conventional weaponry can't kill an Overlord."

"Then... what can?" Asked Sunlight, maybe the thing they're dealing is something much bigger than they think, but from behind them, at the depths of the alley a deep voice replies.

"Heaven-bound weaponry." Chief and Sunlight turn around quickly, but they only see a pair of green glowing eyes floating in the dark, then, a dark figure walks forward and reveals itself out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" Asks Chief while unsheathing his blades, and Sunlight holsters her gun and activates her dark powers. "You can call me Spawn, and like you, I'm also looking after these mafia shitbags, their crazy plan will only bring chaos to Hell, which might mean many demons escaping from it and being let loose in the mortal realm, and that's something I can't afford. I think we can work together to find them out, what do you think?" Asked Spawn with a calmed voice, Chief puts his blades down and Sunlight gets out of her fighting stance, Chief attaches his blades on his back and replies. "Sounds like good idea... Spawn, you can call me Master Chief and her name is Eclipsed Sunlight, we're tracking these weapons to help a friend with a favor."

"A favor... you say? I'd rather think that your little friend might be a big deal in Hell's jerarchy to know about these weapons. After all, the mafia has been working really hard to keep it underwater, who sent you?" Asks Spawn with a serious voice, he seems to be ready to fight them in case the answer doesn't please him, Chief notices that and replies with a calm voice.

"The truth is... I lost someone who wasn't meant to die, but thanks to the fact that the last time I was here, I gained a favor from the Devil himself, I have a chance to bring him back to life in exchange for dealing with these... scum... and... actually... it's my last chance, and I won't let it slip away."

Spawn seems to stop his fighting intentions, he then says. "If it is to retrive a soul from the Purgatory, then you might not have much time left, c'mon we have to move quickly if you want to bring your friend back." Said Spawn as he climbed up to the rooftop of the depot, Sunlight and Chief followed him and their mission became now a bit easier, maybe with Spawn's help, they can accomplish their mission in less time than expected.

With time against them, the only thing they can do now is do the minimum questions and kill every Mafia family related to the guns' trafficking, the enemies that are now friends will fight not only against multiple demons and time, but also against their double edged powers.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hello everyone!!! If you reached this part, I hope you liked this chapter as much as I loved writing it. This is a narrative arc I've been really eager to write and although it's a bit short, the narrative weight that it has will have consequences in the future (mainly for Eclipsed Sunlight.).

But as for now, your support to my story encourages even more to keep writing it. I can't thank you enough for it, and I think I'll never will, but what I can do is to wish you all the best of lucks, always.

-DReep

Chapter 12: Cleansing Job

After 4 hours tracking down small mafia groups and interrogating them, the team found the place where the weapons are being stored, hidden in an abandoned factory. The trio observes from a small hill at the distance from the building, after a short while Spawn says.

"There are at least 30 goons guarding the entrance of the factory, inside there might the double of guards, it seems we found where they hide the weapons." Said Spawn, as he crouched, Sunlight and Chief approach at him and analyze the field. “This has to be the place, otherwise why would they have such a large amount of goons?” Asks Sunlight with a serious voice, she doesn't want to chase anyone anymore as time runs out.

"We can do this two ways, loud and destructive or quiet and subtle, what do you prefer?" After this, Sunlight and Chief look at each other, without saying a word, both agreed to take the same option, then both of them say simultaneously. "Loud and destructive..." Spawn then chuckles a bit and says.

"I like your style, but we don't know how many of them are gathered down there, do you have any ideas to lure all of them out?" Asks Spawn, despite liking the idea of charging in and eliminating them, it'll be too reckless, they need a plan to at least have some kind of advantage.

"Oh! I have an idea! All I require is for you to wait until all of them are gathered." Replies Sunlight with an excited expression. "What are you going to do?" Asks Chief with a serious voice, he seems a bit worried about what Sunlight is about to do.

"Don't worry John! All I am going to do is to play a musical concert inside the factory, they'll be confused and once they're all gathered, you come in, and we screw their business, be ready for when the time comes..." Said Sunlight with a confident voice as she left, using the darkness to her advantage to infiltrate the factory.

"What a gross place." Said Sunlight with a silent voice as she entered the factory, moving through the dark halls as to not being noticed, hiding from small patrols, she finally arrived at the main depot, where all the weapons were being stored.

"Jackpot." Said Sunlight as she created a small dagger with her magic. It took her a while to spot the electrical switch and after shooting her dagger towards it, she managed to shut down the power all over the factory, making the goons spread to give her a chance to move. Chief and Spawn take this chance to approach even more to the entrance of the factory, they stop right near the entrance and Chief asks Spawn.

"Spawn, do you have any weapon I can use? I have my blades, but I prefer something for ranged combat." Said Chief as he pointed his blades attached to his back, Spawn looks at him and replies with a confident voice. "Depends, how much firepower do you want?"

Back at the factory, Sunlight drops from the catwalk and lands at the middle of the factory.

"If I can make blades and daggers, how hard can it be to make an electric guitar?" Asked Sunlight to herself, after concentrating for a bit and focusing her magic, she managed to create an electric guitar successfully, similar in design to her actual guitar. "Now then... Let's rock!!" Sunlight then starts shredding, flooding the factory with its sound, then she starts playing a solo.

(Credits to Krzysztof Miś, author of the video.)

"C'mon people, let's have some fun!" Said Sunlight as she plays the guitar excitedly, the goons confused start to approach Sunlight cautiously, even the ones that were guarding outside the factory. One of the goons managed to start the emergency generator and restored lights, afterward Sunlight is now surrounded by the mafia goons, but she doesn't lose the excitement for playing music.

"It's our chance, c'mon!" Said Spawn as now both destroyed the main door, alerting every one of their presence.

"Let's give them hell." Said Spawn as he charged and started the killing, while Chief focused on eliminating the ones at the distance with an assault rifle Spawn gave him.

The goons quickly turned around and started shooting them, Sunlight took this chance to escape the goons' sight, she kept playing her guitar as she approached her team.

"What are you doing? fight!" Says Spawn while tearing off a goon with his chains. "C'mon guys, at least let me provide some... ambiance." Said Sunlight as she made her guitar levitate while still playing music. Afterward the trio began to fight, while Spawn was engaging direct combat and slaughtering the goons, Chief and Sunlight used their fire weapons in order of not abusing of their powers and being consumed by them.

"Where are the guns anyway?" Asked Sunlight while shooting and taking cover behind a pillar. "They must be way deeper, but we have to clear a path through them." Replied Chief while shooting down some goons, and using his knife to kill another few.

Spawn begins to use his powers and brutally kills the demons, combining his teleportation with his capability to create weapons, he swiftly yet brutally murders the goons, covering himself with blood from his dead enemies. "They're more than I expected." Said Spawn to himself as he now sighted a few crates that are carefully arranged and chained, he then teleports to Chief's position and says.

"I found the weapons, but they're guarding them pretty well." Said Spawn, they're now under heavy fire from the goons, Sunlight crouched while Chief used a portable shield to block part of the heavy fire. "How many of them are?" Asked Sunlight surprised of the heavy fire.

"Maybe... a hundred, we have to be fast." Said Spawn as he teleported behind the enemy lines and began to kill the goons with a blade and chains, but as they kill demons, more start to arrive. But they have different clothing, whilst the goons that were guarding the factory had dark blue suits, these have dark red suits.

"Another mafia group?" Asks Sunlight as she shoots her weapon, Chief takes cover as his weapon is out of ammo, he unsheathed his blades and said. "As Lucifer said, there are many mafias involved in this." Chief then charge against the goons with his blades, but without activating their powers, he now slashes the goons brutally and blocks the incoming bullets from the other goons.

Sunlight took cover again as her weapon ran out of ammo, but she doesn't want to overuse her powers again. "What can I do?" Asked Sunlight to herself as she dropped the empty clip, but before dropping her gun, she thought of a better idea. As the goons began to surround her, Sunlight came up shooting her gun but now instead of common bullets, she's now using dark magic bullets, which seem to be more piercing than common ammo. And with a shield created with her powers, now she can push along her team.

"Don't let them get to the guns, kill them!!" Said a mafia leader aloud, before being killed by Spawn, who almost got near the crates where the weapons were, but before securing them, he got shot down by a rocket launcher, he crashed through a wall by the impact. "Spawn! Dammit, follow me!" Said Chief to Sunlight, both head to Spawn's position to help him.

"Are you ok, Spawn?" Asked Chief as he deflected the incoming shots by spinning his blades while Sunlight provided covering fire. "They got more firepower than I expected..." Said Spawn while realizing that the goons were loading the crates on a truck, Spawn stands up and creates a gun with his powers.

"... They want to leave with the guns, kill them!" Said Spawn while shooting his gun, and teleporting on top of a crate, surprising the enemy and killing the demons that were guarding one of the crates with his chains. As the team approached to the crate, the goons escaped without all the crates and left a few in order to survive.

"Dammit! How more crates were in that truck?" Asked Chief to Spawn while he attached his blades to his back and Sunlight holstered her gun. "There were 5 boxes, they left three, that leaves two on the run, let's see if they what are we dealing with..." Said Spawn as he sharpened his claws and cut the chains that were locking the boxes, as they open the boxes, Sunlight said.

"*whistle* So THIS is what we've been looking for?" Said Sunlight as she took a revolver from the box and examined it.

After a bit of effort, the revolver changed its golden carvings to a dark purple color in Sunlight's hand, then she took her current hand gun and replaced it with this new one. "These guns can kill Overlords?" Asked Sunlight while examining the rest of the guns. "Sinners of hell too, but these weapons erase their essence from existence, eradicating them completely, while also being lethal for mortals..." Said Spawn while closing the boxes and locking them up with his necroplasmic chains. "...We need to track down the rest of the guns, I could track them, but my powers might drain faster than "

"Cortana, can you track down where they were heading?" Asked Chief, while Cortana appeared on his hand and scanned some prints left by the truck's tires. "Yeah, we can follow them, but we don't have a vehicle, so we better hurry."

"Got it, everyone, follow me!" Said Chief as now the group activated their powers to move faster, creating a light trail of green, red, and dark purple lights. The trace led them to the city's outskirts, leading to a building under construction, they spot the truck that was transporting the weapons, but it's now empty.

"They might be preparing some kind of ambush for us." Says Sunlight while drawing her gun out. "Then let's spot them." Spawn focuses his powers to locate all the goons in the building and their traps. "257 demons are here, they settled explosives as traps at the elevators and stairs, the guns are being custodied at the top, there's a helicopter approaching here 120 miles away, it is flying slow though..." Said Spawn after using his powers, he then turns around and creates a gun and a demonic version of a chained scythe.

"Hold on, you learnt all that just with your powers?" Asked a surprised Eclipsed Sunlight, that would've help them a lot earlier instead of using the testimonials of the goons they interrogated. "Yes, but I spend a big amount of necroplasm to use that power, that's why I don't use it very often." Replied Spawn, he then turns around and teleports inside the building, appearing in the middle of the first floor alerting the goons and starting the killing.

"C'mon, let's end this." Said Chief as he unsheathed his blades and charge inside the building along with Sunlight, bullets and slashes started to rain all over the place.

One of the goons that was taking cover takes a case from onoe of his dead partners, he opens it and reveals a rifle that belonged to the crates.

The goon aims the gun at Spawn, who was occupied killing some other goons, and with a single shot, he managed to hit him in his right shoulder, piercing it and forcing Spawn to take some cover, Chief and Sunlight joined him as now the enemy fire overwhelms them.

"What happened?" Asked Chief while taking a granade and throwing it away to make some space, but he returns to take cover. "These dipshits..." Spawn then ties his wound with a piece of his cape. "... They're using some of the weapons against us, I got hit by a bullet, it will heal but it's gonna take longer, be careful you too." Added Spawn, Sunlight then charges a dark energy ball and shoots it right to their enemies, stunning them and with swift shots and using her fists, she managed to take down all the goons in that floor, she then turns around and says. "If we take them down quickly, we won't need to worry about those weapons, let's move, we only have 8 hours left."

Now the team moves to the next floor, which seems lonely and as the ran through the room, they got surrounded by multiple goons aiming those blessed weapons towards them.

The team takes a defensive position by sticking their backs together.

"They are going to drag us a lot." Said Chief as he now activated the runes of his blades, emitting red lightnings that now flow through his body.

"As Sunlight said, we have to take them down and quickly." Said Spawn as he wields his chains along with necroplasmic fire.

"This won't help me very much now..." Said Sunlight as she holstered her gun and unleashed her powers, assuming a fighting stance and with a confident smile she says. "...Well then, let's dole out some pain."

Now the team spreads and starts killing all the goons mercylessly, managing to finish all of them quickly, but also leaving a huge blood mess in the room, as they began to charge constantly upwards, dodging the traps that were settled for them, the goons had no chance but to be killed by their hands.

"Alright, we're really close, just... AGHHH!!!" Said Sunlight in pain as she grabbed her head and fell on her knees, it appears her powers are now spreading to her mind, corrupting her. "Sunlight, react! Don't let it control you!" Said Chief while helping her out, but as he grabbed her shoulder to help her, he realized something changed.

"John..." Said Sunlight as she breathes heavily. "Deactivate your powers, now! I can't afford losing you!" Said Chief with an imperative voice, but Sunlight doesn't listen and stands up as she says. "... I'll be fine... I can... endure it... we...aghh! have to end this... now!!" Said Sunlight with determination.

"We better hurry up then." Said Spawn as he takes the lead, the team moves quickly through the remaining floors, killing all the demons that were to stop them. "Kill... them... all!" Said a sinister voice in Sunlight's head, it appears to be the necklace the one driving her crazy, but she can't take it off, not while she has a mission to complete. "C´mon, we're almost there!" Said Chief while slashing many demons with his blades.

"You make sure to get there, I'll keep the rest at bay." Said Spawn as he jumped, piercing through the ceiling and with a shockwave of demonic energy, he pierced through the remaining floors, creating a path directly to the rooftop, but he stays to eliminate the demons that remain. "Understood!" Said Chief as he used his grapple and Sunlight used her powers to arrive directly on the rooftop.

"They're here!" Exclaimed one of the demons, while the rest of his partners took defensive positions and started shooting them, Chief began to spin his blade to block all the incoming shots, Sunlight began to attack with high speed attacks, but unlike the previous times when she only knock them down, she's now killing them with her techniques, including the use of daggers and her pistol. Chief took the offensive and started killing the demons with his blade while dodging the bullets from their weapons, but one of the demons pulled out a minigun and started shooting it agains Chief, who run quickly to take cover, only to be followed after by Sunlight.

"What's... the plan...?" Asked Sunlight with effort as she tries to stop the necklace from controlling her, Chief thinks for a few seconds and says with a serious voice. "Give me your gun!" Sunlight then took it and threw it to Chief, who now takes his blades and throws them to Sunlight.

"Tilt one of the blades just enough so that I can shoot at the gunner." Said Chief while examining the gun. "I think it's a .50 caliber gun." Said Cortana while scanning the gun, Chief then aims it at the edge of the blade and after zooming in, he's now able to see the gunner. "Let's find out." Said Chief right before shooting the gun, the bullet travels at a high speed and succesfully ricochets in the edge of the blade, hitting the gunner right in his head. Chief then stands up and changes weapons with Sunlight. As they were killing the demons that came across their way, even more started to arrive from the lower floor, sorrounding both Chief and Sunlight, who were forced to take cover again due to the heavy fire.

"John... we better... think of a plan... to take them off." Said Sunlight with an exhausted voice, Chief turns around and sees her panting from the effort and covering the left side of her belly with her hand, letting see small traces of blood while the marks of dark magic fade off her face, returning to her normal form. "Can you heal yourself?" Said Chief as he took a gun from a dead goon and began backfiring. "No... if I use my powers again... I may lose control over my actions." Said Sunlight while taking her gun and using it to backfire against the demons.

Unfortunately, the helicopter arrived and a gunner opens the door while starting to shoot a rain of bullets, forcing Chief to leave his gun, grab Sunlight and run to another cover, but as soon as he realizes there's no way out, Spawn appeared killing a big part of the demons while also providing Chief of clear path, he runs as fast as he can with Sunlight in his arms. "What happened?" Asks Spawn while using his necroplasm to create a barrier around them. "She got hit by a bullet, and she can't heal it because she's afraid of losing control if she keeps using her powers.

While they talk, the goons start to attach the crates to the helicopter with chains. "They're going to escape! Ideas?" Asked Spawn while keeping the barrier up. "I have an idea..." Said Chief while analyzing the situation. "What is it?" Asks Spawn with a desperate voice, Chief then with a serious voice says. "...I need a weapon." Sunlight then lend Chief his gun and said. "Would this be enough?" Chief takes it and with a confident voice says. "It's more than enough... at my signal, put the barrier down!" Said Chief to Spawn. The helicopter starts to take off, and as soon as it is now in the air Chief aims the gun. "Now!!" Said Chief aloud.

Spawn takes the barrier down, allowing Chief to shoot, after concentrating for a bit and with the help of Cortana, he managed to aim the gun at the helicopter's rotor and then he shoots. Only one shot at the center of the rotor was enough to take it down, the helicopter on fire falls straight to the ground, exploding. Chief then uses the remaining ammo and his bllades to kill the remaining demons, finally... it was over, they had completed their mission, Chief observes how the helicopter burns along with the weapons, then Spawn approaches while helping Sunlight, who has a piece of Spawn's cape around her wound, once they arrive Chief asks.

"Sunlight, are you ok?" Said Chief with a calmed voice. "Yes... I'll live, Spawn said this piece of his cape will heal my wound due to its... demonic... properties." Replied Sunlight with a slight smile on her face. "Do we have to worry about the weapons down there?" Asked Chief while pointing at the helicopter. "No, they are going to burn alongside the helicopter, plus this is hell, so... no one gives a fuck about anything." Replied Spawn with a calmed voice, Sunlight then stands now by herself and asks. "What about the weapons at the factory? Are we going to leave them there?" Chief looks at her as a sign of agreement, that something he didn't think of.

"I'll deal with them, guns like those should be eradicated from existence, did you take any photos?" Asks Spawn while looking at Chief, who remains silent but fortunately, Cortana appears on Chief's hand and replies. "Yes I did, and also I have footage of all the mess we had to go through to stop them. If this isn't enough for Lucifer, then I don't know what will." Replied a confident Cortana, Chief then closes his hand and says. "We have to return to the Pride Ring, we only have 7 and a half hours.... Spawn, can you help us to get to Hell's elevator?" Asks Chief, after all they have to return before time runs out.

"Sure, although I've used more necroplasm than I though, I can warp you close to the elevator, but not precisely in there, got it?" Said Spawn as he used his powers to create a portal, Chief and Sunlight were about to cross it, but Spawn interrupts them. "Hey! before you leave, two things. Tell that friend of yours that he owes you a big favor now, and second... tell Lucifer to go and fuck himself on my behalf." Sunlight chuckles and Chief only replies with a grateful voice. "We will... thanks for helping us... Spawn."

Now, Chief and Sunlight went through the portal, they appeared in the path that leads to the elevator. "C'mon, we're close." Said Chief while wearing his hood on, they finally arrived at the elevator station and while waiting for an hour, they finally took the elevator to the Pride Ring. Once they arrived, they ran to Lucifer's building without hesitation, after a half an hour of running, walking and dodging psycopathic sinners, they finally arrived at the building, and after telling a made-up story to the receptionist, they finally arrived at Lucifer's office.

"Oh, if it aren't other than my good friends, Johnny and Sunlight, please tell me... how was the hunting?" Ask Lucifer with a cheerful smile, Chief then displays images from his helmet to Lucifer.

"We found your guns, but it appears they made some big deals with the black market to craft a huge amount of blessed guns, after an exhaustive chase, we secured and destroyed all the guns, while also killing all the mafia goons we found." Said Chief while showing the footage of the guns and the killing they had to do in order to get to those guns.

Lucifer warps behind them and says with a cheerful smile. "Marvelous work, I couldn't expect any less from two cold-blooded killers like you, anything else you want to add?" Asked Lucifer while hugging both of them, but Chief interrupts the moment by replying. "Actually yes, fortunately we met with someone else who was also looking for these guns, we worked together to complete the errand but he wanted us to give you a message..." Lucifer then approaches even more and asks with curisoity. "Oh! And what might that be?"

"Spawn says... you can go and fuck yourself." Replied Chief, quoting Spawn's line, curiously Lucifer only laughed and said. "Hahahaha! So the Ol' Al Simmons is still alive? If you ever encounter him again, tell him I also say hi." Then, Lucifer approaches to his throne and picks up the lamp that contained Flash's soul, he turns around and says. "As promised, I shall now free your friend's soul, but before doing that, let me make something clear... although the soul might be free and it's heading to its body, it's a process that'll take a bit of time, so you better keep his body in good conditions, otherwise you might even regret bringing him back to life, got it?"

"Don't worry, I have that already covered." Replied Chief with a confident voice, Lucifer then snaps his fingers and makes the trading card appear, which was past halfway of being completely burned, Lucifer uses by combining it with the lamp and breaking it, freeing Flash's soul in the process, a portal to the mortal realm opens, but before the soul manages to go through it, it's trapped by a golden bubble, an angel then appears and with a smile on his face says.

"So... it was you, my wretched brother the one who stole this kid's soul from Purgatory, may you explain... why? And why there are mortals in Hell?" Asks the angel while landing, Chief and Sunlight seem surprised, while only Lucifer slaps his hand on his face. "Who is that? You said that as long as we were on time, no one will notice." Says Chief with a serious voice. "I know what I said but, he's like the biggest bitch in Heaven so I expected this." Replies Lucifer while moving forward approaching Michael, they are now facing each other and Lucifer begins to say.

"You'll se my little and stupid brother, I took that soul as a contract I made with these mortals, which made an errand for me in exchange, and as you may know, I'm a man of word so... release that soul... now." Said Lucifer with a serious voice, he seems unhappy of seeing his brother.

Michael then replied with a confident voice. "Thanks but no, you know that's against the rules Luci, plus the fact that I wasn't included in the contract, and thereby I have no obligation of giving you this soul, now if you excuse me, I'll take him to..." Michael is then interrupted by Chief who points one of his blades directly to Michael's neck. "Release... that... soul." Said Chief with a deep voice, he's not in the mood to mess around.

"A daring statement... for a mortal." Said Michael with a mocking smile, Lucifer then smiled back and said. "Oh brother, I suggest you not to underestimate him, he's of the few mortals that lacks complete respect for the divine." Michael then looks at Chief with detail and says. "Oh! I remember you now, the mortal that killed a bunch of Exorcists a few Extermination days ago... the Master Chief... y'know, you're quite a fearless mortal... for being an Outcast. I'd suggest you to live your life more carefully, after all, not even the All Father knows what will hapen to your soul."

"Wait... Outcast? What does that mean?" Asks a confused Eclipsed Sunlight, Michael turns around as he points Chief's blade away. "You'll see little girl, an Outcast are mortals that lack a connection to both Heaven and Hell in their world, and nobody knows what happens when an Outcast dies, but the most possible outcome is that their soul disappears from existance, fortunately you don't have nothing to be afraid of, I can see you're not an outcast by only seeing you." Said Michael with a smile on his face.

"Wait! I have a question." Says Chief aloud, Michael turns around and politely replies. "Sure thing, how can I illuminate you, Master Chief?" Chief then attaches his blades on his back and asks with a serious voice. "What if I give you the soul of one of the evilest being I've ever met?" Michael only looks at him with a smile and replies. "Who? Kylo Ren? I'm afraid I can't accept it, it isn't my job to condemn mortals... Anyway, it's time to take my leave..." Michael spread his wings and was about to take off to Heaven but the bubble that was trapping Flash's soul got burnt by an orange flame, freeing Flash's soul, Michael was about to capture it again but he's then punched in the face by Chief's fist powered by his blades' energy.

"You better listen to your brother more often, I don't care about being an Outcast and I couldn't care less about you being and angel, so... you have two options, leave now or I'll beat the living shit out of you." Said an angered Chief.

Michael recovers from the ground but he's then restrained by Lucifer, who created golden chains to restrain his brother from escaping. "No need for that Johnny! I got that covered." Said Lucifer with a cheerful smile while Michael was trying to break his chains. "What the...? Nooo!" Said Michael as he saw Flash's soul parting to the mortal's realm, he's then released by his brother and says with a serious voice. "Lucifer... all of you... tch!" Then Michael spread his angelic wings again, and left directly to heaven.

"Hahahaha! You really pissed him off, ahaha! by the way, how did you burn that bubble without him noticing?" Asked Lucifer regarding what happened a few moments ago, Chief looks at Sunlight, who shook his head, denying being the one who did it. "It wasn't me either." Says Chief with a concerned voice, he seems confused, Lucifer then says with a smile.

"Well... none the matter, whoever did it, give that person my thanks, Michael's shocked face was truly... priceless, and then you punched him right in the face, HAHAHA! Anyway, now that everything is solved... get the fuck out fo my realm." Said Lucifer as he snapped his fingers, teleporting Chief and Sunlight back to the surface of Hell.

"What the hell?" Asks Sunlight suprised for what just happened, Chief remains silent and looks around, they're at the entrance gate to the rings of Hell. "We have to leave, follow me." Said Chief aloud, now both of them ran to the exit and as they are outside of the entrance, they see a huge amount of demons' corpses and the Doom Slayer standing above them, he turns around and sees Chief and Sunlight.

"Finally." Said the Doom Slayer with a deep voice as he slides down through the pile of bodies. "Wait... he can... talk?" Asks Sunlight surprised of what she just heard.

"Of course he can, he's only a man of very few words." Replies Chief as now they reunite and a portal opens above them.

"It appears Lucifer spared us the ride." Said Chief as now the portal began to pull them, as they fell into the portal.

Back in Equestria, Jerome, Leon and Twilight are making the final adjustments to the device.

"Alright, Leon, give it power." Said Jerome as he and Twilight stand back, Leon then proceeds to connect the device to a power source and after a bit, it finally started.

"Yaay!! We made it!!" Says an excited Twilight, Jerome finally feels some relief and says. "After 7 tests and two days, it finally worked..." Jerome then looks at August, who was using a data pad and asks. "Any word from John?" August then puts the datapad away and replies with a worried voice. "No, I know he's been out for weeks but those were missions, but this is odd, I never seen John go missing for this long."

"John is quite the lone wolf, but I can't ignore the fact the he left without notifying his team." Says Robert with a serious voice.

"Yeah, you're right, but I think we can think of a proper scolding for him once we get home, for the moment, we need to place this device back in the Everfree Forest." Said Jerome while taking the device, but is taken off his hand by Twilight who says with a smile. "I can do it faster." Said Twilight as she now teleported, leaving Jerome and the Omega Team in her castle for a few moments, she then reappears and says. "Done! C'mon we have to visit Sunset." Said Twilight while taking a backpack with her, the Spartans follow her to the library, where the portal lies. "Ok, here we go!" Said Twilight before crossing the portal, followed after by the Spartans.

As now seems to be a peaceful time, it's true that once Chief and Sunlight return, they'll have a lot of explanations to give, but little did they know, that things have changed in their absence, not drastically, but enough to change the course of fate, what kind of threats and surprises will appear in their path once they return home.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! I hope you liked this chapter, I know it took a while for it to be released, but I did my best to upload it as soon as I could. With this chapter, we conclude the Journey to Hell arc, what is coming up next is a bit of development in Eclipsed Sunlight's narrative, which will lead to the next arc.

I know the story might seem a bit long, but I promise you that is going to be worthy, I enjoy writing each of these chapters and I hope you like reading them as much as I do.

As always, thanks for reading this chapter, I appreciate your support and I wish you a nice day.

See you all next chapter.
-DReep.

Chapter 13: ...While You Were Gone

Sunlight, Chief, and the Slayer appeared at the same spot where they left in the CHS world, but now they are at sun fall instead of nighttime. Chief, and the Slayer get up quickly, while Sunlight remains on the ground. As the portal closes above them, Sunlight said with sheer happiness.

“Finally! Home! I missed the grass so much!” Said Sunlight while lying on the ground and caressing the grass with happiness. “Yeah, we made it, but we have to move before anyone detects the portal that just closed.” Said Chief while helping Sunlight to get up.

Chief then heads to the place where was the portal machine that brought them to hell, but he looks inside a bush and retrieves a small bag that contained a device capable of opening portals. “Ok, this thing has two shots, so let's do it quickly, you go first Slayer.” Said Chief while preparing the device, he then shoots a beam that creates a portal in front of them, the Slayer only looks at Chief and nods with his head, as to say goodbye but without words. He then goes across the portal and leaves the team, Chief turns around and asks Sunlight.

“Do you want to go anywhere controlled by the First Order so that they can find you?” Said Chief while preparing the device, but he's interrupted by Sunlight, who replied with a calmed voice. “N-No, thanks for the offer John, but I rather stay here for a little longer, there are... things... I need to solve.”

“What exactly?” Asks Chief with curiosity, Sunlight wanted to keep it private, but she can't cope with the lump in her throat any longer. “I-I want to... make amends with Sunset... the time we were in Hell, you helped me to realize that my decisions have been benefiting no one, instead...” Sunlight then looks at her hands and says with a reflective voice. “... I've only hurt those people who wanted to help me...” Sunlight then closes her hands and raises her head, with determination, she says.

“... That's why I have to make up for what I did, at least... that's what I think is the righteous thing to do.” Said Sunlight, a silence began to flood the environment, Sunlight understands Chief's silence as disagreement, she then says with a shamed voice. “If you think it's a bad idea...” Chief then approaches Sunlight and interrupts her with a compassionate voice. “Actually, it's a perfect idea...” Chief then puts his hand on her shoulder and continues.

“... The mere fact that you want to make amends, means that deep inside you're willing to change for the better, and that's something they will realize eventually, but it depends on you to make them see that earlier. And... if you feel overwhelmed by the pressure, you can count on Sunset Shimmer to help you... after all, she's been on a similar situation... but I'll leave that up to her to explain it to you.” After this, Sunlight smiles gratefully and can't help herself but to hug Chief as she drops a few tears, she can certainly say that Chief is the first true friend she makes in years. “Thanks, Chief... for... believing in me... I-I really needed it.” Chief remains still and says with a kind voice. “You know my name, Sunlight... use it.” Sunlight chuckles a bit and as she stops hugging him, she replies.

“Haha... ok... thank you, John...” Said Sunlight as she wiped the tears off her face, then, with a smile on her face, she says. “I think I finally understand how Flash felt whenever he asked for advice from you... you truly give some fatherly vibes.”

“If you say so...” Replied Chief with a friendly voice, he then gives Sunlight back her gun and asks her. “Are you going to keep it or should I take it with me?” Sunlight looks at the gun for a bit, she then replies. “I think it'd be in better hands with you whether than me, so you should keep it.” Chief holsters the gun on his waist and says. “Well... I think this is where we part ways, Sunlight.” Said Chief as he put his hood on and was ready to leave, but he's stopped by Sunlight who asks him.

“Hey! Uhm... can you please tell Sunset of what we talked about? If I'm going to make things right, at least I want to start by talking with her.” Chief looks at her and, with a serious but positive voice, says. “Consider it done.” Chief now leaves by going deeper into the forest, he has a place to go, just as Sunlight who leaves, heading to her apartment.

Meanwhile, at Flash's house, the girls seem to be planning something along with the Blue Team, they all seem to be preparing their equipment for a battle.

“Alright everyone, our readings indicate that a portal opened a bit far from here, deep in the forest, its properties show that it's not from the First Order, and obviously it ain't ours either, so whoever or whatever came from it, may be dangerous.” Said Fred while loading his gun and attaching it to his back.

“You heard him, girls, let's make these days of training pay off.” Said Twilight while powering up her suit, the seriousness on her face shows determination, whereas Sunset then says.

“Yeah, but we also have to be careful, as Fred said, we don't know what came out from it.” Said Sunlight with a calmed voice, while calibrating her suit.

Kelly then approaches Fred and asks him in a low voice. “Do you think it might be John?” Fred looks at her and replies with a serious voice. “I hope so, he has a lot of explanation to give us... Alright everyone!...” Fred is then interrupted by Aura, who says with a serious voice.

“I'll go with you, if John returned, I have to know why he left in the first place. And I won't take no for an answer.” Said Aura while grabbing Fred's arm, he looks at her and replies. “Well... if that's the case, you'll need a gun.” Said Fred while lending her his handgun.

Aura takes it and loads it, then she holsters it on the back part of her waist. “Don't you want a bigger gun?” Asks Linda while loading her sniper rifle, Aura slightly smiles and replies. “Nah, this will do it.” Fred then steps forth and says to the group. “Alright team! Let's get moving!” As soon as he said that, everyone head to the garage and hopped into the armored van.

In the meanwhile, as the night falls, Chief walks through the forest while is having a conversation with Cortana. “How should I talk to them?” Asks Chief with slight signs of nervousness, he knows he has to give explanations, but he prefers to avoid telling the truth directly, Cortana appears in his shoulder and sits down, crossing her legs and starts saying.

“Well... first... you left without telling them, so that might have made them feel like you don't trust them enough or something like that. Then... while you were gone technically for two days, you didn't answer any of their calls, which should've made them worry even more about you, or even they told everyone at the Infinity that you went missing. Summarizing all of that, I think that the best course of action is... tell the truth?”

"And who am I supposed to say it? Hey guys, sorry for leaving and for returning without telling you, I went to Hell to bring Flash back from the dead?" Said Chief with a mocking voice, he then sighs deeply and says. "They're not going to believe me, or probably they will, and they'll end up eagerly waiting for him to wake up when Lucifer said that'll take days. *sighs* I'm screwed, am I right?" Said Chief with a disheartened voice.

"Those are the consequences of our actions, and sometimes, some events are unavoidable, just like now." Replies Cortana, trying to encourage him, and although it works a bit, it still isn't enough to make him feel any relief.

"AGH!" Shouted Chief, while falling to the ground on his knees, he uses his blades to keep equilibrium. "John, what happened?" Asked a concerned Cortana. "My head... it... aches!" Said Chief in pain while grabbing his head with one hand, Cortana quickly analizes him and finds out the cause behind this. "Chief I think I know what is causing the pain, it's..." Cortana's voice suddenly stops, leaving Chief in complete silence and intrigue. "What is it?... Cortana?... Cortana?!" Asked Chief desperately but he had no answer, the pain ceased, but as he stood up, there was nothing but a despairing silence all across the woods, no animals, no wind, utterly... silent.

Chief takes his blades and raises his guard, whatever happened, it's preventing him from hearing Cortana, the forest was already silent, but this is something completely unexpected, as Chief moves cuatiously throughout the forest, his radar detects a signal designated as hostile, he then proceeds to that direction, whilst Cortana tries to talk to him. "Chief? Can you hear me?! Drop the blades! They are the ones making you hallucinate!" Despite her efforts, her words seem not to reach Chief at all, and as she tries to stop him by using the systems of his armor, she's unable to use them as Chief removes her permissions as she tries different methods.

On the other side of the Forest, the Blue Team and the girls are proceeding to the spot marked by the detectors back at their hideout, Fred leads everyone as he then says. "Everyone stay sharp, we don't want any suprises..." He's then interrupted by an incoming call, it's from Jerome, Fred answers and asks. "What happened Jerome?" Asked Fred to Jerome, who is now right outside Canterlot High along with the Omega Team and Princess Twilight, Jerome then replies. "Yeah... so we completed our mission and we're back, but we brought a visitor, and we appeared at some school, Princess Twilight says this is Canterlot High, but I have no idea... can you open a portal for us to group up with you?" Asked Jerome, despite being a Spartan, he can also get lost.

Fred stops suddenly and says. "Princess... Twilight?" Fred then looks at Twilight with confusion and asks then asks. "Why are you at Canterlot High? Did you got lost or something?"

Jerome then replies with an irritated voice. "Hey! Don't laugh about me, it wasn't my decision and you know it. What are you doing anyway?"

Fred then takes cover behind a tree and replies. "About that... we're tracking down an unknown portal that opened in the forest, it's not from ours, nor from the First Order, so if you want to wait until..." He's then interrupted by Jerome who replies with a friendly voice. "We can help you out, we're four Spartans and aPrincess form other world..." Isabel appears on Jerome's hand and says. "I've already tracked down their position, let's move." Jerome then resumes his conversation. "...Y'know Fred, we're heading to you right now, just don't get yourselves killed, got it?" After that, Jerome ended the call and they began to move towards Fred's position.

"Fine, let's deal with this quickly team." Said Fred while resuming their advance, after a short time walking, they hear a branch crack near them, the whole team stops suddenly thanks to Fred, who raised his punch as a sign to stop, he then quitely and with hand signs ordered the team to take different positions, while Aura and Linda stayed in the backlines, the girls sorrounded the perimeter and Fred and Kelly were about to take the vanguard, as soon as they began to approach to where the sound came from, they see a dark figure standing still.

"Can anyone see who it is?" Asks Fred in extremely low voice through his communicator, Twilight replied with also an extremely low voice. "It's too dark, and moonlight only reveals that the person is wearing a cloak, and..." Before she's able to complete her sentence, Pinkie Pie steps on a branch, creating a small sound but it's loud enough to be heard by everyone, even for the shadowy figure, who turns around frightengly quickly, the girls hide behind the bushes and trees in order not to be seen.

"Who's there? Reveal yourselves!" Said the figure, after hearing his voice, everyone were in shock, the Blue Team and Aura quickly realize who's that figure, it's... Master Chief, with big relief Fred stands up and comes out of the bushes and confronts Chief.

"John! Finally, you're back! Where the hell did you go?" Asked Fred, but Chief doesn't respond, he only stands still as he clenches his blades and grabs one upside down, his blades started emitting a blood red light due to the runes, illuminating him, revealing his decayed state, a damaged armor, with traces of dry blood and scratches all over the armor.

The rest of the team comes out of the woods, thinking their friend was only startled for a bit. "Chief c'mon! Aren't you going to respond or what?" Insisted Fred, but just as before, Chief doesn't respond, in his mind he doesn't see his friends, he sees a bunch of evil creatures that he can't even describe, he remains still as he tries to understand what exactly is he seeing.

"Stay...back!!!!" Said Cortana intermittently throughout everyone's communicator. "Was that... Cortana?" Asks a confused Kelly, Fred then replies with also a confused voice. "I think, let me check quickly what's happening..." Fred then turns on the flashlight of his helmet to have a better look, but for Chief, it appeared as he was about to be attacked by a creature's evil eyes, in a quick moment, Chief punched Fred in the face, but this one wasn't like any other punch, this was powered by his blades, making him stronger.

Fred falls back as everyone reacts shocked by what just happened, Fred recovers from the punch and replies with an angered voice. "The hell is wrong with you?! Have you gone crazy or wh..." Before he finishes his sentence, Chief charged at him with his blades, aiming to stab him, fortunately, Fred was fast enough to dodge the attack and he grabs Chief by the arms and confronts him.

"John, whatever is happening... snap out of it!!! Fight it!!" Both are struggling to win, but Chief replies with anger. "Who are you demons and what are you doing in my home?!" After that, everyone got confused even more, even Fred, who lowers his guard just for a milisecond, but it was enough for Chief to knee him in the abdomen, making Fred release Chief, who then swung his blades to cut Fred in a half, but he dodges it by miracle, just receiving a cut on his chestplate, but before he's able to recover from it, he's kicked by Chief and is then send flying back to the woods, crashing with a tree and falling to the ground, Aura runs desperately to help him.

Suddenly, Chief is hit in the back by an explosion, one strong enough to down his shields and send him flying and burns his cloak. Chief takes his burning cloak off and as he turns around, he sees Pinkie Pie holding a granade that combines different chemicals to create powerful explosives.

But of course, he doesn't see Pinkie Pie, he sees a demonic being holding a blazing sphere. As Pinkie shakes to activate her power and throws the granade, Chief runs quickly and takes the granade before it explodes and throws it back at them, exploding dangerously close to them, but fortunately Twilight got in the way and absorbed the explosion with a small black hole, she then absorbs the energy of it and before she realizes, Chief is right in front of them, about to swing his blades, but he then receives a shot from Linda, one that makes him stumble, he's then tackled by Kelly who manages to bring him to the ground.

"John, please!! Stop this, you're not like this!" Said Kelly while trying to hold him off, but as she struggles, Chief becomes stronger due to the blades, and with anger he shouts. "Get away from me!!" And with a shock wave throws her away, and after standing up, he's then trapped by Rarity in a diamond cage, Twilight then uses her powers to ground the cage, with a disconcerted voice, Rarity asks. "Why is Chief attacking us?!!" Twilight with effort replies. "I don't know but... we have to... hold him off!!"

As Fred stands up, Cortana managed to link with him and the rest of the team, finally, she brings them up to date. "John has been using his blades quite a lot, and now is affecting him... right now, he's in a illusion created by the blades to make him more violent... the only way to free him is by taking the blades away from him!" As soon as she says that, Chief uses his blades to break free from the cage by slashing it savagely, he then charges straight against Twilight and Rarity, but he's stopped by Applejack, who punches him in the chest, and thanks to her new gauntlets, the energy of the first impact redirects again and creates a second hit, sending Chief away into the deep woods.

"We better come up with a good plan if we want to take him down." Said Applejack before clashing her fists, powering up her gauntlets, Rainbow Dash stands right next to her, both decided to fight him, then from the woods in a brief moment, Chief comes out spinning his blades and blocks the shots that come from Kelly and Linda, he then charges against Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Move!" Said Rainbow Dash as both she and Applejack dodged Chief's strike, afterwards, Rainbow Dash attacks Chief from the back with a powered double kick, pushing him towards Applejack who punches him in the chest, but the kinetic energy from the punch charged her gauntlet and created another impact with the same strength of the first hit, pushing Chief away significantly and stunning him in the process.

"Good job! We have to take the blades off him, got it?" Said Fred as he joined Rainbow Dash and Applejack unsheathing his knives, Chief stands up with effort, but he rages and charges at a high speed swinging his blades, Fred clashes with him and with effort, he managed to throw Chief backwards from him, as Chief lands he receives a shot from a light beam behind him, he turns around and sees Sunset aiming at him with her hand, downing Chief's shields.

"John, you have to snap out of it, please!!" Said Sunset with desperation, she doesn't want to hurt him but it appears there's no other option, Chief looks at her still, maybe her words managed to brak through the illusion, but as everyone gets closer to him slowly, Chief starts to panic and slashes his blades around him, creating space between them, Sunset creates a rapier and charges against Chief, clashing blades, beginning their fight. Sunset is quickly overwhelmed by Chief's strangth and speed and with a punch, he sends Sunset flying away, Pinkie throws more bombs to stun Chief, but he realizes that and cuts them before they explode, reducing the explosions significantly, he heads towards Pinkie but is pushed away by Rarity, who created a diamond big enough to push him.

Rarity then gives her friends some modules that were pieces of her armor from her shoulder, elbow and knee pads, Rarity activates her power through the modules, giving her friends extra protection by creating armor with her diamonds. "Nice one Rarity." Said Applejack while facing Chief directly, with her strength, she punches the ground shattering it, and with the second impact she focuses it on the piece of rock where chief stands, sending him flying, Twilight used her powers to grab Chief midair and smack him to the ground fiercely, it appears they finally made it, as the dust cloud from the impact dissipates, the girls surround the area, unfortunately for them, Chief threw some granades in all directions, Rarity quickly uses more power to create personal shields around herself and her friends, only receiving the shockwave from the explosions.

As Chief comes out of the smoke, he's then attacked by Fred who uses his knives to counter Chief's blades, both seem to be at the same level of strength and technique, but Chief outsmarts him by spinning his blades with one hand while taking Eclipsed Sunlight's pistol with the other hand, exerting pressure on Fred by receiving the shots and then is forced to move away by Chief's spinning blades, Fred is then quicked by Chief and is sent away, Chief holsters the pistol and takes his blades with both hands.

Linda shoots her sniper rifle towards Chief, he blocked the shot almost by luck, but he's then attacked by Kelly who shoots her shotgun, making Chief stumble again and then he's hit by a sniper shot from Linda, Chief spins his blades separately to block both incoming shots. "John, drop your blades!!" Said Kelly while charging against him and using her shotgun to stop Chief from spinning one blade, she takes that chance to knock him down with a punch, but he responds quickly with a punch and takes Kelly from her arm and throws her away, but she's then catched by Linda.

"He's not listening." Said Linda as she put Kelly down, and while removing the scope of her sniper, she approaches Chief while shooting multiple times, forcing him to block every shot, but he uses his powers to dodge a shot and cuts Linda's sniper, forcing the melee combat, but as Linda only used her knife to fight, Chief quickly defeated her and with a punch, she's sent flying away towards the girls, Aura starts shooting to Chief, making him turn towards her and starts approaching her while blocking every shot, once he's close enough he swings his blades, Aura dodges the attack by crouching, only a tree go cut down, she begans to run away while reloading and starts shooting again, forcing Chief to chase her down.

The rest of the team takes this chance to rethink of a strategy. "Ok, does anyone has an actual plan on how are we going to take the blades off him?" Asks an stressed Rainbow Dash as she helps Sunset get up. "We have to immobilize him but... the question is... how can we hold him off for enough time to take the blades off?" Asks Fred, he then starts thinking of a plan, but he realizes Aura is fighting John all by herself, he then says. "Girls! You think of something, Blue Team, with me!!" Said Fred aloud, afterwards, he, Kelly and Linda start moving towards the deep forest, as soon as they left, Twilight comes up with an idea.

"Ok, maybe if we divert him enough, Rarity can use her magic to tie his limbs, making unable to move, therefore we might have a chance to take his blades off his hands." Said Twilight to the group with a serious voice, Sunset complements Twilight's plan by saying. "Ok, let's define the roles... Rainbow Dash, Applejack, you're our best fighters, keeping you at the front we'll be the best to draw Chief's attention..." Sunset makes a pause and continues. "...Pinkie Pie, Rarity, you work better at supporting from the distance, Pinkie will stun Chief enough for us to make a move, while Rarity will have to focus on protecting everyone..." Sunset then turns at Fluttershy and says. "...Fluttershy... remember, if things get too complicated, use that technique of yours, got it?" Fluttershy agreed with her head, Sunset turns around and says. "Twilight and I will be in both supportive and offensive roles, ok everyone, let's move!!" As Sunset finished explaining her strategy, the group began to move.

When they arrived at the spot, they see Chief choking Aura, whilst the rest of the Blue Team lies on the ground, wounded. "John... this is not you, whatever... is going on... you have to... be stronger..." Said Aura as she was fading out, but before she completely passes out, Chief throws her away, fortunately Twilight grabs her with her powers and pulls her towards them, Chief looks at them, he seems confused, scared, but before the girls are able to do anything, Chief starts running. "Stop him!" Said Sunset aloud, then, Rainbow Dash uses her speed to stop Chief immediately and hits him with a powered spinning kick, Chief blocks it but he's pushed away by the impact, he then sees Applejack approaching about to punch him, but he swings his blades, clashing her gauntlet with his blade, both lose equilibrium due to the shockwave of the clash, but Chief recovers faster and as he was about to strike AJ down, she's saved by Rainbow Dash.

Chief realizes she's a threat and after quickly anylizing Rainbow Dash's moves, he draws Sunlight's pistol and shoots it where she'd be, right after Rainbow Dashed stopped, she's hit on her thigh by the shot, bringing her to the ground in pain, AJ quickly takes a big rock and throws it at Chief, who swings his blades to slash the rock, but he's then punched by Applejack with enough strength to bring him to the ground, Applejack gets over him and immbolizes his arms with her right leg and left arm.

"Master Chief, you don't leave me any other option!" Said Applejack as she was about to land a powerful punch upon Chief, but he keeps his gun on hand, and aims it to Fluttershy, in a desperate attempt, Applejack uses both of her hands to stop Chief from shooting, but she removes her leg in the process, freeing Chief's left arm, Chief then clenches his fist and punches Applejack, making her fall back, as Chief stands up, Applejack grabs him by his arm and pulls him, Sunset then approaches to land a powered up blow, but Chief quickly holsters his gun and grabs his knife, then he stabs Applejack on the left side of her abdomen, thanks to her armor, the knife didn't pierced through her totally, preventing any several damage, but making Applejack release him to grab her wound, Sunset stops immediately and heads to help Applejack, who now falls to the ground, Sunset acts quickly and uses her healing flames to heal Applejack's wound succesfully.

Chief takes this chance to run away, but he's then stopped by Twilight's gravitational grab, exerting a ton of pressure upon him, but with effort, Chief manages to counter her power and aims his gun to Twilight, he then shoots forcing Twilight to stop using her power, but Rarity blocks the bullet with a diamond, stopping the bullet from hurting Twilight but embedding in the diamond, Chief then holsters the gun and takes a granade and throws it at them, forcing the girls to split in order to avoid the explosion, Chief then runs away into the deep forest.

Sunset choses to chase him, not before telling everyone. "Girls, check on the wounded, I'll chase him down." Said Sunset with determination as she used her powers to fortify her armor with light and proceeds to leave, Applejack stands up and heads to help Rainbow Dash to put pressure on the wound. "It appears our plan didn't go any well." Said AJ with a humoristic voice as she arrived, but Rainbow Dash still groans from the pain, while small traces of blood start dripping, Aura then arrives and helps them. "The bullet pierced through a vein..." Aura takes off her jacket and rips off one of her sleeves and says as she wraps it around Rainbow Dash's leg. "...Fortunately for you, the armor slowed the bullet enough so that it doesn't pierces your whole leg, Applejack tight it up." Ordered Aura, Rainbow Dash then starts screaming from pain as Applejack tights up the sleeve to stop the bleeding, once she's done, Aura says. "With this, you'll be fine, but we have to take off the bullet as soon as we arrived, got it?" Said Aura, she then stands up and goes with the girls to help the rest of the Blue Team.

Sunset shoots light beams to slow Chief down, which seem to be fruitful but as Chief made a move to draw the gun, Sunset aimed her gauntlet to his hand, Chief turns around as he was about to aim at Sunset head, but she's faster and disarms Chief, who then stops and as he was about to swing his blades, Sunset created a light blade to clash with him, now they begin to clash their weapons but just as happened before, Sunset is overwhelmed by Chief, she then chooses to block his attack with both of her bracers, she was about to fall on her knees when the central part of her chestplate opens and reveals a bigger repulsor, she focuses her magic into it and shoots a powerful beam that pushes Chief away, Sunset now falls on her knees as she breaths heavily and the center of her chestplate closes.

Chief stands up and approaches to Sunset, who only musters the enough strength to stand up and fortify her armor again. "John, you have to listen, you're hurting everyone, even your family!!" Said Sunset in a desperate attempt to make him come back to his senses, but it's in vain, Chief can't hear anything but a strange language from a demonic creature that takes Sunset's place in his illusion, he then raises his blades, Sunset closes her eyes and prepares to block the hit and as he swings his blades down, a clashing sound can be heard, Sunset opens her eyes and sees someone who stopped Chief's attack by blocking it.

"I arrived in a good moment, didn't I?" Asks Eclipsed Sunlight, who then swings away Chief's blades and follows with a series of fast blows and with a kick she pushes Chief away even more. "S-Sunset? H-How did you find us?" Asks Sunset Shimmer surprised of seeing her counterpart, who looks at her and replies. "The name is Eclipsed Sunlight now, I was nearby and I heard all the noise you were doing, so... would you mind to tell me why was John about to kill you?" Asked Sunlight while assuming a fighting stance.

"Y-Yeah, we detected a portal opening up near here, and we found Chief on our way there, but he started attacking us all out of sudden and Cortana said it's an illusion from his blades." Replied Sunset while trying to copy Sunlight's fighting stance.

"Ugh... great, we have to take his blades off, I'll face him directly, you attack him from the distance, got it?" Asked Sunlight, Sunset agrees with her head, afterwards Sunlight charges at Chief, surprisingly she can keep up with his speed and strength, Sunset starts shooting light beams, making Chief lose his ground and being overwhelmed by Sunlight's martial techniques.

"There!" Said Sunset after hitting Chief with an even more powerful beam, making him lose even more ground, Sunlight then jumps on his back and pulls his arms in order to stop him from attacking, but Chief runs backwards and crashes with a rock, making Sunlight release him as she falls to the ground, Chief turns around and tries to punch her, but Sunlight dodges it by rolling and before she's able to stand up, Chief kneels her in the face and swings his blades, Sunlight is only able to block before receiving the hit and being sent flying away and crashes with some trees, Sunset jumped in her rescue, creating a light barrier to stop Chief's attack, as both struggle in their clash, a rock hits Chief's helmet, he then turns around and sees Fluttershy standing behind him, despite being alone, determination can be seen on her face.

Sunset puts down the barrier as she feels no more pressure from Chief's attack, she sees Fluttershy and says. "Fluttershy, be..." She's then kicked by Chief on the belly, sending her backwards, Sunlight catches her and both crash against a tree.

"You've been hurting my friends Chief, and despite I hate doing this, you leave me no other option..." Said Fluttershy with determination, she then assumes a defensive stance, her left hand lies in front of her while her right hand lies upwards, then with a low voice, she says. "Chi You, Armor form...:"

Chief starts approaching her and as he starts to swing his blades, Fluttershy sees through her visor, Chief's crux on his attack, which is his left shoulder's joint, her magic starts to build up and her armor changes, focusing more of the armor plates on her left hand, Chief finally attacks and as soon as Fluttershy blocks the hit with her left hand, energy starts to flow through her armor, redirecting it to her right hand. Fluttershy then pokes Chief's left shoulder joint with a quick but strong hit of her index and middle fingers, and quickly changes targets, she now aims at Chief's abdomen with her right hand, and as now Chief's weakened, she swung away his blades with her left hand, and then unleashes a punch with her other hand, right on his abdomen with not only the strength of his attack, but also doubled thanks to her armor. The punch is so strong that not only stuns Chief significantly, but also sends him flying away, back where the girls were.

"...Heavenly Hand of Defense." Said Fluttershy as she unleashed the punch, she then goes quickly to help both Sunset and Sunlight. "Sorry I took so long, are you two ok?" Asks a concerned Fluttershy. "Yeah, that was a good hit Fluttershy." Replied Sunset as she stands up, Sunlight looks at Fluttershy with a shocked face, she then says. "Since when can you do that?! It's amazing!"

Fluttershy then replies with a kind voice. "Well... whilst my friends trained for days, I had to train my martial technique for months to use it like that, but thanks to a good friend of Fred and Time-Space continuity, it only passed two days here in my world."

Sunset looks from behind with a smile, while Sunlight remains shocked. "We have to go, the battle is not over yet." Said Sunset, interrupting their chat, quickly the three of them began to move, while Chief remained on the ground, that punch was so powerful that he's having a hard time trying to breathe, he struggles to stand up, while everyone sees him surprised, as he just crashed abruptly there, but fortunately, they knew how to act fast, the girls surrounded Chief, and began to overwhleming with punches, explosions, rocks and diamonds, blocking his attacks and also stopping him from going anywhere, then Sunset and Fluttershy arrived, followed by Eclipsed Sunlight. "Don't give him a chance to think!" Said Sunset aloud.

Now light beams and blades from Sunset, along with strong punches and kicks from Sunlight, created the perfect chance fro Twilight to lift Chief in the air. "Everyone, move away!" Said Twilight before using all the energy she stored on her suit to smack Chief tremendously on the ground, finally knocking him down, Chief tries to stand up, but he can't muster the enough strength and falls to the ground unconscious, Twilight then takes the blades off with her power. "So... how are we going to move him?" Asks Rarity while helping Rainbow Dash move. The Blue Team and Aura also approaches and sees Chief lying on the ground unconsciously.

"I think we have more important business to deal with." Said Applejack while looking to Sunlight, who moves away, separating from the group and says with a ashamed voice. "Listen, I only came here to help, I was going home when... AGH!" Sunlight then receives a shot that pierces through her right shoulder, everyone looks at the culprit and is Aura the one who pulled the trigger. "I don't care what you have to say, you got Flash killed!!!" Said Aura with tears on her face as Fred then takes the gun off her hands, Sunset then stands between Sunlight and the group and says. "She's saying the truth, if it weren't for her, I would've died by Chief's attack a while ago, she saved me..." Sunset then turns around and tells Sunlight. "... I'm sorry Sunlight, but this is not a safe place to stay, you have to go." Sunset then puts her hand on Sunlight's shoulder and with the flames she earned from Flash, she completely heals Sunlight's wound. "Yeah... I think you're right, but I also deserved it... thanks though." Sunlight says as she then was about to leave, Sunset smiles with compassion and then turns around, just to be criticized by everyone.

"Why did you let her leave?" Asks Linda with a serious voice, Twilight then also says. "She's right Sunset, she's not someone that you should let go, we should've taken her into custody." Sunset then interrupts them and says with a serious voice. "She just made a few bad choices and now she's treated as a monster? What's wrong with you?!" Aura then stands forth and confronts her. "She got Flash killed, yet you defend her? The question should be towards you Sunset, what are you thinking?"

"She wasn't the culprit, that dark magic is the one corrupting her, and also, it wasn't she who killed Flash, it was Starkiller, and yes!... it hurts me to think that she was involved in it, but just as me, she also did very bad choices while chasing an empty dream, am I wrong for wanting to give her another chance?" Asks Sunset with determination, fortunately, before the quarrel extends, Kelly interrupts by saying.

"Ok, let's calm down everyone! We need to solve Chief's mystery first, remember? We can discuss anything you want once we're done, c'mon, who's going to help me carry him?" Asked Kelly, Fred then helps her carry Chief, they were about to move when from the bushes, Jerome, Princess Twilight and the Omega Team finally arrived.

"Alright, cavalry's here!!" Said Robert while everyone assumes a offensive position, except for Princess Twilight. "Wait! Is that... John?!" asked Jerome with a confused voice, he along the Omega Team holster their guns, Jerome then approaches and looks at Chief. "He looks like shit, what happened to him?" Fred looks at him while takes Chief's arm and puts it around his neck and says. "It's a long story, we'll explain you all later, how was your mission?"

"Well, excluding we killed some of the wildlife of Equestria, everything went pretty well." Said Jerome with a humoristic voice. As they began to move, Princess Twilight approaches the girls and is received by a warm groupal hug, she then grabs Sunset and hugs her.

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss... I... wanted to see if you were doing well." Said Twilight with a compassionate voice, Sunset replies with a slight smile and says. "Thanks... Twilight, it hasn't been easy but... we've managed to focus on other matters." Said Sunset while looking at her friends, who stand proud as they show their new battle suits. "I can see that... also, I've brought some information that might be useful towards those visions you mentioned, but we can talk later of that, for now we have to return with the others" Said Princess Twilight as the group joined the others. "Y'know... maybe you can tell me how this armors work, don't you think?" Asks Princess Twilight aloud, with excitement and a friendly voice, Sci Twilight replied.

"Of course, did you bring pen and paper?" The group shared stories as they were heading back to the headquarters, trying to alliviate the tension in the environment, once they arrived, everyone takes a seat on the leaving room of the house, fortunately there was plenty of space for everyone, they began to chat and theorize about what could be the reason Chief left in the first place, but they'll only get their answers once Chief wakes up.

A memory starts playing, taking us back to a moment in time where Chief and Flash were having a conversation at night standing on the balcony a few days after the Battle of the Bands.

"Your mother said that you've been acting weird recently, mind to tell me why?" Asks Chief while taking drinking from a beer, Flash deeply sighs and replies with a frustrated voice. "Chie-... John, have you ever felt like you screwed it up with someone? Like, you had a good relationship but now is in danger because you behaved like a complete jerk?" Said Flash while looking at the moon with a reflective face.

Chief then looks also at the moon and replies with a serious voice. "Not at such level... but I can help you if you tell me what happened." Flash then covers his face with shame and says.

"I behaved like an asshole in front of my crush, and although it appeared things were back at how they were, I can't stop feeling bad about it." Said Flash while taking his hands off his face, Chief looks at him and replies. "And why did that happened? You never behave like that." Said Chief while putting his beer aside and looks at him silently, waiting for Flash to respond, and although it took him a bit, he finally replies.

"There was this competition... The Battle of the Bands, it was an idea of some new students who used magic to extrapolate the negative emotions of everyone to make them become over competitive jerks." After hearing that, Chief looks amazed and says. "And what about your training? You could've done something about those girls." Chief's then interrupted by Flash. "I know! and that's what angers me the most, I was a fool and because of letting my guard down, they extended their stay longer than they should've."

"How did you stopped those students from creating any more chaos?" Asked Chief, although he's interested in listening Flash's story, he can't ignore the fact that there were magical students with powers they could've used to create more chaos.

"There were... people... with powers that managed to defeat them, and... now I begin to wonder why did you assign me the task of protecting this world." Replies Flash with a sad face, Chief chooses to ignore what he said about people with powers and then he puts his hand on his shoulder and says with a warmth voice. "Because I know what you're truly capable of, one day, you'll have to be the one to protect everyone, and you have to be ready when that moment arrives..." Chief makes a pause to take off his hand and change the topic. "...Now, about that girl you mentioned, I'm not... the most experimented in that field, but I can say that although you were magically manipulated, it doesn't remove the fact of what you did, it was a competition... you wanted to win, and one thing led to another... the best thing you can do to make up for your mistakes is to be better, to grow from that past self, that's what I do and look at me, I make mistakes yes, but I also make up for them."

"Really? and where should I begin with?" Asked Flash with an encouraged voice, Chief then takes his beer and says. "First of all... change your haircut, it sucks." Flash's expression changes immediately to one of confusion. "Wh-What? But it's awesome!" Chief then drinks from his beer and replies. "Jerome recommended it to you when you two first met, you we're at middle school back then, but... it simply doesn't suits you anymore." Flash then replies with sarcasm. "Oh, and how should I cut my hair, like yours?" Chief then shows a millimetric sign of a smile and says. "Maybe yes... but now seriously, you should start by focusing on helping others, and when you meet that girl again, you'll have to apologize, but don't be too dramatic, just... find the correct window, like trying to take down a target miles away with your last sniper shot, you have to be patient, very patient, to find the proper moment, got it?"

Flash then proceeds to hug him and replies. "Yeah, thanks John! I really needed some advice." Chief looks at him with a pleased face, he then pats Flash on his shoulder and says. "Enough sentimentalism, go downstairs and have your dinner, is getting late." Said Chief, Flash agrees with his head and leaves the room, Chief looks at the moon with a smile, but he's then struck by a though, "this is not real... it's a memory.". "Why am I living this moment again?" Asks Chief to himself while looking at his hands, they seem a bit glitchy and then his hands are now covered in blood, Chief looks up and sees the moon that has acquired a blood red color, he then hears screams downstairs, he quickly runs and only witnesses Flash, Aura and the Blue Team dead on the ground, blood is everywhere, painting the whole living room with their blood, in between their corpses, a shadowy figure stands still and opens its eyes, revealing an evil red glow from them. "NOOOO!!!!" Scream Chief aloud with anger and sorrow, just as she shadowy figure approaches him and reveals it's face, it's Kylo Ren, but he now has a demonic look, just as Sunlight's corruption signs but his seemed to be like an illness.

"I'm going to kill them, everyone you've and will love, you'll witness their slow deaths and you won't be able to do anything... ANYTHING!!!!" Said Kylo while creates a scythe with dark magic and slashes Chief, who wakes up and gets up from bed quickly, fortunately for him, it was only a nightmare from an old memory. He seems to be alone in the room, he then changes his clothes and looks at the mirror, realizing someone cut his hair and beard, suddenly, he starts feeling pain around his body, it feelt like if he got beaten up by a bunch of Brutes.

Chief exits his room, and as he heads downstairs he hears many voices talking about things he can't understand properly, as he finally arrives at the first floor, he sees not only the girls, Aura and the Blue Team, but he also sees Jerome, Princess Twilight, the Omega Team, Nikola Tesla and Galen.

As they noticed Chief arrived, everyone stops talking, Jerome looks at Chief and says. "Look who it is! the man of the moment! You've been keeping us waiting for a whole day, feel any better?" Asks Jerome, Chief only avoids the topic and asks. "Then why are you still wearing your armor? Isn't this a safe place?" Said Chief as he heads to the fridge. "Someone had to deal with your responsibilities, John." Replied Jerome, referring to himself. Chief heads to the kitchen and takes a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and drinks it, creating an awkward scene, as he's the only one making noise now.

"Thanks then... who's gonna ask first?" Asks Chief after drinking some juice and placing the bottle in the kitchen table, he knows that everyone might be mad at him, so that's why he goes straight to the point. "Where have you been, John?! You went missing for two whole days and returned, only to act like a brainless violence machine when you first saw us!" Says Kelly, she's the first one to question him, Chief keeps his cool and replies. "I apologize if my behavior wasn't something usual, but..." He's then interrupted by Aura who says.

"You shot Rainbow Dash, stabbed Applejack, heavily injured the Blue Team, wounded the girls and almost killed me, do you have something to tell in your defense?" Asks Aura with frustration, she can't deal with seeing Chief calmed about this matter. "I said I apologize for it, plus the fact that all I could see were devilish beings aiming to kill me, so I had to do something." Replies Chief calmly while heading towards the living room.

"Aura, calm down, he's right, Cortana said he was trapped in an illusion, so there wasn't a way for him to know who was he attacking..." Said Linda with a serious voice, but she then asks Chief. "...John, where did you go for the past two days, and we want the truth." Chief then sighs, it appears he can't prolong this any longer, he deeply breathes and replies.

"The truth is... I went to hell with the Doom Slayer." Everyone reacts shocked by his response, except for Galen, who remains serious. "Hell? You say?" Asks Tesla with curiosity, Chief looks at him seriously and replies. "Yes, Hell itself." Tesla backs a bit to think of something, but now Kelly asks. "And what the hell were you doing... in Hell?" Chief then takes a chair and sits down near everyone,, and replies. "To cash a favor the Devil owed me, in exchange for helping him with an errand, he freed Flash's soul from Purgatory into the Mortals' Realm, bringing him back from death, but the details of how long will it take remain uncertain to me."

Everyone remains shocked of he just said, his face shows utter seriousness, convincing everyone that he's saying the truth. Princess Twilight seems to be against that, but she wanted to keep it for herself, until Galen says. "Princess Twilight, is something concerning you?" Asks Galen, he noticed Twilight's concern, she then looks a bit surprised as she didn't expect anyone to see through her inner self. "Well... yeah... as far as I know, spiritual affairs are part of the fields of knowledge which we know frighteningly little, and the fact that you did something so drastic such as return a soul from the afterlife to the mortal realm might have consequences not even you might comprehend." Said Twilight with a serious voice, Chief then replies with a calmed voice. "I appreciate your concern Princess, but I can assure you, I made the proper research and you're right, retrieving a soul from Purgatory is utterly dangerous, fortunately I got help from the Devil, who personally guided Flash's soul to his body." Princess Twilight seems skeptical about this, she then asks. "But you said you don't know how much time it'll take for that to happen, what if it takes months, years or even decades?" Chief then replies with a serious voice. "It's a consequence I'm willing to accept."

"What if he resurrects after decades and sees everyone he loved are now dead, what would he think? did you at least think of that?" Asks Aura with a serious voice, Chief then looks away, revealing he didn't consider that at all. "What you did was selfish, and probably will have an outcome that'll result in even more suffering for him." Adds Aura, Chief begins to frustrate and then he stands up and says with a serious voice.

"Yeah, I might have been a selfish act, but both you and I know he didn't deserve dying, I've lost too many people in my life..." Chief then starts saying with a sentimental voice. "...My Spartan brothers, Samuel, Parisa, Jacob Keyes, Sgt. Johnson, Miranda Keyes, Cortana... and the list goes on, and on... I've saved millions or maybe even more, but I've never been able to save anyone whom I love, and I refuse to stay like that, for the first time... I could do something, and yes... I could've brought anyone else from death but we all know that all the people I mentioned were ready to fight until the bitter end, unlike Flash... he... he was young... he... didn't deserve it, and I'll do the same to bring back all of you, because I don't want to lose anyone else... not... anymore."

Everyone remains silent, Sunset breaks the silence by saying. "Chief, can we talk... privately?" Chief agrees with his head, then both go to the backyard, leaving the rest inside the house. "I think you were too tough with him." Said August, breaking silence. "Yeah, maybe... but... is something hard to process, y'know?" Says Kelly with a serious voice, Tesla then interrupts by saying. "If he was in Hell for two days, then he's approximately two years older now." Galen then replies. "Now that's... surprising, that explains why he looks a bit older, though." Applejack then asks Galen with a serious voice. "You knew it, didn't ya'?"

"What do you mean?" Asks Galen, it appears someone else has also been keeping secrets. "You knew about Chief's location the whole time, that's why when he mentioned where he has been, you didn't even reacted, that only could've been possible if you were already aware of where he was." Replied Applejack, he arguments are solid, Galen sighs and replies. "I wasn't the only one, Captain Lasky knew too, why do you think no one suspected of Chief gone missing? He managed to tell everyone he was on a special mission." Afterwards, the environment seems a lot less tenser, and everyone starts to have a conversation around those topics.

Meanwhile on the backyard, Chief asks Sunse. "What happened that makes you wanting to discuss it only with me?" Sunset then closes the door and says. "A few things happened, but I'll tell you the most important things, first, I know Flash was encapsuled at the Infinity, but Aura requested to move him here to the lab, along with his cryogenic capsule..." Chief seems a bit surprised and says. "Ok... what next?" He asked, but then Banana leans on his leg, Chief crouches to grab him and then h e starts peeting him, Sunset then continues. "I visited him yesterday, before we detected the portal that brought you here, and as I placed my hand on the capsule, the flames I use to heal wounds, propagated to him, lighting him up, but nothing else happened, do you know what could've been?"

After hearing that, Chief remembers that the flames that broke Michael's seal upon Flash's soul had the same colors as Sunset's flames, after realizing that, he puts Banana down and says. "Let me give you a bit of context, when we completed our deal with the Devil, he freed Flash's soul, but then it was sealed by an Archangel, we couldn't broke the seal without him noticing, but fortunately, those flames of yours burnt the seal, freeing Flash's soul into the Mortal's Realm."

"Really?! But, how does these flames work then?" Asked Sunset with excitement and confusion, but Chief interrupts her and says. "I don't know, if you want to understand them, ask Tesla. What was the other thing you wanted to say?" Sunset then retakes the conversation and says. "Yeah about that, something completely unexpected happened..." Sunset now shows a big smile, as a sign of acoomplishment, but Chief can't get it so he asks again. "What is it?" Sunset then replies with a proud voice.

"I teamed up with my counterpart, who now wants to be called Eclipsed Sunlight, and I respect that, but can you actually imagine that we fought together, side by side to defeat you? And it wasn't something she accepted reluctantly, she actually saved me! I don't know what kind of introspection she's going through, but she's now making progress!" Sunset said with a smile on her face, Chief recalls what Sunlight told him when they returned from Hell, and he can't feel but thankful for that moment. "What happened next?" Asked Chief intrigued by what Sunset's saying.

"Well, now that you mention it, she knew how to break you free from the illusion even before I told her you were in a illusion, plus her reaction was as she had to deal with that again, also... she looked... a bit older." Said Sunset as she begins to remember the events, Chief then sees she realized sooner than he thought, therefore, Chief replies. "That's because I wasn't alone in Hell, yeah... I mentioned I went with the Doom Slayer but the truth is, Eclipsed Sunlight came with us too."

"Why?" Asks Sunset confused, Chief then makes sure no one hears was he's about to say, in order to keep in secret everything Sunlight told him to tell only to Sunset. "She felt guilty for being the one who provoked Flash's death, so she wanted to fix that mistake... on our journey through hell, I... questioned... Sunlight's past decisions, after two long years there, she now has a new resolve. She wants to start again, this time... on the right path, but she wants to make amends with you first, so stay sharp for any sign of her trying to contact you, got it?"

"Yeah! I get it, but it'll be hard to convince the rest that she wants to change, I mean... Aura shot her after we defeated you." Said Sunset while making a face of regret, she thinks she could've stopped the bullet from hitting Sunlight, but she knows she's lying to herself, Chief puts his hand on his face after hearing that, he sighs deeply and replies. "That... was to be expected, but is she alright?" Asked Chief with a worried face, Sunset then replies. "Yes, I used my healing flames to help her, after that, I told her the best option was to leave before something worse were to happen, and she seemed to agree with me and then left. After that, everyone criticized my decision of letting her go, but I won't give up on her... and I'll do anything I can to help her leave the evil path she took."

Chief then replies with a micro sign of a smile. "You did good, but remember, this is something that'll take time, I hope you can understand if she messes up once in a while."

Sunset then replies with emotion. "Sure! I will, redemption is not an easy path..." Sunset then hugs Chief, who groans from the pain caused by the fight. "Oh... sorry, I forgot that. you are still wounded... but, thanks... for helping me to guide Eclipsed Sunlight to the right path." Said Sunlight as she stepped back, but Chief takes a deep breath and interrupts her. "No... it's fine... you were excited... and..." Sunset then hugs Chief again, who now screams a bit of pain, Sunset steps back again, Chief then asks her. "Why was that for?"

"You said that Flash will come back, I can't thank you enough for that." RepliedS Sunset with a smile, Chief then says. "Well, not everyone seems so optimistic about it." Replied Chief while taking a deep breath, his body really hurts. "They said that because they were a bit mad at you for leaving just like that, but I'm sure they'll realize what you've done." Said Sunset with a friendly voice, Chief then proceeds to open the door to the kitchen, he lets Sunset go first and he follows her after and closes the door behind him.

"Chief, I need to ask you something..." Said Tesla while approaching, he stops in front of Chief, who then asks. "What is it, Tesla?" Asked Chief while stretching, Tesla takes a digital note pad from his coat and asks. "How would you grade the perfomance of the girls' battle suits?"

"Battle suits? Asks Chief confused, after all, he doesn't know what Tesla means. "Yeah, the ones Twilight and I made for the girls, how do you think they manage to defeat you?" Asked Tesla with a smile on his face, Chief couldn't see the girls, even less notice if they were using battle suits, with a bit of shame, he replies.

"Yeah... I don't know exactly how to describe, but if they were using them to stop me... then, they did a good job... although, it still hurts." Said Chief with a calmed voice, despite feeling pain from his wounds, Tesla then writes down what Chief said and replies. "If it still hurts, then it means they had an even greater succes than I expected."

Chief then interrupts Tesla and asks "What are you doing here in the first place?" Tesla then turns around and replies. "Oh! I was summoned here because your blades were my creations and everyone wanted answers behind your violent behavior." Chief understands it, he then looks at Galen and asks. "And you, Galen?" Galen then stands up and says. "I came here in case you lose control, again... but it seems I won't need to intervene."

"By the way, we told Captain Lasky about the situation and he ordered mandatory vacations for you, as long as it needs for you to recover." Said Leon with a friendly voice, he said it so naturally, making it seem like if wasn't any big deal, but for Chief, that's torture.

"WHAT?" Asked Chief confused, he then continues. "But Kylo Ren is still out there, who's going to..." Chief's then itnerrupted by Kelly, who replies with a proud smile. "Don't worry John, we'll take care of your responsiblites, it doesn't matter if that means the double amount of missions, we can get it done... take this chance to relax! You truly need it..." Chief looks at her and finally accepts it, he can't deny the fact that he needs some rest, and maybe this might be a good time to calm his mind from over using his blades.

"...Did you like your haircut, Chief?" Asked Rarity with a smile on her face, Chief looks at her and asks. "It was your idea?" Rarity then replies. "Oh no, no, no, it was Kelly's idea, I only proposed the idea of your new hairstyle." Chief then replies with a friendly voice. "Hmm... I think I like it then."

Rainbow Dash interrupts and asks with some excitement. "So... Chief, what do you think about our progress? We've been training for weeks at the Infinity's training room with Fred, and there's only passed TWO days here." Chief looks at Fred and then he turns at the girls and replies. "You've done a huge progress in these days I was gone, I'm actually surprised of what you achieved, my body still hurts, especially my abdomen." Fluttershy then interrupts Chief by saying. "Yeah... about that... sorry, that was me."

Chief has now a surprised face, he then asks with excitement. W-Wow! What kind of training Fred gave you?" Fluttershy then replies with a proud smile. "I had to train on another world for months with a friend of Fred to learn a martial art, then it took me a few more months to learn all the special techniques the martial art has."

"Well then... all I can say is... good job!" Said Chief with a slight smile, shocking everyone around him. "Wait... can you... smile?" Asked an extremely confused Pinkie Pie, she never thought that'd ever be possible of seeing. "Yeah... but it's not something very often you see, actually, it's the first time we see Chief smile, since... years." Said Jerome with humoristic voice.

Everyone then starts to laugh and Chief keeps his smile while wondering what'll happen next, but for now, he just wants to enjoy this moment with everyone.

Back at Sunlight's apartment, she takes the communicator Kylo gave her and calls him, it didn't took long for him to pick up the call, his hologram appears on the communicator and asks with a deep voice. "Would you mind telling me what took you so long to call?" Sunlight then comes up with a story and replies. "I had to think of some things by my own, but I'm back now, anything you want to tell me?"

Kylo believes Sunlight story, and then he replies her question. "Actually, yes... but I need you here at my ship..." Sunlight then takes her backpack and replies. "Fine, teleport me there." As soon as she said that, a dark magic cloud surrounds her and after the cloud disipates, she's now in the bridge at Kylo's star destroyer.

"Wow! that was quick." Replied Sunlight, she's still amazed of that power, but it appears only Kylo can do it, he then approaches Sunlight and sees her, he remains serious as Sunlight got startled and steps back. "Hmm... Follow me..." Said Kylo with a serious voice as he leaves the bridge, Sunlight follows him, she wonders if he noticed that she'd changed, which seems obvious but what confuses her the most is that he ignored it. As they now head to the barracks, Sunlight choses to start a conversation. "What do you want to show me?" Asks Sunlight, intrigued of where are they going, Kylo then replies with a serious voice. "After the events at the observatory, most of the Knights of Ren died, only two survived... that demands the creation of a new team, one that you'll be part of..." As he says that, they enter now the barracks, revealing a squad of Purge Troopers reading up, Ap'Lek, Cardo and Starkiller. "This is, the death squad, a task force created specifically to carry out missions that include, spionage, hey target eliminations and research upon anomalies we can't reach due to the Resistance's presence in those worlds."

"Is good to have you back, Sunlight." Says Starkiller while he puts on a new armor, Sunlight then looks at Kylo and asks him. "Ok, so you think it'll be enough with just us?" Sunlight isn't too sure about fighting the girls, or even Master Chief with only a bunch of troopers, two Knights of Ren and Starkiller.

"Probably, but just to be sure, your first mission will be to go to a world we've located that has a power source capable of bringing back the dead, even from other universes or timelines... or at least, that's what our research team suggests." Replied Kylo with a determinated voice, Sunlight looks at him and asks with a serious voice. "And you want to bring someone back from the dead?" Sunlight can't think of going through Hell again, but this time,it's totally different, as it's to use a tool capable of doing that.

"Exactly, but for that, you'll need... this." Kylo then snaps his fingers and makes appear a helmet in his hands, he then gives to Starkiller, Sunlight looks at it and asks. "Who's helmet is this one?" It seems, damaged, and old, Sunlight was about to touch it, but as soon as she approaches her hand, a sinister aura goes through her, she quickly withdraws her hand and only looks at the helmet with confusion. Starkiller takes puts the helmet on a table nearby and says.

"This... is the helmet of my master... Darth... Vader... the most powerful Sith Lord in our world." Kylo then approaches and says. "And he... was also... my grandfather." Sunlight looks at them with confusion, what kind of being was Darth Vader?

"You'll depart right away, get ready death squad!" Said Kylo aloud while leaving the room, Sunlight then proceeds to change her clothes and wear her armor again. The best option se has now, is too follow the plan and do what Kylo says, but honestly, she prefers not to do it, if that Darth Vader is even more pwerful than Kylo and Starkiller, what kind of power would that person have in case of getting a dark magic necklace.

The path seems odd, a new threat approaches as a past nightmare gets closer to her world, slowly but certainly frightening, what would be the events that'll happen from now on.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I know this chapter took a lot to come out, but I promise it was for a good cause. I had to change a few narrative aspects for the better, while also I had to give my best writing the fighting scene at the forest. A new arc begins, and I'm so excited to share it with y'all, I just hope that you can be patient as I write the story, draw designs for some of my characters and scenes from the chapters.

PD: Also, if you want to check out early stuff, check my DeviantArt page, you can find me there as EternalReepr. I upload sketches of the character that'll appear or did appear in the story, while also drawing scenes from the current chapters and upcoming chapters.

As always, thanks for your support and I wish you the best of lucks, bye!
-DReep.

Chapter 14: Death Next Door

A LOOMING EVIL
After the reunion the group had a t the headquarters, the Omega Team, alongside Jerome, Tesla, and Galen proceed to the lab at the basement. They head to the portal room, while Tesla calibrates the portal to the Infinity, Galen has a small conversation with Chief.

"John, there's something you need to know..." Said Galen while approaching Chief, he then says with a serious voice. "Kylo Ren has achieved something I've always feared." Chief has a slightly shocked expression, if Galen is worried about it, then it can't be anything good. "What is it?" Asks Chief with a serious voice. "After the battle at Zeta Halo, I was meditating, but then I felt something, a... disturbance... in the Force, if my suspicions are correct... Kylo Ren, has finally embraced the dark side... which means that... he's now a Sith."

Chief seems a bit surprised as he hears that, Sith is not a concept he has heard a lot, only in a few tales, but the doubt remains. "What is a Sith? Is something like Starkiller?” Asks Chief confused, Galen slightly sighs and replies. "In the Force there are two sides: Light and Dark, the users of the light side of the Force are called Jedi, they represent things as peace, equilibrium, serenity, and control over the emotions. They also see the Force as a force of nature that has to be respected. On the other hand, a Sith... is a user of the dark side of the Force, they are driven by hatred, anger, pain, and sorrow. And they also believe the Force is a tool that will bend to their will, so they can exploit it..."

"But Kylo has been using the Dark Side of the Force since we meet, why is he any different now?" Asks Chief, he always thought that it wasn't any different, light user and dark users, but it appears the concept escapes his comprehension for a bit. "You're right about one thing... he was a user of the Dark Side, but he never had a true motivation to fall completely into the Dark Side... but it appears he now has one." Replied Galen with a serious voice, Chief then starts to remember the words he said when the Arbiter cut off his arm. That was the first time he saw Kylo truly angered about something, but there's another doubt in his mind.

"Why did you felt it... I mean... Starkiller is also a Sith, so that means they are now at the same level?" Asked Chief with confusion, Galen knows the answer and with a face of negation, he replies. "I wish that were true... but I'm afraid it's not... Starkiller was bred to be a Sith, his power comes from his usage of the Dark Side. But Kylo... is a special case... he was first trained to be a Jedi, but he was seduced by the Dark Side. Plus the fact that he's a descendant of my master, Darth Vader, better known as Anakin Skywalker. Whom was the most powerful being in both Jedi and Sith history, and Kylo Ren shares his bloodline, making him not only the last Skywalker, but also giving him a great potential in the Force."

Chief finally understands it. "So... it's his hidden potential the one that worries you?" Asks Chief with a bit of determination, Galen looks at him and replies while the portal opens. "Yes... and I don't know if I'd be able to defeat him by my own, but I'll do my best to stop the First Order... I have on mind a team that can help me."

"Yeah, but first we have to investigate the issue regarding some random portals opening across unverses, which coincidentally began after the battle at Zeta Halo." Replied Jerome as he stands before the portal, the Omega Team had already passed through it, leaving Chief with Tesla, Galen, and Jerome. "Please... if there's anything I can do to help, let me know immediately, got it?" Asks Chief with a serious voice, despite being suspended, he's willing to help.

"We'll do, but you have to learn to delegate the job, John, until then, use this time to relax, share time with the family, you know... like vacations." Replied Jerome before going into the portal, Galen follows him and Tesla goes last, then the portal closes, leaving Chief alone, who then remembered what Sunset said, and starts looking for Flash. After a while, he opens a door and reveals a dark room where there's only a cryogenic capsule in the middle of the room.

Chief approaches it and removes a bit of the tarnish off the glass with his hand, revealing Flash's inert body, Chief then places his hand on the glass and says.

"Remember that day... where you asked me to train you?..." Chief makes a pause and goes back to his memories, then he starts to relate. "You were so excited, but also determined... it was precisely because of your determination that I agreed to train you... but y'know... my Spartan training is a bit inhumane. So I taught you everything I know about fighting... although I didn't like the idea of you fighting with weapons... it was the best option, at the end... you wanted to protect your family."

Sunset appears at the distance, she also wanted to visit Flash, but Chief arrived first, she only watches as Chief continues his story. "Then... you wanted to train with a sword... and... I only knew a world where you could train, then... when you told Aura... she went mad, really mad... but I convinced her to let you go, but I had to accompany you. Actually... I came with the idea of my blades while we were on that world..." Chief seems nostalgic by recalling memories he shared with Flash, Sunset can't help but to smile, she'd never thought that someone like Master Chief would do something like this, Chief then continues his story.

"Before... I only had my Spartan brothers... the Blue Team, who are my closest family, then there's the Red, and Omega Teams... who are like brothers to me. Together, we were all that remained from the Spartan-II program. We are close because we grew up together... but we ended up splitting by the excessive amount of missions that we were assigned to as more of our brothers died, eventually... the distance between us became much larger. But... ironically... the moment we began this crusade throughout the Multiverse closed that distance between us, and meeting you and Aura... brought us together as one big family, again... and I can't thank you enough for that. Actually... I don't know how but... we ended up creating a bond with you and your mother... it's like... you have always been part of the family... hehe, ironical... isn't it? *sigh*... please come back soon, they need you... I... need you, Flash..."

Chief slightly smiles, he then takes off his hand and is then surprised by Sunset, who says. "Those were really beautiful words, John." Chief looks at her with a face that shows small traces of surprise, he then looks back at Flash and says. "I only hope they can reach him, wherever he may be..." Chief then looks at Sunset and asks her. "Wanna tell him something?" Sunset then smiles and, with an emotional voice, she replies. "Yeah..." Chief then leaves her alone, to give her some personal space, Sunset sees Flash through the glass and places her hand on the capsule, as Chief leaves the lab and heads upstairs.

"Hey Flash... John gave me the good news... you're coming back! And that's... amazing... but, there's one thing that Chief didn't consider, and that's... the time it will take for you to arrive... maybe tomorrow, weeks, months, years or... *sigh* decades... yeah, doesn't sound very good, does it?" Sunset makes a pause and sighs, she then continues. "I only want you to come back soon... there's so much I want to tell you, but everything is changing... I just heard Kylo Ren became an even bigger threat, and despite the girls and I have trained with our powers to fight... I just can't see how are we going to defeat them... I mean... the first time we fought against Kylo and Starkiller, we only managed to put up a fight because the seven of us were there, along with the Blue Team. Then, the second time we fought, we only managed to make them retreat was because you were there dealing with Eclipsed Sunlight and Tesla was fighting against Starkiller... *sighs*. We only fought against those Knights of Ren and we were able to beat them because Aura killed a few of them and then Fluttershy called a bear to help us out!"

Sunset bows her head, as a sign of frustration, she doesn't know what to do, and even lacks the certainty that their current abilities will be enough to win a single fight against either Kylo or Starkiller.

"*deep sigh* The only thing that gives me courage is that we managed to defeat John in a fight. Although he was already exhausted from fighting in Hell, and despite Sunlight helped us out, we managed to corner him a few times... I think... which is a great achievement to be honest... Who am I lying to... I'm afraid... afraid of what can happen in the future, afraid of losing my friends, afraid of... losing you... forever." Sunset seems to have surrendered to overthinking stuff, the silence becomes prominent in the room, until a familiar voice replies.

"You've never been someone who gives up, Sunset... remember, you're not alone... I believe in you." Said the voice as it fades out, Sunset quickly raises her head and steps back from the capsule before asking.

"Flash...?!" Asks Sunset, but unfortunately, no one replied, but she's certain that Flash was the one who said that, she then looks at him in the capsule and with a smile, she replies. "Thanks, Flash..." Sunset places her hand gently on the capsule and says. "I love you." She then takes her hand off and proceeds to leave the lab, as she comes out of the basement's door, she can hear Chief and Aura having a conversation in the kitchen.

"John... I'm sorry, I just... got led by what the other Twilight said and..." Aura is then interrupted by Chief, who says with a calmed voice. "Don't worry... Princess Twilight is right, time is something I didn't think of when I decided to go to Hell. And it's a risk I'm willing to take, so if you want to be mad at me for weeks or months, it's fine... I only hope you can understand it." Said Chief while cutting some tomatoes. Aura then hugs him tightly, making him groan from the wounds of the battle, Aura then steps back and says. "Oh, sorry!! I totally forgot about that... I just wanted to thank you." Chief then turns around and says. "Don't worry, it's the third time this happens to me today." Sunset peeks through the corner and sees Chief talking with Aura, while Kelly checks a recipe book and Cortana stands next to her with the size of a normal person

"John, you're making it wrong... see? the oregano had to be chopped before the potatoes." -Said Kelly, who shows Chief the recipe book, he then replies.

"What do you mean? I've already read it, I can't mess it... fuck." -Said Chief after looking again at the recipe and seeing his mistake, everyone laughs except for John, then Kelly realizes Sunset is watching them and says with a cheerful smile. "Oh, hey Sunset!! Wanna help John cook?" Sunset then steps into the kitchen, but Chief interrupted Kelly.

"I don't NEED help, how can it be so difficult to... cook?" Asked Chief, who seems a bit outraged by Kelly's statement, Aura then replies with a smile, while washing some other vegetables. "Wow... you really don't know how to cook, John." After that, Sunset stops laughing and asks. "Where are Fred and Linda?"

"They are at the garage giving maintenance to the equipment, I offered to help them but rejected me and said that I'm not allowed to pick a gun for the rest of the day... *sigh* so now I'm making dinner." Said Chief as he finished cutting the tomatoes, then he starts to chop the vegetable Aura washed and Kelly helps him.

"C'mon, let me give you hand... you're going to mess the whole dinner otherwise." Said Kelly while she takes another knife and starts chopping a bunch of raw meat that was besides the vegetables, although his pride stops him from admitting he needs help, Chief accepts Kelly's offer. "Just... don't make me look bad, got it?" Said Chief as now both of them are next to each other chopping vegetables and meat.

"Of course I won't, what would everyone think of the great legend, the Master Chief, who defeated the Covenant, saved humanity from anhilation multiple times and fights for peace around the multiverse, is unable to follow a simple recipe." Kelly said with a mocking voice, although it seems like an insult, it's the way how both get along when they're not on duty.

"Aww!! Look at you... you two argue like a couple!" Said Aura with a smile as she looked at the scene, Chief and Kelly blush a bit, Chief ignores it unlike Kelly, who chuckles but keeps chopping, Aura, Sunset and Cortana laugh of the situation, but as their laugh lessens, Cortana then tells Sunset. "Y'know, Princess Twilight wanted to tell you something, but you were busy at the moment, she's at the courtyard with your friends."

"Oh... got it, I'll leave then guys... good luck, John!!" Said Sunset as she left to the courtyard, Chief was about to pour the vegetables into a bowl, but Aura stops him and says. "Hey! you forgot the drizzle of Olive Oil, you can't mix the vegeteables without it."

"Oh! C'mon...!!!" Said Chief aloud, Kelly and Aura then start laughing, as the sound of their laughs lessens, Sunset approaches a table at the courtyard, where her friends seem to be chatting and sharing stories. "Hey girls! What did I miss?" Asks Sunset as she takes a seat.

"Hahah... you only missed Applejack's story of how she lose a bet and was forced to collect all the apples by herself for a whole month." Said Rainbow Dash, who stops laughing, it appears it was a funny anecdote, as everyone seems to be in the same situation.

"Sunset... I think I finally got the answers for those visions... but you might not like it." Says Princess Twilight with a serious voice, changing completely the mood, Rarity then asks with confusion. "Visions? What kind of... visions?"

"Sorry for not letting you know girls, but I had to find answers before telling everyone about them..." Said Sunset, who then makes a pause and says. "After the events at the observatory, I read Flash's notebook, where he used to write songs... but I found that he had also written about some visions he had when he visited a world with Master Chief, after reading them... I had to contact Princess Twilight to at least be able to know if they're real or not." Said Sunset with a serious voice, as she stops speaking, thankfully Princess Twilight replies.

"And what I found are mere possibilites... you'll see..." Princess Twilight then grabs a few napkins and starts explaining while giving examples. "Let's see this napkin as an event, I fold it like a rectangle and I get a new napkin, but this time is smaller..." She then takes another napkin and says. "But... if I take this other napkin and fold it like triangle, I get a different result from the same event... my decisions affected the final outcome... and the same applies to the real world."

"What do you mean?" Asks Fluttershy a bit confused, Princess Twilight then puts the napkins away and replies. "The visions Sunset told me about where related to events that happened or are about to happen... the problem is, it's uncertain to determine how would these events happen, probably your choices from now on will have a weight on determining the final outcome. And not only that, probably by learning of those events, you might want to do something about them and end up changing the whole course of time... and trust me... no matter how much you think of it, there are always possibilites you haven't thought of."

"But what were those visions about? Spit it out!" Said Pinkie Pie with a strong voice, she can't take the uncertainty of not knowing what Princess Twilight means. "The events weren't very clear, but as far as Flash described them, he foresaw a battle in another world, also the fact that something would happen to his mother, which was her kidnapping by the First Order... he also saw Twilight and Tesla fighting against something, but both were heavily injured, then there was a vision of Galen holding out a fierce explosion, which appeared to have consumed him. He also said that there was a Phoenix but that remains unsure to me... and last but not least, he foresaw someone's death, and by how he described it, it was his own death, the one he saw." Said Sunset while recalling everything she read on those pages, her face seems completely off by that, but she then takes a deep breath but is then interrupted by Sci Twilight who asks.

"Now... can we discuss the elephant in the room?" Everyone seems a bit confused, as they don't recall something that important. "What is it?" Asks Sunset confused by Twilight's question.

"Eclipsed Sunlight... why did you let her leave?" Asks Twilight with a serious face, she wants a good answer from Sunset, who only sighs and says. "I've already explained it to you... she saved me and wants to change..."

"She's a danger... Sunset!! if we don't do something about her, more people would end up dying!" Said Twilight as she stands up, she doesn't seem to be messing around, but Rarity takes her by the hand and gently invites her to sit down, Twilight accepts reluctantly but looks at Sunset with an angry face.

"Twilight, you have to calm down... if Sunset wants to believe in her counterpart, then she must have a good reason to do so... plus, I saw how she protected Sunset and faced Chief directly in combat." Said Fluttershy, trying to clarify the situation, but Twilight remains persistent on believing Sunlight is a threat that has to be deal with.

"Then Sunset... what is that reason that makes you trust on your counterpart?" Asks Rarity, intrigued on what Sunset has to say. Sunset knows what she has to say, but she doubts for a while, until she comprehends the only way of helping Sunlight right now is clarifying this situation, and convincing her friends to giver her another chance.

"Do you remember when Chief said that he went to Hell with someone else? Well... he lied... Sunlight was with him too, and the time they spent there helped her realize how her actions were affecting everyone around negatively... that's why she was so willing to help us back there, it's because she wants to fix her mistakes..." Sunset then amkes a pause and continues. "...Listen, these situation is similar to what happened to me... and if you could give me another chance... then what stops you from doing the same with her?"

"Yeah... you're right, let's just say... things are a bit different from then... but in essence... it's the same, plus... the first time we met her she was like... a villain, but if she wants make it up for what she did... who are we to deny a second chance to someone?" Says Applejack, amking the girls reflect and the situation, the girls agree to give Sunlight another chance, but also taking it with caution, after all, she still uses that dark magic necklace.

"Hold on... Eclipsed Sunlight... Sunset's counterpart... Dark Magic... what did I miss?" Asked Princess Twilight, who is extremely confused of what are they saying. "Long story short..." Said Pinkie Pie, who now starts to relate. "...One day, Sunset met her counterpart of this world who had to live competely alone since Sunset arrived and after they met again, Sunset invited her to spend some time with us, but it some bad guys from another universe contacted her before and persuaded her on working with them to have more power, unfortunately she found a cave with crystals that had magic inside them and use one of the crystals to create magical necklaces like ours... but hers it's totally different, her magic is violent, destructive and makes her even more angrier."

"Those bad guys... are the First Order?" Asked Princess Twilight, who tries to understand the whole story. "Yes it is... and trust me, they're on a whole other level... only Chief or anyone with mastered powers can face them." Said Rainbow Dash as she describes the level of threat to Princess Twilight.

"How did you learnt about them?" Asks Fluttershy with a intrigued voice, Princess Twilight then replies. "When Chief visited Equestria, he warned us about the threat The First Order represents... but if you're telling me that... Eclipsed Sunlight uses dark magic, I'm afraid that if you don't help her out soon... that magic will infect her consciousness, turning her into pure evil... and trust me... if you consider her a threat right now, once she passes the point of no return... she'd be your nightmare."

"Then we better find a way to make her take off that necklace before it's too late, am I right, girls?" Says Sunset with determiantion, her friends agree with her, after that Kelly arrives with a tray that brings some appetizers and says.

"Alright girls, sorry to keep you waiting but our chef was a bit... slow." Said Kelly iwith a smile as she hands over the dishes to everyone. "Slow?! Cooking is an art, if yoou can't appreciate... then don't judge." Said Chief as he arrives followed by Aura, Chief brings another tray with sodas and jugs, and Aura brings a tray with the dinner, and after the food is on the table, Fred and Linda arrive.

"Please tell me John didn't cook!" Said Fred with a mocking voice and smile on his face. "You're going to eat it whether you want it or not." Replied Chief, as a threat, Linda then chuckles and slightly nudges Fred. "Cut it out, you're going to make him feel bad." Said Linda with a mocking voice.

"Cut the jokes you two and sit down already." Said Aura with a smile, everyone starts to eat, chat and laughs share this great moment with friends and family. Once dinner is over, everyone seems satisfied with the food, but then Pinkie Pie asks.

"Y'know... since I saw Chief smile, I wonder if he can actually laugh." Said Pinkie Pie with curiosity, Chief only looks at her with a serious face and replies. "The last time I laughed was when I got shot on my first mission, and it wasn't because I got shot, it was Fred who made me laugh." Aura and the girls widen their eyes. "Now that's... quite... shocking." Said Applejack as she cleans her mouth with a napkin.

"Ok... so... now that everyone's done eating, I have a question... do you girls know a place where we can take John?" Asks Kelly with a smile, she's now planning a whole vacational trip, after all... Chief is of those who are always unavailable, so this is a one in a lifetime event. "We'll, there's a lot of places where you can go... want me to list them?" Asked Pinkie Pie with enthusiasm. "If you're so kind, please." Replied Kelly, Chief only looks at her with displeasure, he then says. "I can have a great time here at the house, there's no need to..."

"This not in discussion, John... we're taking you wherever we can while you have free time, so you're going whether you want it or not." Said Linda with a smile, she noticed Chief doesn't want to go anywhere, but this is the perfect chance to enjoy the wonders this world has to offer.

As they now began to discuss the plan of their trip, we now visit a remote world, where the First Order arrived, the Death Squad is being deployed along with many platoons of stormtroopers. "Supreme Leader, we noticed there's rebel activity near the objective, we've already jammed their communications." Said a First Order officer on the communicator.

"Excellent, commander... they won't be able to call for any help." Said Kylo as he puts on his helmet and then his cape. "So, what we're looking for lies...?" Asked a confused Sunlight, who doesn't know where is the thing they're looking for.

"In a cave, that's being guarded by multiple Rebel forces, that's why are gonna kill them all." Said Starkiller while putting on his cape, Sunlight doubst for a bit, she has killed demons but... living beings... that's too much even for them. "Don't you think our powers would be too much for them?" Asked Sunlight, thinking on the possible massacre that will take place.

"You may be right, but despite that... they're only a bunch of soldiers, so we can take them down the old fashioned way." Said Kylo as he grabbed his lightsaber. As now the rebel forces have noticed their arrival, a rain of plasma shots begins to hit their gunships, the TIE fighters begin the bombardment as they destroy the anti air turrets, giving the gunships space to land.

The gate opens and as the Death Squad descends, the firefight had already begun, some stormtroopers were taking cover behind rocks while others where moving forward while shooting. "Let's destroy them." Said Kylo Ren, giving away the signal, the Purge troopers were taking the front whilst Starkiller and Eclipse Sunlight took the flanks, Kylo then ignites his lightsaber and charges forward, beginning the massacre.

Whilst Kylo and Starkiller ends their enemies mercylessly, Sunlight only knocks them down, despite fighting against them, she refuses to kill them, but Starkiller quickly notices that. "Why aren't you killing them?" Asked Starkiller after slashing some rebels.

"Because there's no need, when they wake up, we'll already finish our business here." Replied Sunlight after knocking down a bunch of rebels with swift consecutives blows, but then her head starts to ache, and she grabs it as she falls to her knees. "Sunlight? What's happening?" Said Starkiller, whose voice fades out in Sunlight's mind, she only sees him in front of her blocking multiple shots, Sunlight's mind comes numb and she hears nothing but that sinister voice from before.

"Destroy them... kill them all... Do it.... Sunlight....DO IT!!!!" Said the voice, Sunlight tries to resist it, but she feels a boiling rage flowing throughout her, she tried to take off the necklace but as her hand was almost grabbing the necklace, it was already late... the dark magic... had taken over her, her sclare turned completely dark, and her eyes start glowing purple while emitting a light trail of dark magic. Without saying a word, Sunlight stands, confusing Starkiller all out of sudden, but as he turns around to check on her, he only sees Sunlight with a wide but sadistic grin, chuckling while she creates two blades with her power and charges against the rebels, killing them in ruthless ways, combining both her weapons and martial arts.

In her mind, Sunlight sees herself trapped in a empty dark plane.

The only thing besides her are the dark chains that tie her to the ground, Sunlight stands up and tries to free herself, but it seems useless, as the chains doesn't seem to even crack. "Why is this happening to me? I have to break... free!!" Said Sunlight while doing an extreme effort to break her chains, the desperation becomes such that Sunlight starts screaming of rage, as she can't free herself, and after a while, she managed to break her chains, returning to her body.

As she takes back consciousness of her body, she realizes that they weren't at the battlefield anymore, although she can still hear the sound of blasters and explosions on the surface, they're on a cave, it appears to be a command center, she sees a glowing light coming from the middle of the room, but as she now tries to stand up, she sees that one of her blades pierced through a rebel officer's chest, making her spit out blood, Sunlight leaves her blade as soon as she sees the scene and realizes that wasn't the only thing that happened, around her, there were many bodies spread all around the room, Starkiller was turning off his lightsaber as a dead rebel's body falls to the ground, the Purge troopers were moving away some bodies that were obstructing the path, while one of them brought a metal container and places it on the ground.

Sunlight then turns around and sees Kylo leaning on the edge of a rock, as he sees the glowing vortex in the middle of the room. A Purge Trooper commander was meddling with the main computer, it appeared like he was uploading something, but Sunlight didn't give it much importance and looks back at Kylo.

"It's... here." Said Kylo with amusement, he then extends his hand with dark magic and aims it to the vortex, his dark magic starts to melt with the vortex, changing its blue color to a dark purple one. "Now... give me the helmet." Said Kylo without removing his sight from the vortex, a purge trooper opens the box and takes Vader's helmet and cautiosly hands it over to Kylo, who then looks a the helmet and after a while, with determination, he sinks it, and an intense purple light starts filling the room, Sunlight covers the light with her hand in order to not get blinded by it, whilst Kylo and Starkiller seem unaffected by it, afterwards, a strong ace of light peirces through the cave's ceiling all the way to the surface, and it looks like a beacon, foreshadowing a calamity.

When the ace faded away, a figure glowing with dark magic appears in front of them, Kylo steps back and as the light fades out, the figure now takes a better shape, the one of a man, clad with dark ropes and with a lightsaber hanging from his belt , he seems to have the same age as Kylo but in his eyes, there's nothing but pure evil, and his dark presence flood the room, making Sunlight silghtly tremble of fear, what kind of power he has that freezes me? I can't move... all my senses scream... fear." Asked Sunlight in her mind, neither Kylo nor Starkiller had this kind of pressure on the whole ambient.

Starkiller and the Purge Troopers kneel and bow their heads, Starkiller then says. "Master... I'm glad you're back." Kylo doesn't kneel, but he welcomes Vader. "Welcome back... Darth Vader." Sunlight stills frozen in place, Vader then looks at her and that sight was enough for Sunlight to know that he's the biggest threat that exists, there's no emotion other than anger, hate and pain.

"Starkiller... who are these people?" Asked Vader with a serious voice, he seems not to have killing intentions towards anyone, at least. "The man standing in front of you is Ben Skywalker, your grandson..." Starkiller wasn't finished with his pitch but Vader then walks toward Kylo and stands right in front of him. "My grandson... you say?" Asked Vader to Starkiller while he doesn't remove his sight from Kylo, who then takes off his helmet and says.

"Yes... Darth Vader... I am your grandson... I followed your path and now became a Sith." Said Kylo with determination, Vader only looks at him with a serious face, but he seems to accept it, he then turns around and walks toward Sunlight, she can't do anything but only expect the worse to happen. "And who might you be, young one?" Asked Vader with a calmed voice.

"*gulp* I'm... Eclipse Sunlight... I... come from another universe..." Said Sunlight with effort, she can't even articulate the words properly, fortunately Vader seems a lot more relaxed, and he then asks her. "Then... Eclipse Sunlight... would please tell me what did my grandson or my apprentice offered you so that you chose to join them?"

"A chance... to take revenge..." Replied Sunlight, afraid of what can happen from now on... Vader only looks at her in detail, Sunlight knows he can sense her fear, but he says nothing about it, probably because it's normal for someone like her to witness someone like him for the first time. "You have great potential... deep inside you... there's anger, hate and pain that can be easily used to make you far stronger than you are right now." Said Vader as he now turns around and goes to Kylo and says. "You can update me on the current situation later... but I see that you're on a battle on the surface."

"Yes... there was rebel opposition when we arrived, but we're already dealing with the remaining forces, although it may take some time, considering that they had enough time to prepare themselves for any possible attack." Replied Kylo, who now puts on his helmet, Starkiller and the Purge Troopers stand up, Vader then takes his lightsaber and ignites it, illumanating the room with the crimson red of his blade.

"Please... allow me to hasten the process." Said Vader, who was about to jump up to the surface, but Kylo stops him.

"Wait... I'd like you to use a new power Starkiller and I achieved..." Said Kylo, as now he hands over to Vader, a necklace of dark magic... Sunlight can't believe, she thought that the fragment of the crystal she took only made three necklaces, but it appears Kylo lied to her, if Vader has a such power already, what would happen if he uses dark magic? Asked Sunlight to herself, she though of any way of stopping that, but every outcome was the same, she'd end up fighting the three of them, and ending up likely dead in the process... although she hates to admit it, but she can only watch how Vader takes the necklace and puts it on, unleashing an agressive burst of energy, making tremble the whole planet... Vader groans of pain as the dark magic flows throughout his veins, achieving even more power he never imagined., the burst of energy was not only physical, but also affected the equilibrium of the universe, specially the Force.

The massive output unleashed by Vader, reached even to other Force sensitive user across the multiverse, and at the Infinity... Galen was practicing with an apprentice.

"I want to try out a new technique, have you ever combined lightsaber wielding with the Force?" Asks Rey, who was about to spar with Galen.

"Well... I've only imbued my lightsaber with Force lightning, but I'm willing to know what you can do, Rey." Said Galen who ignited his lightsaber, they were about to start their training, but before anything could happen, they got struck by the energy burst Vader unleashed, Rey falls to her knees while Galen only loses his balance for a while.

"Did you feel it?" Asked a concerned Rey, she seems confused and afraid of what exactly could've done such a burst in the Force.

Galen stands still, his eyes widened and his face in shock. "I-It can't be... b-but... how?" Asked Galen, who seems lost in his thoughts, that presence, he hasn't felt it since a lot of time ago... before he was put in that cryogenic capsule, that same man was there... but that was 30 years ago in his world.

"What... is it?" Asked Rey, who now stands up but remains confused, Galen looks at her with a shocked face and says. "Darth... Vader, lives again."

A FRIGHTENING NIGHTMARE
A few days passed since the reunion at the Aura's house, Princess Twilight had to leave but not before leaving some advice with Sunset and after a short discussion, everyone agreed on going into a field trip, but they couldn't leave the headquarters alone, mainly because of Chief's insistence on leaving someone to check the monitors in case any intruder arrives to this world, and by volunteering herself, Sunset remained in charge of the house, along with Cortana.

Now at night time, Sunset walks around the house, is even much bigger than she thought, but it makes sense, after all, the Blue team lives here and most of the time, they bring guests, Sunset then turns on the living room's TV and sees a report about an increasing number of people that has gone missing, the news say that these disappearances began a few days ago, and the number increases exponentially every day that passes.

"Hmmm... now that's weird, it'll be better if I check the monitors." Said Sunset as she heads to the lab and Cortana grants her access to the monitors. "Cortana, what do we have?" Asked Sunset while seeing all the readings that are displayed.

"Sunset... when was the last time someone checked on the monitors?" Asked Cortana, her voice sounded serious and also a bit mad. "Well... if I remember correctly, Fred was the last one who checked them and it was the day Chief returned."

Cortana sighs and then says. "A few days ago, specifically before John left, a portal was opened in this world... worst of all, it's from the First Order..." Sunset is now confused. "Then why didn't we detect it?" Asks Sunset, Cortana then shows an alert history. "Because these systems were made in order to have a quick response, but since I left with John, I didn't receive any alerts... besides the fact that all of you left this world and trained somewhere else." Replied Cortana, who admits is a bit of her fault, but also the team's fault for not checking the monitors manually.

"So... we better go and check, don't you think?" Asked Sunset while looking at the marked spot, an empty storage in the city's outskirts. "Yeah, but wear your armor because I'm coming with you, got it?" Asked Cortana, she's concerned of Sunset's welfare. "Don't worry, I have it covered." Replied Sunset as she opened another door in the lab, revealing a hall with all the battle suits of her friends, she heads to her armor and unlocks the capsule that contains it, Sunset suits up and takes Cortana with her, she heads to the garage, but Cortana asks her. "Don't you think you'll need a weapon?" Sunset then stops at the garage's door and says.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm more skilled with my powers." Sunset then opens the door and takes the Razorback's keys and hops on, she starts the vehicle and leaves the house, as she now heads to the spot.

After returning from their mission, the Death Squad regroups at Kylo's Star Destroyer, but Sunlight heads to her room and makes sure no one follows her, she begins to grab her stuff and puts it on her backpack, she has to warn everyone of what just happened, but there stills one doubt, how am I supposed to explain that I have to leave? Asked Sunlight to herself, then she remembered something, back at the Starswirl Festival, she worked for a band as sound technician, but they didn't pay her that day and they committed to pay her once the festival was over, but because of some events... Sunlight couldn't meet with them and therefore, she forgot to receive her payment.

That's it! She thought, probably if she uses that as an excuse to leave there won't be any problem, Sunlight takes her backpack and was ready to leave, but as soon as she opens the door, Kylo is standing right in front of her and asks. "Where are you going?"

"Hmmm... listen, believe it or not... there's some people back in my world that owe me some money, and since I haven't worked this whole week, I need to make up for the money I didn't earn with that payment." Said Sunlight, despite Kylo startled her, she managed to remain calm and say that without slurring up.

"Good... because something happened in your world." Said Kylo as he entered Sunlight's room. "Really? What happened?" Asked Sunlight confused, she wasn't expecting that one, but it'll help her to leave easier. "It appears someone used a portal gun from ours and opened a portal in your world, I'd personally go but I have business to attend with Darth Vader, so I'm counting on you to solve it, is it clear?" Asks Kylo, assigning Sunlight to solve this problem.

"You can count on me Kylo, do you want prisoners?" Asks Sunlight, trying to help with the mission, but Kylo then replies with a serious voice. "No... find out who opened the portal and why... then, you can eliminate them." Said Kylo as he now leaves the room, Sunlight sighs of relief as everything went better as she thought, she then heads to the portal room.

Back in CHS world, Sunset arrives at the storage and leaves her phone at the Razorback.

Sunset breaks the lock and opens the door, she then enters and begins to walk around the facility.

"Wow! this place surely looks creepy." Said Sunset while seeing the insides, she then uses her gloves' repulsors as flashlight to illuminate her way.

"Sunset... I detect moving around this corner, be careful." Said Cortana, Sunset then begins to move slower, as she now begins to see traces of blood in the floor, walls and ceiling, so this is what happened to the missing people, but... what could've done this? Asked Sunset to herself, as she keeps moving, the blood becomes more prominent and a pungent smell invades the room, it's not even a good odor, it smells like dead bodies, Sunset then steps on something and as she raises her boot, she sees something like biomass, she then raises her sight and sees something she wished that was a dream, but it wasn't.

A Flood hive was there, Sunset realizes that and with fear she said. "Oh, fuck!" After that, a shriek can be heard from the other side of the room, quickly and without warning, combat forms bashed through the door, samshing it alongside the wall.

"Run Sunset, RUN!" Said Cortana, Sunset then begins to run and uses her power to stop the combat forms momentarily, allowing her to scape on the Razorback, Sunset begins to drive at almost full speed and says.

"How?! But... why... dammit!!" Said a frustrated Sunset, she has seen what the Flood can do in Chief's memories, but how is that they're here, what should she do? The fear overwhelmes her but Cortana calms her. "Hey hey hey! Calm down Sunset, I know is frightening but we have to return, call everyone and then we have to contain the infestation as soon as possible, got it?" Asks Cortana, despite being also concerned of why is the Flood here, it doesn't matter, right now, they have to stop the infestation before it spreads out.

Sunset arrives at the hideout and quickly picks her phone and starts calling her friends, while Cortana begins to call the Red Team. Once they were done, Sunset said with despair. "They're not going to be here in time, we have to go back there and slow them as much as we can." Said Sunset, but then she receives a call, from an unknown number, she calms her self a bit and then picks the phone, and asks "Yeah?"

"Sunset! Oh... thank god! It's me, Sunlight... listen, something really bad is happening and I need to talk with you... where can we meet?" Said Sunlight, her voice sounds like she's running, but Sunset ignores it and replies. "Sorry Sunlight, but now I have a big problem and I have to..."

"I can help you! send me the direction and I'll go right away!" Said Sunlight with determination, she's following the coordinates Kylo gave her about the last place where the portal opened, she then receives an image from Sunset with the coordinates she has to go... and surprise! they're the same.

"Ahh shit! I'm also heading there, I'll be there in 10 minutes, got it?" Said Sunlight as she ends the call and speeds up using her powers. "C'mon we finally got some help!" Said Sunset with a bit of relief, but she's still unsure if both of them will be enought to hold the Flood for enough time, after that a the portal machine in the basement activates and quickly out of the door Jerome appeared followed by the Red Team and also the Omega Team.

"Alright team, this is serious... Omega Team, you take a vehicle and spread to the north part of the city, scout the are and if you find any infection forms, eliminate them at all cost." Ordered Jerome with a serious voice, he ressembles Chief in that aspect.

"Understood, good luck y'all." Said Leon as now the Omega Team prepares to leave. "Sunset... where did you find them?" Asked Jerome with a serious voice, Cortana then shows them the exact coordinates of where they met with the Flood infestation. "Ok... listen up, my team and I will deal with any possible outbreaks around the area, but you and your friends have the difficult job... you have to destroy that hive, at any cost, got it?" Said Jerome as his team returns from the basement with some special equipment.

"Don't worry kid, whatever tries to escape that location, will be eliminated by us." Said Alice, another member of the Red Team, after that, Douglas, the last member of the Red Team, says with excitement.

"Alright, let's go and kill some Flood." Jerome then takes his hydra launcher and proceeds to leave the house, Sunset goes with them as they head to the same place, but Sunset loads her friend's battle suits on the back of the Razorback.

Sunlight was on her way to the abandoned storage, but a Flood combat form shows up, startling her as its the first time she sees the Flood in action, but as Kylo said... they're dangerous, so Sunlight shoots a beam that makes the combat form lose balance, and then Sunlight created a dark blade and slashes the combat form into pieces.

"No no no no... this nothing good..." Sunlight said witha frightened voice as she sees the combat's form corpse, she then raises her sight and sees even more combat forms and a bunch of infections forms leaving from the abandoned storage. Sunlight then uses her power to create a magical shiled around her body, she then shoots many beams to eliminate the infection forms first and fights against the combat forms, Sunlight seems to take them on properly, but suddenly she sees out of the corner of her eye an even bigger combat form, this one was a Flood Tank, who tackles Sunlight with it's claw and sends her flying away, crashing with a car and triggering the alarm.

Sunlight stands up as the Flood Tank growls loudly, Sunlight then sees a bunch of civilians on the other side of the street. "Go away! you're in danger!!" Said Sunlight aloud, the civilians didn't hesitate and began to run, Sunlight then holds the Flood Tank directly, stepping on its back and arm locking it, making it unable from leaving that area, but as Sunlight struggles, a Flood Ranged Form appears on top of a car and was ready to shoot Sunlight with many spikes, but fortunately, Twilight crushes it with her power, then Pinkie Pie blows up many incoming infestation forms with her magic, Rainbow Dash takes all the civilians away with a high speed while Rarity protects them form the attacks of more Flood Ranged Forms, Fluttershy then called for some birds to give her information about the locations of more Flood.

Sunlight looks at how the girls work together and gets distracted only by a fraction of second, but it was enought for the Flood Tank to free itself, making Sunlight fall backwards and lands on her back, then the Flood Tank tries to infect her with its apendages, Sunlight tries to held it back but its weigh it's too much for her, sheonly sees how the apendages slowly get closer and closer, almost piercing her flesh and infecting her, but Applejack then appears and with a heavy punch, sends the Flood Tank away and crashes with a car, flipping it by the impact, Applejack then helps Sunlight get up.

"How did you find me?" Asks Sunlight as she check if there's not a single cut on her body, fortunately, there's none, Applejack then replies with a confident smile. "Well... let's just say Sunset told us something really bad was happening and sends us a location, we were heading there until..." She's then interrupted by the Flood Tank, that pushes the car away with its claw and growls with anger, and then many smaller combat forms appear behind them. "...We came across with you." Said Applejack as now the girls and Sunlight take fighting positions. "Listen everyone... whatever you do, don't let those apendages on its heads touch you, got it?" Said Sunlight with a strong voice, so that everyone hears her.

"Got it! Let's do this!" Said Pinkie Pie as she now throws multiple explosive sprinkles towards the Flood Tank, stunning it and giving them a chance to immobilize it, Rarity uses her magic to create a cage around the infection forms and stops them from moving forward, Twilight then lifts the cage and focuses her magic, compressing the cage into much smaller levels, squashing all the infection forms inside it, Rainbow Dash then overwhelmes the Flood Tank with multiple and fast kicks, making it unable to hit her, Sunlight then creates multiple blades that appear above her, and with a move of her hands, she stabs the Flood Tank, crippling it where it stands, she then creates a hammer and gives it to Applejack.

AJ then charges with the hammer and smashes the Flood Tank's head with it, bring it to the ground, Sunlight then jumps on it and pierces it's chest and with a magical burst, she makes the Flood Tank explode, covering Sunlight with what appears to be blood and guts.

After that, Sunlight steps back and asks. "...Why are you guys helping me, anyway?" Said Sunlight as she tries to clean her clothes. "... Sunset convinced on giving you another chance... but although she trusts you, I'll have my cautionary measures." Said Twilight as everyone groups up. "Heh... I couldn't ask for more... now then, let me give you a bit of context on what are we facing...." Sunlight then makes a pause and starts explaining. "...Those things are called The Flood, they consume practically everything that it's alive and use it to grow, and they become smarter as they consume, those apendages are used to infect their victims and turn them into zombies."

Fluttershy then steps forth and asks. "So... if they capture someone...?" She's then interrupted by Sunlight, who knows already what she's going to ask. "...Then that person will loose all traits of identity and will attack everyone around it... *sigh* I know it doesn't sound good, but we'll have to kill them, got it?" Asked Sunlight, that's the only method she knows about dealing with the Flood, but unlike her, not everyone shares the same resolve, fortunately, the silence is broken by the sound of a vehicle, it's Sunset and the Red Team the ones who arrived.

"Girls! Is everyone ok?" Asked Sunset, concerned about her friends, including Sunlight, the Red Team drops off the Razorback and groups up with the girls. "Did you ancounter the Flood?" Asked Jerome as he loads his launcher. "Yeah... but we've already taken care of them." Replied Applejack with relief, Jerome then looks at Sunlight and asks her. "Why are YOU here?" Sunset comprehends that she doesn't need to get involved at all, she calls her friends and takes them to the back of the Razorback to give them their armors.

Sunlight then steps forth and replies. "I was assigned by Kylo Ren to deal with this issue, but also... I have some good intel that may serve The Resistance..." Douglas then joined the conversation but he aimed one of his flame cannons towards her. "What kind of intel...? Don't forget to be clear." Said Douglas with a serious voice, but Sunlight isn't intimidaded, she then replies with a determined voice. "...Kylo Ren brought someone back from the dead, but not like resurrecting... it's more like bringing that person back to life... and it's someone much more powerful than all of us can imagine, his name is.... Darth Vader." Said Sunlight with a serious voice, she still remembers that dark pressence of him, overwhelming her at first sight.

"Who is that?" Asked Alice confused about the question, but also Jerome doesn't know who is that Darth Vader, but Sunset intervenes and says. "That's... Galen's... old master, but how did Kylo managed to do that?" Asked Sunset confused about the situation, but Jerome interrups the conersation. "We can save that for later, we have bigger think to deal with... Cortana, where can we locate the infestations forms that spread trough the area." Cortana then appears on Sunset's hand and replies.

"Well... if we consider their average speed and the topology of the area... probably you'd find them..." Cortana is then interrupted by Fluttershy, who got the answer earlier.

"There's 6 groups heading towards the city, 3 head north, 2 northwest and the last one heads northeast from here." Said Fluttershy, leaving the Red Team and Cortana amazed. "How did you know that?" Asks Cortana, intrigued on how did Fluttershy found out first. "The birds told me." Replied Fluttershy.

"Understood, we're going to hunt them down... you girls, make sure to stop this madness... we're counting on you, good luck." Said Jerome as now he and the Red Team hop into the Razorback and leave the girls, who now activate their battle suits and prepare to leave. "So... what's the actual plan?" Asked Rainbow Dash, despite Jerome said what they had to do, he wasn't very clear on how they would do it.

"Alright, listen up! the spartan teams will help us to hold the infestation away from the civilians, which is much harder than we're going to do, we'll head to their hive's location, and we're going to destroy it." Replied Sunset with determination as she steps forth, the girls stand beside her and with excitement, Rainbow Dash says.

"Alright people! Let's save the world!" Said Rainbow Dash as the girls now head to the abandoned storage, although they are running, it's not that far away from their current position. Despite the doubts around the Flood being in their world, all of them are now determined to stop this infestation, but it won't be such an easy job, after all... the Flood is a threat both Kylo and Chief are afraid of.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone! So... finally the new chapter came out, although I posted a blog regarding the path the story should take, but as I didn't receive any feedback, I had to continue the story following the first path.

I hope you liked this chapter, I made the divisions in it to make it easier for you to read because I thought that it might be a bit boring for you to read it all, just like that. Anyway, I thank you again for following this story. I couldn't be any more grateful for that, and feel free to leave a comment if you liked it (it can be anything you want to say regarding the story... obviously). I'd appreciate any kind of feedback you can provide me of, in order to improve the story.

As always, you have my best wishes and see y'all next time.
-DReep

Chapter 14.5: Against All Odds

Before going to the abandoned storage, Sunlight told everyone that they should go to her apartment, as she has something that could help them, the girls arrive at Sunlight's place and waited for her to come up with that item. "Ok, I got it... although it's a prototype... I think it should work." Said Sunlight as she comes with a big locked box, she opens it and reveals a what appears to be a mini electric generator with many modules connected to it and also many components for other stuff.

"What is this?" Asks Twilight while grabbing one of the modules, Sunlight then takes the electric generator out, revealing it has a set of controls attached to it. "When I saw the First Order archive related to Master Chief, there was footage of how he had a kinetic shield, so I decided to create one of my own, but... I've never had the chance to test it, plus unlike Chief's... my version of kinetic shields needs all these modules to have the ability to recharge, so it's like one time use..." Replied Sunlight as she activates the engine, she then calls for the girls to group up and gives each one of them a module.

"I can create shields around us if what you want is to protect us." Said Rarity with a friendly voice as she tries to understand the module in her hands, probably those would be more effective than Sunlight's prototype. "That'd be a good idea, but... if your magic works as mine... then using it constantly exhausts you, and against these... parasites, we can't afford that." Replies Sunlight after giving everyone a shield module.

"Ok... if you can, place the module on top of your spine." Said Sunlight as she gives the demonstration, but none of the girls trusts enough in her to do it. "Like this?" Asked Sunset who already put on the module. "Yes, exactly like that... once I activate the circuit, all of you will have a kinetic shield, but... as it will only take one... physical hit." Replied Sunlight, the girls now put on the modules as Sunset was the first one to do so.

"And what about... projectiles?" Asked Rainbow Dash after putting on her module. "Well... that's another issue... the shield with only one module will only have the strength to stop hits that don't exceed a speed of 120 m/s, but a bullet or projectile... exceeds that significantly." Replied Sunlight while preparing the generator, she turns around and says.

"But don't worry! The shields will recharge... but it'll take a while, unless..." Sunlight then goes with everyone and disconnects and modifies their modules slightly. "Alright now I think that should be it..." Said Sunlight with a proud smile.

"What did you exactly do, darling?" Asked Rarity confused of what Sunlight did, she was fast and didn't say a word. "I disconnected them from the generator... I found thanks to the First Order's research that magic behaves like electromagnetic waves. So I opened the circuits to receive external energy that will start the module, and then... you have to activate your powers to keep the shields up and recharging, got it?"

Sunset then focuses and makes magic flow through her body, which included the module that started instantly and creates a golden shield, but it loses its color after a short while. "What happened?" Asked Sunset confused of what just happened. "Electromagnetism is a wave, it emits no light, but thanks to the output of energy... the shield appeared with that... golden light of yours." Replies Sunlight, with a smile, her prototype actually worked, the rest of the girls do the same and creates shields around them. "You're forgetting something..." Said Cortana, who appears on Sunset's shoulder. "... Some Flood infestation forms can spread toxic air that carries their spores, so you might need some filtering masks if we're going back there to eliminate them all." Added Cortana, after all, she has the records of previous encounters with the Flood in her memory. "Good thing I have that covered!" Said Sunlight then goes to her room and takes another locked box and opens it, revealing multiple filtering masks, she then hands each of the girls a mask. "We might need these." Said Sunlight after giving everyone a mask, they seem complex, but also from a good quality. "Great! This masks should be enough." Said Cortana after scanning one of the masks.

"Where did you get the materials for these?" Asks Pinkie Pie while putting on her mask, it fits perfectly around her face. "Well... I often do these masks as orders from some street artists on the internet, I afforded these materials with the money from my newest client... but... it was Flanksy's order... I'll need to work the double to pay my bills and buy more materials for these masks." Said Sunlight with a face of regret, although she didn't want to do that, there is no other option if she wants to help everyone.

"I think Flanksy won't be mad if it takes you longer than the due date." Said Sunset with a smile, she remembered that order, but she never expected it to be Sunlight the one who made the masks. "Haha... now that's having high hopes... I've never been late with any of my orders, and I won't break that streak now… otherwise my reputation would be damaged." Replied Sunlight with a serious face as she left the box back in her room.

"Wow! You really are good for this!" Says Twilight after admiring Sunlight's job. "T-Thanks... I've worked on all of it for days... I'm only glad that the shields worked, so... we have to leave, people!" Said Sunlight as she grabs some keys. "What are those for?" Asks Applejack, intrigued of Sunlight does.

"These are my bike's keys, I have room for two... who wants a ride?" Asked Sunlight with a smile. The group leaves and heads to the abandoned storage... Twilight goes with Rainbow Dash on her bike, while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie go with Sunlight, whose bike seems like a hybrid between a Chopper and a Sports bike, painted with a black and with beautiful red flames on it. Rarity also goes with Sunlight but as lack of space, she created a platform attached to the bike's side where she can sit, Sunset creates wings with her magic and flies, while Applejack hangs from Sunset's hands.

Meanwhile... Galen and Rey arrived at the CHS world, and after exiting the hideout, they're ambushed by the Flood, then... both jedi use their lightsabers and Force powers to eliminate the threat, Galen combines his lightsaber wielding with Force lightning attacks, incinerating the Flood they encounter and protecting the civilians in the area, Rey focused more on evcuating the civilians, but also kills many Flood forms with her lightsaber techniques, and a good ol'blaster she carries on her waist. Once finished with the Flood in their area, Rey and Galen regroup. "Is everyone safe?" Asks Galen as he turns off his lightsabers and attaches them to his waist, he seems to be in pretty good conditon, despite doing such acrobatics and using Force techniques. "Yeah... I've led everyone to a safe zone, what are these things anyway?" Asks Rey referring to the Flood.

"Nothing good... the only thing Chief has told me about these creatures is not to let them approach you with those red apendages." Said Galen as he looks down upon a Flood Combat form, afterwards, he tries to contact Chief or anyone else from the Blue Team but he gets no response. "Dammit... they're not responding." Said Galen as he puts down his communicator, Rey then focuses and senses more people in danger. "Master... there's more people in danger we have to help them!" Said Rey as she takes her lightsaber and ignites it before leaving the area, Galen follows her and after running for a while, they arrive at the place where many police officers are shooting their guns against the Flood, but one of them is reached by an infection form and was about to be turned into a zombie. "Fall back!" said another officer as he watches his partner struggling to survive, he was about to help but fear stopped him dead, fortunately, the Infection form is killed by a shotgun shot that came from the side, the officer turns and says. "Lieutenant! What's going on?!" As the other officer stands up.

The Lieutenant pumps her shotgun and takes off her helmet, it's Aura the one who wears that bulletproof vest and protection. "Many of these have been spreading all over the city, but there's people eliminating them as we speak! Go at the truck and gear up, we're going to need as much firepower as we can get!" Said Aura as she takes the civilians away, and her squad leaves, she was about to follow them but she's stopped by a Flood Combat form, which shouts loudly scaring Aura making her stumble and drop her gun, she quickly moves her hand towards her shotgun but it appears she won't be able to make it in time before the Combat form attacks her.

Suddenly, a spinning lightsaber arrives, slashing the Combat form's upper body, dividing it in two, but also killing it in the process. "Aura! Are you ok?" Asks Galen as he calls back his lightsaber, and Rey starts fighting with many other Combat forms, taking her distance and using the Force so that she doesn't get infected. "Yeah, thanks for that... what are these things and WHY are they killing my men and turning them into violent zombies?" Asked Aura with several confusion.

"These are The Flood, a threat that comes from Chief's world, and as he once said... they're the only thing that actually scares him the most... do you know where the outbreak happened?" Said Galen as he takes both of his lightsabers and ignites them. "No... we only got word that some weird creatures were appearing around the city." Replied Aura as she takes her shotgun and prepares to fight, after that... the three of them start killing the infection and combat forms that have spread to their position, protecting the civilians that are escaping and also protecting themselves from being infected.

Unfortunately a Gaunt form escaped them and head to the escaping civilians, the Gaunt suddenly lands on top of a car, making the civilians lose their balance while other fall to the ground.

Rey chases it and was about to land a finishing blow, but the Gaunt dodged it and jumped far away. "How did...?" Said Rey astonished bby the Gaunt's speed, but suddnely, her left arm is trapped by another Gaunt's tentacles, while her other arm is trapped by the tentacles of the Gaunt that jumped away, droping her lightsaber. After that, both Gaunts started pulling her, Rey used the Force to pull them in order to not being dismembered, but the Gaunts gripped to some streetlights, stopping Rey from pulling them, as now she struggles to hold them at bay, but she lost her lightsaber.

Suddenly, a flaming trail approaches her, with quick movements, the blazing trail slashed s Gaunt's tentacle making it burn, which was trapping Rey's right hand, she now pulled her lightsaber and ignited it, slashing the other Gaunt's tentacle, freeing herself. after that, the blazing trial fades and reveals a young man, who quickly charges against a Gaunt, killing it with the flaming edge of his blade, then Rey pulls the other Gaunt towards her, and slashes it midair. Then, more Combat forms start to approach them, Rey and the man stood back to back, preparing to fight.

As they engaged into combat, there were few civilians that were trapped by the battle, and after a short while, they managed to take out the Combat forms while helping the civilians escape the area, Rey turns off her lightsaber and says.

"Hey... thanks for helping me, but... who are you?!" Asked Rey as she turned around and saw the man sheathing his blade, revealing an exosqueleton around his body as an armor, covering his black jacket with the symbol of a lightning over a shield on his shoulder, a messy but also stylized blue hair, those blue eyes that can show both compassion for the innocent and rage for the evil ones, and with that gentle voice of his, he says.

"Don't worry, I had to help..." The man then approaches Rey and says."...My name is Flash... Flash Sentry, and... you are?" Rey is a bit surprised of him, despite the situation, he seems a bit relaxed. "Oh! My name is Rey... Rey Palpatine." Said Rey as they shook hands, both then begin to move to return and help Galen and Aura, while Flash follows her and replies. "Pleasure to meet you Rey... do you mind to explain why were all these Floods around?" Asks Flash as he takes the lead, he hears the shots of fireguns at the distance alongside the swinging of lightsabers, something's wrong, more than it should. "Sorry... we're in the same situtation, me and my master arrived to warn some people about a great danger, and we encounter these abominations as we arrived." Said Rey who now took the lead and began dashing with the Force and arrived much earlier than Flash, she then jumps on top of a Flood tank and slashes its head with her lightsaber.

"Did you hunt that creature down?" Asks Aura as she takes cover along some civilians, it appears her shotgun ran out of ammo and she's now using a common handgun. Rey blocks many incoming spikes from some Flood Ranged forms, she then counters with shots of her blaster as she takes cover. "Yeah! and I brought some help!" Said Rey with a smile, Galen then arrives on top of a Flood tank corpse and takes cover with them. "We need a plan to eliminate them and evacuate the civilians." Said Galen as he used a car door with the Force as shield.

"Help?! What kind of help?" Asks Aura as she leaves cover and shoots, taking down one Flood Ranged form, Rey looks at them with confusion, she doesn't know if they know Flash at all, and she can't find the right word to describe him. "Well..." Rey is then interrupted by a blazing trail that jumps above them, quickly taking down the Combat forms, then many Gaunt forms approach him and try to restrain Flash from doing anything, but as they extend their tentacles, Flash focus and exhales, and assumes a stance with his blade.

"Flame breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Ondulation!!" Said Flash as he charges forward while spinning his blade in circular motion, slashing the Gaunts' tentacles and burning them, while also killing them with slashes of his blazing blade as he approached them. Those moves, thought Aura, that fighting technique... it could be?...Flash?, after the attack Flash lands and draws his energy gun and starts shooting the Combat forms, taking them down swiftly, the situation finally got under control, any Flood presence has been eradicated from the area and the civilians are gone and safe, Flash stands still and lets out a sigh of relief, he sheathes his blade and turns around.

"Is everyone ok?" Asks Flash with a concerned face, he has heard about the Flood, and despite this being the first time he fights them, he's well aware of the danger it represents, but despite his noble intentions, there are more important matters to discuss, Aura run hastily and hugged her son tightly, tears start to run down from her cheeks and with a smile she says. "Flash!... you're back!!..." Said Aura is she struggles to speak, she can't think nothing else but to hug her little boy, Flash smiles and hugs her mother tightly, but he senses something wierd, my mother... on the field?, thought Flash, he then grabbed Aura by her shoulders and asked confused.

"Mom! What are you doing out of the office? Wasn't your squad sopposed to be the ones on field insted of you?" Asks Flash, he seems truly concerned about this, not only as a sudden surprise, but also he's concerned about the Flood being out and Aura is fighting them. "I had to go with my team! Despite Jerome told me they were handling a bunch of these creatures around the city, we've been helping the civilians evacuate and hold the monsters at bay for as long as we could." Said Aura with a serious voice as her tears subside and cleans them off, despite the situation, she's glad for seeing her son's return.

"And the girls?! Where are they? Is everyone alright?!" Asked Flash concerned about his friends, but fortunately, Galen seems also glad to have Flash back, but there's more serious affairs to attend, so he then replies with a serious but calmed voice. "As far as we know... they're fine, but there's something worse happening..." Galen was saying with a serious voice, but he's then interrupted by a Jerome, who called him through his communicator. "Galen... I got your message, we detected a friendly portal opening? Was that you?" Asked Jerome, Galen quickly takes his communicator and replies. "Yeah! Rey and I came here to discuss something going on, but I think you're already too busy... mind to explain why there's a Flood outbreak?" Asks Galen with concern, he knows about the Flood and the threat they represent.

"We don't know... Sunset Shimmer found them first and told us about the outbreak, she and her friends got assigned to taking down the Flood Hive to stop the outbreak." Said Jerome with a calmed voice as Galen can hear that he's battling against something, but Galen just heard that the girls were sent to destroy the hive. "Are you crazy?! They're kids Jerome!" Said Galen with a slightly angered voice, everyone got shocked by Galen's sudden reaction, but Jerome replied. "They have powers Galen... plus, they have Cortana, which nows quite a lot about the Flood... *sigh* listen... I know you're mad, but we couldn't help them, you've seen all the Combat, Infection and Tank forms spreaded around the city, it would've be much worse if they were fighting here." Said Jerome, despite being severe, he made a good point, the outbreak managed to propagate quickly, and without enough experience fighting the Flood, someone would surely be dead.

"*Sighs* Fine... where do you need us?" Asks Galen, decided to help as much as he can, Isabel then sends Galen some coordinates and Jerome replies. "The coordinates Isabel sent you are where the zero zone was found by Sunset Shimmer, if you can, go and help the girls... or you can help us dealing with the Flood spreaded around the city, we're gonna need as much hands as possible." Galen then sends the coordinates to Flash, and then replies. "Understood, there's still many civilians that need evacuation... Rey and I are going to help them." Said Galen as he now ends the call and tells Flash. "You have to go and help the girls, I can sense someone else is helping them, but they're going to need more hands if they want to destroy a Flood hive, got it?"

"Understood..." Said Flash as he approaches his mother, who hugs him and says. "You better be careful... got it?" Said Aura with a worried voice, she trusts her son's capabilities but also she's worried about losing him again because of this infestation. "Don't worry mom, I'll be fine." Said Flash as he now takes a deep but focused breath and runs at a high speed, leaving a blazing trail behind him. "He'll be fine Aura, he was trained by the best." Said Galen, trying to calm Aura, but she takes her hand gun and says with a confident smile. "I know, c'mon... there's a city to save." Said Aura as now she, Rey and Galen go and help out many other civilians.

On the other side of town, the girls arrive at the storage and prepare for the worst, Sunlight activates her magic and creates a magical barrier around her, afterward, the group enters the storage and heads to the hive that Sunset saw, Sunlight asks. "How big was the hive that you saw, Sunset?" Sunset then takes cover behind a wall and replies. "It had the size of a wall." Sunlight then starts to doubt, how can a hive that small creates such a big outbreak? It had to be much bigger to have that capability, or at least... that's what Sunlight suspects.

"We're here." Said Sunset as she stops in front of the hive and the groups stands behind her, without hesitation Sunset shoots an energy beam to destroy the meat bumps that emerged from the wall. And with her magical flames, she burns the rest of the biomass. "I think that's it." Said Sunset with a serious face, it was too easy to be truth.

"Hold on, why there's a hole on that wall?" Asks Applejack while pointing the wall where the combat forms bashed through and attacked Sunset for the first time. "Everyone, stay together." Said Twilight, as she takes a defensive stance, the girls also do the same and lined up in a small circle and moved forward. As Sunset illuminates the path, blood, guts, and biomass can be seen throughout the hallway, which seem to have crumbled, creating an underground path that leads the girls into what it seems to be an artificial cave.

As they go downwards, the light begins to be more and more dim, the only thing that they can see is the path that Sunset illuminates with her magic. The echoes of her footstep is the only sound that they hear, but as they get deeper into the tunnel, a strange noise can be heard at the distance, the group suddenly stops after hearing it. "Everyone... put on your masks." Said Sunlight with a serious voice as she puts on her mask, the girls follow her lead and do the same.

The group moves cautiously and finally arrives at the end of the tunnel, revealing an artificial cave with many underground connections, illuminated by some biolight created by the Flood. "We're here." Says Sunset as she turns off her gloves, after that everyone hides at the corner of the tunnel, so that they can't be noticed. A pair of Flood Tanks walk around the cave, like they're guarding the connections that might lead to other parts of the cave.

The Flood Tanks seem to be mumbling something, but no one can understand exactly what they're saying. "Fluttershy, can you understand them?" Asks Sunset as she looks to Fluttershy, who replies. "I can indeed, but they're only repeating the same thing over and over again... kill for the Gravemind... kill for the Gravemind... what's even a Gravemind?"

"That's not good... a Gravemind is the result of the biomass of the smartest living organisms available, fused into one being. Creating a sentient Flood form, capable of leading the Flood, create combat strategies and much more... but according to my predictions based on the rates of disappearance, it should be a Proto-Gravemind... so we can still win." Said Cortana as she appeared on Sunset's palm.

"What if we can't beat them?" Asks Twilight with a serious voice, imagining the worst case scenario. "Then it'll consume more and more biomass, creating a fully-functional Gravemind... and when that happens, only a Halo ring can stop it." Said Cortana with a serious voice as she shows the girls footage of the destruction the Flood can do on its own.

"Then we're going to stop it here and now." Said Sunset closing her hand, waiting for the right moment to exit the tunnel and infiltrate in the hive, but Sunlight takes the lead. "Rainbow Dash, Applejack... Follow me." Said Sunlight before jumpint out of the tunnel and landing quietly, followed after by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, they take cover and hide from the Flood tank's sight behind a pillar. "Listen... I'll distract them enough for you two to bring them down, then I'm going to cut off their heads, got it?" Said Sunlight quietly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash agreed with their head and take the left side, while Sunlight takes the right side and approaches the Flood Tanks from their back, and with a quick move she jumped on top of one and brought it down with a heavy punch, while slashing the other Tank's claw, stunning it enough for Applejack to punch it and thanks to the double impact of her gauntlets, she destroyed the Tank's body by piercing it with the shockwave. Rainbow Dash gathered some energy and with a powered up kick she managed kock the other Tank down.

Sunlight then creates a blade with her power, and with a swift and quick move, she slashed the Tanks' body completely into pieces, it appears she changed her mind and prefers to make sure they can't get up again. "It's safe now!" Said Sunlight to the rest of the girls, which came out of the tunnel and regrouped with the others. "That's was a bit reckless, don't you think?" Asks Twilight concercing Sunlight's sudden plan, which despite the negative points, it worked. "Hey, if you were going to make a complex plan to take them out, you have to snap out of it... we don't have that much time, we don't even know what's going on out there." Said Sunlight with a serious voice as she explains the reasons behind her actions.

"Ok, we can leave the discussion there, we have to find that Proto-Gravemind... Cortana, can you guide us?" Says Sunset as Cortana appears on her palm. "These tunnels connect to different areas of this city, that explains why they managed to spread so quickly, which is alarming, but with just a few echolocalization beats I managed to make a map of these tunnels and if we take THAT tunnel, we will arrive to a room similar to this one, but with much more movement... I think that's where we're heading... but let's stay sharp, we don't want any unexpected surprises, got it?" Said Cortana with a calmed voice as she checks on some data she'd recolected since they entered the cave.

"Alright, everyone... let's move!" Said Sunset leading the group, Sunlight goes right next to her as the rest of the girls follow them. "So... if we find this Proto-Gravemind, how exactly are we going to destroy it?" Asks Rainbow Dash, she knows there's a plan to get there, but there's no plan on how to take it down, fortuantely Cortana appears on her shoulder and replies. "Luckily for us, the Flood is biological tissue, so if we can bring down the whole place, the Flood hive will die." Said Cortana with a confident voice.

"Then... what if we make the whole complex crumble? By creating cracks in specific places, we might be able to make these whole web of tunnels crumble alongside the main part where the Proto-Gravemind lies." Said Twilight as she though of multiple ideas, but that plan seemed to be the best one yet.

"Doesn't sound bad..." Cortana then scans the whole tunnel. "...Stop!" Said Cortana, making the group stop, then she points at one side of the tunnel and says. "Applejack, if you punch that area, you'll create a crack that'll weaken the estability of this tunnel, making it crumble in minutes..." Said Cortana, who now points at Rarity and says. "Rarity, you'll have to create diamonds that put pressure on the crack, in order to hold the tunnels long enough for us to eliminate the Proto-Gravemind and escape this place." Said Cortana as she checks again on the map of the complex.

"Alright, let's do it then!" Said Applejack as she charges her fist and with a heavy punch, makes the a crack on the tunnel the size of her, then Rarity creates a daimond with those dimensions to hold the tunnel. "How much many of these cracks we'll need to do?" Asked Rarity as she looks around the tunnel to see if anything else crumbles. "Well... this tunnel leads to the main part of the cave, so probably we'll only need to make a few more of these and after we're done, the tunnels will collapse and therefore, will bring the other tunnels down." Said Cortana as she points on the map the most important tunnels, which are three, the one where they are right now, one ahead of them and the last one which is passing the main part of the cave.

As they keep moving forward, and made the crack on the second tunnel, everyone noticed the lack of Flood forms in the tunnels, like they're gone, Fluttershy notices it and can't help but to ask. "Does someone else feel a bit off by the fact that we haven't encountered more of those things?" Pinkie Pie bumps with her and replies with a cheerful smile. "Probably they just left because they got too scared from us!! HA! What a bunch of cowardly monsters they are!"

"I won't be so sure Pinkie, probably they left because they're looking for more biomass to consume, which leads me to think that everyone out there is in danger if we don't stop them quickly." Said Sunset with a worried face, the mere thought of everyone being consumed by the Flood only makes her wanting to end this as quickly as possible, but as she saw on Chief's memories, you never know what can happen when dealing with the Flood, so hustling would be pointless in this situation. Then, Sunlight, who had taken the lead, stops the group by raising her fist, she then turns around and says. "Can you hear that?" Sunlight starts looking around as she hears a low growling, which can be heard to be a bit far, but it's so prominent. "We're close, everyone... move cautiously." Said Cortana, as now everyone began to move slower, the end of the tunnel could be seen not far away.

Sunlight peeks and sees a huge cave, with multiple Tank and Combat forms surrounding a column in the middle of the cave, which has inlaid a pice of Flood biomass, with many branches of biomass around the cave, and the biomass at the center seems to be moving and growling.

Sunlight then hides again and asks with slight signs of fear. "What... the fuck... is that?" Cortana then appears on Sunset's palm and replies. "That's the Proto-Gravemind, and probably it was created with the objective of spreading the Flood infection, that's why many people have been dissapearing, their knowledge about the city helped the Flood to create this hidden passages to attack swiftly and unnoticed." Said Cortana as she studies the structure of the Proto-Gravemind, Applejack then asks Sunlight. "How much of those creatures were down there?" Sunlight looks at her and replies with a serious voice. "At least... twenty Flood forms, including Combat and Tank forms... we're going to need a plan, and a good one if we want to success." Replies Sunlight with her nervous voice, she'd never seen anything like that before.

Cortana then calls everyone to gather up and begins her explanation. "Ok... Sunset, Sunlight... you're our best cards right now, we have to cut off those branches, Sunlight... can you deal with them?" Sunlight then agreed with her head. "Sunset, you'll have to go with Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash who are of the best fighters, you three will need to fight those combat forms as Sunlight removes those connections, in order to stop the Proto-Gravemind from commanding the rest of the infectiion forms... Twilight, Pinkie Pie, you have to make space, combining the gravitational grips and explosions, you'll give Sunset's team chances to fall back and dodge attacks. Rarity, you'll have to create shields to protect from inminent damage... got it?" Said Cortana, the girls agreed with her plan and began to move.

"Are you ready?" Asks Sunset to Sunlight, despite the odd situation, she never thought to be fighting side by side with her, she can't help but to feel a bit excited. "Born ready, girl." Replied Sunlight as she makes the first move, landing as she punched the ground, creating a shockwave stunning the Combat forms, she then jumps and with dark blades she began to cut the multiple protrusions that connect around the cave. Sunset and her team dropped and begin fighting, Sunset manages to take down multiple Flood forms by shooting focused beams and fighting with a light blade, while Rainbow Dash overwhelms the Flood forms by attacking them quickly from different flanks, drawing their attention and allowing Applejack to easily beat them with her strength. Fluttershy follows them and easily dodges the Floods' attacks and counters them with her martial techniques, Pinkie Pie throws many of her bombs away and ends up hitting the Proto-Gravemind, which screechs loudly and starts vibrating through its remaining protrusions, calling more Combat forms.

Fortunately, Sunlight managed to cut off all the prostrusions before the Proto-Gravemind could call for more help, and then she joined the fight, but as she landed a Tank form approached her from behind and was about to attack her, but Rarity creates a diamond behind Sunlight, protecting her from the hit, then she quickly turns around and with a combination of punches and kicks, she managed to take down the Tank form. but she's then grabbed from the waist by a Gaunt form and is lashed against the ground with force, breaking her magical barrier, she then cuts off the tentacle with a blade and kills the Gaunt form with a beam of dark magic.

Twilight then lifted the remaining Combat forms and with effort, she manashed to squash them against the ground, killing them at the process. Finally, they tookd down the Flood defend forces, but they have to act quickly as probably more of them will arrive sooner. "Ugh... can we finish with this already... my armor is covered in... whatever this gross thing is." Said Rarity as she tries to clean off her armor from the Flood's dead biomass with a disgusted face. "Uhm... I don't think that's going to come out easily." Said Fluttershy as she points to Rarity's armor, referring to the dead biomass on her. "Are you joking? Why did it happened to me? When Twilight was the one who smashed those creatures on the ground, she was the one supposed to be stained with this." Replied Rarity as she desperately tries to clean all of it, but she ends up giving up.

Sunset approaches the Proto-Gravemind, she had the intention to burn it as she did to those Flood spores she found at first, but she realizes there's something inlaid in the Proto-Gravemind and it's emitting a light. "What is that?" Asked a confused Sunset, it's not biological, so it has to be artificial, Cortana appears on her palm and scans the Proto-Gravemind, after scanning it, a face of confusion can be seen on her, as she remains dubious of what she found. "What is it?" Asked Sunset, Cortana then turns around and says.

"The Proto-Gravemind has a First Order portable machine, capable of opening portals..." Said Cortana with a serious voice, everyone remains confused, how would there be First Order technology fused with the Flood?, they had the same question in their heads, unlike Sunlight, who seems more shocked than anyone else, she stands up and replies with a concerned voice.

"How? Kylo was supposed to use the Flood at that ring as a weapon, plus there was a containment barrier." Everyone is surprised of what Sunlight said, but Sunset seems more surprised than the others, a ring... what kind of ring, it had to be related to that Halo Flash mentioned in his notebook, but if so... what exactly happened there? Asked Sunset in her mind, but as she was about to ask Sunlight what did she mean with that, she's interrupted by Cortana. "You knew about this? Ugh... of course!! You were at Zeta Halo, but you disappeared and we never found you!" Said Cortana, now she remembers, Chief and Atriox were about to fight her but Sunlight suddenly got teleported somewhere else, after that, they got no word of where she was.

"Care to elaborate... Sunlight?" Asked Twilight with a face that shows slight signs of disapproval, as she thinks the Flood infestation might be Sunlight's fault, but she quickly takes the defensive in this discussion. "Hey! I didn't participate in any of this... in fact, I tried to warn Kylo of not using the Flood for his cause, but he ignored me as he insisted I..." Sunlight's face changed drastically, instead of discomfort, it began to show some regret. "...I-I had... a mission... to complete. *sigh* After that, the events of the observatory happened." Said Sunlight with a regretful voice, she still remembers how she was driven by anger and hatred, and was blind to believe that Kylo agreed to her plan under her conditions, but Sunset places her hand on Sunlight's shoulder as a sign of support, she then takes a deep breath and encourages herself, that's not her... not anymore, so mistake of hers or not, she's going to do everything she can to stop this outbreak.

"So... are we going to destroy this or not?" Asked Pinkie pointing at the Proto-Gravemind, it's gross and spooky, so as fast as they can get rid of it, the easier. "Hold on Pinkie!" Said Applejack as she steps forth and removes a pice of flesh from her armor. "If there's a portal machine inside that thing, then if we make the whole cave crumble, wouldn't that make the machine... explode... or somethin' like that?" Asked Applejack as she takes off her hat and scratches her head as she thinks of a good idea to destroy this place and not causing huge mess later.

"You're right Applejack, the First Order's portal machines work by using hyperspace mechanisms with electromagnetic beacons that use Equestrian energy as receptors and emitters, and when they invade a new world, they anchor to the nearest signal that ressembles the one of the emitting frequency that's being emitted, so if we destory the machine with the collapse of the cave, we might make the whole area be transported to another universe, and as we don't know the extent of the explosion, we might end up caught by the anomaly and we got stranded in another world. And the Proto-Gravemind had already assimilated the machine's structure, so if we take it out, it's going to blow up in a matter of minutes." Said Cortana as she analyzes many possibilites to destroy the cave without jeopardizing anyone.

Rainbow Dash goes away for a bit to think, after a very short while, she comes up with an idea, and says aloud. "I got it! Cortana... if we take any of these tunnels, where are we gonna end?" Everyone seems a bit confused of her plan, but Cortana trusts her and says. "Well... if you take the tunnel at your left, you'll end up... near Canterlot High... but... if you take the tunnel behind Applejack, you'll end up at the forest, far away from the city."

"What's your plan, Darling?" Asked Rarity concerned about Rainbow Dash's plan, but she replies with a confident smile. "If we take off the machine, I can run super fast through the tunnel that leads to the forest and use the accumulated speed to throw it far away, then the explosions won't harm anything or anyone, what do you think?" Asked Rainbow Dash, she seems quite confident of her plan, but it doesn't convince anyone, except for Sunlight. "Well... I can help you, but you'll have to be extremely fast, one wrong step and you're doomed, do you get it?" Asked Sunlight with a serious voice, she can help Rainbow Dash carry out her plan, but she needs to know if Rainbow Dash's totally sure about this.

"Got it! Let's do this!" Said Rainbow Dash with determination, Sunlight then created her dark magic gauntlets and grabbed the portal machine by piercing through the Proto-Gravemind's flesh, making it growl from pain, scaring everyone, Sunlight keeps pulling the machine as the Proto-Gravemind shouts loudly of pain, after that Fluttershy seems more alert than anyone and says. "We gotta hurry, there's more coming!" Sunlight then began to pull the the machine even harder, and as she finally takes it out, the machine is starting to heat up as it reaches its explosion. "Here, take it!" Said Sunlight as she gave Rainbow Dash the machine, she then began to run towards a tunnel, Sunlight was about to follow her but she tops and says. "You go to the tunnel that leads to Canterlot High! I'll help Rainbow Dash, no matter the reason, DON'T... stop!" Said Sunlight as she began to run following Rainbow Dash, the rest of the girls take the other tunnel and as they began to run and head through the exit, Cortana said. "Ok, Rarity take out the diamonds! This tunnel will be the last one to collapse."}

"Finally!" Said Rarity as she makes a swift move of her hands, erasing the diamonds covering the cracks AJ did on the tunnels, and as the diamonds were removed, the tunnels began to collapse one after another, meanwhile Sunlight follows Rainbow Dash from behind and as they approach the end of the tunnel, Rainbow Dash said. "Sunlight! You grab the machine and throw it!" Despite being faster than her, Rainbow Dash lacks enough strength, and maybe the energy she gather with her armor won't be enough. Sunlight then makes a bigger effort to surpass Rainbow Dash as she grabs the machine right before leaving the tunnel, Sunlight jumps and after a cry of effort, Sunlight throws the machine with overwhelming strength, and as the machine reaches an extremely high top, it finally explodes, the shockwave is big enough to bring Sunlight and Rainbow Dash to the ground, also is bright enough to be seen by everyone, and as Flash notices the explosion, he heads full speed towards there.

As the explosion fades away, Sunlight and Rainbow Dash stand up and with cheer emotion, Sunlight said. "We did it?! WE DID IT!!! Hahahaha, YEAH!" Sunlight then laughs and hugs Rainbow Dash as both of them laugh, but Sunlight takes her distance and drops on her knees. "Aw man! I'm so tired! hahah!"

"Really? I mean, I'm also tired but not... THAT grade of tiredness." Said Rainbow Dash as she stretches her legs and arms. "Yeah... I haven't sleep in a whole day and I feel like I'm dying..." Sunlight then stands up and checks her locator in her phone and sees that the coordinates where they are aren't far away from the abandoned storage. "Hey! The storage is nearby, maybe we can pick my bike and regroup with the others!" Said Sunlight with a more relaxed voice, she seems a bit happy that they managed to prevent a massive destruction event from happening, Rainbow Dash looks at Sunlight and says.

"Cool! Let's head there and..." Rainbow Dash is then hit by the claw of a Tank form, she receives the hit and crashes against a tree, she seems fine but her kinetic shield fell, Sunlight quickly looks at the tunnel where they came from and it appears some remnants of Flood forms followed them through the tunnel that hasn't collapsed yet. "Dammit!" Said Sunlight as she creates again her dark gauntlets and fights agains the combat forms, taking first the Tank forms, but she's then overwhelmed by Gaunt, Comabt and Ranged forms, and as she takes down a few of them while protects Rainbow Dash, she's starting to feel the same she felt back at that planet, where the First Order brought Darth Vader back, but she manages to get control over her body again, but she's then grabbed by a Gaunt form and is lashed against a rock, she falls to the ground and struggles to stand up, but when she began to think that they were against all odds, a blazing light approaches from the deep forest and arrives, the light fades and shows Flash Sentry, about to swing his blade against a Combat form.

"...Unknowing Fire!!" Said Flash as he swung his blade and slashed the Combat form into half, and burning it to the ground, Flash then draws his energy pistol and shoots down the Ranged forms, he then dodges the hits and tentacles of the Combat forms, he then managed to lure them all together, Flash then raises his blade and flames began to appear around his blade. "Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!!" Said Flash as he swung his blade heavily downwards and doing multiple slashes that took the form of a tiger, which not only cut the Flood forms' bodies but also burnt them all.

Then, Flash exhales and swings his blade in a circle, removing the flames, he then sheathes back his blades. Those flames, those techniques, and obviously that blue hair of his, Sunlight and Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it, Flash's back! And he's right here! As both of them stand up, Flash turned around. "Are you two ok?" Asked Flash with a serious face, but his voice trasnmits calm. "Flash!" Said both Sunlight and Rainbow Dash with excitement, but Flash points his gun towards Sunlight.

"Why are YOU doing here?" Asked Flash referring to Sunlight with a serious voice, his intentios doesn't seem to be harmful, but he's ready to do what it takes, Rainbow Dash then stands between them and says with determination. "

She's been helping us stop this madness... and believe it or not, she's willing to do the right thing this time... I've seen her put her life in the line to save others... including me." Rainbow Dash then looks at Sunlight with a smile, as a way to say I trust you, she then looks back at Flash and says. "And if you ask me... the determination to follow that oath, is something worthy to be trusted for."

Sunlight then gently moves away Rainbow Dash and steps forth as she says. "Thanks Rainbow Dash... but I have to deal with this on my own." Said Sunlight as she takes a deep breath, and with determination she says. "Listen, Flash... I know I did many wrong things in the past, and despite feeling bad for it, I can't go back in time and fix them... I've realized that my actions have done nothing else but to harm everyone, and now I'm decided to walk down the path I chose in order to fix my mistakes and begin a new life, instead of the dark path that Kylo Ren wants me to follow, and as John said... it may be a difficult task, but as long as it's the righteous one... time is nothing but a small detail."

Flash then holsters his weapon and says. "That's what I wanted to hear..." Sunlight and Rainbow Dash seem surprised. "W-What?" Asked Sunlight, Flash then replied with a calmed voice. "I could see that you were with John at Hell, bringing my soul back... and I can't be thankful enough for it... but I had to be sure that you were doing it for the correct reasons instead of pursuing another evil interests."

Sunlight sighs and then says. "Thank you guys... the fact that you're giving me another chance is more than I could ever ask for." Rainbow Dash and Sunlight finally can have a break and Flash asks them. "So... did you manage to take down the hive?" Sunlight then takes her keys and replies. "Yeah... but we split up, Dash and I took the portal machine that brought the Flood here and destroyed it... that's the reason behind the explosion from earlier, the others used a tunnel that lead to Canterlot High, but if some Flood forms managed to follow us, it's most likely that they followed them too... C'mon I'll drive us to the school." Said Sunlight as she began to move, Rainbow Dash then bumps Flash with a gentle fist and says with a smile. "Hey, glad to have you back, Flash... Sunset would be really happy to see you."

"Hehehe... me too, the last thing I remember before waking up was... her voice, I only hope she's alright." Said Flash with a concerned face, he seems specially worried about Sunset's welfare. "Then let's hurry!" Said Rainbow Dash as she followed Sunlight and Flash followed her last.

Now at Canterlot High, the girls come out of the tunnel and appeared to be near the parking lot, and as they escaped the tunnel, they finally got a break and remove their masks to catch their breath. "That... was... exhausting..." Said Rarity as she breaths heavily, she has never run these much in her whole life.

"Whew... let's head to the school, only to check if there aren't any... intruders." Said Applejack as she helps Rarity, the group now heads to the entrance, but they hear something coming out of the woods, many Flood forms behind them. "Run! Get inside the school!" Said Twilight shocked by the ambush, the Flood managed to follow them, and as the girls bashed through the door to get into the school while being chased down by the Flood, they start wondering what's happening.

"How could they even follow us? Weren't the tunnels supposed to collapse?"Asked a frustrated Applejack, this is now irritating. "Well... the Proto-Gravemind called for reinforcements..." Said Cortana, but before explaining the situation, Pinkie Pie is reached by a blaster shot, breaking her kinetic shield temporarily and bringing her to the ground, Rarity then creates a barrier to stop the incoming shots, and as she looks through the barrier, she sees a group of infected stormtroopers running towards them.

"What are those?" Asked Rarity shocked by what she's seeing. "Those are stormtroopers and they are infected by the Flood, probably is related to Kylo's first encounter with the Flood at Zeta Halo." Replied Cortana, Fluttershy helps Pinkie stand up and they began to run towards the cafeteria, they locked themselves to prevent the Flood from entering and give them at least a few moments to think properly of a plan.

"Cortana, any ideas?" Asks Sunset as she checks if the doors are well locked. "Kind of... we can take them out if we scatter them around the school, but if we don't hurry up, they'll escape the school and we DON'T want that..." Cortana then shows a 3D holo map of Canterlot High and says. "If we split them in three flanks, we might be able to have a fighting chance, fortunately for us, the halls seem to be narrow enough to finish them quickly, we can leave the cafeteria with Pinkie Pie's explosions clearing us a path and reducing the Flood's numbers, then we have to split... I suggest Sunset and Fluttershy go together for the right path, Pinkie Pie and Twilight will take the middle path and Rarity and Applejack will take the left path. That's the most effective way I can think of right now as we're lacking people." Said Cortana as she turns off the 3D map, the girls put on their masks again and group up, Applejack and Sunset take position in front of the doors, preparing to open them.

"Alright everyone, be careful..." Said Sunset aloud. "At the count of 3..." Said Sunset, 1...2...3!, the doors open and Pinkie Pie throws multiple bombs, blowing up the Combat forms that were gathering on the door, clearing a path for them to run. "Go!" Said Cortana, and as they leave the cafeteria, they took separate ways, hoping to eliminate their chasers.

On the other hand and after a while, Sunlight and the others arrived. "How did you get your license?" Asked Flash, despite being far away from the school, Sunlight managed to arrive by violating multiple traffic laws. "Videogames are an excellent reference when it comes to driving... plus I had to ignore all the red lights, otherwise we wouldn't arrive on time." Said Sunlight as she parked her bike on front of the school, they drop off the bike and head to the entrance.

"I can't open it!" Says Rainbow Dash as she tries to open the door, Flash tries to decode the password but he's attempts are unsuccesful, Sunlight then cracks her fingers and says. "I'll apologize later." Sunlight then hits the door with a powerful hit of her hand, breaking the doors lock and triggering the alarm, as they enter, Sunlight destroys the alarm with a dagger and manages to hear blaster shots, growls and beams throughout the school halls. "Rainbow Dash! you take the left side, Flash! you take the right one, I'll take the middle side." Said Sunlight as she activates her dark powers, while also controlling her emotions, in order to not lose control.

Rainbow Dash runs through the halls and sees Sunset and Fluttershy fighting, Sunset has a light blade and combines them with her focused beams, whilst Fluttershy uses her martial techniques to beat the Combat forms, behind them, there's a Tank form, but Rainbow Dash rushes and with a charged up kick right into it's body, she manages to pierce the Tank's torso. "Rainbow Dash?" Asked Fluttershy as she just kicked a combat form with enough strength to inlaid it into the lockers and with a punch, she kills it.

"Yeah... sorry for being late! But we had the same problem as you have." Replied Rainbow Dash as she whipes off a bit of blood from the Tank form with a disgusted face, but she quickly begins to run again and helps clean up the area from Flood presence. "We're Sunlight?" Asked Sunset as she dissolves her light blade. "She took another way, where are the other anyway?" Asked Rainbow Dash while looking around.

"We split so that we can take on the Flood that chased us once we left the tunnel, and up until now, it's been working." Replied Fluttershy as she cleans her gauntlets from the Combat form's blood. "Then let's go and help them!" Said Rainbow Dash as she began to run, followed then by Sunset and Fluttershy, meanwhile at the library Twilight and Pinkie Pie blow up many Flood forms, while Twilight absorbs the blaster shots from the stormtroopers and powers up her armor, and by clashing her gauntlets she unleashes a powerful shockwave that brings all the Flood forms down, Pinkie Pie then jumps from the top of a desk and throws multiple bombs, creating a chain of colorful explosions, blinded by the smoke, Twilight couldn't notice a Gaunt form that grabbed her and pull her out of the smoke, crashing against a bookshelf, that later fell over her, fortuantely, her kinetic shield protected her, Pinkie Pie tried helping Twilight, but she was also grabbed by the Gaunt form and got pulled upwards, only to fall against a desk, breaking it along with her shield.

And as the Gaunt form was ready to infect Pinkie Pie, it got pierced by a dark blade, it was Sunlight, who then rushed against it and slashed it with the blade, then, more Combat forms approach but Sunlight used a technique Kylo taught her, Sunlight summons dark fire and burns the Flood forms, cleaning the area, she then helps both Twilight and Pinkie to get up. "Sunlight? Is that you?" Asked Twilight, trying to recover from the hit. "Yes... whether you like it or not, I am here." Said Sunlight with a humoristic tone. "Where are the others?" Asked Sunlight as she looked around the library but it was empty.

"Sunset and Fluttershy are on the left side of the school, whilst Applejack and Rarity are on the right side..." Replied Pinkie as she recovers from the fall, fortunately, her kinetic shield helped her cushion the hit. "...Nice shields Sunlight... they've protected us really good!" Sunlight looks at her and replies with a smile. "I'm only glad they worked as intended." Then, Rainbow Dash, Sunset and Fluttershy came through the door, but the area was already cleared.

"Sunlight!" Said Sunset who was a bit worried about her, but now she's calmed. "Did you managed to destroy the machine?" Asked Twilight. "Of course Twilight, who do you think you're talking to?" Asked Rainbow Dash confident of her and Sunlight's capabilities, Twilight only smiles and nods with her head. "C'mon we have to help the others!" Said Sunlight as she took the lead by leaving the library first, on the other side of the building, Applejack and Rarity seem to fight against a bigger horde of Flood forms, while Applejack uses her gauntlets clad with Rarity's diamonds to be more efficient but also to protect her hands from being infected, while Rarity uses diamonds to both attack and defense, but as they managed to handle a part of the horde, another one approached.

"Oh... this is great!" Said Applejack with a sarcastic tone, many Ranged forms started shooting spikes, Applejack used a locker's door to cover the first shots but Rarity created a barrier in front of them, but unfortuantely, they got surrounded by Combat forms. "Any ideas... darling?" Asked Rarity as she struggled to hold the barrier up, fortunately... Flash arrived behind the Combat forms, he then unsheathes his blade and prepares to charge, but he focuses his breathing as flames start to come out of the blade.

"Flame Breathing, Sixth Form: Blazing Dance!" Flash then charges and swings his blades quickly and with swift moves, he takes down the Combat forms, as he moves forward, he then slashes the last Combat form into half as it burns along with the rest of the Flood forms, Rarity puts down the barrier as she and Applejack witnessed how the Flood forms were taken down so easily. "F-Flash?" Asked Applejack as she approached slowly towards him, Flash then swings his blade to remove the flames and turns around.

"Are you ok? Did they hurt you?" Asked Flash concerned about them, but he's received by a warm hug from them. "Thank to the heavens... you're back! And you saved us!" Said Rarity who could be heard at the edge of crying, she was truly scared of the Flood, but Flash only smiles as now everything's fine, Applejack then asks. "How did you know we were here?"

"Oh! I woke up and saw the Flood outbreak at the news, I took my items and went to help, but then I got word that you were sent to destroy the hive and I decided to lend you a hand, but when I arrived, I only met with Sunlight and Rainbow Dash, then they told that you were here and the rest is history." Replies Flash, then... the rest of the girls arrived and the as they saw the everything was now under control, they witnessed how there were traces of ashes on the ground, but when they look up, they see Flash standing there, who calmed down Rarity, Flash then turns around and at the exact moment where he crosses sights with Sunset, both got happy for seeing each other again, Sunset ran and jumped into his arms, as she laughs and lets go some tears.

"You're back! You're truly back!" Said Sunset as her tears subside and gently grabs Flash's face, he then looks directly at her eyes and says. "Yes... and I won't leave you, ever... again." After saying that, it appears both of their hearts were at the same tuning, and gave each other a slow but passionate kiss.

And as the kiss stops, they opened their eyes and said nothing but only smile to each other as they blush. "I love you, my Sunshine." Said Flash with a emotional voice, Sunset chuckles and says. "And I love you too... dorky."

"Dorky?... I thought that I deserved a better nickname." Replied Flash as to make fun of the situation, Sunset chuckles and replies. "We can discuss that somewhere else, what do you think?" Flash chuckles as he hears that, the situation escalated too quickly, and if these two aren't stopped, who knows what's going to happen. "Ehem! Can you please cut your couple stuff for a while, we're trying to save the world here!" Said Sunlight with a smile, she know they can't help but to do it, but this isn't the moment.

Suddenly, everyone feel the ground tremble, it comes from the parking lot, and as they head out, from the ground, a Flood Juggernaut emerges from the woods, but it seems a bit smaller than the one that appeared on Zeta Halo.

"The heck is that?" Asked Applejack, who seems scared but also confused of what she's seeing. "That's a Juggernaut, it's of the strongest Flood forms that there exists." Replied Cortana, Flash then questioned something. "How much people it had to consume to create that?" Cortana then replies. "Not only people, they can consume anything that has a nervous system, so probably it consumed multiple life forms."

"C'mon, it's only one, let's end this right here and now!" Said Rainbow Dash who took the initiative and charged against the Juggernaut, the rest followed her in order to find out a weakness, Sunlight and Sunset slashed it's arms and it regenerated a bit quick, and sweeps one of its arms to make some space, forcing everyone to fall back. "We're not going to harm it with direct attacks!" Said Twilight as she sees the Juggernaut growling.

"Then let's try a different angle!" Said Sunset as she used her powers to shoot light beams to the Juggernaut, they seem to stun him but it's not enough, Flash then cuts off one of it's legs with his blade, and the flames of it cauterized the wound, making the Juggernaut unable to regenerate, but then, the Juggernaut slams the ground with one of it's arms and makes everyone break fromation and with its other arm, whipes the floor and hits Flash, who crashes against the school's wall, everyone seems shocked about this, but they got pushed away by another of the Juggernaut's arms, the group falls back and regroups to think of another strategy.

"Are you ok? I spent two whole years in Hell to bring you back, so don't you dare to die right now!" Says Sunlight as she helps Flash get up, he seems a bit scratched but his armor cushion the impact by a lot. "How are we going to defeat it?" Asks Rainbow Dash as she puts her guard up.

"I have a technique that can help us, but I need a bit of time to charge it, plus I need the Juggernaut to be on the ground." Said Flash with seriousness, Sunlight then stood forth and said. "Then let's give you the right chance to land the hit! If we cut off its legs, and anchor it to the ground, we might have a chance." The plan was settled the girls leave and start fighting the Juggernaut as Flash closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing, as he has only used this technique once, and it was when he learnt it.

"(This technique is only meant for emergency situations, but right now... I'll have to recall the Rengoku Oath)" Thought Flash as he put his blade in front of him, and after opening his eyes, a wave of flames surruound him.

Flash then assumes a offensive position. If this fails, we're done for, thought Flash. "(Flame Breathing: Esoteric Arct)" said Flash, now the flames around him spreaded as a heatwave around the place, leaving him alone with his blazing blade. Sunlight then cut off the Juggernaut's last leg and chained it with her powers, Sunset then creates light blades that anchor the Juggernaut to the ground, and as Sunlight and Applejack pull the chains, the Juggernaut cannot do nothing else but to remain still, giving the perfect chance to Flash, who's know recalling the oath his master taught him but with a slight modification.

"Set your heart ablaze! Overcome your limits! This is the Flame Hashira's ultimate move! Ninth Form:.... RENGOKU!!!" Flash then charged at a high speed, creating a blazing trail that takes the shape of a blazing dragon, and as he now clashed his blade against the Juggernaut's body, the flames became stronger and stronger, and finally with a cry of effort, he managed to slash the Juggernaut's body completely and burning it, as to make sure it doesn't regenerate."

Finally, they finished with this madness, and as Flash sees the ashes of the Juggernaut fade away in the wind, he can see how a new day begins with the rise of the Sun, leaving him no other feeling but to smile as she says the dawn of a new tomorrow.

"Jerome... we destroyed the hive, it's over." Said Cortana through Sunset's communicator, Jerome then quickly replies. "You're lucky, thanks to everyone's efforts, we didn't lose anyone else and there's no more flood infestation here in the city, and all the civilians are safe and sound, we only need to find a very good explanation to everyone of what the hell happened today. But besides that... excellent job, team!" Said Jerome as he cut the message, their efforts were succesful and despite there are things to solve, our heroes can enjoy for a brief moment of the calm before the storm.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I finally brought the latest chapter, which took me a while to write, but I think it was totally worth it, and from now on, things will be very different for our protagonists. As the multiverse will lead to become wilder than it is now.

I hope you liked this chapter, and if so, please let me know your thought on it in the comments box and share the story with your friends. I'd appreciate it immensely if you can do that, and as always... wish you always the best, and take care.

-DReep

Chapter 15: After the Storm

Right after the Flood emergency was dealt with, the group has a conversation at the CHS parking lot.

The girls were gathered in a circle around Flash. After all, he is the man of the moment, but Sunset then realizes that Sunlight is excluded, but she seems to be ok with it, but not for Sunset, who indicates Sunlight to join in, she seemed to decline it, but Sunset insisted, with a smile of resolution, Sunlight then joins the group and with a friendly voice, she says.

"So... Flash, no hard feelings?" Asked Sunlight, as she seems a bit ashamed of the question itself, but she has to make sure that there won't be any problems from now on. Flash then sheathes his blade and with a compassionate smile he replies. "Why would I? Despite your past actions, you showed true determination to help everyone, and as Chief once said: Regardless of our past, what truly matters it's if you can do the right thing from where you're now."

Sunlight gives a thankful smile, probably, things won't be so bad from now on, she thought. Rainbow Dash then puts her hand on Sunlight's shoulder and pulls Sunlight towards her and says. "You were AWESOME back there! How you threw the exploding machine and then fiercely fought against those monsters by her own! Haha.. I feel a bit jealous of your fighting skills if I'm honest."

Sunlight then blushes, she's still not used to compliments and with a nervous voice she says. "T-Thanks, but I-I wasn't very outstanding, you were the ones who truly stood out." Said Sunlight as she takes off Rainbow Dash's arm gently.

"You should give more credit to yourself, after all. It was thanks to you that we managed to destroy that hive thing, or whatever it was." Said Applejack with a smile, Twilight then interrupts everyone with a question. "Wait! What are we going to do now? Everyone in the city saw how the Flood attacked them, plus we have to explain that all the missing people were consumed by the Flood to become part of the Proto-Gravemind, how are we going to do it?"

Everyone acknowledges Twilight has a point, the whole city was victim and witness of a Flood outbreak, probably the whole world would be concerned about this, so they need to address this issue the best possible way. Suddenly, a Razorback arrives and from it, the Blue Team hops off it. "Is everyone ok?!" Asks a concerned Chief as he draws his gun, despite not having their armors, they're ready to fight.

"Yeah, it was difficult... but we made it." Replied Sunset with a relieved smile, she then moves away and reveals Flash, who only smiles, Chief's face seems shocked but also, happy... he then runs along with his team and hugged him, and for the first time after a long, long time... Chief laughed of joy, along with his team.

"Can you please... release me?" Said Flash as he struggles to breathe by Chief's tight hug. "Oh! Sorry... I got carried away, hahaha." Said Chief as he puts Flash down. "You were missed, kid, we needed your help calming the waters around here." Said Fred as he pats him, Kelly then hugs him tightly with affection as Linda only gives him a long hug.

"Sunlight..." Said Chief as he noticed Sunlight was also there, he thought that she has always been in this world since they returned from hell, "... How did you end up meeting with them?" Asks Chief, curious about the scene, Sunlight... teamed up with the girls, which is something surprising even for him.

"Well... let's just say I have some bad news... really bad news." Said Sunlight, as she looks away, she thinks that what she's done is something that probably has doomed a lot of people. "What... kind of bad news?" Asks Flash, he just woke up like an hour ago and had to fight against one of the greatest threats in the multiverse, but also now there's another threat?

"Does the name... Darth Vader... reminds you of something?" Asks Sunlight, a bit ashamed, Chief remembers that name, but he seems confused. "That was Galen's previous master, what happened?" Replied Chief, Sunlight then takes long breath and says. "Kylo and Starkiller managed to bring him back, they used me to help them. And... I can say with total certainty that... THAT man... is on a whole other level... one I don't think none of us can reach on our own."

"Why do you say that?" Asks Rainbow Dash nervous of what she just heard, Sunlight then turns around and says. "The crystal I stole with dark magic was supposed to be able to create only three necklaces, but it managed to make a fourth one, and they hid it from my knowledge. So when Darth Vader appeared, he received a necklace from Kylo. He then unleashed all that power and... I was... scared. as I saw him... killing all the Resistance troops at that base, they were hundreds... and he killed them so... easily." Said Sunlight as she remembers the events, for once in a long... long time, Sunlight felt nothing but fear towards Vader.

"Where?" Asks Chief, his expression suddenly changed from happy, to serious. "I don't know, it was like a dessert with rocks, then we entered a cave and there was a vortex that had the power to bring someone back from the dead." Replied Sunlight, that's the only information she knows, fortunately for her, Cortana interrupts and answers Chief question as she seems to search on a long list of archives. "Hmmm... the discovering of a world with those characteristics is in the UNSC's classified archive, which means why they haven't told us about it... oh... that's explains all of it. " Said Cortana as she finds the report regarding the discover of that world.

"What is it?" Asks Twilight as she sees the report, it seemed pretty normal, but it had a logo on top of it, it was a pyramid with a circle in it.

"O.N.I..." Said Chief with an angered voice, he doesn't seem any happy of seeing that logo. "Err... What is O.N.I...?" Ask Applejack as she scratches her head with confusion. "The Office of Naval Intelligence... but don't trust anything they say... they're a bunch of liars, hypocrites, cruel and above all of that, they love doing illegal operations." Replied Chief with disdain, he seems a bit angry.

"So they authorized an operation on another world regardless of the cons of it... and now we have another Sith Lord to deal with.... this is GREAT!!" Said Fred sarcastically, he also seems upset but not as much as Chief is, but Kelly interrupts the discussion and says. "Ok people... we can find solutions to it later, but now we have to check if everyone else's alright."

Linda then steps in as she ends a call and shares some information. "I've already called Jerome, Red, and Omega Teams were dispatched for this mission... Aura along with Galen and his apprentice joined the fight... casualties were kept at minimum and the civilians are now safe... but they're mostly confused and scared of what happened." Said Linda with a serious voice, she seems calm despite the sudden wave of events that just took place.

"Call them to rendezvous at the hideout, they've exposed themselves for a long time already and authorities will begin to suspect." Orders Chief with a serious voice, but he has a point, despite saving everyone... they've showed themselves to the world, it will only be a matter of time before the society begins to wonder who are they. Linda agrees and calls them, Chief heads to the Razorback and hops in.

"C'mon, we have to leave!" Said Chief aloud, after that, everyone takes their leave and heads to the rendezvous point, once there... everyone finally relaxes after the struggle, the Omega Team met with Chief at the basement, a portal opens and Leon says. "John, we have to leave... Captain Lasky suspects the Flood was the one behind the portals opening throughout the multiverse. Therefore, they also might have propagated to another universes."

"I got it... thanks for helping us Omega..." Chief then gives a brotherly hug to every member of the Omega Team, as they now took their leave through a portal, Chief returns to the living room and sees everyone tired, the girls seem to have fallen asleep except for Sunlight and Flash, who both seem a bit alert.

"Why are both of you so... energetic?" Asks Chief, both Flash and Sunlight are eating a sandwich, but their faces show two different sides, Flash seems to be enjoying the sandwich, while Sunlight seems to distract herself by eating the sandwich.

"I'm hungry, plus I just woke up like an hour and a half ago." Says Flash as he takes another bite. "I'm overthinking stuff." Says Sunlight as she eats the whole sandwich in a few bites. "And the Red Team?" Asks Chief as he looks around, Aura then comes downstairs with a towel around her neck, she seems to be right out of the shower. "They're taking a shower, and also does Rarity... thankfully, this house has plenty of bathrooms, so we don't have to wait for your turn." Said Aura wearing her pajamas as she dries her hair and heads to the lab.

"Good thing there's one for each bedroom." Said Chief with a low voice as he now takes a seat on the dinner table, he then begans to think about what happened, "I could've done something, if I hadn't gone to that road trip, I would've been here and therefore, the Flood wouldn't have reached the civilians." Thought Chief, despite being a situation that escaped his knowledge and control, he blames himself for not being here.

"John, stop that... it won't make you any good to think that way" Said Galen as he rubs his eyes, despite being tired, he could sense Chief's self-blaming thoughts. "Master's right, there isn't anything you could've done to stop this... nobody knew something like this would happen... literally... NOBODY." Said Rey as she stands up and stretches her back and heads to the kitchen.

"Did you... sense it?" Asks Chief with a serious voice, suddenly changing the conversation topic, Galen then opens his eyes and stands up, he heads to the table and both him and Rey take a seat. "About... Vader?" Asks Galen with a serious expression, he's as much concerned about this as Chief is, Rey is the only one who seems more confused than the rest. "How can there be someone with such.... power?" Asks Rey as she looks to her master to find an answer, Chief also looks at Galen, as he is the only one that knows what Vader is capable of.

"*sighs* Darth Vader was... a former Jedi Knight... after reading some old archives from the Jedi Order... I found that his name back then was Anakin Skywalker, who was one of the greatest Jedis ever existed... but he turned to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader... one of the strongest Sith Lords the Galaxy has ever witnessed." Said Galen with a serious voice, the fact that Vader returned... is nothing but a great problem, one that if they don't deal with... would be their doom.

"And now he has a dark magic necklace, which means... more problems." Replied Sunlight with a pesimistic expression, she seems stressed for that situation, as she was part of the problem by helping them bringing back Vader. "Indeed... your dark magic works highly similar to the Dark Side of the Force, and if a Sith Lord manages to use that power... he can probably become twice as powerful." Replied Galen as he looks at Sunlight and he returns to his serious expression.

"And how can we stop it?" Asks Rey confused, if one Sith Lord can become so powerful... what can they do to stop at least one of them. "I have an idea..." Said Flash as he stands up from the couch, waking up Sunset, who was falling asleep next to him, but he gently helps her to lie down on the couch.

"...Back at the observatory, when we were fighting Sunlight and Starkiller... Tesla arrived using his super armor and he... seemed to be unable to use the Force against him... in fact, I recall Starkiller losing his cool after seeing that Tesla was inmune to his Force techniques." Said Flash with a serious voice, Galen seems a bit surprised... Inmune to the Force? That's impossible, he thought.

"How did he manage to achieve that?" Asks Galen as he tries to dissipate his doubts. "Oh! I remember..." Said Rey suddenly, it appears she was the one that helped Tesla with his experiment. "... Since you were unavailable Master, Mr. Tesla asked me if I could help him run some tests to understand how the Force works... and after many tries and errors... he managed to make a system to counter the way the Force works when we try to move people or objects... he named it... Force Repulsive Electromagnetic Shield Coil... or F.R.E.S.C." Said Rey, Galen seems a bit less confused, but the question remains.

"Maybe if we use that system in our suits, we might be able to have a chance of fighting them, since they won't be able to use the Force against us with combat-wise." Said Flash as Rey stopped explaining, probably that plan is the best one they have to fight Kylo, Starkiller and Vader. "Guess we can only hope for it work." Chief then stands ups and sees Aura that comes out of the lab, wearing her police uniform, she ties her hair as a pony tail and picks up her gun holster. "Mom... where are you going?" Asks Flash as he sees his mother puts on her jacket.

"Mayoress Mare wants a public explanation of what exactly just happened... and since I was on the field, she wants me to give the public speech." Said Aura as she heads to the door, but she's then interrupted by an hologram that appears right beside her... it's Captain Lasky, who catches Aura off guard and says.

"Sorry if I startled you people, but before you do something... wait just a bit, some people from O.N.I are heading to your location... so if you can be patient..." Lasky is then interrupted by Chief who asks with a rejection voice.

"What is O.N.I doing here?" Lasky then looks at Chief and replies. "*sighs* I know you don't like them at all Chief, neither do I... but Jerome told me there was a Flood outbreak on the world you're in... and whether we like it or not, these people KNOW how to come up with convincing stories to calm the population."

"But it's alright if we LIE to everyone, literally?" Asks Flash, he considers that probably there's another option, he doesn't think lying to everyone is a good solution. "Probably not... but... what else can we say? Hey! Sorry for frightening you to death but those monsters came from another universe and began to consume people to become smarter and they almost consume the whole city if it wasn't for the intervention of people from another universe and teenagers with magical powers? It doesn't sound any convincent if you ask me." Says Sunlight with an ironical voice, she thinks people would be much more frightened if they become aware of what truly happened.

"Sunset Shimmer's right, we can't afford panic to spread around this world, in any world if possible... Mrs. Sentry... you're a respected police officer, if you could lend us a hand in this affair... the situation might go smoother." Replied Lasky, he confused Sunlight with Sunset, which is something Sunlight noticed, but she rather keep her identity secret from anyone else other than the ones in this room.

"Fine... anyway, I had to give a public declaration at the town's hall, make your people meet me there, got it?" Asked Aura, she understands the situation, but she accepts reluctantly Lasky's deal, as she also doesn't like lying to everyone, but as Sunlight said, what other option do they have? Lasky agreed and Aura left the house, Chief then interrupts Lasky before he leaves, the door closing sound wakes up Sunset, who stands up as she rubs her eyes and heads to the kitchen, ignoring for a bit Captain Lasky's hologram.

"Captain... there's something we need to discuss." Said Chief with a serious voice, Lasky seems a bit surprised but he replies. "What is it, Chief?" Chief then looks at Sunlight, he reflects about what she told them and after a short while, Chief says. "There was a secret operation on a remote world, it was authorized by O.N.I and it led to the First Order invading it without being stopped and used the anomaly there to resurrect a bigger evil." Said Chief with a serious voice, Lasky's face seems like he has heard that again, he sighs and then says.

"Cortana... can you retrieve the latest report in the Resistance's emergency channel?" Cortana began to search as she was a bit surprised, that channel can only be used in case of a recent attack on a important location, but also... the report was in a private encryptation. "Why is it coded?" Asked Cortana as she begins to decrypt the report.

"Because General Dameron chose to keep this between a small circle of high officers while we figure out what to do regarding the exact same event Chief just mentioned." Said Lasky as now Cortana completely decrypted the report and displayed it for everyone, it was a gallery of images showing the First Order invasion, the Death Squad could be seen in those pictures, Kylo Ren, Starkiller and... Sunlight, but she was in a berserk state, her dark eyes were flowing with dark magic as she was killing many Resitance troopers, Sunlight is astonished as she sees the images of herself commiting such violent actions with a sadistic smile as traces of blood splatter over her face, Sunset returns from the kitchen and watches from the distance the images... she seems surprised, but she can see that's not Sunlight herself, but it's the dark magic that controls her.

Finally, a video footage appears, is from the control room, the Death Squad burst through the door, smoke blinds the Resistance officers, Purge Troopers come out of the smoke, taking cover and shooting down a few of the guards before they take cover, after that... Sunlight comes out of the smoke charging at high speed and killing the remaining Resistance personnel, after that Kylo Ren and Starkiller come out of the smoke, and the footage ends when Kylo places Darth Vader's helmet in the vortex.

"It appears not only they brought back an ancient evil, but also they got a new partner... do you know who it is?" Said Lasky as he zooms the footage and focuses on Sunlight, she is frightened of what will happen, she steps back as she wonders if they would give her away? Sunlight then feels someone touching her shoulder with softness, she turns looks back and sees Sunset smiling at her in a supportive way, Flash then agrees with his head in the same supportive way, Chief looks briefly at Sunlight and as he looks back at Lasky, he says. "No, Captain."

"Well... that leaves us in disadvantage, but it'll only be a matter of time for O.N.I to make her a high value target and you they'll send their hunters to chase her down... which would screw all our chances of having a tactical advantage against the First Order." Replied Lasky as he starts to think aloud.

"Got any orders for us, sir?" Asks Kelly, who comes downstairs, and she heard only the last part of the report. "Now I have... since O.N.I can carry out their secret operations... I'll carry out mine. Blue Team, find who is this new partner the First Order has, and if possible, try to convince her of helping us instead of the First Order, if it's not possible... then capture her and bring her into custody, probably she might know plans or strategies that might be useful to us." Said Lasky with determination.

"Consider it done, sir." Said Chief with a serious voice and after that, Lasky says goodbye and ends the call, after that Chief turns around and says. "Mission complete." Sunlight then exhales with relief, it appears stress is finally taking its toll on her, and as she smiles, she feels her body falling back and her eyes closing, right when she realized of it, it was too late, Sunset grabbed her before she fell to the ground. Sunlight was asleep, Sunset helps her get to the couch and sleeps along with the rest of the girls.

"It appears someone was giving out a Hail Mary right now." Said Kelly as she looks at Sunlight, whose tiresome practically made her fall asleep while standing. "Yeah, her situation is not the easiest one to handle, actually... I'm amazed of how she's been enduring all that's been happening." Said Sunset as she looks at Sunlight with a smile, she knows Sunlight is giving her all to make things right, and despite seems difficult, she's not giving up.

"She's determined to help, we can ask her about the First Order plans once she wakes up, but for now, lets give them some rest." Says Chief as he heads to the backyard and is followed by the rest, Banana runs towards Flash as soon as it sees him, and Flash picks it up and pets it, after that a familiar voice can be heard behind them.

"Would you look at that? Cantelot High's finest has returned!!" Flash turns around with a smile, it's Jerome, who's now with an open smile, both shook hands in a brotherly way, they hug each other after that and with a cheerful voice, Jerome says. "It's good to have you back, brother!"

"I was starting to miss you, bro!" Said Flash with a smile, after that, Chief tells them to lower their voice, as the girls are sleeping inside.

"Sorry, I got carried away." Said Jerome with a smile, everyone seems happy by the scene these two made, but Sunset seems a bit confused after seeing Jerome... it's like, she's met him before.

"Are you still melting hearts wherever you go?" Asks Flash with a smile, it's been a while since the last time he and Jerome had a normal chat like this one. "Hahaha... y'know the last time I was here was at that musical festival you invited me to." Said Jerome slightly laughing and giving Flash a weak brotherly punch.

"Where are Alice and Douglas?" Asks Kelly, wondering where's the rest of the Red Team. "They're borrowing some clothes, it's their first time not fighting here, so they don't have any casual clothing." Replied Jerome as he rubs his fist on Flash's head.

"Uhmm... Jerome, have we met before?" Asked a confused Sunset Shimmer, the feeling of seeing Jerome before is one that confuses her. "Nah, I don't think so... I've only been on social events three times in this world..." Jerome then begins to remember. "...Did you saw me in the mall at night during the Holidays?" Asks Jerome.

"No." Jerome seems a bit relieved. "Good, ok then... were you at the amusement park?" Asks Jerome, he's discarding optionsvia trial and error. "You mean Equestria Land? Yeah, I was there... but I don't recall seeing you there." Replies Sunset, she's still trying to figure out this matter.

"Then there's one last option..." Said Flash as he finds interesting this. "...The music festival." Replied Jerome, he seems a bit confused, as he doesn't recall seeing someone like Sunset during his staying on the festival. "Music Festival?" Asks Sunset confused, Flash then helps her understand what Jerome means.

"He means the Starswirl Music Festival, I invited him since John wasn't available." Says Flash, but Jerome remains with the doubt, he doesn't remember seeing anyone like Sunset Shimmer, then how does she remembers him, but he doesn't remembers her?

"Ok, now THIS... is weird... I left the festival right after I placed the beacon John told me to, and you weren't in the group of.... oh... I better... not say that." Says Jerome as he shrugs, Chief is now confused. "What did you do?" Asks Chief intrigued of what Jerome was about to say, but he rathers not say it, Sunset then has a realization.

"Were you wearing a denim jacket with a modern style?" Asks Sunset, Jerome seems now a bit surprised, but he hides it and says. "Pfft... many people wear denim jackets, you probably confuse me with someone else."

Sunset start to put the pieces together. "In the first day of the festival... two guys fell right in front of you, you helped them and said, ...save it for the bumping cars, didn't you?" Asks Sunset, Jerome now remembers, but... she wasn't there, then... how could she...

"Impossible! I know what I did the first day and you weren't there... not even in that moment and neither later... how do you know what I was doing?" Asks Jerome, who's now more confused than anything.

"Weird, you weren't this tall when we..." Sunset then remembers what happened that day, she was trapped in the time loop by the Time Twister and Twilight challenged her to... Sunset then steps back a bit, Jerome seems surprised and confused. "We what...? I have no idea what you're talking about." Sunset now feels a bit ashamed for bringing the subject to light, she silently goes with Flash and takes him to a private place.

"Is everything fine?" Asks Flash confused of Sunset's reaction, she then takes a deep breath and says. "Remember when I told you about the time I got stucked in a time loop?" Flash then agrees with his head and Sunset continues. "Well... I know is extremely awkward that I say this but, in order to prove Twilight's theory and as I was desperate to break the time loop... I...I..." Sunset can't say the word, Flash then places his hand on her shoulder in a supportive way, Sunset takes another deep breath and says ashamed. "I dated him... and now I feel bad about it." Sunset then slaps her face, expecting a negative response from Flash, whom only laughs aloud, confusing everyone including Sunset.

"Hahahah... but it was on the past, you've overcome it and now you have a great story to tell, c'mon, his reaction will be priceless." Said Flash with a smile as he takes Sunset's hand and both walk again with the group. What were you two mumbling about?" Asked Kelly with a smile, Jerome is now desperate to know the truth and Chief is enjoying this situation like no one can't imagine.

"So... it appears Sunset dated Jerome when she was stucked in a time loop." Said Flash with a humoristic tone, Jerome seems a bit relieved but he's then struck by what Flash said. "Whew, good thing it was a time loop, wait... DATE?" Asked Jerome surprised, Kelly laughed and Chief was making an effort not to laugh, but he couldn't contain it and let go a chuckle. "Sorry... that was *chuckle* immature, it *chuckle* wasn't funny... hahahahah!!!" Chief then began to laugh and so did everyone as they see him laughing for the first time, everyone except Jerome who's confused.

"Why are you laughing? Does my situation seem funny to you?" Asks an outraged Jerome, Chief then looks at him as he stops laughing and says. "Actually, ahaha.... yeah... haha, from all the dates you've had, this is the first one I see you so... amazed, hahahah!"

"Sunset, in our date what exactly did I tell you?" Asks Jerome with nervousness, Sunset then tries to remember and finally says. "Well... you said that you liked painting with watercolors, and also that you think ketchup is overrated." Jerome seems like he's facing his doom, he places his hands on his face and says. "Dammit, that's very personal."

"Do you think ketchup is overrated?" Asks Kelly surprised about the statement, Jerome then turns around and says. "I mean it has a good flavor but I dislike that people put ketchup on mostly every fast food when it tastes perfectly well without it." Replies Jerome, then Chief asks him. "Since when do you paint with watercolors?" Jerome looks at him and replies. "Since we arrived here... I wanted to have a hobby and painting seems to do the job... who do you think painted all the pictures around the house?" Asks Jerome with a proud face, but now he realizes what he's done.

Jerome looks at Flash with despair and says. "Flash, I'm sorry... I'm deeply sorry, I broke... the bro code." Flash only laughed and after placing his hand on Jerome's shoulder, he says. "You didn't break anything bro... it didn't happened at all."

"Hahahaha... finally you got what you deserved for being a pretty face." Said Chief as he controls his laugh, Kelly on the other hand, seems to struggle to stop laughing. "It was in a time loop Jerome... hahaha, you were only a possiblity in a million of other possibilities." Said Kelly as she finally stopped laughing, and she dries the tears that run down her eyes.

"See? would you say this is a bad outcome?" Said Flash to Sunset as he turned around. "Well... this really went better than I imagined, but let's leave that on the past, shall we?" Said Sunset with a friendly voice, she doesn't want that event to make their relationship any awkward.

"Please... that'd be the best option." Said Jerome as he calms down, despite the chaos that just happened, they seem to have a peaceful time whilst Aura is giving a speech at the town hall in front of all media, next to her are some agents from O.N.I.

"I know the fear we all went through yesterday, I feared for my companions' lifes, and despite being against all odds... it was our team work what helped us to overcome such a crisis, the people that helped us also played an important role... we were attacked by an unknown enemy, one that shared no other interest than terminate us all..." Aura then points at one of the O.N.I agents and says. "Thanks to the Office of National Security and their team, we managed to deal with this threat... but we don't know if it's going to come back, but one thing's for sure. We have to be stronger, that's why we exort our government to take more seriously these affairs, in order to not let something like this ever happen again.... I thank all of you citizens who are here today, and I give my deepest condolences to all those who lost someone cherished by this... monster, I know a sorry won't bring them back... but those are the consequences of our careless actions... we have to move forward!!" Aura then steps back with a serious expression, she can't believe what she just said.

Mayoress Mare then takes Aura's place and begins to answer the press's questions, whils Aura and the O.N.I agents leave the zone by an alley. "You did it good Lieutenant, let's only wait for the population to understand it." Said one of the agents with a serious voice, Aura can't take it any longer and confronts them. "They're not fools! How long do you think it will take them to realize it's a fake story?!" Claimed Aura with slight traces of anger.

"We're aware of your concern Lieutenant, but you must also know that despite their efforts to uncover the truth, they won't find anything... we've already sent teams with the specific mission of cleaning any trace that leads them to finding the truth, so they'll have to conform with the truth you told them, since there won't be any other version." Replied another agent, as they head back to her house, Aura feels guilty for the lie she just said, despite going against her morals, she had no other option if she wanted to preserve peace.

In another universe, a Star Destroyer seems to navigate through the void of space, Kylo and Vader train while Starkiller only watches them, Kylo seems heavily wounded, multiple cuts around his body and blood splattered on the ground show the cruelness of a Sith's training, Kylo can't stand due to his wounds and he tries to catch his breath, but he seems to fail.

"Embrace that pain, use your anger to fuel you, use the hatred against your enemies to gather the strength and stand... up!" Said Vader as he ignites his lightsaber. Kylo manages to stand with effort, but anger can be seen in his face, he then picks his lightsaber with the Force and ignites it and cahrges against Vader, Kylo's sword skills seem to be at the same level as Vader's, they clash their crimson blades and stand face to face.

"Why did you recruit that girl? Her rebel behavior might be your doom." Said Vader as he pushed Kylo away with the Force, Kylo falls to the ground and as he stands up, he says.

"I have measures to deal with he rin case she rebels against me..." Kylo then charges agains and after trading swings of their blades and clash again, Kylo said. "... I'm only waiting for the moment to come." and they engage combat again, but as they clash their blades with their swings, Vader uses an opening in Kylo's guard and punches him right in the face, making him lose balance, and with the Force, Vader slams Kylo with the ground.

"Very well then..." Vader then turns off his lightsaber and helps Kylo getting up. "In combat, you must always check on your flaws and create tactics to make your enemy confident about abusing of your blind spot and then you can strike them down." Said Vader with a serious voice, despite being cold and mercyless, he seems to be a good teacher.

"Noted." Said Kylo as he breaths heavily, Vader then says. "Get yourself healed, we'll be leaving soon." As Vader leaves the training room, Kylo and Starkiller seem confused about that. "Where?" Asked Starkiller with a serious voice, Vader stops right before the door, he turns around and says. "We're heading to Exegol." After that, Vader left, leaving his apprentices confused of what he means, Kylo remembers that place, it's where he killed Darth Sidious permanently and he found Starkiller's cryogenic capsule, but... what else could there be on that wretched planet? Thought Kylo as the door closes.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I bring you the latest chapter of Multiversal Crisis, which despite lacking action, I used it more as a narrative anchor where many things will be questioned and solved from now on, I hope you liked it and see you next time, see'ya!!

-DReep

Chapter 16: Darkness Grows

THE DAY OF THE SITH

After the previous events, Kylo Ren's ship arrives at Exegol, a lone dark-deserted planet at their world's Unknown Regions, which created a veil of secrecy for decades. Emperor Palpatine also known as Darth Sidious hid there using cloning technology and was seeking to regain control over the galaxy with military might, but Kylo Ren didn't wish for anyone to stand in his way and slayed Sidious and destroyed all his remaining clones.

For Kylo Ren's surprise... the last capsule didn't contain a clone of the Sith Lord, it was a cryogenic capsule, which had Starkiller within it, the Emperor was keeping him alive as his personal weapon. After freeing him, Starkiller became Kylo's companion and therefore, they began to spread fear across the galaxy while fighting the Resistance. Until one day... the Infinity crossed paths with Kylo Ren's flagship, engaging their first combat, unfortunately for them, the Resistance joined them and Galen was already fighting on their side, so defeat was imminent on their first battle.

Kylo, Starkiller and Vader descended to the planet's surface and as they landed, they head to what it was Darth Sidious throne. "What happened to this place?" Asked Vader as he saw all the destruction in it, he then heads to the throne and sits with dominance. "Palpatine wanted me to be his slave by slaying his granddaughter, and wanted to rule the galaxy on his own, but I thought otherwise and slayed him, so there won't be anyone to stand in my way."

"So my old master thought he could use another Skywalker for his benefit... how foolish of that wretched old man." Said Vader with disdain as he looks around, this was supposed to be Palpatine's hideout to reemerge from the shadows and reclaim the galaxy. Nothing but a small smile of satisfaction is shown in Vader's face since Palpatine manipulated and tortured him for Vader to be his slave.

"And here's where I found Starkiller, I wonder why he was being held at this place?" Asks Kylo as he sees the old laboratory he destroyed after killing Palpatine, Starkiller only looks at it with disapproval and Vader replied. "The original Starkiller was extremely powerful, but after his death... the Emperor wanted to make a clone out of him, the first succesful clone had the original Starkiller's memories, which led to him to betray us again..." Vader then stands up from the throne and Starkiller says with a serious voice. "He defeated my master and captured him, but they didn't expect me to have followed them in their ship... although I managed to destroy it and make the rebels run away, my master told me not to kill Marek."

"Because he was supposed to be a backup plan in case you were to die, but the process to erase his memories was too long, and I died before it could be finished." Replied Vader as he looks at Starkiller, Kylo then looks at the sky and wonders why are they here, he looks at Vader and asks with a serious voice. "Why are we here? The Emperor's gone and so are all his clones, there's nothing left in this filthy cultist place." Vader then looks at him and, with determination and a calmed voice, he replies.

"If you had struck down Sidious after listening to his plan, you'd have known that Exegol is not only the place where he was carrying on his dark experiments, but also it's where the new Sith Empire will... RISE!!" Vader then extends his hands open and focuses with the Force, the ground crumbles as if there's an earthquake going on... on the outside... many Star Destroyers begin to emerge from the ground and rise up to the air. Exegol's skies are now filled with Star Destroyers, each with a super cannon capable of destroying cities and countries with a single blast.

From deep within the ground, the last ship rises, it's much bigger than the common Star Destroyers and as the ship rises above the rest, Kylo asks with confusion. "What is this?" Vader then looks at him and with pride he says. "This was the Emperor's great plan, it's the Final Order and that ship..." Said Vader as he points at the sky, specifically to the flagship.

"...It's The Eclipse, one of the biggest Star Destroyers ever built, although my ship The Executor was a bit bigger... The Eclipse is much more equipped than any other ship the Empire ever built." Said Vader, as he pulls an object from Palpatine's throne and hands it to Kylo as he says.

"Since you were the one who killed Sidious, the Sith Fleet is now yours to command... this communicator establishes a link with the commander officer Enric Pryde, who's also Sidious's candidate to lead the fleet." Kylo then takes the communicator and activates it, after a short while, Pryde takes the call and seems a bit surprised of seeing Kylo Ren using Sidious's channel.

"Supreme Leader? After you killed Lord Sidious... I was dubious of when you'll learn about the Sith Fleet... but it's clear now, what are your orders?" Asked Pryde seriously, despite his sudden surprise, he managed to keep a dead serious expression. "Admiral... the time has come, for the Final Order to rise and take over our enemies. Command the First Order Fleet throughout the Galaxy, destroy our enemies along your path... and wait for the signal of the Sith Fleet to join us, then... we shall begin to take over the Multiverse." Said Kylo with a serious voice, Admiral Pryde bows before him and agrees to follow his bidding, he then heads to the Captain's bridge at his Star Destroyer and activates a command where he now broadcasts Kylo's orders to the rest of the admirals of the First Order.

The group then gets on the shuttle that brought them to Exegol and head to The Eclipse. While they're heading to the Captain's bridge, Vader begins to number the outstanding qualities of The Eclipse as they walk through the hangar.

"Elite troopers trained since childhood to become the Sith Empire's fist... they're the Sith Troopers." Said Vader as a platoon of Sith troopers marches next to them, they walk around the halls of The Eclipse and the Sith Officers bow in the presence of the Sith Lords. "What makes this ship so special?" Asks Kylo as they head to the bridge. "Another quality of The Eclipse is its axial superlaser... Whereas the superlasers the Star Destroyers of the Fleet carry, The Eclipse's superlaser is the only one capable of destroying a planet with a single, concentrated blast." Said Vader as he keeps leading the group, but he continues saying.

"...The Eclipse also has gravity well projectors, ion cannons, hundreds of heavy lasers and turbolasers mountings Enhanced hyperdrive and sublight engines, also has the capibility to carry 600 TIE Interceptors, 96 TIE Bomberss, a total of 700,000 personnel, 150,000 of them are Sith troopers, 100 AT-ATs and 5 prefabricated bases for ground missions. Also, it's hull armor and shield are strong enough to ram any ship without hesitation. And, as I mentioned, an axial superlaser capable of destroying planets."

"How do you know so much?" Asks Kylo surprised, since this was the Emperor's secret plan, then... why does Vader knows all about it like the palm of his hand? Vader keeps walking, but he replies with a serious voice. "I tried to rebel against the Emperor years ago, but after many tests and chasing him down throughout Exegol, I learned of the facility that built this whole fleet, after that he told me about his vision of an Ultimate Empire. The Eclipse was meant to be his flagship, but he died in the Battle of Endor before he could carry out his plan."

The group then finally reaches the bridge tower and Kylo Ren is received by the admiral in charge of The Eclipse. "It's an honor to finally see you Supreme Leader, follow me... the rest of the fleet awaits your command." Said the Admiral as he leads Kylo to a room with a holotable at the center.

Kylo removes his helmet and activates the table and the broadcast begins to all The First Order and Sith Fleet channels, a hologram of Kylo appears in all the bases and command centers the First Order has, Kylo then recites a monologue with a passionate voice. "Attention all members of the First Order... for years we've been considered as a joke, our enemies have managed to defeat us with what they call Hope or Friendship, but that will be no longer. Thanks to our new ally, we've discovered a new the strength we needed to achieve our goals... The Emperor's Sith Fleet will now fuse with The First Order to create a much stronger force. The Final... Order, we'll crush all our enemies, we'll show them the TRUE meaning of FEAR, and they will only have two options... Surrender... or DIE..." Kylo then makes a pause and continues with a much more intense voice volume. "DESTROY ALL OPPOSING SYSTEMS, MAKE OUR ENEMIES TREMBLE OF FEAR!!! AS TODAY IS THE DAY THEY'LL SEE THEIR DOOM APPROACHING, WEEE ARE THEIR DOOM!!! I DECLARE THIS DAY AS THE DAY WE STRIKE BACK AS THE NEW SITH EMPIRE... MAKING THIS... THE DAY... OF THE SITH!!! THE DAY... THEIR FOOLISH RESISTANCE WILL BEGIN TO FALL!!! LONG LIVE THE SITH!! LONG LIVE THE NEW EMPIRE!!!" As Kylo finished his speech, all the officers, admirals, and troopers that heard the message replied in unison with the same last words Kylo used. "LONG LIVE THE SITH!!! LONG LIVE THE NEW EMPIRE!!!" Kylo then ends the broadcasting and then says to the admiral.

"Prepare to jump into hyperspace, we need to give the Sith Fleet the portal cannons we use to travel around the Multiverse." Said Kylo with a serious voice, the admiral only agrees and uses the holo table to order the whole fleet to prepare to jump into hyperspace, Kylo heads to the bridge where Vader and Starkiller await. "That was... quite the speech Kylo." Said Starkiller as he congrats Kylo's speech, which could be heard everywhere around the ship.

"I only said what I feel... we won't be humiliated by neither The Resistance or those wretched teenagers EVER again." Said Kylo with a serious voice as he stands still in front of everyone, as they watch Exegol's skies The Eclipse accelerates and enters hyperspace, only to be followed after by the rest of the Sith Fleet, filling the air with the rumbling sound of the thousands of Star Destroyers jumping into hyperspace. War won't be the same from now on.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

The day after the flood outbreak was eliminated, everyone enjoys of a momentary peace, Sunlight and Sunset seem to be having a chat at her place while sharing some drinks. "...And that's how I got my driver's license." Says Sunset as she takes a drink of the apple cider bottle Sunlight gave her. "Wow! To be honest, I got mine at the first try." Replies Sunlight with a smile, it was a fun anecdote, but Sunset now seems to be curious. "Oh, yeah... how did you get it without using your real name?" Asks Sunset confused about this matter, if Sunlight had the license before her, then she had to do something so that it wasn't registered as Sunset Shimmer.

"Nothing a wig and fake papers can't fix, also... I used another name... though it isn't the best name I could came up with." Sunlight then shows Sunset her license, she appears at the photo with long hair tied as a pony tail, the wig ressembles a bit of Sunset's natural hair color but the red stripes were darker and the yellow stripes are slightly darker. Also, her name says it's Moonrise Glow. "Despite having a wig, you look nice." Says Sunset as she returns Sunlight her license. "Thanks! Hey... I know you're tired from school, but can't you help me with something?" Asks Sunlight as she puts her license back in her wallet, Sunset seems a bit excited and replies. "Sure! What is it?" Asks Sunset as she widenes the eyes.

"Nothing too big, I only need to go visit some friends to pay me for a time I helped them as sounds technician." Replies Sunlight with a relaxed voice, Sunset is now surprised, she can't help but to ask. "Sound technician? How many jobs have you had?" Sunlight then looks at her and with a carefree expression she replies. "I've lost count, but that time... I had to leave the store where I was working and I got fired, but they promised to pay me when they got their share from a concert they played in next week..." Sunlight then takes a drink of her soda, but she sees Sunset expression of amaze, like she has seen a ghost. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Asks Sunlight as she sees Sunset's shocked expression.

"Oh! Nothing, nothing! It's just, when we first met you never mentioned that you had friends." Replies Sunset, trying to fix the awkward situation, Sunlight then replies with a calmed voice. "Well... no offense but, back then you were my enemy so it's not like I would tell you everything, but things have changed now... I'm looking forward to you meeting them, they're quite the funny fellas to hang along with, but did you actually think I had no friends?" Sunlight then laughs a bit, Sunset feels ashamed for thinking that, but it seems Sunlight doesn't worry about it and says. "Hahaha! Don't worry!! Slow down and smell the roses, Sunset... it's not that bad to think that, I don't blame you."

"It's just that... you were the one who ended up hurt the most, as I stole you practically everything..." Replies Sunset with regret, Sunlight then takes her hand and replies with a warmth voice. "But thanks to that, look whom I've become... I'm the true version of me, the one my soul wanted to be... I learned the wonders of music and that's my passion, as ironical as that sounds... it was thanks to you that I found something that fills my heart. Or at least, that's what I believe."

Sunset then looks at Sunlight and replies with a serious voice. "I get it... but now, I'm deeply sorry Sunlight, for everything I did to you unconsciously, and if you find it hard to believe I can help you, it's ok, the same happened to me... I can't give back your life... but I can guide you to a new one, but only if you let me." Says Sunset with a passionate voice, regret can be heard in her voice. Sunlight notices Sunset's genuine feelings, she smiles with thankfulness and says. "Thanks... Sunset... for not... giving up on me." Says Sunlight with a moved voice, Sunset then puts her hand on Sunlight's shoulder and replies. "I would never do such a thing... I will help you because that's the least I can do."

"So... about that... redemption of yours... how did it happen?" Asks Sunlight with curiosity, Sunset sighs and with a friendly smile replies. "Let's just say in the past, my evil thoughts about obtaining power and a magical crown twisted my at the image of my ideals and turned me into a she-demon craving for power, but Princess Twilight from Equestria and her friends defeated me and thanks to them, I got the chance to fix my life for good, and realize that my desire to dominate and my ambitions of power, only gave me nothing but loneliness... I'm afraid that the same might happen to you if you keep using your necklace... Princess Twilight said that Dark Magic it's like a poison that corrupts everything and everyone."

"If I throw this necklace away, I'd lack the power to stop Kylo and The First Order, and probably much worse things might happen if someone else finds it... what about... me not using it so constantly?" Says Sunlight as she takes off her necklace and leaves it on the table, the dark magic leaves her body, turning her eyes back to that normal green color and her hair returns to its normal red color with yellow stripes, but it's.... darker... Sunset ignores it for now and goes back to the topic of Sunlight's friends

"That's a great idea, now... back to your friends... how did you meet them?" Sunlight then widens her eyes as a memory comes to her, she then replies with a smile.

"Oh... I needed some quick cash and posted my services as music technician, they hired me once and ironically, they liked me and I liked them, we began to chat and party every once in a while, but now... I haven't been in touch with them until yesterday, where I said that I'd be visitng them to pick up the money from the time I helped them at the Starswirl Festival."

"Starswirl Festival you say? At what time did that happen?" Asks Sunset, she seems a bit more concerned about this. "I don't remember, but it was already late, the sun was setting... but I left as soon as the they finished their show and left... but they need to buy something to carry their stuff... or they're gonna spend a lot more of money in carriage." Sunlight replies but is then interrupted by Sunset.

"Wait... if you were there... how didn't I see you?" Asks Sunset now confused, Sunlight then places her soda on the table and heads to her room, leaving Sunset alone for a while, Sunlight then returns and puts a strange device on the table, a pyramid-shaped object from the upper side and lower side. "What's that?" Asks Sunset as she picks it up, it's a bit heavy, but it appears to be something you can bury on land or soil, but Sunlight sits down and explains. "I don't know who's the owner but that thing was a bit suspiscious, I found it buried on the soil at the Starswirl Festival, it was emitting light so I took it before anything bad could happen, then a handsome guy was chasing me down for it... but you can't trust anyone just like that, they can have hidden intentions. So I ran away and managed to lose him. Afterwards, I brought this... thing here, but nothing has happened since then." Says Sunlight with a relaxed voice as she looks at the object.

Sunset now thinks of the object, was this what Jerome meant with "...the beacon" he placed when he was at the Starswirl Festival? Anyway, that's irrelevant now, there are other things to attend to. "So... that's why we didn't meet, shall... we leave now? I don't know if you have other business to attend to." Says Sunset with a friendy voice, she tries to change the topic suddenly, but Sunlight agrees and says. "Right! We better head out now, luckily, they're not far from here, so we can walk there." Replies Sunlight as she picks her apartment's keys and heads to the door, Sunset follows her and now both are walking down the street on a peaceful evening, this situation was something Sunset wasn't expecting at all, she's with Sunlight... who tried to kill her weeks ago and now they're hanging out like they're good friends. Sunset takes this moment to think in everything that has happened until now, it wasn't long ago when they learn of the existence of the Multiverse and now she and her friends are fighting to protect not only Equestria, but also her world, Sunset contemplates as how the last sun rays shine through the city, engulfing everything in their golden glow. But now there's another issue to address, her future... and her friends' future too... "What have I been doing? I have to check for College options." Thought Sunset with a concerned face, Sunlight notices and asks.

"I know that face Sunset, it's the same I do when I'm stressed about something... Mind to tell me what's troubling you?" Asks Sunlight with a warmth voice, Sunset can't feel but comfy by her words, Sunset looks at Sunlight, who seems happy and confident... Sunset feels like Sunlight is the only person that might actually understand her feelings, since they are likely to express themselves the same ways... Sunset then sighs and takes courage to say.

"I've had many things going one in my life and I totally forgot about my future, this is my last High School year and I need to look for options of Colleges to apply to... but, I don't know if I... actually want... to keep studying." Says Sunset as she looks down, Sunlight notices she's worried and also confused, she sighs with a smile and replies with a friendly voice.

"Listen Sunset, I've learned a thing or two about following your passion... You have to realize of what truly motivates you to keep moving on... afterwards, you have to look for the best option that gives you the tools to achieve that goal." Sunset then looks at Sunlight and asks. "But what if what I want separates me from my friends?" Sunlight now understands, it's not uncertainty what worries Sunset, it's the fact that she might be away from her friends. "So THAT'S the matter, isn't it?" Asks Sunlight with a smile, Sunset seems reflective about it, Sunlight then makes a pause to think and then continues. "It's fine if you want to be close to your friends, but doesn't mean it'll be the end of the world... College is just one more phase of your life, that's it... plus, if my eyes don't deceive me which they never do, it's clear as water that you and your friends have a unique bond, one that may persist no matter what situatiuon life brings you on, equestrian magic, evil beings, a multiversal crisis... I'm sure you 7 can handle that and more if you're together."

"Thanks... it's kinda weird hearing myself telling me something I never thought." Replies Sunset with a smile, she seems a bit better from before. "Then you better listen... I could give you some advice, but I lack experience on that field, maybe you should ask someone else about it..." Replies Sunlight with a calm voice, Sunset now begins to wonder whom to ask, the first person to come across her mind is Principal Celestia, Sunset doesn't doubt and takes out her phone, but before she can text her, Sunlight says. "You can save that for now... since we have arrived." They're now at a the front door of a night club, which coincidentally, fits with the time they're in now, as the sun already fell and the moon is now rising.

When they go inside, the mood it's soft and calm as the music plays lo fi beats, Sunset follows SUnlight, who seems to know the place like the palm of her hand. They now head to the dressing rooms and Sunlight knocks a door and as they wait a bit, Sunset was then gonna ask Sunlight if this was the right place, but before she can grab her by the shoulder, she can hear female voices inside. "Did someone asked for something?" Asked one of the voices, then a reply can be heard. "Only Sonata can be hungry despite eating 30 minutes ago." Sunset recognizes that name, as soon as she wants to stop Sunlight from going in, she says. "Damn girls, I can't leave ya' for a few days without you having an argue about everything." The voices ceased and then the door opens.

"Is that who I think it is? Moony!! It's been like years since the last time we saw you!" Said Sonata with a cheer expression as she jumps adn hugs Sunlight tightly. "Hey taco girl, how you've been managing without me?" Replies Sunlight with a smile, Sunset seems a bit happy ofor Sunlight, but she can't think of other thing that her nickname, Moony, probably it's related to Sunlight's fake identity.

"Look who finally shows up, how you've been? You look... different" Replies Aria with a smile, despite her serious expression, she seems happy to see Sunlight again. "Hahaha, it's a long and messy story... but I'm finally able to pay you a visit... I was getting bored without bothering you." Replies Sunlight as she nows hugs Aria, finally Adagio comes out and says.

"Moonrise Glow! I was beginning to wonder when we'd see you again." Says Adagio as she closes the door and hugs her friends. "Adagio worrying about me? I'm flattered. But you know I wouldn't leave you without advice, plus... I couldn't stand any other day without seeing your eyes." Says Sunlight with a smirk, she then laughs and so does the Dazzlings, Adagio then looks at Sunset and says. "And WHAT is SHE doing here?"

"She's with me... we're friends and.... wait, you know her?" Asks Sunlight who's now confused, she never thought this would happen. "Oh... we know her very well." Replies Adagio with a serious expression. "She's part of the reason we're trapped in this world." Replies Sonata with a friendly smile, but Sunlight is now more confused than ever. "Long time no see... Dazzlings." Says Sunset with a serious expression, it's now obvious none of them hang along pretty well, fortunately, Sunlight's here to lighten the mood. "Can someone explain me what exactly it's this all about?" Asks an extremely confused Sunlight, then Adagio sighs and replies. "Let's go inside, there are... many things that we need to clear... don't you think... Sunset Shimmer?" Asks Adagi inviting them inside their dressing room, despite the polite inviation, Adagio seems to do this reluctantly, but maybe this can make things up with The Dazzlings once and for all, but Adagio's right, there are many things they need to clarify.

END OF CHPATER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone!! I know this chapter took a lot to be finished, but finally I'm done writing it, I know it's a bit short, but I think it has a good length, I hope all of you like it. I'm currently busy with my academic responsibilities, so probably the next chapter will take a bit longer to come out, but I'll do my best to deliver it to you as early as possible. See ya next time!!

-DReep

Chapter 17: New Steps

Sunlight and Sunset take a seat in The Dazzling's dressing room, Aria and Sonata come in too, and Adagio closes the door behind them. "Ok, now... who's gonna start explaining this whole thing? How does Sunset know you three? and what do you mean by trapped in this world?" Asks Sunlight, who's extremely confused about this matter. Adagio heaves a sigh and says. "Do you want me to tell you the long version story or a summary?" Asks Adagio with a serious face, she's quite more friendly than... ever towards Sunset. Sonata then heads to a mini fridge they have and throws a soda to Sunlight, then Sonata asks with a friendly voice. "Sunset.... do you want water? Or maybe a soda or..." maybe it's the fact that Sunlight's here that their behavior is so friendly towards Sunset. "Uhm... water's fine, thanks." Says Sunset, Sonata then hands her a water bottle, and then she walks to a couch and lays down next to Aria as she drinks her soda.

"I prefer the whole version, since you have a lot to explain, Adagio." Says Sunlight as she gets comfy in her chair, Adagio then takes another char and seats in front of Sunlight and Sunset, she then sighs and begins to say. "The truth is... WE are magical beings known as Sirens from Equestria, our motivation to live was to become more powerful by feeding from the negative emotions and discord we created among the ponies with our singing. But one day... a wretched unicorn known as Star Swirl The Bearded cast a spell that banished us to this world. Where we lost our power, and we had to regain our strength with the negative emotions of the people of this world, which was only a tiny bit compared to the magic we could gather back in Equestria. But one night we saw an ace of light coming from Canterlot High, and we knew right away it was Equestrian magic..." Said Adagio with a calmed voice, but Sunset then interrupts her with calmed expression.

"Equestria is the world I was born in and where I grew up, but then I had some misunderstandings with my teacher and I used a magical mirror that brought me right to this world... and then I began to mess things up." Sunset's expression changes and now seems more serious, but Adagio then says. "Oh! Should I stop and let you tell the whole story, or are you going to shut up?" Said Adagio with an angry expression, she can't hide her hatred towards Sunset... but Sunlight then interrupts. "Whoa! Let's calm down, shall we...? It was only an observation from her behalf, nothing too big to be so mad 'Dagio." Sunlight then looks at Sunset as she's scolding her with her gaze, Sunset only shrugs and drinks her water, letting Adagio continue.

"Ehem... As I was saying, when we arrived at Canterlot High, we pretended to be new students, actually... it was Sunset Shimmer the one who showed us the school, and let's just say that back then... she was pretty bullyable if you ask me."

"Only because I was trying to move forward from my past... also I was trying to be nice to you." Replies Sunset with a grumpy face, interrupting Adagio again, who sighs and continues. "Yeah... whatever, the thing is... we arrived at the exact same moment they were having a musical concert for charity I think... but thanks to the fact that we used our power and influence upon most of Canterlot High, we managed to create the perfect event to regain our power... The Battle of The Bands. We would've succeeded at it if it weren't to Sunset Shimmer and her friends, who used their combined magic to destroy our necklaces and leave us powerless in this filthy world for eternity!" Said Adagio with anger as she looks at Sunset, who seems to be indifferent of Adagio's feelings, since she and her friends did what they had to do to break their spell on Canterlot High and stop them from becoming more powerful than before.

"Don't you think you're overreacting, 'Dagio?" Asks Sunlight with a calmed voice as she tries to calm down Adagio, but Sonata then interrupts by saying. "Well, she kinda is... if we weren't stuck in this world... I would've never tasted a taco and that's something I can't imagine now."

"You're a glutton for food, Sonata, the only thing you care about is FOOD! Why don't you grow up?" Says Aria with a mocking voice as she looks at Sonata, who replies in outrage. "Hey! That ain't true and you know it! Maybe if you tried to live a single day without your grumpy face, you'd appreciate more this world." Says Sonata, who nows mocks of Aria as she gets clloser to her with a smirk, but Aria pushes her way gently with her hand and says. "Ugh! Whatever."

Adagio only slaps her face and says. "And on top of that, I'm stuck here with these two... can you even imagine any worse kind of torture, Moonlight? or should I call you by your real name... Sunset Shimmer?" Said Adagio with a serious voice, the whole place got silent all out of sudden, Sunlight widens her eyes as also does Sunset, Aria and Sonata stopped arguing and looked at Sunlight, who seems nervous and also surprised of what Adagio said, "How does she know? I've never told them about whom I truly was..." thought Sunlight, but thankfully... Sonata broke the silence. "Oh! Right! When were you gonna tell us about it, Moony?"

"Uhm... erm... tell you... what exactly?" Asks Sunlight as she smiles nervously, but Aria then replies. "The thing about YOU being Sunset Shimmer's counterpart?" Sunlight then tries to evade the question by lying.

"Girls, I don't know what you're talking about..." Sunlight's then interrupted by Adagio who says with a calmed voice. "Oh c'mon! We shared our secret with you because we're friends, and you deserve to know it, don't you think it's time you tell us about your true identity?"

"How did you even learn about that?" Asks Sunlight confused, if she's going to tell them, she has to know how exactly they knew about this matter. "Remember that time we went to the bar you were working? We sit and share a few drinks with you but after a few drinks, you were already drunk."

"Wait... really? But... how is that related to this?" Asks Sunlight, who's now more confused, and ashamed, since she doesn't remember that night. "We began to chat, but it was only a matter of time before you began to tell us your story... in fact, if I remember right, you said... If I ever see that wretched Sunset Shimmer again, I'll beat the living shit out of her for taking away my life."

Sunlight then shrugs even more due to the shame, she only remembers sharing a few drinks with them, but her mind blacked out after that. "It was surprising at first, we never thought that there would be such things as counterparts, but after we knew that Star Swirl existed in this world, it was more than obvious that this world and Equestria are two sides of the same coin, they're similar in some ways... but also different." Replies Aria, who's now much more calmed, in fact, not even Sunlight or Sunset have seen her this calmed before.

"So when you told us that Sunset Shimmer took your identity, it could only mean that you're also Sunset Shimmer... but ironically..." Adagio said as she now looks at Sunlight and with a smile says. "Thanks to a Sunset Shimmer, we're stuck in here... but thanks to other Sunset Shimmer, we kinda like being here."

"Awww... it's that true?" Said Sunlight with a moved voice, since it's the first time someone tells her such words. "Realsies, Moony! You're like... the ONLY person in this world we actually like to hang out with." Says Sonata with a cheered voice as she leans forward with excitement. "For the first time, Sonata's right... we don't like people from this world, at all... but you Moonrise... you're the only exception." Replied Aria with a slight smile as she crosses her arms and looks at Sunlight.

"Awww! C'mere you three!" Said Sunlight as she stands up, followed then by The Dazzlings, whom now hug Sunlight with affection, Sunset can't help herself but to smile... as she feels relieved that Sunlight isn't alone at all, as they stopped hugging. "You're the best friends I've ever had!" Said Sunlight with a soulful voice, they cut the hug and Sunlight grabs Adagio's hands and asks with a smile. "Do you think you can give her a chance... I'm sure you might get along well." Says Sunlight, referring to Sunset, Adagio sighs, but she looks at Sunlight's face... the only person that treated them as common folk instead of adulating them, helped her get along better with Aria and Sonata, spent the night with them and shared her stories with them, kept them company when they were having bad times adapting, and also taught them how to sing properly... Sunlight's the only person that made her feel truly... loved, Adagio smiles as she shakes her head and says. "Fine! We can give her a chance, but we're not going to forgive her, is that clear, Sunset?"

"I can give her a chance, but please tell me you beat her up when you two first met. I was craving for that moment." Says Aria with a smirk as she looks at Sunlight, whom hesitates in answering Aria but she finally replies, a bit of shame can be heard in her voice. "Well... let's just say... yeah... we had a fight and she lost the fight, but I don't feel proud for doing it... actually, I feel a bit bad every time I remember that moment." Says Sunlight as she remembers her fight with Sunset at the forest, it was a moment where Sunlight truly hated Sunset, and she almost killed her, if it weren't for Master Chief and Galen who arrived on time to save Sunset.

"Maybe you don't feel good about it, but that's enough for me... I think we can finally say now we're all even, Sunset." Replies Aria with a mocking voice. "As long as we all can have fun, I don't care if it's Sunset Shimmer or anyone else." Replies Sonata with a cheerful voice, Sunlight then looks at Sunset and asks with a smile. "So... they all agreed to give you chance, what about you?"

"Fine by me, I'd feel much better if we can close this old wound and move on, if you still hate me later, I won't judge you, but you'd feel much better if you have a few more friends, don't you think?" Says Sunset as she stands up and walks forward, standing in front of Adagio, they give each other an unfriendly face, but Sunlight then uses her arms to pull both of them towards her and with a smile and excitement, she says. "Great! This is gonna be awesome!! We definitely have to do something, the five of us together or maybe Sunset can call her friends and then we can all go party together, waddya think?"

"Well... first, let me give you the money we owe you." Adagio then takes off Sunlight's arm and heads to a metal box in a locker, she then takes a small wad of dollars and hands them to Sunlight, who takes them and keeps them in her pocket. "So, how are we going to have fun tonight?" Asks an excited Sonata, who's now hopping from excitement, Aria places her hand on Sonata's shoulder and calms her down, Sunlight then thinks for a bit and says. "I think I have something in mind... maybe we can go to a karaoke or... do you know of any night other nightclub you'd like to go party?" Asks Sunlight, but then her watch starts ringing, it's Kylo Ren... Sunlight widens her eyes and steps back a bit, so that Kylo doesn't see anyone else but her, she takes the call and a hologram of Kylo Ren appears on her watch.

"Sunlight... you've gone for almost three days by now, have you completed the mission I assigned you?" Asks Kylo with a serious voice, but his expression is much more serious than anything Sunlight's ever seen, but she hides her surprise and says. "Yeah... your little experiment at that Halo made some of those creatures take one of our portal machines and begin to mess throughout the multiverse, and they ended up causing an outbreak in MY world. *sigh* But you can rest assured that I've dealt with it, but I had to ally with YOUR enemies to make that possible."

"I see... I appreciate that you've dealt with it swiftly, and what about the other issue you mentioned me?" Asks Kylo as he looks at Sunlight, who replies with a serious voice "Well... I'm almost done with it, but it'll take me until tomorrow to finish it completely, do you need me for anything?" Asks Sunlight expecting the worst, if Kylo teleports her now, he'll find out she's doing something behind his back.

"Yes... but I can wait for you to complete your task... there's a major plan going on and you're going to be an important part of it. Right now, we're on a planet named Exegol, according to Darth Vader, there's something useful for us deep in this planet." Kylo's expression suddenly changes and now shows confussion, he then turns around and looks at the girls, he can't see them, but his gaze is upon them directly, Sunset and The Dazzlings feel an extreme pressure sorrounding them, "(Those eyes... they give me nothing but chills... how can someone have such an evil presence?!)" Thought Adagio as she looks at Kylo directly, but they can't stand this pressure any longer, but Sunlight then deviates Kylo's attention. "Hey! What's gotten into you? Everything fine?" Kylo then looks down and replies. "I... sensed... fear... are you alone?" Asks Kylo with a deep voice, as he's now suspecting of the situation, luckily, Sunlight managed to remained calmed as she replies. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm all alone here, do you think there might be someone watching?"

"Probably... but I'm not sure, it's a dim feeling... but all I can suggest you is to stay sharp, we don't want any surprises and don't wait too long to contact me." Replied Kylo with a serious voice as he now looks at Sunlight, but he now ended the transmission, Sunlight heaved a sigh of relief and says. "That was close, now... back to the..." Sunlight raises her sight and sees everyone's shocked expression, she can't help but to ask. "What? Is there anything wrong?" Adagio then said with a concerned voice. "How do you know that person, Moon?"

"Yeah, he's like... super scary." Replies Sonata as she comes out from behind Adagio, as she was hiding behind her. Sunlight then tries to make the story as short as possible, she sighs and then says. "Well... *sigh* it's a long story, but he comes from another universe, and he used my sorrow to convince me of joining his cause and made me look for magic, and I found a cave with crystals, some weird creepy stuff happened when I took a fragment of the biggest crystal and now I have a necklace like Sunset's, but mine is much more.... violent... if you want to call it that way." Said Sunlight as she recalls the events, as trying to be as brief as possible, but Adagio's concerned face doesn't fade away.

"Uhmm... does... anything else concern you?" Asks Sunlight as she shrugs as it seems she hasn't relieved Adagio's worries.

(Credits to rileyav, author of this drawing.)
"Moon, it only took me one glance at him to notice that he is... pure evil... and now you say he comes from another universe? If you ask me, nothing good can happen if you keep close to him." Said Adagio as she has a worried look in her face, Sunlight sighs and replies with concern. "I know, I know, it's just... I made really bad choices in the past, but now I'm a double agent in his army without him noticing, so I need to keep an eye on him... but I'll step out of it before the situation gets worse." Sunset then grabs Sunlight shoulder gently and says. "If he's planning something big, we have to tell Chief before something bad happens."

"Chief? Since when do you have a new boss?" Asks Sonata with confusion, Sunlight then replies with a calmed voice. "It's... complicated, but... he's a good friend of mine that comes from another universe, he's a super soldier in the army with the rank of Master Chief, but we call him Chief as a nickname or a friendly way to address him. But Sunset's right... *sigh* I think we'll have to postpone our little party for later, as we have to leave now." Says Sunlight, as she says goodbye to her friends with a hug to each of them. "Please... be careful out there... it'll be a pity if that beautiful face of yours gets hurt." Says Adagio as she gently holds the side of Sunlight's face gently, Sunlight chuckles with a confident smile, she then grabs Adagio's hand softly and replies with a warmth voice. "Heh... I will... but please... it's only my face what you find beautiful?" Says Sunlight with a smirk, Adagio only smiles back and replies. "Hehehe... you haven't given me enough options to make a final choice, don't you think?"

"Well, I can give you whole bunch of options if you wish, but you'll have to wait for the next time we see each other." Says Sunlight as she friendly touches Adagio's nose with her index finger, after that, Sunlight and Sunset say goodbye to everyone and leave the nightclub, once out, they realize night is already upon them, Sunlight then decides to take Sunset to her place, since it's the one most far away, the walk felt short since they had a lot of chit chatting on their way.

Now at Sunset's place, Sunlight takes a seat on the couch as Sunset wears on her pajamas and sits next to Sunlight, both sharing a glass of water, Sunset then asks with a smile on her face. "So... back there, do you wanna tell me what's going on between you and Adagio? I've never thought that she'd be able to show those kind of emotions." Sunlight chuckles and replies. "She was different when we first met, more mean... manipulative and all that stuff... but as they kept hiring me, we hung out much more often... with time, I taught them not only how to sing, but also how to get along with the people because trust me... back then, they weren't able to order a simple hamburger in a fast food establishment... they also began to treat me different, we went from a professional relationship, to a friendship, I was now like one of them, and they changed, their behavior is much more friendly and they've let go most of their bad habits, like harassing people, manipulation and they have no longer that degree of sadism they had, I mean, yeah they still have along way to go, but they're progressing." Says Sunlight with a reflective voice as she begans to remember all those past memories as Sunset looks at her with a smile.

"And what about what happened back there tonight?" Asks Sunset intrigued by the interaction Sunlight and Adagio had hours ago. "Oh! We often tease each other like that, but..." Sunlight said as her expression changes drastically, from calmed and relaxed to one of concern, Sunset feels like she messed things up and tries to fix things by saying.

"Hey, if you don't feel good talking about it, we can..." She's then interrupted by Sunlight who says with a reflective voice. "No no no... it's not that, it's just... that this time and in previous occassions... it was... different, I mean... there's always a comical intention behind, but... not lately, they've felt... true."

"Do you never show concern about each other?" Asks Sunset confused, Sunlight then sighs and replies with a reflective voice. "I mean, yeah... but, the words she used... she... uses them hardly ever... and..." Sunlight then holds her chest and continues. "If... her feelings towards me... are what I think they are... I don't think I deserve to be loved by someone, yet."

"Don't you dare say that!" Says Sunset with determination, startling Sunlight all out of sudden, who now puts her glass of water on the ground next to her. "You've gone through a lot Sunlight, what makes you think you're unworthy of such a things as love after all that has happened to you?" Asks Sunset with confusion since she can't understand why Sunlight says those words.

"Sunset... be realistic, how can I enjoy of such a blessing after all I've done? I've killed people, their blood is on my hands, I hurted you... the first person who wanted to help me, I still remember our fight at the forest... how you were shedding tears as I was punching you senselessly, I almost killed you, Sunset! That guilt will never be taken away from me... and all thanks to that... wretched necklace, if only I were wiser before accepting to help Kylo Ren and his crazy ideals." Sunlight then bows her head low as a sign of regret, Sunset then gives her a tip with a more friendly voice, maybe that'll help Sunlight.

"Hey! I may know a thing or two about dealing with your past, and I know that you and I had different experiences throughout our lifes, but I managed to realize that... thinking constantly on how you screwed up and all you've done won't bring you nothing but sleeplessness, and trust me... I hate when that happens..." Says Sunset trying to comfort Sunlight, but she only managed to make Sunlight raise her head and look at Sunset as she asks. "And what should I do? Everyone whom I try to help judges me by my past actions, but I mean... I can't blame them, can't I?"

Sunset then surrounds Sunlight with her arm and says with a compassionate voice. "Well, can't say you're wrong there, but let's be honest... not everyone blames you, Chief and I believe that you can change for better, so does Flash, and now Rainbow Dash does too... yeah, you've hurt my friends but it wasn't you the one who wanted to do it, it's not all your fault, but that's just how people work, only a very few people can see and judge someone by that person's potential to become someone else for good, instead of judging them by what they've done. Plus... there are special people that are there to support us... if you know whom I mean." Says Sunset with a reflective but friendly voice, Sunlight now seems to be better, she smiles and replies. "Y'know? This is quite weird, I mean... I feel like I'm hearing a younger version of me telling me how should I move on from my past."

"Heh... then you shouldn't understimate anyone by their age, don't you think?" Says Sunset with smile, it appears her words finally managed to calm Sunlight, at least for now. "But anyway... how can I be certain that Adagio actually... y'know... feels something for me? I mean... why am I even thinking, probably it's just her way to show her friendship... but everytime she looks at me with those eyes, her bad jokes that ironically make me laugh, the times we've sung together, it's like our hearts are connected, and I admit it, I have feelings for her but... I don't know if what I'm feeling is also what she's feeling, *sigh* aw man! Why is love so complicated?" Says Sunlight as she now lies on the couch and closes her eyes, Sunset smiles and replies with a friendly voice. "It's always a mess when you try to understand people's feelings without asking, sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it isn't, the truth is, we may never know... it's just... a leap of faith, if you want to see it that way."

"A leap of faith, huh? Guess I have to leave the First Order in order of making that jump, don't you think?" Replies Sunlight with a smile, she then stands up and says. "It's getting real late, I've been here for hours keeping you awake when you should get some sleep." Sunset then also stands up and after thinking for a bit as she sees Sunlight heading towards the door, she says. "Hey! You can spend the night here... if you want, obviously... I mean, you said it's getting late and your place is a bit far from here and I wouldn't want you walking alone in the streets at this hour."

Sunlight looks at Sunset and seems a bit reflective for a while, she looks down and after a few more seconds, she raises her head and replies as she looks at Sunset. "Well, you do have a point, plus... I rather be here with someone than in my apartment all alone." Says Sunlight with a friendly smile, she chooses to sleep in the couch despite Sunset's suggestion of making an improvised bed out of many blankets, the lights are off and both seem to be having a bit of sleep, but Sunlight now seems concerned about something else, something that can't let her sleep, she opens her eyes only to look at the ceiliing without a purpose, contemplating the emptyness of it, Sunlight then tries different positions in order to regain sleep, but her efforts seem to be unfruitful, she then removes the hair on her face and looks at the ceiliing again, noticing she's right where she started, she turns around and now looks through the window, contemplating the beauty of the moon showering the whole city with its light, Sunlight can't think of anything else to do, but she sighs before trying one last thing.

"Hey Sunset, are you... awake?" Asks Sunlight, despite the low volume of her voice, the apartment is big enough to make it sound like she's talking with a normal volume. Sunlight waits a few seconds and got no answer, she then hears a whisper coming from somewhere, Sunlight stands up worried, and asks. "Who's there? Sunset?!" Asks Sunlight with a more elevated voice, almost shouting, but she has no answer... she then walks upstairs to check on Sunset and sees no one on her bed. "What?!" Asks Sunlight confused and concerned, what the hell is going on? thought Sunlight, she's then wrapped by a dark whip and pulled downwards, crashing against the locker behind the couch, Sunlight falls to the ground and tries to catch her breath, as soon as she hears a voice.

"They won't trust you! They'll wait for the first mistake you make to turn their back on you!" Sunlight raises her sight and sees Kylo Ren standing in front of her, but he seems different, his eyes have the same signs of corruption she showed when overusing her necklace's magic. "Wha... Kylo?!" Says Sunlight as she stands up and steps back confused and afraid of Kylo, who ignites his lightsaber and says.

"You have to come with me, Sunlight! I am the only one who can help you become something more, instead of chasing this delusion of a better life!" Says Kylo with a deep and angered voice as he points his lightsaber towards Sunlight and walks slowly towards her, Sunlight then walks backwards and says. "You're wrong! I know I can have a new life, I have new friends!! You won't take that away from me!" Said with anger as she feels something heating up in her hand, she looks and sees her necklace glowing violently. "You'll serve me, as you watch all your friends DIE BY MY HAND!!!" Kylo said as he raised his lightsaber in the air. "NOOO!!!" Yelled Sunlight as she embrace her dark magic, letting it flow throughout her body and creates a dark blade, clashing with Kylo's lightsaber.

"No matter what you try, everything will bring you back to ME!!!" Said Kylo as he swung away his lightsaber and pushed Sunlight with the Force, crashing with Sunset's desk, destroying her computer and shelve her had in there, bringing down all the books and bringing down her fridge and microwave. "I'll never bow before you, NEVER!" Sunlight as she stands up and then charges and swings her blade, but Kylo dodges easily and pushes Sunlight await with his hand, making her slash the column beside her, then... the whole upper part begins to crumble along with the stairs, Sunlight dodges it by rolling away, and she began to clash blades with Kylo, slashing the couch, TV, even the wardrobe, Sunlight can't get it, how is Kylo here? Why he looks different? Where's Sunset? Those are questions tormenting Sunlight right now as she tries to defeat this dark illusion of Kylo Ren, who now lands a dark punch in Sunlight's stomach, knocking her away and crashing through the bathroom's door, destroying it along with the bathtube and cracking the wall behind her, "(I won't defeat him by fighting in his terms, I'll have to fight up, close and personal...)" Thinks Sunlight as she stands while catching her breath, she sees herself in the mirror of the bathroom, scratches on her face and cloth, as blood running down from her forehead and her left eye seems consumed by dark magic, turning pitch black and glowing with the purple magic of her necklace, as the signs of corruption appear, but that's meaningless now, she then eliminates her dark blade and creates her dark bracers and shinguards, as she sees Kylo's crimson blade approaching from the smoke, she jumps forward at a high speed, clashing her fists with Kylo's blade, although for some reason, she feels her right arm slower, as if something is pulling her, Sunlight then quickly hits the air behind her with her elbow, which seemed to help since she doesn't feel her arm slower.

Sunlight feels how her blood begins to boil and an unstoppable rage fills her body, she then managed to kick Kylo into a wall, stunning him, and with her hand, she pierced through his chest and the wall behind him, but insted of seeing any blood, she sees... nothing, and Kylo begins to laugh diabolically, confusing Sunlight even more. "What are you?!!" Asks Sunlight with rage as Kylo keeps laughing madly, Sunlight looks away for a bit and when she looks at Kylo again, there's no one there, then takes she her hand off the wall and begins to think of what just happened. "SUNLIGHT!!!" She hears behind her, quickly she draws out a dark blade and points it behind her as she turns around, but... it's... Sunset, who steps back in order to avoid the dark blade's tip, she seems hurt, not with severe wounds but many scratches around her body and a bruise on her face.

"What? Where have you been?! Did you see Kylo?!!" Asked Sunlight with despair and confusion. "KYLO?!! What do you mean?!! How did you get so injured?!! " Says Sunset as she takes away Sunlight's blade and grabs her by the shoulders, Sunlight then sees around and realizes the chaos she's done, all the destruction that happened in her battle was... real, she destroyed Sunset's place, the dark mark in her eye begins to fade away, as Sunlight realizes she's wearing her necklace, which she left at her home.

"I-I-I'm not sure... I heard some whispers and I called your name! But I had no response..." Sunlight then collapses and falls slowly on her knees as she leans her back on the wall behind her as Sunset grabs her to not let her fall abruptly. "... I went upstairs to check on you... but you weren't on your bed, then Kylo Ren pulled my with a dark whip, he began to say that he'd kill all of you and that I'll become his servant... we begun to fight and... caused all this mess... where were you?" Asks Sunset with confusion as her cracking voice reveals that she was afraid of what might have happened to Sunset.

"Sunlight... there was no Kylo Ren... I woke up the moment you shouted my name, and I saw you right in front of my bed, your eyes were... glowing with dark magic, as I saw you had your necklace again, then you thrusted yourself towards my locker, then... you began to shout as if Kylo was there... I called your name many times but you didn't hear me, and when I was about to go and grab my necklace, you said that you'd never bow before him and then my bed fell and I crashed my face against the ground as all my stuff fell on me... I managed to get out and I saw you thrusting yourself to the bathroom, destroying everything!! I called your name again but then you jumped out and began to punch nothing and I was trying to help you but you hit me with your elbow and you only stopped when you pierced the wall with your hand." Said Sunset as she tries to calm Sunlight, who seems to have fallen victim of panic and holds Sunset's hand tightly, in a sign of seeking for help, as she tries to understand what exactly just happened.

"Sunset... I'm sorry... I know you might not believe me... but I swear, I saw Kylo Ren, and he was attacking me... I swear it was real... but lately I can't tell what's real and what's not... I hear voices... they try to take control of my body... I've only lost a fight against them... and the result was what you saw in that recording Chief showed use... when you told me the necklace might consume me... I took it away so that the voices stop for a day... and they did, but now... my necklace appeared back in my hand..." Says Sunlight as she grabs her necklace with hate, she then closes her eyes as tears run down, and says with a sobbing voice. "...I think it's haunting me... I-I just don't want to lose any of you... I don't want to go back to being full of anger, hatred and sorrow... I don't know what's happening to me, Sunset... I don't know if I can handle this." Sunlight then finally lets go of her tears and Sunset hugs her with a concerned expression, not even she knows what's going on. "You don't have to do it all alone, we can help you... I can help you."

Sunset now feels much more concerned about Sunlight, this is not normal, it's because of her necklace that this has been happening to her, but they'll have to do something about this before it's too late.

Now at the Eclipse, Kylo Ren is sitting in a mediation chamber, his necklace glows and surrounds him and the chamber with red dark magic, which also changed his necklace's color.

Kylo's dark red aura caused by his necklace fades away as now the door in front of him opens and Vader comes in and asks with a serious voice.

"Did it work?" Asks Vader as he now stands in front of Kylo, who stands up and replies with a calmed voice. "Yes... she might hate me, but we can't afford loosing her at the hands of The Resistance... to be honest, when I tried to control her only with the Dark Side of the Force, she managed to fight against it, but with the dark magic of these necklaces and the Dark Side, it's been a much easier task."

"And what if she finds out you're gaslighting her?" Asks Vader as he crosses his arms, questioning Kylo's plan. "She won't, she'd be too busy blaming her necklace, and when she realizes... I'll make her pay... she thinks that she'd be able to plot against me... but I'll show her no one crosses me... this little theatre she's built up will be her own demise." Replies Kylo with a more serious voice, as now both him an Vader walked through the halls of The Eclipse.

"So, you're planning to use everything she's done against her?" Asks Vader with a more calmed voice, he seems a bit surprised of Kylo's plan. "Partially, yes... after all, I needed countermeasures to assure her staying on our side, but... all the pieces are now set in motion, so we'll only need to do a few moves to declare our victory." Replies Kylo with a calmed voice, Vader and Kylo arrived at the bridge and Vader asks. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Not much, it's only a matter of time before the security video of Sunlight going berserk we sent through the Resistance's emergency channel gets to the ears of the right people, after all, this is war... and they won't let such an evil being like Sunlight be amongst them... their fear will be their doom." Replies Kylo with a serious voice as he and Vader watch their new fleet, now armed with the technology to travel around the Multiverse, Vader watches with a serious expression as Kylo can't help but to smile with pleasure as his plans are now finally working.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everyone! Finally, another chapter done and released. I know it took me a lot of time to release it, but I had other things going on in my life. I really hope you liked this chapter as much as I loved writing it, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new chapter, and as always, thanks to all of you who keep reading my story, I appreciate every single one of you, see y'all next time.

-DReep.

Chapter 18: Conflicts

Author's Note

Hi everyone! I know this chapter really took a while to come out, but I had to make many corrections to the story, as it happen more than once that the story was taking a path I didn't like at all, but I think the final version will be well received by you as I loved writing it, please let me know your thought on this new chapter, hope you like it, and see ya next time.

PD: Thanks to everyone for following the story, it's thanks to you that I keep writing it in first place, and I wouldn't be able to thank you enough for your support.

-DReep

Chapter 18: Conflicts

After the previous events, Sunlight gave Sunset a part of her saving to fix the damage she did to her apartment, despite Sunset refused to receive the money, Sunlight insisted and compromised to pay for all the damages, no matter how much they'll cost. The day after, Sunset finally decided to give Principal Celestia a call to ask for guidance to check options of university, Principal Celestia said that she'll send Sunset a list of the best universities she can attend to according to her current academic performance, which is great. Sunset now left for school with a face that shows that she didn't sleep much, as Sunlight went to a Hardware store and bought many things with her remaining savings in order to fix all the mess she made in Sunset's place.

Meanwhile, Chief was training in the lab at his house, he was doing some bench press as his phone suddenly rings. He then puts the bar back in the rack, and he takes his phone and sees who's calling him, it's Sunlight, Chief answers quickly and says. "Sunlight! It's everything fine?" Asked Chief as he cleans his face with a towel and heads to a control panel on the wall that says Gravity Augment: 1.34 G and turns it off, feeling relieved and finally able to stretch comfortably.

"Hey John! Yeah, I'm... f-good, I wanted to see if I can talk with you." Says Sunlight on the other side of the phone, Chief then sits on the bench and says. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well... you'll see... I have a little problem, and I'd rather talk to you in person, but maybe I'll need more than yours... your friend... the Jedi... can you call him and tell him to meet with us?" Says Sunlight with a shy voice, she doesn't to be very fond to talk about this, but Chief replies with confident voice. "Galen? Sure, where's the meeting gonna be?" Asks Chief as he puts on a t-shirt and exits the training room.

"Yeah... about that... I'm quite busy at Sunset's place while she's gone... so, if you can meet me here, I'll greatly appreciate it." Replies Sunlight, the sound of many things moving in the background can be heard, it's like... she's fixing many things. "What's all that noise?" Asks Chief confused of everything he's hearing. "Told ya' I am busy right now... I can explain you once you arrive here!" Says Sunset aloud, her phone seems to be far from her, now a hammering noise can be heard in the background. Chief only sighs and ends the call, he then takes his jacket and calls Galen, who's unavailable since he's on another mission regarding a recent discovery that may help them to fight the Final Order, which is yet unknown to them, in his behalf, Rey went with Chief.

"So, here's the place?" Asks Rey with curiosity, Chief seems annoyed about something, he then looks at Rey and replies. "*Sighs* It's where the coordinates say, but we would've arrived sooner if you hadn't stopped to make a public magic show with your lightsaber, I had to come up with something convincing to make them believe the lightsaber it's a magic trick made out of a blue flashlight and translucent tape."

"Aw c'mon! They were kids! How can you resist seeing their happy faces?" Asks Rey with a smile, she seems to enjoy spreading happiness around children. "It's not that! The fact that you do such a thing without measuring yourself, it might make people become suspicious of what's truly going on." Replies Chief with a serious voice, he doesn't like the fact that they show themselves to the world in such a carefree way, the conversation ends and Chief knocks on the door, and they wait for a while and Sunlight opens the door and greets them. She looks a bit dirty from all the fixing she's been doing, but she seems optimistic and with a smile, she says. "Hey! You finally arrived guys... erhmm... excuse me but, I don't think we've met before." Says Sunlight as she looks at Rey with confusion, it's obvious that she's not Galen Marek, but someone else.

"Hi! My name's Rey... Rey Palpatine... pleasure to meet you!!" Says Rey as she waves with excitement and then shakes Sunlight's hand. "And I'm Eclipse Sunlight, pleasure to meet you, Rey. Do you guys want to come in?" Asks Sunlight politely, Chief and Rey agree and go inside Sunset's apartment, Sunlight closes the door behind them and Chief asks as he and Rey look around the mess. "What... happened here? It's like someone had a fierce battle all over the place."

"That was... me." Says Sunlight with an ashamed voice, John and Rey turn their backs only to see her sad expression, despite being surprised, Chief's most confused by this, after a brief pause, he asks. "What do you mean? How could you do such a chaos?" Rey only keeps her surprised expression as she tries to understand what's going on. "I was haunted by an illusion of Kylo Ren, he forced me to fight him and, although I ended up injured, there was no one else here, only Sunset and I." Says Sunlight as she heads to the bathroom and attaches new hinges along with a whole new door, the frame seems to be fixed by filling it with concrete, but the color doesn't match the apartment's wall. Chief sees how there were also broken stairs and a mess with books, a fallen bed and bookshelf, a broken PC, a shattered desk, slash marks on the couch and walls, a dented locker and a pierced wall.

"And... how are you sure it was an illusion?" Asks Rey as she inspects the slash marks, they're not made by a lightsaber, but there was something else. Rey stands up and closes her eyes, focusing on her surroundings, Sunlight then finishes placing the door and stands up as she replies. "Because there are no traces that Kylo Ren was here, plus... he seemed different, like if he was made out of dark magic, which is why Sunset and I think it was MY necklace the culprit, but we're not 100% sure about that."

Sunlight then sees her tools floating in front of her, along with many other stuff floating around the apartment, Chief makes a movement with his hand that orders Sunlight to be quiet, as Rey is focusing now, they stood still for a bit, waiting for Rey to do something else. Then, Rey now begins to see what happened here through the Force, which was something she learned from her current master, but unlike him, she has a much stronger connection with the part of The Force known as The Cosmic Force which bounds all things together in the universe, and surprisingly... in this world the Force feels much stronger than on any other world.

As Rey placed her hand on a slash mark on the wall, she began to feel what happened, indeed there was Sunlight, whose aura emitted anger, confusion, traces of hatred and sorrow, which are boosted by a dark source in her, it's probably the necklace she mentioned. But deep inside... there was a small but strong light of faith combined with determination. Rey also felt another presence, it wasn't like Sunlight's, it didn't even share the negative emotions from the necklace, thereby the option of an illusion made by the necklace is discarded. Rey focuses more in this other presence to find out who truly was, the first things she felt were, the cold, an immense anger and a deep hatred, they were also boosted by a dark source, similar to Sunlight, but there was one big difference, Rey kept digging in this presence and felt the pain of him, a broken heart and a lonely soul, corrupted by... The Dark Side, Rey has felt this before, but there's something different, it wasn't the person she once knew... in order to figure out what happened to him, Rey keeps going deeper in this presence.

Kylo is walking through the halls of The Eclipse, heading to his room, when he feels a disturbance that makes him stumble for a while, he managed to get into his room and when he finally seats on his bed, he says with a deep and serious voice. "Rey..." He couldn't believe it, Rey was standing right in front of him, as also Rey couldn't believe what was she seeing. "Ben...?" She asked with a sorrowed voice, as she can't accept the truth that the man she once knew and loved, known as Ben Solo, had completely fallen to the Dark Side. "What are you doing? I thought that you broke our connection when we parted ways." Says Kylo as he stands up, his expression remains the same, his yellow eyes seem to glow in the darkness of his room thanks to the dim lights in it. "I-I thought... that you..." Said Rey as she stutters to come up with the proper words, but Kylo interrupts her and says with a serious and menacing voice.

"What? That I wouldn't achieve what I was meant to? That I'll always remain as the crybaby you knew?" Kylo then turns around and heads to his locker, as he opens it and takes some of his gadgets as the communicator he and Sunlight have, but Rey then finally gathers courage and says.

"I thought that you would be ready to make the right choice once and for all... to leave this path, to realize the Dark Side will not bring you anything but sorrow and pain to you!" Said Rey with determination, but Kylo only sighs and turns back as he replies.

"The Dark Side is ALL I HAVE NOW!!! You left me! We could've been so much more together... you and I, but you refused to and picked your side! With the Resistance!" Rey then walks towards him as she replies with frustration. "Ben, you knew I couldn't be with you!! I sided with The Resistance to help you! You can still get out of this and come with me!"

"For what?!! Return to where?!! There's nothing for me in the Light, my mother's dead and I killed my father... the ONLY thing I can expect is death, but now... now I have embraced the darkness, the only thing that has shown me who I'm truly meant to be, and has given me the POWER to seize my fate!!" Says Kylo aloud, he seems angered and his expression shows it. "And what about me?! I tried to bring you back to the light because I love you!!" Says Rey as now tears run down from her face, Kylo looks at her with a serious expression and replies with anger. "And THAT'S THE PROBLEM!!! All this time I thought that being together we'll make us stronger, but now I realize... Ben Solo was the one having feelings for you, those feelings only restrained me from achieving my full potential... but now he's DEAD! And I've risen from his death, I'm the Sith Lord KYLO REN!!" Said Kylo as now his eyes begin to glow with dark magic and he walks towards Rey and stands in front of her with a hateful expression.

"And now you go around tormenting girls?" Asks Rey with determination, despite going a few steps back, she now stands forth. "What?" Asks Kylo with confussion, but his anger doesn't fades away. "Eclipse Sunlight... did you attack her through your necklace's magic?" Replies Rey with another question, she's not letting Kylo get away from this one. "Oh... Sunlight, no I didn't attack her, our crystals are connected because they come from the same source, but whatever she said to have happened to her, it's most probably to have been her necklace acting on its own... establishing a connection with mine... but that may only happen if... the necklace rejects her wishes, or at least that's what I think." Replies Kylo who's now more calmed, but anger can be noticed in his expression. "How can I believe you?" Asks Rey with a serious expression, although she wants to believe in him, that'd be too irresponsible. Kylo then looks at her and replies. "Why would I harm a vital part of my team... which now makes me think... how do YOU know about Eclipse Sunlight and WHY you know something happened to her?!" Kylo seems to have finally found the excuse he needed to set in motion his plan, Rey knows she screwed up and suddenly cuts the connection between them, leaving Kylo alone who only smiles and chuckles as he says. "Well done, Rey! Run, run like you always do! Next time we meet, it'll be as enemies!"

Rey now returns back to her physical body back in Sunset's apartment, it felt like her mind woke up suddenly and she fells backwards, but Chief catches her and asks. "Rey, what happened? You were in a trance." Rey then stands up and realizes she's shedding tears, but she wipes them off and replies. "I managed to contact Kylo through The Force, I know it's complicated but, it was the only way to know if he was the culprit."

"He was?" Asks Sunlight intrigued of the result, but she might not like the answer. "I'm afraid not, he said that your necklaces have a link between them, and he supposes that it was your necklace the one who used your fear against you and connected with Kylo's crystal to create an ilussion you'd be frightened of." Says Rey as she explains what Kylo told her, but there's another thing concerning Chief. "Maybe it sounds rude but I have to know, Rey, how did you managed to contact Kylo through The Force? We're in different universes." Asks Chief with a serious voice, he seems curious about learning how Rey used The Force this time, Rey then begins to explain.

"Ben..." Rey stops herself as she remembers Kylo's words, she then sighs and corrects her sentence. "...Kylo and I had a link known as a Force Dyad, we were able to interact between us through The Force, but when he assumed this crusade to become all powerful, I cut that connection and restablished it only to contact him this time, but don't worry, I've broken it permanently." Says Rey as she places her hand on her chest, assimilating the truth, Ben Solo is gone, and Kylo Ren is nothing but his remains, she has no actual connection with him rather than the one with his past self, but that's no more.

"So... going back to the issue of my necklace, what should I do?" Asks Sunlight as she grabs her necklace and takes it off. "Have you tried living without it? It might be a good idea if you place it somewhere else, like... in a metal box or something." Replies Chief with a neutral voice, he thinks that's a good idea, but little did he know about what Sunlight replied. "But I've tried! I left it at my aparment and then went with Sunset to visit some friends, and when I was sleeping and the ilussion appeared, I had my necklace on my hand... how is that even possible?!" Asks Sunlight confused and frustrated about this matter, it feels like the necklace will follow her wherever she goes.

"I'm afraid... I don't know, yet." Replies Chief with resignation, despite his ignorance in this field, he'll try to help Sunlight as much as he can, but Rey comes up with a supposition. "Kylo said that the crystal came in conflict with your mind, so the only thing I can suggest you to do is... control your power through harmony between your body, soul and necklace."

Sunlight seems reflective of this, "...harmony between body, soul and necklace..." She thought, probably she'll think of a solution later, but now, she has to fix the mess she made, probably some hard work will help her think, Sunlight now heads to the stairs and takes some wooden planks and nails, she was removing the broken planks and then she sees Sunset's bed levitating along with the many books that were lying on the floor.

"Wow!" Says Sunlight as she sees Rey using The Force to lift those things, then Chief lifs the platform where the bed was with one arm, he then takes away the slashed beam and places a new one with his other arm, fixing the platform, Chief then takes a welding gun and uses it to attach the new beam to the ground and the platform. "Guys, what are you doing?" Asks Sunlight confused, but deep within her, she knows why they're doing it, but a part of her needs to hear it.

"What do you think? We're helping you!" Says Rey as she know reorganizes the bookshelves and orders the books in alphabetic order. "If you want to fix all this mess on your own, you'll end by tomorrow, let us help you halve it at least." Replies Chief as he takes off the TV and places it away, while also using concrete to fix the slash marks and the hole on the wall. "Thanks guys, I... really appreciate it." Says Sunlight with a comforted smile, she then grabs a screw driver and says. "Let's get going then, we have plenty of job to do!" Says Sunlight as she now takes the lead, Chief and Rey put on some protective eyewear as also some gloves, and then start to work together to fix the apartment, Sunlight then turned on a speaker and connected her phone by bluetooth and started playing some of her favorite tunes.

After a few hours and most of the job done, Sunlight receives a message from Sunset, Sunlight takes her phone and pauses the music.

"Hey! AYT? How u doing? 🙂" Asks Sunset.

"Great! Almost done here! Oh BTW, look whom decided to lend me hand 😎"

Sunlight then sends a photo, Sunset opens it and sees Sunlight, Chief and Rey greeting at the camera.

"Hahaha... seems you got some help." Replies Sunset.

"We're installing your new TV rn, you'd love what we did when you get here." Texts back Sunlight.

"Looking fwd to it! I just finished school for today and I'm gonna head to your place now, I forgot my diary there, thx for lending me a copy of your apartment's keys btw." Replies Sunset, Sunlight's reply took a longer while to be sent, but she finally replied.

"K, don't take too long! Oh btw, The Dazzlings told me to hang out with them, but I told them to come over to your place since I'm working here, hope you don't mind it." Replies Sunlight, Sunset only nods her head as she smiles and texts back.

"FBM, just tell them to not make a mess." Replies Sunset, then Sunlight only replies with an emoji. "😇" Sunset then heads to Sunlight's apartment and when she arrives, she hears a strange sound of something beating but it sounds technological, Sunset walks around the apartment following that sound, she then hears it in Sunlight's room, Sunset slowly opens the door and sees her counterpart's room, which is actually big, but most of the space is filled with musical instruments.

An electric and acoustic guitar, a bass, a keyboard, drums, even a saxophone and many other instruments, next to Sunlight's bed, there's a nightstand with a watch on it, Sunset realizes it's the watch the one making the noise, before pressing any of its buttons, Sunset realizes that's the watch she used to communicate with Kylo Ren, so if it's an incoming transmission, Kylo will know right away it's not Sunlight the one holding the watch, but probably he'll part of his plans, Chief might need that intel if they want to take advantage against them.

Sunset sighs and crouches in front of the nightstand and after placing his phone next to the watch to record everything. She presses the beeping button and takes her hand off right away, a hologram can be heard and after a while, a deep voice says. "Sunlight, what's taking you so long?" It's Kylo, Sunset can feel it, but there's no time to panick, she has to pretend to be the actual Eclipse Sunlight.

"Sorry, I caused a mess in a friend's place and I'm fixing it right now!" Says Sunset as she pretends to be struggling doing something. "Why can't I see you?" Asks Kylo, seems a bit confused, but Sunset can't let him know she's lying. "I told you I'm busy, fixing a ceiling isn't an easy task to be honest! But I'm alone now, although I don't know for how lonog, so be quick!" Replies Sunset, who crawled away so that her voice can be heard at the distance.

"Ugh... FINE! I need you to carry on the next part of your infiiltration paln, have you earned their trust yet?" Asks Kylo with a serious voice, Sunset can't believe it... "infiltration plan?" She thought, Sunlight has been doing ALL of this as part of a plan to infiltrate them? That... can't... be, but Sunset can't let her thought overwhelm her now, she has to convince Kylo.

"Y-Yeah..." Sunset's voice sounded shocked by the revelation, Kylo notices it and slightly smiles, but he changed his expression for a more serious one and replies. "Then lure them to the coordinates I'm going to send you, we need to use this chance to strike them down, for good. Don't... fail... Sunlight, we'll be waiting your signal." Said Kylo as he now cuts the call, leaving Sunset shocked, frustrated and also... angered, if what Kylo said it's true, Sunlight's going to regret everything, Sunset stops the recording and takes her phone, along with the diary and before she leaves, she takes Sunlight's watch and heads to Flash's house.

"A daring tactic if you ask me." Says Starkiller as he leans on the wall, Kylo, who just ended the call replied. "Let's just wait for chaos to happen, that wasn't Sunlight, I noticed right away, it was Sunset... and I only had to tell her something that'll make her doubt about Sunlight, her judging is now clouded by frustration and betrayal, their team will be in conflict and we'll be able to kill them with ease, tell Lord Vader, we have a job to do." Says Kylo with a serious voice and evil smile on his face, Starkiller agrees and leaves the room in silence.

On her way there, Sunset contacts her friends and tells them to meet her at Flash's place, since Sunlight's credibility is in doubt, she might betray them in case they team up with her, and that's a risk Sunset's not going to take. Once at Flash's place, Sunset tells Flash about it and suddenly, Chief comes out of the lab wearing his coat and armored bracers. "Wait... weren't you with Sunlight?" Asks Sunset confused, Chief takes his blades and attaches them to his back and says. "I returned here when the job was done, and I heard everything from downstairs, I don't believe Sunlight's plotting against us, but if this ambush is true, we have to ambush them to change the tides of war." After a while the girls arrived and after giving context of the situation, they suit up and before leaving, Flash asks Chief. "You still remember how to use your breathing technique, right? And why aren't you wearing your armor?"

"Yes I still remember, that flamboyant ninja is not someone you forget easily, neither his techniques, and my armor is still under maintenance due all the damage it received on Hell, this is all I have along with my grappling hook. And since the Cortana went with the Blue and Red team for a mission, we have to be twice as careful, got it?!" Says Chief aloud, ordering everyone to check twice their equipment. "I still can't believe Sunlight is a double agent, what if Kylo was lying?" Asks Applejack as she tightens her gauntlets, but Chief replies. "That's an option, so don't believe it's true right away! We're still not sure of that intel."

"But if it's true, we better take no risks, got it?" Replies Sunset as she calibrates her suit, her expression is dead serious, something that concerns everyone, but Master Chief knows Sunlight is innocent, they need to clear it before she loses all the trust she's struggled to earn. "What are we fighting with?" Asks Flash in a serious voice, despite his worries, the fact that Kylo wants to ambush them, is more than enough to make him worry. "Kylo Ren, Starkiller and most probably, Darth Vader." Replies Chief, he also seems worried about this matter, even more than anyone else.

"And what can we do? Last time we fought against Starkiller, we couldn't do much, it was thanks to Flash and Tesla that we made them retreat." Says Pinkie Pie with a serious expression, but Rainbow Dash replies with determination. "But that time, we didn't have these suits, now we can use our powers to fight them."

"I knew that something like this will happen sooner or later." Says Twilight as she tests her Tesla Coils and checks if all her systems are fine, she doesn't need to look to know that Chief is looking at her with disapproval, but as Twilight said, this outcome was something she predicted that'll happen, Sunlight will turn out to be lying to them all this time and then lure them into a trap, just like now.

"Listen up team! Kylo thinks that only you are going to be there, so we have the element of surprise, they're only two, maybe three, but they are highly dangerous, so stay together and fight like a team in order to at least have a chance of fighting them." Says Chief with determination, but he sees Fluttershy who has a blanket on, confused about this, Rarity asks. "Are you feeling all right, darling?"

"Yeah... but it's kinda cold here, don't you think?" Says Fluttershy as she wraps herself around the blanket. "Now that you mention it, it is a bit cold." Replies Pinkie Pie, the girls agreed except for Flash and Chief, this is weird... cold... all out of sudden, but Chief doesn't feel anything, Flash then returns from the lab, as he went down there to take his equipment and gear up.

"Cold? The A/C's not on, I'll go and check what's going on." Replies Chief, he then heads to the thermostat and checks on it, it says that's turned off, but that doesn't make any sense. "(Great, now I need to check if there's no short circuit or anything else.)" Things Chief as he opened the thermostat and began checking the circuits and connections, everything seems right, but nothing explains why the girls are feeling cold, Chief then remembers Galen's warning about the Sith. "(A Force sensitive person can feel their presence, the Sith are always surrounded by anger, hatred, pain, sorrow...") Then the door rings, startling everyone, but Pinkie Pie reacts quicker and opens the door with an optimistic smile, expecting a friend of her, or maybe someone that can help them, Flash tried to stop her but she was too quick, as everything now moves slower, Chief remembers the last words of Galen's warning. "(... and cold.)"

A screeching scream comes from the leaving room, Chief leaves the thermostat and as he sees the scene, his eyes widen. Pinkie Pie stands still, as a crimson blade pierced her abdomen, she's then pushed away, revealing the identity of her attacker.

"We meet again, scum." Says Kylo as he shoots a shockwave of dark magic that pushes everyone away, breaking the walls and ending up in the backyard. "Sunset! Go and help Pinkie!" Said Chief as he stood up, Pinkie was lying on the ground near them, but she was bleeding out, the circumnstances don't allow them to go for a medkit, Sunset's the only one that can heal Pinkie, let's hope it works for them.

From the house, Kylo Ren comes out from the smoke, while he carries his crimson blade, he then stands in front of everyone and says. "Thanks for taking Sunlight's watch with you, you made it much more easier to locate you." Says Kylo with arrogance, Flash and Chief are the first ones to assume a combat stance, there's a huge change of plans, they need to draw him away so that no civilians get hurt.

Banana beigns to bark at the right side of the backyard, when they look the fence gets smashed by a Force wave, and Starkiller comes out from the hole made on the fence. "This time, there won't be anyone to help you!"Says Starkiller as he ignites his lightsaber and points it towards Flash, who takes it personal and focus his attention on him, whilst Chief does the same towards Kylo, the girls finally line up along with Chief and Flash, this time, no one's gonna die.

"C'mon Pinkie, wake up!" Says Sunset desperately as she holds Pinkie in her arms, the wound was closed thanks to Sunset's flames but Pinkie hasn't regained consciousness, until. "It really hurts, do you have any cookies?" Asks Pinkie sarcastically, Sunset smiles and helps her get up. "You really scared us!" Says Sunset as she hugs tightly Pinkie, but Kylo interrupts their moment by saying. "Impressive! Healing magic is very uncommon."

Then, everyone feels an abrupt change in the mood, there's a presence much more heavier than Kylo and Starkiller's, the cold feels like a sore winter breeze, there's nothing in it but a deep anger and hatred, from the other side of the backyard, the whole fence is smashed, revealing a dark male with brown hair stepping out, he's tall, but in his eyes, there's nothing but pure evilness. "We finally meet guys, you've been quite troublesome since you appeared." Says Vader with a serious voice, he then ignites his lightsaber, now they're all surrounded.

Master Chief the drops discretely a small smoke bomb that when detonates, grants them a chance to run. "Chase them!" The Sith Lords began to chase the team, thanks to living near the city outskirts is that they hadn't had to run too far to lure them into an inhabited zone. "Spread!" Says Chief aloud, the girls then take a different path, leaving Flash and Chief together, who now stop and face Starkiller and Kylo, which means... Vader is chasing them. "(If we're not quick enough, the girls will be in danger!)" Thinks Chief as he raises his blades, Flash then assumes a stance and cahrges forward, his flames clashing with Starkiller's crimson blade. "I'll make sure to kill you this time!" Says Starkiller with rage.

"The feeling is mutual!" Replies Flash, but he's then kicked by Starkiller and is pushed away, engaging a fierce combat trading their attacks. "Looks like I finally have my golden chance." Says Kylo arrogantly as he spins his unstable lightsaber with pride. "Cut it!" Says Chief as he charges forward and focuses his breathing, just like Flash. "(Sound Breathing Technique, First Form: Roar!)" Said Chief in his mind as he unleashes a powerful strike with his blades, but Kylo blocked it with ease but recieves a powerful shockwave that shakes all the trees and rocks around them. "This is new... what happened to those red lightnings?" Asks Kylo as he swungs his blade awya, making space between him and Chief.

"I'm full of surprises." Says Chief as he charges forward and begins to trade slashes with Kylo, meanwhile on the other side, the girls are still running away, but as they were helping an injured Pinkie Pie, Vader caught them after a short while and stopped them by using Force lightning against Twilight, stunning her and bringing her down, Vader then jumps and tries to land a fatal blow on Twilight with his lightsaber, but he's stopped by Sunset's light blade.

"I won't let you hurt anyone!" Says Sunset as she struggles to keep with Vader's strength. "Then all of you will DIE!" Vader then pushes everyone away with The Force, but the strength of the push was such that brought everyone down. "C'mon and face me! or I'll kill you and those you love the most!" Says Vader as he wields his lightsaber in a menacing pose as his expression shows nothing but hatred, Fluttershy helps Twilight get up and then everyone prepares to fight.

(Credits to Sameul Kim, author of this masterpiece of a cover!)

"We're not gonna run anymore." Says Sunset as they begin their assault, Rarity creates diamonds and pushes them forward to protect themselves, but Vader slashed them easily with his lightsaber and when he realizes, he receives a kick in the face by Rainbow Dash, and tackle by Applejack, bringing him down and Sunset jumps as she tries to land a good hit on Vader, but he pulled a rock with The Force and hit her midair, as he stands up, he sees Fluttershy approaching him, Vader then uses Force Lightning to stun her, but he sees the lightnings evading her and going further away, when Vader quickly looks to see the reason of this, he sees Twilight absorbing the lightning with her Tesla Coils, and redirecting the energy throughout her suit, powering her up. Vader stopped his attack but it was too late, Fluttershy does a backflip kick, hitting Vader's chin, stunning him long enough for her to launch a powerful attack as she landed. "Chi You, Halberd Form:..."Fluttershy lifts her right leg and swings it in a crescent arc, Vader only managed to create dark bracers to protect himself, but the kick was so pwerful that sent him flying away, breaking his bracers in the process. "...White Tiger Crescent Moon." Said Fluttershy with a serious expression as she looked at the hole Vader made through the trees.

"We can't let him recover, c'mon!" Says Twilight with determination as the rest of them followes her, Rarity stays and helps Sunset get up. "It appears we can fight him properly." Says Rarity as she helps Sunset get up. "Yeah, but we must stay sharp, who knows how much tricks he has under his sleeve." Says Sunset as now she and Rarirty follow the group, whom are fighting Vader and manage to overwhelm him for a short while with many attacks coming from mulitple directions, but he after raging scream, Vader manages to choke everyone and lifts them with The Force. "You attack like cowards!!" Shouts Vader as he pushes them away, knocking them down, he ignites his lightsaber and was about to stab Pinkie Pie, but Sunset shoots a light beam, disarming Vader from his lightsaber and Rarity shoots multiple diamonds, making Vader fall back. "Rarity, help them out!!"

Says Sunset as she creates a light blade to hit Vader, but he creates a dark blade, clashing their weapons. "I got TIRED of you!!" Says Vader as he excerts more pressure, making Sunset fall back, he then enrages more and begins to swing his blade much faster, it only took a few seconds for him to extremely overwhelm Sunset's fencing skill with his lightsaber combat technique, in a desperate attempt, Sunset tried landing a thrust of her blade, but Vader dodged it and grabbed Sunset's hand, and pulls her forward and quickly punches her with his robotic hand, bringing her to the ground, Sunset tries to stand up, but Vader kicks her, bringing her down again, he uses The Force to lift Sunset and throws her away, crashing with a tree and falling to the ground. "Your will is WEAK!!" Said Vader as he was about to strike Sunset down, but Twilight stops him right in place, excerting pressure upon him. Vader then aims his hand and shoots a dark magic beam, hitting Twilight, and then he throws a dark blade, slashing the main Tesla Coil in her suit, making her now unable to absorb as much energy as she could.

Vader then heads towards them, but he's hit by one of Pinkie's bombs, which created an explosion that not only stunned Vader, but also wrapped him some sort of slime, making him struggle to move, Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy were approaching Vader, Pinkie then threw another bomb, but with a simple gesture of his hand, he redirected the bomb towards the other girls' position, the bomb exploded wrapping them around the same slime, Vader then stuns Pinkie with a burst of Force lightnings. Vader then frees himself with his dark blade, he then calls his lightsaber with The Force and threw it spinning towards Rarity, who created a diamond to block it, but after she managed to dodge it, Vader stuns her with Force lightnings, Vader continues his attack as Rarity screams of pain, Twilight stopped him by grabbing his hands and absorbing a fraction of that energy and she then releases it with a punch strong enough to stun him, but Vader uses the Force to body slam her, he then calls his lightsaber again and was about to kill Twilight, but Sunset jumped from behind with a light blade and stopped Vader's attack, despite her wounds and many scratches, she's giving her all to stop Vader.

"You have spirit and a bit of skill, I'll give you that..." Says Vader arrogantly, despite his scratches on his suit and face, but when Sunset thought she was holding him off, Vader aims his hand at her blade as he slowly takes away his lightsaber, Sunset then realizes he's holding her off not with his weapon, but with The Force, as Sunset used all her strength, Vader seems to stop her effortlessly. "... But the Dark Side is much stronger than your pathetic magic." Vader then raises his lightsaber, Sunset's unable to move as she's frozen in place, Vader swungs his blade and thanks to the fact that Sunset was released by an extremely brief moment, she used her blade to block most of the hit, but recieve slight damage, which resulted on her receiving a small cut of Vader's lightsaber in her face, which resulted on a small scar, Sunset falls to the ground as she groans of pain, Vader was aboout to land the final blow, but in a moment of hope, a cable wraps around Vader's legs and pulls him down and he's dragged backwards.

It's Master Chief, who seems heavily wounded, with many slash marks on his body with blood and many scratches, despite that, he attacks Vader, who blocks the hit of Chief's blades, but he's pushed away by a Force lightning attack, it's Kylo, who also seems wounded, with many slash marks on him and blood on his face. "It seems he's giving you a hard time." Says Vader as he stands up and ignites his lightsaber. "He's quite slippery, but together, we can end him once and for all." Replies Kylo as he creates a dark blade and prepares to fight.

Chief looks at Sunset, who's the only one capable of moving freely and says. "Release your friends and go away! I'll hold them here." Says Chief as he takes both of his blades, Sunset thinks she can still fight, and as she struggles to stand up, she says. "B-but, you're..."

"It's an order!" Replies Chief with a serious voice, Sunset does nothing else but agree with him, she then creates a light blade and cuts the slime that's wrapped around her firends and as they stand up, they take Twilight and Pinkie and ran away. "Are you so eager to die, Master Chief?!" Asks Kylo arrogantly as they're about to attack him, Chief spins his blades and focuses his breathing.

(Again, shoutouts to Samuel Kim.)
"If you're so confident, why don't you try to beat me without your magic tricks?" Asks Chief as he prepares his attack. "It'll be our pleasure." Replies Vader with a serious voice as now the three of them engage into combat, Chief's quick and sudden movements give him the capability to fight both Sith Lords at once, but he doesn't know for how long they'll respect the duel, Kylo tried to attack him from the back, but Chief dodges it and with quick punches, he takes Kylo off him and focuses on countering Vader's attacks, which are much faster than Kylo's, but after being pushed away by a kick, Vader also creates adark blade and attacks Chief, whom along the attacks of Kylo Ren, is having hard time dodging and attacking, he can't even dodge all of the attacks and receives a few cuts from them, but he ignores the pain.

"You're becoming quite annoying!!" Says Kylo as he shoots a dark magic shockwave, pushing Chief away, and creating many dark blades around him, Kylo then closes his fist, making the blades thrust forward, trying to pierce Chief, but thanks to his breathing technique, he's now fast enought to block and dodge the incoming blades, but when he realizes, Kylo attacks with a darkfire wave, Chief can't dodge it, so he's force to block the hit and receives some burns from the attack, when he raises his sight, Vader closed the distance between them and tried to stab him, but Chief blocked the hit almost by miracle with his blade, Chief spins the other blade and made an upward slash, making Vader lose his ground and then givng Chief the chance to take the offensive, clashing again his blades with the Sith Lords' lightsabers. "They're running away! Stop them!" Yells Vader as he clashes his lightsaber with Chief's blades, Kylo then runs away, following the path the girls took, Chief can't let that happen, he then hits with his knee Vader and places him a paralyzing node, which electrocutes Vader, immobilizing him long enough so that Chief can chase Kylo.

As Kylo approaches the girls, he unleashes many slashes with a dark blade, which create magic projectiles cover a large area and move fast, Rainbow tried to run faster but one of her boots was damaged by Vader, and the slashes will pierce through Rarity's shield, Sunset notices this and tries to shoot those slashes down with her light beams, but before she's able to aim her gauntlets, Chief arrives and extends his blades, activating the demonic power within them. "...Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes!!!" Chief then spins his blades around as creating slash waves with his demonic energy, destroying the dark magic slashes of Kylo's blade, and protecting the girls behind him, as he stops the attack, he turns around and says. "Head to the headquarters!! But RUN this time!!" Says Chief with a serious voice, he seems more wounded than before and blood drips from his face, legs, arms and body.

Kylo jumps from the deep forest and clashes blades with Chief, creating a light show of red and purple lights, thanks to the blades' power, Chief managed to broke Kylo's dark blade, making him lose ground, Chief takes this chance to quickly spin his blades, Kylo receives a few more slashes on his body before dodging Chief's attack. Chief takes the chain of his blades by both sides, he then inhales air as he says to himslef. "(Sound Breathing, Fifth Form...)" Chief then starts spinning both of his blades as whirlwinds, as the demonic energy starts creating barrages of red lightning, forcing Kylo to fall back if he doesn't want to be hurt by that violent energy. "...String Perfomance!!!" Yelled Chief as he charges forward, extending the havoc of his attack and forcing Kylo to fall back even more.

As the girls began to run to the other direction, avoiding the battle between Chief, Vader and Kylo, but they're stopped by Flash who flyes in front of them and crashes against a tree. "What are you doing?! Get out of here!!" Said Flash with a serious voice, he seems wounded, but nothing too serious, only scratches and small cuts, Starkiller comes from the deep forest, he also seems wounded, but only a few scratches. "Do you think you can escape, brats?" Asks Starkiller as he ignites his lightsaber, Flash gets into position and imbues his blade with flames and charges forward. "You're fighting me!" Said Flash as he and Starkiller clashed weapons. "C'mon, if we can take out at least one of them, we can win!" Says Rainbow as she takes off her damaged boots and run, landing a punch on Starkiller, followed up by Applejack, who picks a down tree and throws it at him, Starkiller stops it with The Force as he handles Flash's attacks with his other hand, meanwhile Fluttershy uses her nail guards and stabs Starkiller on the side, gouging some of his flesh out, Starkiller then enrages and explodes in a Force Shockwave combined with Force lightning, stunning everyone and pushing them away, but Flash recovers much quicker than anyone else and takes an offensive position.

(Credits to RA Music.)
"Rainbow Dash, take the girls and leave, I'll take it from here." Says Flash with a serious voice as he charges forward and engages combat with Starkiller, Rianbow stands up and uses her speed to help her friends get up faster, and as she helps Sunset get up, a dagger cuts her left leg's quadriceps, making her fall to the ground, it was Starkiller who did it to make sure they won't go too far.

Sunset heals Rainbow's wound, but it'll take some time for Rainbow to recover from it, the girls now proceed to leave, leaving Flash and Starkiller fighting alone, the clash between his blades creates a light show worth of seeing, but Starkiller begins to overwhelm Flash, as his rage only made his attacks stronger and his attack speed increased significantly, Starkiller pushes Flash away, making him fall to the ground, but as he quickly recovers, he repeats to himself. "(Don't lose ground, once they're safe, it'll be much easier, I won't let him hurt anyone else... NOT ANYMORE, I'LL PROTECT THEM!!)" As Flash's thought invade his mind, his blade started emitting those orange flames, that slowly fade away to a leave path to a new color, the blue flames of his determination begin to sprout and thanks to the equestrian magic in his blade, his body begins to flow with it, and a blue aura surrounds him, granting him pony ears, a pair of wings and slightly longer hair. "You HAVE to be joking!!" Says Starkiller as he closes his wound with his lightsaber's heat and charges forward in rage, Flash does the same and quickly gets the upper hand as he's now faster than before.

Despite his new power, Flash can only hold Starkiller off much better, yet he's unable to land a fatal blow on him, so he decides to exhasut him by using his Flame Breathing techniques, despite Starkiller now wields his lightsaber and a dark blade.
"Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Ondulation!"

"Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"

"Third Form: Blazing Universe!!"

"Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!!"

Flash managed to inflict serious damage on Starkiller, blade cuts and burn marks are all over his body, but in a sudden moment, Starkiller's body clads with lightnings, and his eyes glow with dark magic, the lightnings extend to his lightsaber and his dark blade, as Starkiller swings his blade, his range gets increased thanks to the lightnings, and his rage boosting him, results in Flash losing the advantage, as he dashes away, Starkiller uses a much more powerful burst of Force lightning to stun him, making Flash unable to move, Starkiller then lifts him in the air and sends him away, crashing against a rock, making Flash drop his blade, and losing his "pony" form, as Flash tried to recover, a dark blade pierces his shoulder and also the rock, Flash shouts of pain and realizes that he can't move, the blade doesn't come out, Starkiller approaches him and with rage he says. "I can kill you right now! But I have to hunt down your friends, so you STAY here!!" Said Starkiller as he pushes the blade even deeper, making Flash grunt of pain, but Starkiller leaves him there, the only thing Flash can do now is warn everyone about it, he uses his communicator and warns everyone. "Girls, Starkiller's heading to your way, I couldn't stop him long enough, be prepared, I'll try to reach you as fast as I can!!"

"Chief gets the message and after sweeping the area around him with his blades to make space, then he runs towards the girls' position at full speed, Kylo and Vader chase him down, but Chief managed to get to Starkiller, who was already fighting the girls, who seem pretty exhausted by blocking all of Starkiller's attacks. Chief, with a powerful strike of his blades managed to sent Starkiller away, but Vader and Kylo reach him right after. "Take shelter!!" Says Chief aloud as he now begins to fight against the three Sith Lords, although Chief manages to hold them off, Kylo charged a darkfire attack and he was about to shoot it towards the girls, but Chief notices this and unsheathes his knife and throws it, piercing Kylo's hand, making him stop his attack to take out the knife, he had to combine his strength, techniques and items to fight the three dark lords, but Chief takes a thermal imploder from his waist and throws it to the dark lords, but he slashes it midair, which causes an even more violent explosion, creating a big dust cloud and separating everyone.

Chief stands up coughing, his wounds are very deep, he's getting out of breath, as blood runs out of his body, with effort, Chief stands up and asks confused. "Girls? Are you ok?!" He can't see really well, as dust got in his eyes, but as Chief cleans his eyes, he feels a hand taking him by his shoulder and a dark blade piercing through his body, Chief lets go a scream of pain as he drops his blades and grabs the dark blade in order to stop it from slashing any important organs. "How does it feel to see life escaping your body?!" Asks Starkiller with arrogance as he tries to slash Chief's heart, but John unsheathes a small knife from his bracer and said with anger. "I'm ready! What about you?!"

Chief then punches Starkiller with his elbow and stabs him in the eye bringing him to the ground, surprsingly, he didn't die, Starkiller lies shouting in extreme pain as he grabs his face, Chief breaks the front part of the blade and the rear part of it with his hands, leaving only the par that's inside of him, with his grappling hook, Chief takes his blades and assumes an offensive position, Kylo and Vader help Starkiller as they're ready to fight again, Chief doesn't know how long will he endure until he fades out, fortunately, Rey comes out jumping, and landing in front of Chief and ignites her lightsaber. "Rey... Palpatine." Says Kylo with a serious voice as he tries to catch up his breath and helps Starkiller. "Palpatine's granddaughter, why are you helping them?" Asks Vader with rage as he walks forth but falls on his knees as he can't keep fighting, but he stands and ignites his lightsaber anyway.

"I'm a Jedi, and you better remember it." Said Rey with a serious voice as she spins her blue lightsaber, but beneath the Sith Lords, a portable energy field activates, surrounding them and making them unable to get out. "Mind to explain me what the hell have you been doing? Look at you, dammit!" Says Sunlight as she walks out from Kylo's side, she's wearing her First Order armor, making it seem that she's with them instead of The Resistance.

"Sunlight... what TOOK you so long?!!" Asks Kylo with rage as he sees Sunlight so calmed about this. "They took my watch and pretended to be me, it seems your little trap got fucked up, and now I have to fix it." Says Sunlight as she sighs and loads the coordinates on the energy field to teleport the Sith Lords. "You're not gonna make it alone!" Says Vader as the device begins to teleport them slowly, giving Sunlight time to reply with a serious voice. "Trust me, I can do it." The Sith Lords finally disappear, the containment fields dissipates and Sunlight sighs of relief. "Finally, they're gone... how's everyone?!"

"Help... them" Says Chief as consciousness begins to fade, he finally falls to the ground, dropping his blades. "We also need to help you, Rey... check on the others." Says Sunlight as she checks on Chief, Rey helps everyone recover from the explosion Chief provoked, suddenly, Rarity shoots many diamonds that tie Sunlight's arms, confusing her, Sunlight then asks. "Hey! What the..." She's then interrupted by Twilight who says with anger.

"You LIAR!! You've been plotting against us the whole time!!" Sunlight can't believe what she said and asks outraged. "The FUCK you say?! What are you meaning?!"

"Sunset showed us a recording of Kylo's message to orchestrate this attack, you change your attitude and help us only to gain our trust to betray us one of these days!" Says Applejack with traces of disappointment on her face. "Wha-what?! No! Rey and I came here when she felt Kylo's presence in this world, we pretended to be enemies to protect you! Where's Sunset, she can tell I ain't lying." Says Sunlight as she tries to break the diamonds, but it's pontless, Twilight then moves her away with her pwoer and check on Chief.

"Sunset's unconscious, it seems like she received a good hit, and she's the most wounded excluding Chief." Says Rey as she carries Sunset gently and drops her with, Flash then comes out of the woods and sees the scene, shocked by Chief and Sunset's condition, he heads there and checks on them. "No no no no, how are they?" Asked Flash as he holds his shoulder, he seems to be the second most wounded after Chief, Sunlight then replied with a calmed voice. "Sunset's fine, we managed to draw the Siths away, but Chief..."

Rarity creates small diamonds around Sunlight, shutting her at once. "You have no saying in this matter." Twilight then has a shocked expression and says. "He's not breathing... Chief's not breathing!"

A portal opens in front of them and Rey says. "We called for extraction on our way here, c'mon! We don't have much time!" Rey then carries Sunset with her arms, as Applejack lifts Chief's body, Rarity made a bed of diamonds for them to place their wounded companions, Twilight then created a magnetic field around Sunlight to not let her escape, the group walks through the portal and gets to the Infinity, hoping to save John from death and traet everyone's wounds, as also they have to clarify the matter regarding if Sunlight is trustworthy or not anymore.

END OF CHAPTER.

Chapter 19: The Sun That Went Dark

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 20: If It Can Get Worse...

After opening her eyes, Sunset finds herself under a tree, contemplating a beautiful landscape, it's such a calmed place, but... why is she seeing this? It doesn't matter, this peaceful place grants Sunset of the calm she needs to reflect over everything, it's been two days since Sunlight was chased by O.N.I, she has tried to contact her but... Sunlight hasn't responded to any of her calls or messages, probably something bad happened to her.

"(I... have to... find her.)" Thought Sunset as she kept her sight in the wonderful blue sky above her, but as she tried to cover her eyes from the sun, she sees a crystal in her hand, it's not her necklace, it's something else, it's color begins to turn golden as Sunset looks at it while holding it in her hands.

"W-What?" Asked Sunset slowly as she tries to understand what the crystal is, it has a name, and she knows it but, it hurts... to remember. Sunset places her hand on her head, the pain is much more than before, a ringing sound floods her ears, increasing the pain.

"Sunset... Sunset... Sunset..." There's someone calling her, but... the pain, it's too much. Sunset closes her eyes to cope with the pain, but she hears her name again in the distance. "SUNSET!!" Said a voice, it's Twilight. When Sunset opens her eyes again, the sight shocks her.

She indeed was under a tree, but there isn't any beautiful landscape, it's a forest, but not her home world's. Twilight is shaking her by the shoulders, calling Sunset, she's wearing her battle suit, "(T-Twilight...? What's...going on?)" Thought Sunset, her ears still buzz, suddenly, many blaster shots come from behind her, Linda comes in and pushes Twilight away and brings Sunset to the ground to take cover, Linda and Twilight get up and go back to fight. Sunset tries to stand up, but as she bows her head of effort, a drop of blood falls on her hand, she then realizes she's also wearing her battle suit, and she's bleeding from her forehead. Sunset turns around and sees what's going on.

Master Chief and Fred are shooting their weapons to give covering fire against... Red Armored Troopers? the helmet's look like the ones of the First Order, but different.

Kelly is bandaging Fluttershy's abdomen, she's bleeding, and her face shows extreme pain, Sunset looks to the other side and she sees Rainbow Dash and Applejack fighting against these Red Troopers, but Applejack received a blaster shot on her shoulder, Rarity creates a diamond to protect hem, whilst she and Pinkie Pie provide cover and explosives to spread the enemy, she then manages to stand up and sees how Chief takes off his helmet and begins to shout something, but Sunset can't understand what he's saying, her ears still buzz. But when she walks towards him, she feels something bumping her right foot, Sunset looks down and sees the object that bumped into her.

"That's... not good." Says Sunset as she widens her eyes, the last thing she would want to see will be Flash or at least her pet Ray, not... that thing. Before she realizes and in a fraction of seconds, she feels something wrapping around her and pulling her away, the object explodes and the shockwave thrusts her even more. Chief saved her with her grappling hook, but he leaves her right away and puts on his helmet, he stands up and says. "The crystal! Use it!" Sunset finally heared him, the buzzing of her ears was fading away, she looks at her hand and sees the crystal, which only lies on her hand. "How I'm going to use this?" Said Sunset to herself, but the first thought that comes to her mind is. "(How did we end up like this?)"

A day ago

Sunset has tried to contact with Sunlight since yesterday, but there's no response, she heads to Sunlight's apartment to check on her, but when she knocks the door, Adagio is the one that received her.

"Oh! Sunset, I wasn't expecting your visit." Says Adagio with a surprised expression. "Adagio? Where's Sunlight?" Asks Sunset with a concerned expression, right now, both seem worried about the same person, so there's no need to argue between them. "I-I don't know... maybe you can help us find her." Says Adagio as she opens the door for Sunset, who comes in and sees the hole made by Spider-Man, Sonata is putting all the bricks back in the hole as Aria is checking Sunlight's laptop. "What... happened?" Asks Sunset, surprised and confused about the scene she's watching right now.

"We were attacked by some weirdo wearing a blue and red suit, he was coming after Sunlight, she ran away from here, but that man chased her down, and we've tried to contact her, but she hasn't responded to any of our calls!" Says Adagio with frustration, since she's worried of what could that man have done to Sunlight, the mere thought of something bad happening to her is just... unbearable. "We're in the same situation then, the police hasn't come here yet, right?" Asks Sunset as she sees the hole in the wall, it's big enough to not be seen by anyone.

"Nope, although we heard some patrols like half an hour ago, the landlord came and asked for what exactly happened and we had to lie to him, so we better cover this up before anyone realizes something happened." Says Sonata with a serious expression as she keeps placing brick over brick to cover the hole. "I told you that if you want to fix it, you need something to glue it, and there's nothing we can use for it." Says Aria with frustration as she turns to Sonata, Sunset then manages to see Sunlight's laptop screen and sees many recordings, with curiosity, she asks. "What's that?"

"I've been checking the recording of the security camera Sunlight has, it's illegal to do have a security camera here without authorization, yes... but it's the best way to see who was her attacker." Replies Aria as she looks again at the computer, Sunset joins her and after tweeking the image, they finally see their attacker clearly.

"Who's that guy?" Asks Adagio as she sees Spider-Man's image, Sunset then takes a photo of him and says. "I don't know, but I think I know someone who does." Says Sunset as she heads to the door. "Where are you going?" Asks Adagio with a serious expression, Sunset sighs and looks at her as she says. "I'm going to get as much information as I can, if that man captured Sunlight, then she's in danger. I wish that I could help you more right now, but we have to be fast in this matter, I won't ask you to involve in this mess, since it can be more dangerous for you, and Sunlight would kill me if something bad happens to any of you."

Adagio's expression changes to a more emotional one, she then clenches her chest with her hand and says. "Sunset... please, bring her back... and if we... I can help you with anything, let me know... I won't let her suffer alone, not anymore." Her expression shows sadness and sorrow, like something was stripped from her heart, Sunset understands this and with a kind expression, she says. "Don't worry, we will find her." Says Sunset as she leaves and closes the door.

After notifying her friends about this situation, Sunset heads to Flash's house to ask Chief who's the man that attacked Sunlight, she tried to contact Flash first, but he's not responding.

Meanwhile, in the lab at his house, Flash and Chief are training. "You've become stronger, may I know the reason?" Asks Chief as he spins his blades, Flash on the other hand seems a bit exhausted, his shirt covered in sweat and his blade emitting orange flames thanks to his Flame Breathing. "After the previous fights, I learned that the Flame Breathing is focused on decapitating demons with heavy or multiple slashes, but I've done a few changes to the sword technique, making it more suitable for fights against people like Sith Lords, or any other being."

"But you're frustrated right now, aren't you?" Asks Chief as he rests his blades on his shoulders. "Is it obvious? Argh, this thing is getting in the way!" Says Flash as he takes off his shirt and throws it away, revealing his toned body along with a scar on his belly and right shoulder, right where he was stabbed by Starkiller a time ago. "I'm just frustrated by my own weakness, that's why I want to become stronger!" Said Flash as he charged forward, clashing blades with Chief. "That's not something to be frustrated for, with discipline, you can overcome that weakness of yours." Replies Chief as he swings his blades away, making space between them.

"Yeah?! And when will I get to the point where I can recover from death wounds in 18 hours, like you?!" Asks Flash as he spins his blade and takes an offensive position. "That's different, my augmentations give me outstanding capabilities compared to a normal human." Replies Chief as he and Flash begin to walk in circles around each other. "Then why can't I receive those augmentations, I'd be able to protect my mother and Sunset more efficiently." Says Flash as he lowers his blade, Chief sighs and replies with a calmed voice. "Flash, the upgrades I was subject to, have more than 70% of chances of going wrong, resulting in your death. Right now... I don't think you need them, I mean... look at you... your physical condition matches the one of a professional athlete, and is highly above it thanks to your breathing technique."

"But... what can I do? I think my current strength is not enought to protect those whom I love." Says Flash with slight traces of frustration, but Chief approaches him and says with a fatherly voice. "That's normal, I feel like that most of the time, but something that helps me is to never stop training, neither your body nor your mind."

"Why both?" Asks Flash confused, everything he's learned focused on dominating his body's capabilites. "A strong body is useless with a weak mind in it, and the same happens with a strong mind in a weak body, you can't allow yourself to train only one, if you wish to be stronger, you need to dominate both body and mind." Said John with a voice that ressembles one of an old wise teacher, Flash then smiles and says. "Well... maybe some meditation can work, but there's a sparring session we need to conclude." Says Flash as he takes his blade with both of his hands, after using his breathing, his blade emits its characteristical orange flames. "Agreed." Says Chief as he spins his blades and focuses on his breathing, it appears he now decided to use his breathing technique wether than using the blades' power so oftenly.

When both were about to engage combat again, the door of the training room begins to knock, snapping both out of their concentration. "Who might be?" Asks Chief as he lowers his blades. "I dunno, I'll go and check." Replies Flash as he leaves his blade on a bench and heads to the door, it didn't open since it was locked by Chief due to their training session, the moment the door opens, Flash and Sunset meet their eyes. "Oh! Sunset, what brings you here?!" Asks Flash with a cheerful smile as he leans on the door, nut he doesn't realizes the situation he has put Sunset in, who blushes and says stuttering.

"H-hey Flash, I-I-I called you b-but y-you didn't a-answer... I-I am... l-looking f-for J-John... (Damn! Since when he's so hot?!)" Said Sunset in her mind, her hand moves on its own towards Flash's chest, but before touching it, she managed to stop herself, Flash notices her behavior and realizes the spot where he's in, shirtless... in front of his girlfriend, and his father is behind him, it's kinda awkward when you think of it. "Oh, shoot! Hahaha, sorry, please come in..." Says Flash as he blushes and steps backwards, both can't stop to look at each other, but the moment is interrupted when a flying t-shirt hits Flash's face.

"Always wear something clean after training, plus... if you're going to do anything you would do, wait until I'm gone." Says Chief as he turned off the gravitational increaser, the panel displayed 1.2 G on it, they were training under that gravity. "Tell me Sunset, what happened?" Asks Chief with a calmed voice as he walks towards them, Flash and Sunset were smiling at each other, but Sunset then changes her expression to a more serious one and replies. "It's... Sunlight, she hasn't responded any of my messages, I went to her apartment and I found The Dazzlings, and they said that they were attacked by someone yesterday's night, and I need to know who this person is." Says Sunset with a serious expression as she takes her phone and shows them the photo she took from Sunlight's computer.

"I need a bigger image... Cortana, are you here?!" Says Chief aloud, as far as he knows, Cortana is with Fred, but for his surprise, Cortana appears standing right next to him.

"Yup, I am here, Fred said that you'd be a danger if there isn't anyone to watch your back, so I stayed here." Says Cortana with a humoristic voice, as she's mocking of Chief causing a chaos whenever he's alone. "Really funny, can you help us, here?" Asks Chief with a serious expression pointing at Sunset's phone, Cortana then touches the screen and takes the image, she then zooms it making it much more easier to see, but it only took Chief a few seconds to realize who was Sunlight's attacker.

"Crap." Said Chief with a serious voice, he knows who's that man, confused about who he refers, Flash asks. "Why crap? Is he with The Final Order?" Chief looks at him and replies with a serious voice. "Fortunately, no. But he's with the Hunters, a special group The Resistance made to deal with anomalies, a few of the best are in their ranks, they're more effective than a strike team. But this guy, he's Hunter-002, Miguel O'Hara AKA Spider-Man."

"And who's this Spider-Man?" Asks Sunset with a serious voice, if he captured Sunlight, she needs to know who she's dealing with. "He's the second top Hunter in the ranks, he's efficient, serious and has a strong commitment to preserve estability throughout the Multiverse, if he was sent to hunt down Sunlight, it's highly probable that he captured her."

"And what do you think happened to her?" Asks Sunset now more worried about Sunlight, Chief looks at her and replies with a serious expression. "Captain Lasky told me about the situation and that you along with the Blue Team carried on Protocol: Ares. If O.N.I wants Sunlight, they'll need her alive... Cortana, contact Miguel."

After a short while, Cortana uses the holo projector in the training room to contact Spider-Man, it only took a few seconds of waiting for him to answer the call. "Master Chief? This is not the best moment." Asks Spider-Man with a serious expression, he seems tired. "Miguel, how was your last hunt, I was told that it was interesting." Says Chief, discretely trying to hide his intentions, Miguel sighs and replies. "It was indeed, I almost got her... but she escaped... O.N.I wasn't very pleased, but everything turned out much difficult when your team and Galen helped the anomaly escape."

"She's a girl, not an anomaly, and my team was only doing the right thing, if you have a problem with it, we can discuss it face to face." Replies Chief with a serious voice, he seems mad by Miguel's statement. "I don't want any unnecessary quarrel, Master Chief. But we know she's dangerous, she murdered dozens of members of The Resistance, we can't let her run freely. Specially when she got help to escape me." Replies Miguel with a serious voice, but something he said comes to Chief's mind "...help to escape..." Chief can't help but to ask. "What do you mean by help?"

"I had her already in custody, but then, a dark cloud begin to surround her, I tried to stop her but I was unable to. The dark cloud had taken her away, and I don't know where she went." Says Miguel with a frustrated voice, he still can't accept the fact she escape right in front of him. "It was Kylo Ren, he's the one that uses that technique to escape whenever he's losing." Replies Chief with a serious voice, if Kylo got Sunlight out, then it means either she contact him for help, or he contacted her first, whichever is the case, there was an implication in this matter from Kylo's behalf.

"Then things are much more complicated now. Listen... I'd love to keep chatting with you, but we have to track Eclipse Sunlight down, wherever she might be, I'd be in stand by if you find anything else, let me know.... Miguel out." Said Miguel as he ended the call, leaving them only with their thoughts and theories, Chief remains silent, but Sunset then says. "If Sunlight's with Kylo, probably she's trying to figure out something useful about The Final Order, don't you think?" Chief then changes his reflective expression to a more calmed one, but some guilt remains in him, if he had woke up earlier, he could've helped Sunlight, but since he woke up, he was sent here without a clue of what happened, only Cortana was the one who brought him up to date, Chief then said with a calmed voice.

"It's possible, but we have to... " John is then interrupted by Sunset's phone, which is ringing, she takes it and sees that Sunlight is calling her, relief flooded her body after seeing Sunlight is alive, Sunset takes the call and says. "Sunlight! How you've been, we're worried about you! Is it safe to talk?"

"Yes, sorry for not calling back, but I've been busy. I need all of you to come to this coordinates, they're on another universe, Kylo's planning something and you need to come ASAP, this might be the perfect chance to take him down." Said Sunlight through the phone's speaker, but there's something weird, her voice... is much more serious than before, like if it's... emotionless, but Sunset assumes it's because Sunlight's tired or something else, a message pops on Sunset's phone, those are only coordinates to the place Sunlight mentioned.

"We'll be there, just hang on, got it?" Asks Sunset with a confident voice, waiting for an answer, but Sunlight then replies with a serious voice. "I'll be waiting." The call ends right after that. "What did she say?" Asks Chief with a concerned expression, Sunset looks at him and replies. "She's fine... I guess, but there was something off, she sounded much more serious, I don't know if she's busy or anything, it was really weird. But she said that we might have a chance to strike Kylo down once and for all, but we need to go to these coordinates." Says Sunset as she shows Chief the coordinates, Cortana peeks and easily determines where that is. "Hmmm, that's weird. That's a remote universe, there's only two registered anomalies and the most recent one is already under surveillance, how was Sunlight able to contact us if there's no phone signal there?." Says Cortana concerned of this, luckily for them, those coordinates led to a world where a Hunter lives, so she proceeds to make contact with her.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, Sunlight was using a communicator from the holotable, she turns it off and turns around, revealing her now corrupted self, only a serious expression remains as she walks out of that tent, as she looks at the beautiful landscape in front of her.

"Did they believe you?" Asks Kylo who approaches Sunlight, he seems quite calmed, they're in a camp made with dozens of Sith Troopers, scatterd in a radius of 4 kilometers. "Yeah, they did." Replies Sunlight with an emotionless expression, showing that right now, she's only a puppet under Kylo's command. "Then we'll only have to wait for them to arrive... why don't you take a look at this place? It has its own charm to be honest, but don't get too close to those... metal birds... we've already lost a scout party trying to deal with them, we'll remain undiscovered if we keep our distance though." Says Kylo with a confident voice as he looks at the scenery, Sunlight looks at him and with a serious expression she asks. "Why are we here?"

"Didn't I tell you? We detected Equestrian magic in this world, its in cave not too far from here, our objective its to carry out a little experiment I have in mind... I'd like to see if with my current power, I'm able to absorb magic." Replies Kylo with a serious expression, his ambition is now driving him to get even more power out of Equestrian magic.

"If you succeed, would I be also able to do that?" Asks Sunlight, following her master's desire for power. "I'm afraid I don't know, I'd be combining ancient Sith techniques with the dark magic of my necklace to carry this out, but... your anger and hatred are enough to boost your power, so I don't see why would you require to absorb magic." Says Kylo, as he's trying to get that idea out of Sunlight's head because deep inside, he knows that if she learns ways to become much more powerful, she'd result in a threat rather than an ally and that's something Kylo doesn't want to deal with.

From the distance, a woman observes how The Final Order prepares to dig a hole on her world.

"Who are these people and what do they want here?" Asks the woman to herself, then, one of the metal birds Kylo mentioned lands next to her, as it drops a Sith Trooper helmet.

"Let's see what the Glinthawks recolected." The woman grabs the helmet and examines it as she says to herself. "This helmet is made of materials out of this lands, and the design doesn't match any kind of helm I've seen before... probably I should make some calls." Says the woman as she takes out of her pocket a communicator, she activates it and begins to call for someone, then... a hologram appears in the communicator, it's Spider-Man.

"Miguel, you said you were looking for some people, right?" Asks the woman as she shows the helmet the glinthawk recovered. "It's someone Aloy but yes... woah! that's... bad news actually, where did you find it?" Asks Miguel as seems confused of how does a Sith Trooper helmet is in another world without them noticing, the woman's name is Aloy, member of the Hunters, but most of the time she stays on her world to keep peace in it, but she helps The Resistance whenever she can.

"I found a big bunch of men dressed in armors wearing this helmet, but they're two people that stand out from the rest, one of them is a cloaked guy who wears a mask, but his costume is completely black, which is... silly... considering that it seems they want to keep a low profile. And the other person is a girl, she seems young, and also... both of them seem to be scheming something, probably related to the recent anomaly that appeared days ago." Says Aloy with a calmed voice as she began to describe Kylo and Sunlight, it appears the Equestrian magic The Final Order detected was already under Aloy's supervision, but she can't risk to engage directly as she doesn't know what the enemy is capable of.

"Have they detected you?" Asks Miguel with a serious voice, if Aloy's position is compromised, probably everything will go south, and as Sunlight is also there, he can't let Aloy be detected, but she replies with a confident smile. "Nope, despite bringing a lot of troops, these guys have never been here, they don't know that the high ground exists and only check what's below them... quite the rookies if you ask me."

"Alright, stay sharp, we'll be there as soon as possible." Replies Miguel as he cuts the call, Aloy was about to take a better position, but she receives another incoming transmission, she takes it as she moves cautiously backwards and tells the glinthawk to fly away. "Huntress - 005 here, what's the situation?" Asks Aloy with a serious voice as she keeps an eye on Kylo's camp, but she doesn't look at the communicator. "Aloy! everything's fine?" Asks Cortana with a friendly and cheerful voice.

"Cortana?! Hey!" Says Aloy with a smile, it's been quite the time since she talked to Cortana, despite being an AI and a human, both get along pretty well, but Aloy remembers the problem she's dealing with now and says with a serious voice. "Uhmm... actually, there's a problem here, I found some weird guys making an... excavation site? I think... on the cave where I found the anomaly, but they're a lot and there are two creepy guys that I better not engage if I want to stay alive." Says Aloy as she uses the device on her ear to broadcast the images of what she's seeing.

"That's... The Final Order... which means trouble, but don't worry, we're going to head to your position. Just... don't get caught, please." Says Cortana with a friendly voice. "Yeah, I already told Miguel about this, so probably it'll be a mess with these guys and Hunters all over the place." Replies Aloy with a serious expression, but Cortana seems a bit concerned about that, Aloy notices her expression and asks. "Why the long face? Did I miss something?"

"Why did you told Miguel?" Asks Cortana confused, Aloy peeks from the cliff to see that the Final Order hasn't moved, they seem to remain at the same spots. "Because he sent a message through the Hunters' channel that he's looking for someone, and lucky me! I found that person." Replies Aloy with a calmed voice, Cortana now gets it, Sunlight is there and Aloy found her. They have to be quick to not lose this chance. "Alright, hang in there, keep an eye on them and notify us any change, got it?" Replies Cortana with a serious voice, Aloy quickly agrees and the call ends, leaving Aloy alone, who took her bow and was a about to change her location, but suddenly from her blind spot, a deep voice says.

"You! Stop right there!" Aloy turns around and sees a small patrol of Sith Troopers.

"This is great." Says Aloy as she sighs looks at the Sith Troopers, but little did they know, that Aloy isn't fool enough to leave her blind spot uncovered, an electric trap detonates stunning the squad, giving Aloy a chance to run, in this cases, it's much better to run than risk a direct combat. As Aloy was running towards a cliff, the Sith Troopers recovered quickly and began to chase her as they begin to shoot her.

Aloy grabbed tightly a rope from a improvised pulley that she made by tighting up a heavy rock to one of the ends of the rope and the other end was tethered to another heavy rock, the pulley was hanging from the wall of the mountain, she then cuts it with a small knife, she then thrusts herself upward and deploys a glider.

By doing evasive maneuvers, Aloy evaded all the shots from her chasers, without looking she knows that all of The Final Order in her world have noticed her presence, so she needs to hide herself. After landing, she takes her bow and aims it to a hidden explosive barrel.

Aloy lets go a breath before shooting a fire arrow to detonate the barrel, blowing the Sith Troopers off and giving her a chance to run away, but right when she was already to leave, a purple light descends right in front of her, making her fall due to the shockwave created by the impact.

"What now?" Asks Aloy as she stands up and changes her arrows to tearblast arrows, which aren't lethal, but use a highly compressed blast of air to strip armor and parts from machines. From the smoke created by the impact, a female figure emerges, Aloy doesn't hesitate and shoots a tearblas arrow, but the figure grabs it, revealing it's Eclipse Sunlight the one who is chasing her now, but her expression reveals nothing but anger, what Sunlight doesn't know, it's that the arrow she just grabbed, exploded, shattering her armor and her dark bracers, stunning her with the explosion of the compressed air.

As Sunlight falls to the ground, Aloy prepares an electric arrow and shoots it, hitting Sunlight directly in the chest, shocking her in place. Aloy then takes out a weapon called Ropecaster from her back.

Aloy shoots a single shot, piercing Sunlight's side with a harpoon and anchoring her to the ground, making her unable to stand as she's not only immobilized but also is being stunned by the electric arrow. "Sorry girl, we'll sort this out later." Says Aloy as she jumps from the cliff and lands on a glinthawk's spine, leaving the area and heading to a more safe place, unfortunately, The Final Order knows someonw was there, so probably they'll have a much more difficult time trying to break their defenses.

As Aloy leaves, Kylo walks calmly towards Sunlight, who's grunting from pain, she took of the arrow, but the harpoon remains clinged to her. "Take it off." Says Kylo with a serious voice as he watches Sunlight struggle. "It... hurst..." Says Sunlight as she tries to take off the harpoon, but the pain is too much for her too handle, as blood begins to run down from the hole it pierced through her armor. "You're going against your fear and losing, allow me." Says Kylo as he uses the Force to strip the harpoon away rudely, making Sunlight scream of pain. "Now heal yourself and stand up, if there was someone here, we don't know if they're with The Resistance, we must be prepared." Said Kylo as with a serious expression as he turned away and head to the camp, leaving Sunlight alone, who struggles to stand up as she places her hand on her wound, and after a bit of effort, she managed to use her magic to heal herself.

Meanwhile, back at the headquearters. Chief exits the training room and heads to another part of the lab, where a Brokkr Armor Mechanism lies.

Chief stands in the middle of it, and the mechanism proceeds to suit him up. Finally wearing his Mjolnir Armor after so long, after putting his helmet, his HUD displays on his visor, there's one new message, Chief reads it and it's Sunlight's files regarding everything she managed to collect from The Final Order. "What... is... this?" Asks Chief as he reads the files' titles, Cortana appears next to him and asks. "What do you mean? Did you find something new?"

"Take a look." Says Chief as he extends his hand, Cortana reaches it and goes back to Chief's neural link, she then begins to examinate all the files. "This... is a goldmine, tactics, secret bases, even the blueprints of a ship named The Eclipse, all of this files have important information of The Final Order, we might actually have a chance to fight them and win." Says Cortana astonished by the amoun of intel the files hold inside them.

"That's good to know, but we have to bring this information to the Infinity, maybe this might help to stop the chase for Sunlight." Says Chief with an optimistic voice, he was heading out of the room but an incoming call appears on Chief's HUD, it's from Aura, Chief quickly answers it and asks. "Hey Aura, we're in the middle of something so if you..."

He's then interrupted by Aura who replies with a tired voice. "John, whatever you're doing is related to damaging private and public property near midnight?!" Chief's confused as he doesn't know what she means. "What? What happened?" Asks Chief with a concerned voice, as he wants to know what Aura's referring to, she sighs and replies with a calmed voice.

"Some weirdos began what appears to be a fighting scene through many places around the city, there are damaged walls from apartment blocks, infrastructural damage in an abandoned factory, along with damage in the train racks, which means dozens if not hundreds of people were late to their jobs and schools..." Aura makes a pause and her voice sounds more stressed as she now continues. "... And Mayor Mare wants results, which means she wants the culprit in jail or anyone who was responsible paying not only the fines but also the indemnizations to the owners of the damaged buildings before this becomes a public scandal!"

Chief notices she's stressed, probably its due to her recent promotion to Captain due to her efforts during the Flood Outbreak, but Aura's being putting a lot of pressure on herself thanks to that, with a calmed voice, Chief asks. "Hey hey, calm down, it was one of the Hunters that was chasing Eclipse Sunlight and they had a fight, but both of them are gone."

"And HOW am I supposed to explain that? 'Mayor Mare, the culprit was an agent from an elite strike force that was chasing a teenager with magical powers from another world, but don't worry! Since both of them are in another universe! Case CLOSED!' Do you actually think anyone will believe that?" Asks Aura with a more desperate voice, she hasn't had a good day for what it seems, but Chief tries to help her. "Ok, let's do this... breathe..." Says Chief with a calmed voice, Aura follows his instructions. "And now what?" Asks Aura with a serious voice. "There's something troubling you, do you want to talk about it?" Asks Chief, he only hears a sigh, but from the other side, Aura is inside her patrol with the doors closed, fortunately, she's out of sight, she leans her head back wards on her seat and says. "I... I'm not fine John, it's been a hard week to be honest, there's been a huge mess around the city by the recent events, I've been coordinating all the efforts to make this as fast and efficient as possible, and we've succeeded, but now I have THIS thing to deal with. And then Flash's birthday is in three days and I haven't prepared anything for him... *sigh* I'm failing as a mother right now."

Chief replies with a determined but also serious voice. "Hey, don't you say that! You're a great mother! Everyone has their bad streaks, listen... tell the Major that it was a filming of a scene for an upcoming summer movie for next year, contact Captain Lasky and tell him about this situation, we have protocols to deal with this kind of problems. Regarding Flash's birthday, don't worry, we can find something for him, together... plus, you need a rest, what about if we all go for some dinner once your shift is over?"

Aura chuckles and then replies with a calmed voice. "Ok, I'll do it. And the idea of going out for some dinner sounds amazing, by the way, what are you doing right now?" Chief hesitates for a few seconds if he should tell her the truth or not, but after 2 seconds of intense arguing with himself, Chief replies. "We're about to head to another world, we need to go to some coordinates, we might have a chance to strike down Kylo Ren once and for all, the girls and I will go there as one of their friends is there. But don't worry, Flash will stay here, I'll make sure of it."

"*Sigh* John... you better take care of them, you got it?" Asks Aura with a calmed voice, she knows that the Rainbooms are teenagers in a dangerous situation, but she rests easy as they're in John's hands. "I will... I promise that they'll return home safe." Replies Chief, after a short goodbye, both ended the call, Chief now exists the room and heads to the training room, where Sunset and Flash seem to be chatting about something.

"Do you think Sunlight's fine?" Asks Flash with a concerned looks as he sees Sunset's worried expression. "I hope so, she's been struggling, and there's people beside from us that worry about her, I promised that I'd bring her back, and that's what I'll do." Says Sunset with a determined expression, but she also seems worried as she doesn't know what happened to Sunlight during the time she's been out. Flash then hugs her gently and says. "I'm glad to hear it, I'll be there to help you when you need it. *Chuckles* you know? Whenever I see you like this, caring for your friends, doing almost the impossible to help them... it only make me fall more and more in love with you." Said Flash as he blushes while looking at Sunset, who blushes and replies.

"Thanks, I learned it from you, it was thanks to you that I knew how to begin to become a better person... it was one of the reasons I fell in love with you the first time... and also because you're cute as hell." Said Sunset with a smile as she holds Flash's face, both got carried away by the moment and after a few seconds of looking at each other with a smile, they kissed passionately and slowly, Flash lifts Sunset with his arms easily and holds her by her thighs, Flash then heads to the table where the type of training is selected and places Sunset on it, who wraps her arms around Flash's neck, before they get on it, Chief interrupts them by knocking the door.

"What did I just say? At least wait until you're alone." Says Chief with a serious voice as he looks at them, fortunately, his helmet hides his expression which shows extreme confusion since he was very clear on that regard. "Sorry! Sorry... we... got carried away." Said Flash with an ashamed expression as he pulled down his t-shirt and Sunset gets off the table also ashamed. "Yeah... I noticed. I talked with your mother, and we both agreed that you're staying here... no... discussion." Said Chief with a serious voice, Flash only agrees with his head. "...Sunset, we're going to the Infinity, tell your friends to meet us there and to not be late, each second counts."

Now at the Infinity, Chief and Sunset head to the science division, since The Rainbooms' battle suits were under maintenance, when they arrive to the maintenance room, someone greets them by their arrival.

"Well now this is a surprise, the Master Chief himself and Sunset Shimmer visit the nerd division. I feel flattered." Says Stark with a humoristic voice, he seems to be checking some diagnostics from Twilight's battle suit.

"Wait, you know me?!" Asks Sunset confused, she's never seen Tony Stark before then how does he know her? Thought Sunset, but Stark replied with a confident expression. "Of course, your first show at the testing room put the eyes of all the science division on you and your friends, after that... you all have had much more encounters with Kylo Ren and Starkiller than anyone else, also... your counterpart has created quite the mess in the hallways, there's people that support her thanks to the Blue Team's efforts and there are also people that say that it's better to keep her into custody, me included. I mean, no offense Sunset but Eclipse Sunlight it's really dangerous right now, we need to keep her under surveillance while we try to find a way to help her, but... not everyone thinks the same as I do." Says Stark with a serious expression, he seems to disagree with O.N.I's directive regarding Sunlight, but Chief now jumps into the conversation.

"Tony Stark, long time no see. How's been the job lately?" Asks Chief with a calmed voice, Stark then slides the holo display with the diagnosis away and replies. "Well I'm finished fixing the battle suits Tesla made, but now I got to leave. Miguel requested my assistance in a mission, which is weird because despite both of us being Hunters, he never asks for help."

"Where are you going?" Asks Sunset concerned about this, probably it's related to Sunlight's case, but the answer she got from Stark didn't help very much. "We're taking separate paths, out of three worlds, he's checking one, I'll check another one and another Hunter is checking the third one. This gotta be an important target since there are three Hunters involved." Says Stark as he heads to a pod in the middle of the room, a mechanism similar to the Brokkr mechanism and begins to suit him up.

"Sorry for being rude, but I have to leave, business calls. Oh, by the way! Your friend, Twilight is at Tesla's lab, probably you should check on them, I haven't seen them out for a couple hours." Says Stark as he leaves, leaving Chief and Sunset alone. "Pick your suit, I've already told the team to prepare a portal to our destination, let's check on Twilight." Said Chief as he and Sunset leave the room and head to Tesla's lab, once they entered, they got shocked for what they saw.

The mess on the desk was only the beggining, documents with formulas spreaded across the whole room, the chalkboard is filled with formulas and drawings, Twilight lies on the ground as she looks at the ceiling, her expression shows nothing but fatigue, on the other side of the desk, Tesla is picking up papers from the floor, unlike Twilight, he doesn't seem to be tired at all.

"What's... going on?" Asks Sunset as she looks around trying to understand the formulas around her, she understands a few of them, but there are also formulas she can't understand. "Sunset?! Hey! Why are you here?" Asks Twilight as she quickly gets up after hearing her friend's voice, her expression suddenly changes, like if she was never tired, Twilight hugs Sunset and then replies to her question.

"Tesla requested my help in some research related to stability in space and time continuity, but we've been here discussing the answer for hours but we're not very sure about our conclusion." Replies Twilight as she picks up a paper and places it on the desk.

"Uuhmm... what do you mean?" Asks Chief confused, not by the research topic, but about the fact that these two are researching about this topic in particular, then Tesla stands from behind the desk and replies. "Because time ago, I detected fluctuations in the continuity of space and time, we didn't fell it because we were in another universe, but Sunset's world was about to crumble upon itself, this happened during her first encounter with Eclipse Sunlight. According to the quantic model, it should've collapsed, but... it didn't, and now we're trying to find the definite answer to this."

"And what have you found until now?" Asks Sunset worried, how was something so bad as the destruction of her world almost happen without her noticing? Luckily, Tesla got the answer. "The fight between you and your counterpart was a paradoxical event, Sunset Shimmer literally fighting against Sunset Shimmer, that's.... physically impossible, the timeline was trying to fix itself by killing one of you, but thanks to Chief's fight with Sunlight and the fact that you left to the Infinity when Galen rescued you, helped to bring stability to the timeline, in addition to this, the fact that Eclipse Sunlight doesn't identify herself as Sunset Shimmer and that her choices are really apart from the path you took to become a better person, shows that in fact, Eclipse Sunlight was once Sunset Shimmer, but not anymore, she's her own version of... herself and that's... the only thing we've got until now, sorry... I hope we could be more useful but 16 hours is a very short period of time to prove any theory." Replies Tesla as he places the many papers he picked up on the desk.

"Anyway, what brings you here? Did something bad happened?" Asks Twilight as she takes a seat and drinks from a cup of coffee next to her. "We received a call from Sunlight, she gaves some coordinates to another world which according to Sunlight, this might be a chance to bring Kylo Ren down once and for all, but we're also trying to figure out a way to bring her back, she wants to make things right, a proof of that is the valuable data she provide us with, we have plans, tactics, and even a blueprint of one of their ships..." Said Chief with a serious voice, but he's then interrupted by Cortana who appears on his hand and says.

"We've already sent that intel to Captain Lasky, but we need to act quickly to at least have a chance of winning against The Final Order." Tesla and Twilight seem surprised, but Twilight is the most shocked, with determination she asks. "Sunset, are you sure this isn't a trap? What if Sunlight plotted something with Kylo Ren to make us believe that we can defeat Kylo Ren or any of the Sith Lords, only to then reveal that WE are the ones who will pay the price for believing her." Twilight tries to be rational, they've survived two ambushes thanks to Chief and Flash's intervention, if this is another trap, they might lose someone, which is something Twilight won't allow, but Sunset seems a bit blinded by the motivation to help Sunlight, and with a serious expression, she replies.

"I know you have your doubts, but if it's true we can't let this chance slip from our hands, just think of it. She's only suffered more and more, we're of the only people that she trusts, we can't turn our back on her!"

"But you know she's a danger, your first fight, the battle at the observatory, she helped bring Darth Vader from the dead, she's also killed many people, have you seen the recordings? Her necklace is turning her into a killing monster, who knows how far she is from the turning into it completely!" Says Twilight with a higher tone of voice, she tries to make Sunset realize how weird and flawd that plan is, but Sunset remains firm to her belief. "Then we find a way to help her, those recordings only show what the dark magic has done to her, but it doesn't mean that the person in those images is actually Eclipse Sunlight, we can't give up on her!" Claims Sunset with a more serious voice, the conversation is heating up a bit and as Chief was about to stop it, Twilight interrupts him by replying with the same voice volume.

"Sunset why can't you see it?! I'm only trying to state that we might not find what we're expecting on that world! Probably Sunlight has turned to Kylo's side, I heard what happened, Tesla told me a Hunter chased down Sunlight and when she was captured, a dark magic cloud surrounded her and teleported her somewhere else. And YOU know that the ONLY people capable of doing that are Kylo, Starkiller and probably Darth Vader! If we're bringing her back, we must let The Resistance keep her into custody while they find out fi she's suitable to be on our side!" Said Twilight, Sunset then realizes her friend is in the group of people that want to capture Sunlight, with traces of anger, Sunset replies.

"And what's different from her that was different from YOU or ME? We both were corrupted by magic and we turned into evil beings with a thirst for power, if we weren't helped by our friends, we wouldn't be in this situation right now, and most probably, we'd be in the same situation Sunlight is right now!" Replied Sunset with anger, finally Chief gets in their way before this conversation becomes a quarrel.

"Listen up you two!!!" Said Chief with authority, seizing the argue and finally getting Sunset and Twilight's attention. "We're going to go there to see what Sunlight meant, and also we're going to get her out of The Final Order, if it's a trap, we're going to make a plan to counter whatever their plan is! And if it's not, we're going to finish Kylo Ren once and for all! You can argue all that you want later, GOT IT?!!" Asked Chief with a serious voice, intimidating everyone except Tesla, who only remains shocked by the sudden situation, Sunset and Twilight only agree with their head as they think that anything they say, will make Chief even angrier.

The three of them leave Tesla's lab, Sunset and Twilight didn't shared a word for the whole journey, once they've arrived to the portal room, the Blue Team already waits for them along with the rest of The Rainbooms, who are wearing their battle suits. "Are we ready?" Asks Linda with a calmed voice as she hammers her sniper rifle and attaches it on her back, and Fred hands Chief his blades and attaches them to his back, he then looks at Linda and replies. "Yeah, we gotta move, everyone! Follow me." Says Chief as he crosses the portal first, he's then followed by his team and the girls, but before crossing, Twilight says. "Sunset!" Shouted Twilight, stopping Sunset, who turns around with a serious expression, Twilight then takes a deep breath and says.

"I'm sorry... I know Sunlight is important to you because she was the first person that you hurt. And I know I have my opinions, but this is something you're the one who has to fix it..." Twilight then places her hand on Sunset shoulder and says. "... I only want to apologize and say, that regardless of your decision, I'll support you." Sunset smiles as a way of showing thanks, she then places her hand on Twilight's shoulder and says with a smile. "Thanks Twi! Now let's go and save Sunlight!"

"Yeah, let's go!!" Said Twilight as now both of them cross the portal, jumping into the unknown.

Meanwhile, deep in one of the Multiverse's wildest realms, Hell, Lucifer is walking throught the hallways of his prison for the darkest and most evil beings in the Multiverse, the Tartarus. Everything seems normal, all prisoners are in their jails and as Lucifer goes to the lowest levels of Tartarus, where the biggest killers, psycopaths and dreadful beings that have ever existed dwell and Lucifer checks on them to make sure they never escape.

Lucifer visits a particular cell, he only peeks but he looks closely as he sees the cell empty, with a movement of his hand, he opens the door and gets into the cell, he sees the inscription of the damned that was imprisoned here. Darth Vader.

"Now THIS is a true pain in the ass, GUARDS!" Said Lucifer aloud, two demon guards appear behind him and kneel before him. "When did the prisoner escaped?" Asked Lucifer without turning around, he only crouches and inspects a strange inscription in the ground, glowing with purple magic. "We're sorry sir, when we realized he escaped, we thought that he was somewhere around Tarturus but we haven't found him... agh!" Said one of the guards as he grabbed by a demonic tentacle summoned by Lucifer, who replies with a serious voice.

"That's not what I ASKED!" Said Lucife with anger as he snaps the guard's neck, killing it instantly, the other guard quickly replies. "He's gone for 5 hours until now your highness! But we don't know where he is!"

"5 hours? That's much worse! This inscription is a summoning pentagram, someone brought him back to the mortal realm and I know who's related, this filthy magic...*sigh* my good friend Sunlight, what have you done?" Said Lucifer to himself, then he stands up and says to the guard. "You! Tell my wife I'll go to the Mortal Realm due to an emergency at Tarturus." Said Lucifer with a serious voice, the guard then asks. "What are you going to do, you highness?"

Lucifer then sighs and changes his serious expression to his common cheerful smile, he then uses his staff to draw a pentagram on the ground and replies.

"I'd be paying a visit to some old friends." Said Lucifer as he vanishes and teleports to the mortal realm, in his search for Sunlight, he tracked her magic to its source and arrives in a beautiful and peaceful world.

"Ah! But what a wonderful sight! Alright, I better get off the skies before some mortal sees me." Said Lucifer as he descended in the deep forest and hid his wings, then he began to walk all around the city to find any clue that leads him to Eclipse Sunlight, but what he doesn't know, it's that Sunlight lies on another world, organizing the troops and the Death Squad for when Sunset and the others arrive, despite not having neither Starkiller nor Vader with them right now, Kylo said that if everything goes as planned, none of them will make it out of this one alive.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello everybody! I know, I know, this chapter really took its time, but as I mentioned before, I've had a lot of things to do from college, but since I'm already on vacations, I'd have more time to write and draw. This chapter and the next one comprehend a whole narrative by themselves, that's why a few things were left unsolved in this chapter, but in the next one those questions I left in the air will be answered, but as for now. Thanks for reading the chapter! I hope you liked it, lemme know your thoughts and questions of it in the comments, and I'll be seeing you next chapter, peace!

-DReep

Chapter 21: ...It Will Get Worse

Author's Note

Hi everyone! Sorry for going missing without telling y'all, but I've been busy in my personal life, and it took me a lot of time (priorities... to be brief), and every time I had a break to write, all my progress got deleted from Fimfiction, so I had to rewrite the chapter many times, while also doing some copies to prevent it from erasing completely from my computer.

I hope you like this chapter, the time it took me to write it really helped to improve the story and give it a much better script (at least I think so, haha!). Anyway, I'll try to be more communicative with y'all if something delays the next chapter's release, I'll do my best, but I can't control everything.

Enjoy the chapter, and see y'all next time!
-DReep

Chapter 21: ...It Will Get Worse

As The Final Order begins their excavation, Kylo can't stop feeling something, the Force is strong in that place, there's something.... calling... But it's not him the one being called, it's someone else. But Kylo doesn't know who it is... He'd have to reveal the secrets of that cave by himself. After almost 20 minutes, they reached the entrance of the cave, which was buried under layers and layers of rocks, those weren't put there by nature, someone did it, but it doesn't matter, as they have now cleared a path for them to enter the cave.

Kylo and a few Sith troopers enter the cave as Sunlight and the Death Squad head to track down Aloy. But as Kylo walks through the cave, he finds himself surrounded by the crystals in the cave, they seem to be natural, but he feels something else deeper, after a few more minutes of walking, a distant glow catches Kylo's eyes, it only took him a few seconds to realize what was he seeing.

"A Kyber crystal?" Asked Kylo to himself as he slowly walks towards the glowing mineral, Kyber Crystals were originally from his world, their used as a power source for lightsabers, and also were used by Darth Sidious to create his super weapons, these crystals have a strange quality that makes them connected to the Force, which makes them a valuable resource for both Jedi and Sith. But how is a Kyber crystal here? Thought Kylo as he approaches the crystal, its glow calls to him, but as he opened his hand to grab it, the crystal came in contact with his dark magic and pushed Kylo away with an energy shockwave. The Sith troopers help him stand up. "What happened, sir?" Asks one of the Sith troopers, Kylo only sees his hand as he clenches it and replies with a serious voice.

"The crystal... it... refused me... as if I was... unworthy of grabbing it." Said Kylo, who changed his expression to an angered one and heads again to the crystal, without hesitation he grabs the crystal quickly with both of his hands. The energy it emits tries to push him away, but he doesn't flinch, he's determined to take it. But the crystal emitted a much stronger shockwave, sending him flying away again and crashing against the walls of the cave. "(This crystal... it's different from the others I've found... it has more power, but it refuses me!... doesn't matter, It'll be mine wether it wants or not!)" Thought Kylo as he stood up, he then received a transmission from Sunlight that says. "We've found where Sunset and her team arrived, we're proceeding to move there." Said Sunlight with a serious voice, the crystal was right in front of him, but if he lets any of them alive, they'll screw his plans. Reluctantly, Kylo stood up and was heading to the exit, not before ordering his troops with anger. "Get a mining team to retrieve the Kyber crystal, I'll make it yield sooner or later!"

Back with Sunlight, they detected that their portal open a bit far away, in a forest located in the outskirts of the desert.

"WOW! This place looks, AMAZING!" Says Rainbow Dash aloud with excitement as the girls are astonished by the beauty of the world they're in. After all, this is their first time in another world, Chief then takes a look on his HUD visor, the destination Sunlight sent them appears on his map as a yellow spot. "Don't get distracted, we got a job to do." Says Chief as he loads his assault rifle and begins moving, the Blue Team begins to comb the area while they head to their destination, Applejack looks around, the beauty of this land caught her eye immediately when she placed foot in this Earth.

"And to think places like this lie beyond our universe... Ha! When I tell everyone back home that I'd been in another world, they'll think I'm bamboozling them." Says Applejack with a smile as she breathes some fresh air as they follow the Blue Team, after walking for a while everything seemed peaceful, but everyone were alert in case something happened, the crunch of a branch is heard behind them, in a matter of seconds everyone got in formation and aimed to where the sound came from.

"Woah! Calm down, it's me." Said a female voice as a woman appears in front of them, turning off a cloaking device.

"It really took your time to get here." Says Aloy as she reveals herself, wearing a suit with a personal shield around it to pt¿rotect herself from any attack.

"Aloy, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be at the excavation site?" Asks Chief as he and the rest of his team lower their guns, relieved that they met with an ally instead of an enemy. "Yeah, they found me right after I ended my call with Cortana, I managed to escape, but when I tried to contact you, I didn't realize my communicator was reached by blaster shot, becoming useless." Said Aloy as she shows the damaged communicator, she then peeks behind the Blue Team and sees the girl, with a smile she asks. "And... wouldn't you introduce us?" Says Aloy as she passes the Blue Team and heads to the girls, she then extends her hand to greet Sunset and the others. "Hi! I'm Aloy, the Blue Team and I we've for quite the time already, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Said Aloy with a cheerful smile.

"The pleasure is ours, I'm Sunset Shimmer and these are my friends..." Said Sunset as she shakes Aloy's hand and introduces her to the rest of The Rainbooms. "... Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy." Said Sunset as she introduced her friends, but Pinkie Pie gets overexcited and steps forth, grabbing Aloy's hand with joy.

"HI ALOY! I'm Pinkie Pie, I'm sure we're gonna be good friends, here! Have a cookie!" Said Pinkie as she took out a cookie from her hair and hands it to Aloy, who grabs it confused and after examining it, she asks. "So this is... a cookie? What am I supposed to do with it" Said Aloy as she activates the device on her ear called Focus to understand how is this cookie made of.

"You're supposed to eat it, you dummy." Said Pinkie with a smile and her usual tone of voice that makes everyone leave a chuckle. Except for John and Linda, of course. Aloy then sees that this cookie is similar to dishes in her world, but after taking a bite. Aloy gets shocked, the cookie's sweet flavor draws a smile on her face, there are very few dishes that are sweet, so this flavor is something rare for her to experience.

"Let's get moving, people!" Said Chief aloud as the group begins to move. During the walk, Aloy had a long chat with the girls to get to know each other. Aloy's surprisingly empathetic, but the girls also noticed that she's not very good with people, but her sarcastic jokes and her blunt attitude at speaking makes up for it.

"So... Aloy, you're like... the guardian of this world, right?" Asks Rainbow Dash as she crosses her arms behind her head. Aloy replies after swallowing the last bite of the cookie. "Yeah, kinda. Let's just say my curiosity has driven me to explore the lost technologies that lie all over my world, and unlike most of the people, I don't see technology as something mystical, it's a tool... and a very useful one..." Aloy then looks at the girls and asks with curiosity. "And what about you? You should be like some heroes or something, I mean... those suit of yours seem to be very special."

Twilight then replies with a proud voice, since she and Tesla designed them. "Let's just say we have powers that come from our necklaces, and this armors make us able to use our powers to another level."

"Then you're like... your world's strongest warriors?" Asks Aloy as she tries to understand the whole concept of powers, but something interrupts the conversation, Chief raised his closed fist, ordering the group to stop. The Blue Team takes a defensive position while the girls activate their suits, Aloy uses her Focus to track down whatever caught Chief's attention, she then sees it... a small patrol, hiding in the bushes far ahead of them, but they aren't looking at their direction. Aloy then approaches John silently and points the bush where the patrol hides, John then orders Linda to aim her sniper towards that position, Aloy takes out her bow and charges a fire arrow, Linda then comprehends Aloy's plan, make their hiding spot burn to draw them out and get a clear shot.

As Aloy charges the shot, one of the figures begins to act abnormally, little did she know, that it was Cardo, the surviving Knight of Ren and member of the Death Squad, who begins to feel a disturbance in The Shadow, which is the Knights of Ren's concept of The Dark Side, he then warns the team as also Ap'Lek feels what Cardo means.

When they were about to change their position, Aloy shoots the arrow, which starts to burn the bush where they were hiding, forcing them to leave immediately, but one of the Purge Troopers comes out and is then quickly taken down by Linda's shot directed to his chest. That shot was enough to make Sunlight aware of their attackers' position, she then quickly turns around and thrusts herself forward with her powers, approaching Linda in a matter of seconds, it was too late when Linda realized that Sunlight was right in front of her, giving her a cold gaze, one that shows hatred and has all the intention of killing her. But Sunlight only punched her in the head, stunning her enough for Sunlight to take her and with a powered punch, she sends Linda flying away.

Everyone is shocked of what they just saw, it's Sunlight... but, she's different... her eyes are illuminated by dark magic as the signs of corruption are shown in her face. Blaster shots begin to reach them, the Blue Team quickly shoots back and draws the fire away from the girls. Meanwhile, the girls are shocked by Sunlight's look.

"S-Sunlight?!" Asks a shocked Sunset Shimmer, she's never seen her counterpart like this, but her emotionless face shows that the Eclipse Sunlight right in front of her is not the one she knows, but she has to try to get to her.

"Sunlight.... what has happened to you? Did Kylo Ren turn you into this?" Asks Sunset as she walks slowly towards Sunlight, Twilight tried to stop her but Sunset ignores her, Aloy charges her arrow as a cautionary measure, if Sunset can make Sunlight come to her senses, then it's worth trying. Sunlight's expression shows only anger as she says with a deep voice.

"Kylo... only opened my eyes... he helped me realize that all I've been doing is worthless! And the only way for me to have a new life... it's by fulfilling his plan... and KILLING YOU IN THE PROCESS!!!" Sunlight then punches Sunset so hard in the face that a small shockwave spreads around, Sunset fell to the ground and blood is spilled on the ground. As Sunlight was about to approach the rest, Aloy shoots her bow and Sunlight blocks it with her bracer, Twilight then stops her in place, exterting a lot of pressure upon Sunlight.

"Is she your friend?" Asks Aloy as she changes her bow to a slingshot and loads a cryo grenade. "It's... complicated! But we have to stop her!" Says Twilight as she making an effort to keep Sunlight in place as the rest of the girls get into formation, Sunlight lets go a shout of anger as she blows up the gravity field around her with a shockwave of dark magic, Aloy shoots the slingshot hitting Sunlight, the ice of the cryo grenade spreads across her left side, slowing her down.

"NOW!" Said Aloy as she shot again her slingshot, covering Sunlight with ice, Applejack approaches and with strong punch, she stunned Sunlight, who barely managed to block the hit and gets pushed away. Sunset stands up wobbling as she cleans the blood stains in her mouth. "Are you ok?" Asks Twilight as she helps Sunset stand properly.

"I think... but... Sunlight, she's... not herself... she's under Kylo's control." Said Sunset as she looks at everyone, Rainbow Dash then replies with determination. "It's obvious, but don't worry! We'll bring her back, EVERYONE... ON ME!!" Said Rainbow as she charged forward at a high speed, followed up by the rest of the group, Aloy stays behind and changes her slingshot cryo ammo to shock grenades as she looks at Sunset and says. "You two are very alike, anything I'm missing?"

"Long story, let's just say we're two different versions of the same person or... being, anyway. Let's free her from that necklace's control." Said Sunset as she and Aloy regroup with the rest of the girls. Sunlight's being overwhelmed by the coordinated attack of The Rainbooms, she's having a fist fight with Applejack and Fluttershy, who manage to keep her at bay by trading quick blows and strong techniques from Fluttershy and the strong punches of Applejack that manage to make Sunlight lose her ground as also change the terrain by destroying it, to stun Sunlight, who used an opening to hit Applejack, but her fist is suddenly stopped by a diamond created by Rarity, who not only protects herself, but also all her friends. Rainbow Dash uses her speed not only to hit Sunlight, but also to move her friends away from any incoming attack.

Pinkie Pie uses electric and stun grenades to not let Sunlight attack, whilst Twilight lifts the many rocks around the area and shoots them to Sunlight. Who can only block every incoming hit, getting several but small wounds. From the corner of her eye, Sunlight sees Aloy shooting her slingshot, Sunlight takes this chance and rolls out of the attacks and jumps, grabbing the shock grenade midair and throws it at Rarity, stunning her. Right after landing, Sunlight stomps the ground, lifting a rock from the ground and pushes it with her palm, aiming it at Twilight, who stops the rock right in front of her, but Sunlight punches through the rock, hitting Twilight in the face and breaking her glasses as she's now falling, Sunlight then grabs her by the leg and throws her at Applejack and Fluttershy, who catched Twilight midair.

Ranbow Dash comes in kicking Sunlight with enough power that sent her flying away, crashing against a tree and falling to the ground. Sunlight then stands up and shoots an energy blast.

The blast was aimed to Pinkie Pie, but Rainbow Dash quickly gets in the way and receives the shot, crashing against many trees by the knockback of the impact. Sunset comes in charging at a high speed with a powered punch, but Sunlight notices it and blocks her hit, spreading the shockwave all around.

"Nice try, but it won't be enough." Said Sunlight arrogantly with a smile, but Sunset ignores her taunts and replies. "I know this is not you, this is only the reflection Kylo wants you to be. SNAP OUT OF IT!!" Sunlight then headbutts Sunset, making her step back and with a spinning kick, Sunlight sents her flying away, only to be catched by Applejack. "Can you please stop getting thrown away, I'm kinda tired of catching people." Said Applejack as she puts down Sunset.

Aloy then starts shooting her bow, distracting Sunlight who approaches her with a jump and gets quickly stunned by an electric trap, Aloy rolls away and picks up one of her weapons called tearblaster.

Aloy aims it at Sunlight, who just recovered from the electric trap, and with anger she dashes forward as she creates a dark blade, aiming to kill Aloy. But, as soon as she got close enough, Aloy shoots a blast of compressed air that destroys Sunlight's armor and pushes her away. "Do you have a plan to taker her down?" Asks Aloy as she reloads the tearblaster, but before she could get an answer, Sunlight charges forward taking Aloy by the neck and flying away with her.

"ALOY!!" Shouted Sunset as she receives an incoming call, it's from John. "Sunset... status report..." Said Chief, there's a lot of gunfire sounds in the background, but Sunset understood what he said and replied. "Sunlight's under control of her necklace or something like that... she took Aloy away, we're chasing her now!" With that being said, the girls head now where Aloy was taken.

Meanwhile, Sunlight smacks Aloy on the ground, then she begins to punch Aloy, who quickly takes off her knife and stabs Sunlight on her shoulder and kicks her away, Aloy then rolls away and takes out her spear as she stands up. "I don't want to do this, but you aren't giving me many options."
Sunlight takes off the knife and heals quickly the wound, then both warriors begin to fight, despite only using her spear, Aloy manages to keep up with Sunlight, but only for a bit. Sunlight kicks away Aloy's spear, and punches her in the belly, downing her armor's shield. Aloy's arm is then grabbed by Sunlight, who uses an Aikido technique to take her down, and once on the ground, Aloy couldn't think of anything to stop Sunlight, who draws a dark blade and was about to hit her, but a red web wraps around her raised fist, making her unable to swing down her blade, Sunlight looks behind her and sees a portal where the web comes from, pulling her with strength. Aloy takes this chance to kick Sunlight in the face, realising her.

Then, someone arrives from the portal, an expected visit, but a bit late. Aloy only sighs of relief as finally... the help has arrived.

Miguel breaks in as he punches Sunlight with such a strength that she's sent flying away.

Aloy then stands up and says. "You really took your time, don't you think?"

"Sorry for helping people around the Multiverse... *sigh* it's a chaos out there." Replied Miguel with serious voice as Alloy and him look at where Sunlight crashed, Miguel draws out his claws and arm-blades, but Aloy asks him. "So the plan is to kill her?"

"It was at first... but I changed my mind... screw O.N.I" Replied Miguel with a serious voice, Aloy's slightly shocked since Miguel is not the kind of people that changes his mind, but they're interrupted by Sunlight who dashes forward enraged, Miguel faces her directly by jumping and with his arm-blades, he hit Sunlight, who blocked the hit and crashed on the ground, but with an energy blast, Sunlight managed to shoot him upwards, but Miguel shot a web and thrusts himself downwards, he tried to slash Sunlight's necklace with his arm-blades but she dodged the hit and stood up, Miguel then uses his claws to take off her necklace, but every slash is a missed hit, and Sunlight takes advantage of this and counterattacks quickly in every opening she finds.

Aloy picks up her bow from the ground and begins to shoot multiple adhesive arrows that stick to Sunlight's body and hinders her movements, Miguel takes this chance to land some punches on her, but it appears she only gets stronger after receiving any damage. Sunlight removes the adhesive arrows and begins to fight both Miguel and Aloy, whom started to have some problems against the dark berserker. Thankfully for them, a diamond whip wraps around Sunlight and pulls her against a rock. "Would you stop running?! *heavy breathing* Not all of us have such a great physical condition!" Said Rarity aloud as she takes back her whip, The Rainbooms have arrived, Miguel looks at Aloy as asking. "Kids?... Really?...

Aloy only shrugs and says. "Hey, I didn't bring them, John did." Said Aloy as she shoots Sunlight with an electric arrow, electrocuting her and making her scream of pain. "Hey, quit it!" Said Sunset as she was about to take off the electric arrow from Sunlight's body, but Miguel stops her and says. "It's too dangerous, she's highly agressive."

"And are you going to let her die?! How can yo do that?!!" Asks an outraged Sunset, but Pinkie reacts quickly and throws a bomb that explodes and covers Sunlight in slime, isolating the shock arrow and also immobilizes her. "There! Much better." Said Pinkie with a proud smile, as Sunlight tries to catch her breath and bows her head low. Sunset crouches before Sunlight and with a concerned voice she says. "This might hurt... but please, understand that it's to help you." Sunset then places her hand on Sunlight's cheek and uses her power, but this time, Sunset focuses to go deeper in Sunlight's mind, arriving at the dimensional plain where Sunlight's conscience is trapped.

Sunset finds herself in a dark dimension, everything seems broken, shattered, but also... off. In the middle of this mind prison, Sunset finds an orb, but it's damaged, letting go light rays that illuminate dimly this dimension. Sunset goes in the orb by one of the rifts in its surface, Sunset then finds Sunlight on her knees, while her arms, legs, waist and chest are tied by chains made by dark magic. Sunlight raises her head and Sunset sees how damaged Sunlight is, her face shows tiredness, also traces of tears and her eyes are dark, illuminated only by the green glow of her pupils.

"Sunlight! What happened?!" Said Sunset worried about her friend, who only replies with a tired voice. "Kylo... used my anger and my necklace to turn me into his personal weapon... I've tried to fight it, but each chain I break it's replaced by a stronger one... I've... lost count of... how many times I tried, but it's impossible." Said Sunlight as she shows Sunset her chains, Sunset tries to break them, but she lacks the strength to do so. "Dammit! These chains are strong." Says Sunset as she keeps pulling the chains with all her strength, but it's impossible.

"I told you... *sigh* I'm fucked, just... leave me here and let them terminate me." Replies Sunlight with a sad voice, showing that she's gave up all hopes on herself. "NO! I'll get you out of here, I promised Adagio that I'll bring you back, and THAT'S what I'll do!" Said Sunset with determinaton as she clads her hands with light magic and places her hands on the vest around Sunlight's chest and with all her strength, she managed to break it and this time, it wasn't replaced by more chains.

"How did you do it?" Asks Sunlight amazed of what Sunset did, but everything around them begins to shake. "Magic, I guess... but it appears the necklace felt that." Said Sunset as she looks around, Sunlight only chuckles and replies. "Yeah, probably it isn't any good news, quick, try breaking the other chains!"

Sunset was about to break the chains of Sunlight's right arm, but as the quake becomes more violent, a wave of dark magic hits Sunset, banning her out of this dimension. Sunset then returns to the real world, where Miguel grabs her as she was pushed back by a repulse wave.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Asks Miguel as he helps Sunset get up, she then replies with a serious expression. "Sunlight is trapped in a prison made by her necklace... we have to take it off to release her." Said Sunset as she was about to take off the dark necklace from SUnlight's neck, but she's then stopped by an incoming wave of darkfire, Rarity created a diamond to protect everyone, there's only person capable of doing that, despite the heat of the fire, the girls feel an intense cold coming from deep the forest.

"Get... away... from her!" Said Kylo Ren, coming out of the trees with a serious expression, as his necklace glows with dark magic. Neither Aloy or Miguel expected to see him here, as there's another battle going on, but there's no point on complaining right now, they have to work together to at least hold him off.

"John, if you can hear me... we have Kylo Ren here!" Said Miguel as he used his communicator, hoping to get a good answer, but he only received a discouraging message.

"We have a whole army over here, hang on!" That's all that Chief said as the sound of blaster shots and gunshots were filling the air and sound aroun him, then the call ended abruptly and Miguel says. "Bad news people! We'd have to fight him, Aloy and I will be the vanguard, you make sure to provide support and don't let him get to Sunlight, got it?!" Asks Miguel as she looks at the girls, who only agree with their head, Rarity downs the diamond shield and Aloy shoots a tearblast arrow, but Kylo stops it midair in front of him with The Force, but the arrow detonates, stunning him for a bit, enought time for Miguel to rush him and with a fierce jump, he tackled Kylo and with his claws, Miguel slashed through his helmet, revealing Kylo's yellow and red pupils. Filled with anger and in the blink of an eye, Kylo pushed Miguel Away with such a strength, that he was unable to use his webs to grasp onto something, crashing with a tree and bringing it down in the process.

"Take cover!!" Said Aloy as she charges a fire arrow and shoots it near Kylo's feet, burning the grass below him as he stands up, but the fire seems to be uneffective against him, as he easily walks on it. "Change of plans, we have to attack!" Said Rainbow Dash as she dashes forward, followed by Applejack who threw a boulder at Kylo, who stops it using the Force, but Rainbow Dash slides under the boulder and with a jumping kick, she hits Kylo in the chest, pushing him away.

"Good hit, but all your attempts are... USELESS!!" Said Kylo as he created a wall of blades behind him, and with a movement of his hands, all those blades began to rain over Aloy and The Rainbooms, Rarity created another diamond wall to protect them, but the blades began to pierce through the diamonds, desperately, Rarity gave everyone modules of her armor to create personal shields around them, once the defensive wall fell, Sunset focused her powers and with swing of her arm, she spread a light wave that eliminated the baldes Kylo created.

"You turned Sunlight into a violence machine, HOW COULD YOU?!!" Asks and outraged Sunset to Kylo, who only takes off his broken mask, revealing his face, and with an arrogant expression, he replies.

"No no no, don't blame me for that. I only helped Eclipse Sunlight to realize the truth and embrace her emotions, which for your knowledge, were already in her heart when I met her, her hatred, her anger, all of it. And she was only able to turn into this version of herself thanks to you!" Kylo then looks at the rest of The Rainbooms and says. "You were the ones that made my job SO easy, instead of listening to Sunset, all of you were driven by Sunlight's previous actions, despite she stated many times that she was sorry and was looking to make things right. Answer me this Twilight, weren't you part of the people that agreed on putting Sunlight into a cell? And when you fell for my trap that Sunlight was only luring you into an ambush, all of you turned your back on her, despite fighting side by side against The Flood! You... created this Eclipse Sunlight, all I did... was setting her free." Said Kylo with a mocking voice.

The Rainbooms are shocked by Kylo's words, with confusion, Twilight asks. "How... do you... know that?" Kylo then replies with an evil grin. "Because I was always there! I could see what Sunlight saw through the magic I leaked in Sunlight's body and mind, it was a fun time seeing all your little adventures, but now thanks to that, I've learnt that dark magic is more like an extension of my will turned into energy, which also helps into controlling minds, and... the mechanical creatures of this world, yet primitive... they do have a conscience, which... will help me get rid of you and the Blue Team." Said Kylo as from behind, a cloaked machine reveals itself, charging a plasma shot.

"Stalker!!" Said Aloy as she turned around and tackled Fluttershy, getting her out of the way of the shot, Aloy takes her bow and shoots an arrow towards the stalker's turret, bringing it down, but it wasn't enough to stun the machine, which rushes in, spreading everyone with a swing of its tail. As the group spreads, more machines come from the forest.

"This isn't good." Said Aloy to herself as she dodges the machines' attacks, but she's unable to protect the girls from the machines, as a Scrapper jumps on Pinkie Pie.

But before its able to hurt her, Miguel rushes in and pierces the scrapper's head with his claws and uses his web to attaches to another machin and kills with a pierce of his arm-blade. But more machines are coming in and they're beggining to overwhelm both The Rainbooms and the Hunters, but out of the sky, many rockets fall and pierce through the machines, making them explode. "What...?" Asks Kylo with confusion, as everything happened really quick.

From the air, an armored man lands in front of them, and with a calmed voice, he said.

"Miguel, next time you say it's an important mission, tell me who are guests will be, I had to change to my best clothes, wasting a lot of time." Said Iron man as he reads his radar and sees many enemies around them.

"Alrgith people! It appears we're surrounded by these machines, we have to do something or we're going to die." Says Iron Man as Miguel now replies reluctantly. "Ok, change of plans! Girls, you handle Kylo, we'll handle the machines!" After that, Aloy, Miguel and Iron Man leave and begin to fight against the machines around them.

"Great, it's only us now." Said Kylo as he ignites his lightsaber and rushes in, but he's stopped by Sunset, who clashes his crimson blade with a light sword, marking the beginning of their fight. Meanwhile inside her mind, Sunlight tries to break the chains of her right arm by pulling with all her strength, but all her efforts are pointless.

"If I don't control back my body, bad things... will... happen!" Said Sunlight to herself as she pulls the chains again, but this time, dark magic cloud began to accumulate in front of her and it took a humanoid form, after the cloud dissipated, Sunlight sees herself standing right in front of her, but with dark magic all around her body, her dark eyes glow with dark magic and look at Sunlight with disdain.

Confused about the being in front of her, Sunlight asks. "Uhm... who... are you?" Her dark reflection approaches her and with a deep voice, it replies. "We are your inner self, the deepest part of you where all your emotions dwell." Her hoarse voice sound calmed, while also making it obvious that she's angered and full of hatred.

"And why am I imprisoned? You should be helping me instead of letting... THIS shit happen!" Claims an outraged Sunlight, but her dark self replies with a calmed voice, but also with traces of anger. "You want to get rid of us, when WE kept you strong this whole time!"

"The FUCK do you mean? I got the necklace not so much ago." Replies Sunlight confused, while her dark self uses a fraction of dark magic to create an ilusion around them and begins to explain as Sunlight sees all her memories. "For years, everything we always wanted was revenge against the one who caused us so much suffering..." A memory shows up, it's Sunlight crying in the corner of an alley while hugging her guitar as the rain pours down on her. That was the first days where she had to left her live as Sunset Shimmer, Sunlight feels again the cold of that night and how lonely she felt.

"We became bitter thanks to her, no friends, no future, no family... and ALL THANKS TO HER!" Claimed the dark Sunlight as she now shows the moment where Sunlight and Sunset met, but from Sunlight's point of view, the image quickly changes to the moment where Sunlight had Sunset beaten on the floor, and she was about to stab her. "That... wasn't me! It was Kylo!" Said Sunlight with a grieving voice as she looks at Sunset's wounded face.

"But it WAS us! Kylo's help had only made us stronger! After all, he understands us better than you ever did!!" Replies the dark Sunlight with anger, while her imprisoned version tries to understand why is she seeing this version of herself talking to her. "What... are you? You're not only my emotions... you're something else... maybe... you're... the necklace?!" Asks Sunlight with curiosity and confusion,, that's the only possible answer right now, her dark Sunlight chuckles and replies. "We never doubted our intelect, yet you managed to impress us. Indeed, we gained our freedom thanks to the necklace, but our hatred and anger were the ones most affected..." The dark Sunlight then fades away the dark magic cloud and approaches Sunlight, placing her hand on her shoulder and after looking directly into her eyes, she says with a serious voice. "...We have the hope that with this new power, we can achieve a better life in a new era. But you... you want to reject us... who have been within you since the very beginning... when you turned your back on us, it really hurt... that's why we let Kylo take control over you... he only wants the best for us, and we can get it... only fi we destroy those who can stop us, Eclipse Sunlight. We hope you understand it, until then... you're staying here."

Said the dark Sunlight as she leaves flying away, leaving Sunlight alone, reflecting on what she just heard. Now in the outside world, the Blue Team seem to have the upper hand against the Sith Troopers, but John feels something off, despite their numbers are 15 times bigger than them, they aren't fighting to eliminate them, but to hold them off, "(but why?)" Asks John inside his head, but Cortana realizes that and replies. "I think I found your answer, John... look!" Cortana then highlights a small squad of Sith Troopers running away with a case that emits high energy readings, whatever it is, they can't allow it to fall in The Final Order's hands.

"Linda!" Said John aloud as he aimed his hand towards position of the squad on the run, Linda understands the order and aimes her sniper rifle and quickly, takes the shot, killing the trooper carrying the case and after a short while, she took down the rest of his squad. "Clear, we have to retrieve it." The Blue Team begins to move towards the case, but they're stopped by the incoming heavy fire. "I think we touched a nerve, didn't we?" Says Fred as he and the rest of the team takes cover behind rocks, it appears that case has something highly valuable for The Final Order. "How are we supposed to get that case if blaster shots are raining over us?" Asks Kelly as she reloads her shotgun, then a strenous sound is heard nearby and from the top of a hill, a huge machine comes out, appearing to be on The Final Order's side.

"That thing's huge!" Says Kelly as she looks at the Thunderjaw, a massive machine bred for combat, a laser weapon in its mouth, cannons on its jaws, a radar array on its back, and disc launchers on its hips. A shoot of its disc launchers forced the Blue Team to retreat, whilst the thunderjaw slowly walks towards them along the Sith Troopers, Ap'Lek, Cardo, Purge Troopers, and lesser machines. "Team, I don't want to stress anybody, but we're in big trouble now." Said Cortana through the channel of the Blue Team as they take cover on the top of a hill, but it's only matter of time before their chasers reach them.

Behind them, a truck comes in full speed.

"Did someone called for evac?" Asks Linda as she and the rest of the team look at the incoming vehicle, but after seeing it, John recognized who it was and only replied. "It's not evac, it's the reinforcements." The truck was heading towards the team's position, but it passed them and jumped off the top of the hill, crashing against the thunderjaw's head, stunning it and when it lands, the truck drifts, hitting small machines and a few Sith Troopers with the back part of the truck, creating a dust cloud and then, transforming into a humanoid form.

"Fight me." Said Optimus as he draws out a blade from his arm and pierces the thunderjaw's head and with ease, he killed it, after that, he draws out a cannon from his back and shoots towards the Sith Troopers, spreading them and across the battlefield. "Blue Team! Are you alright?!" Asks Optimus concerned as he dodges the blaster shots and keeps shooting.

"Yeah! Thanks Prime!" Said John as he and the rest of the team slide downhill and they were approaching the case, but it was further away since optimus moved it when he drifted it, as they move towards the case, more incoming fire begins to rain over them, despite Optimues being there, the Sith Troopers are simply too many. The Blue Team begins to trade fire with the Sith Troopers as Optimus kills the remaining machines and spreads the squads of Sith Troopers gathered around the battlefield, as more machines begin to come.

Meanwhile in the woods, Kylo and The Rainbooms stop the fight for a brief moments as they look at each other, both are injured, Kylo's eyes show hatred and contempt, whilst Sunset's face shows determination to stop him, suddenly Kylo has an incoming message from one of his commanders. "Supreme Leader, the crystal is compromised, the enemy has reinforcements..." The message is suddenly cut by an explosion, Kylo can't let the kyber crystal fall into the hands of The Resistance, not before he had discovered its secrets. Kylo thinks of ways of escaping this diversion and protect the crystal, finally, and idea comes to his mind.

"You have skill brats, but you are forgetting something." Says Kylo arrogantly as he turns off his lightsaber. "What is it? Haven't we proved that we can keep up with you easily?" Replies Rainbow Dash, despite the scratches and wounds on her, her confident smile never fades away.

"You're utterly annoying, but no... it isn't that, you're forgetting you aren't fighting me... you're fighting... us!" Said Kylo as he snaps his fingers as his necklace glows, he could only be referring to Sunlight, who was behind them, but trapped. Little did they know, that the snap Kylo did, gave Sunlight power enough to wake up and free herself, immediately jumping towards Rarity and knocking her out with a single punch, the girls began their fight against Sunlight, but they were already exhausted from their fight with Kylo, who took this chance to leave the area and head towards the excavation site.

As the fight continues, Sunlight overwhelms the girls with her fighting style, which became more violent, Sunlight grabbed Fluttershy by the head and begins to knee her on her belly and then grabs her arm and slams her on the ground. Suddenly, Applejack punches her on the face and sends her flying away. "Fluttershy, can you get up?" Asks Applejack as she helps her friend get up.

"I think... I'm fine, I can't hurt her... she's not herself." Claims Fluttershy as she catches her breath, then the rest of the girls group up as they see Sunlight grabbing her head and saying with pain. "Why... why... none of you... DIE?!" Sunset then steps forth and replies. "Sunlight, fight it! You can do it, we believe in you!" Sunlight then shrieks of pain as a massive shockwave of dark magic pushes the girls back.

"SHUT UP... WE HATE YOU... YOU'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT THE CAUSE OF OUR SUFFERING... YOU... HAVE... NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"
Said Sunlight as the dark magic begins to change her, her eyes glow more violently with dark magic as horns sprout from her head as she keeps screaming of pain and tears run down her cheeks. "SUNLIGHT!" Shouted a worried Sunset Shimmer as she tries to reach for her friend, but a final shockwave hits her making her fall, revealing Sunlight's new form, similar to Sunset's she-demon form, but her skind is now purple thanks to the necklace's dark magic, her height was slightly altered, making her slightly taller than Flash Sentry, her uniform from The Final Order got modified with a more violent look, her armor glows with dark magic and her hair got longer and the ends of it glow with dark magic and move with a fire-like nature, as her eyes are completely dark and her pupils glow with dark magic, as flows of this magic leave her eyes, and her iris have a vertical shape as one of a dragon.

Everyone looks at Sunlight astonished, as it appears the former Sunlight is sinking even more, making it now harder for them to save her. "Now I am... what you made me... Sunset!" Said Sunlight as she charged forward and in the blink of an eye she grabbed Sunset by her head and slammed her on the ground, she then begins to fight the rest of the girls, but she defeated them easily as her strength and speed are now at the same level than AJ and Rainbow Dash, and she grows stronger by her rage. Sunset punched Sunlight with a fist clad of light, sending her away and giving her friends a moment to get up and prepare again to fight.

"Can't you see it, Sunset?" Said Sunlight as she gets up and continues with an evil grin and an arrogant voice. "None of you are match for me! You will lose! Why can't you realize that stupid magic of yours is no match for my power?" Asks Sunlight arrogantly, mocking of the Magic of Friendship, something Sunset won't overlook it, she stands firm with determination as her friends join her, with a serious voice Sunset replies.

"You may be stronger than us, but right now you're alone... Kylo left you to your own devices and you haven't realized yet..." Sunset is then interrupted by Sunlight who says with a mocking voice. "Pfft!! I don't need anyone's help to defeat you, I can do it on my own SO easily!"

"And that's precisely why you'll lose! You may have strength, but the strongest power comes from the ones that are always besides us, our friends are what gives an unlimited source of power! One that you can have, but not under Kylo's control... please... allow us to show you..." A magical aura coming from their necklaces begins to surround The Rainbooms, since the moment they got their suits, they haven't pony up, but this time... it's the perfect moment, their suits begin to change, lines begin to appear across their armor, powering them up with their magic, their pony ears appear, their hair gets longer and their cutie marks appear at the center of their chestplate, once their transformation's over, the magic around them explodes in a shockwave that pushed Sunlight even further away.

"They finally did it. Just like you said, Tesla." Said Iron Man proudly as the readings of energy go haywire but become stable after a few seconds. Stark's mind now remembers what Tesla said back in the moment where Stark visited Tesla, who was doing the final touches to The Rainbooms' battle suits.

Events here took place within the time lapse of chapters 10 - 12

"May I know what's our star member doing? Since your fight at that obseervatory you mentioned you've been here for days, I mean... even your apprentice has left, it appears the two of you have been very busy since then." Says Stark with a confident smile, trying to make some conversation, but Tesla is busy checking different sketches of the same armors, without looking away his research, he says. "Twilight's been dealing with the grief of losing a friend, we were working here a few hours ago, but she got a call from... uhm... Timber Spruce if I remember correctly, despite I don't know who that person is, it's obvious he's someone important for Twilight. And Sunset lost her lover, despite Flash fought bravely to end at least Starkiller, he failed *sigh*... it's a shame he died, and now John's gone missing... we must be prepared to fight Kylo, Starkiller or Sunset's counterpart."

"And that's why you made this suits? Wait... are these schematics from my armors?" Asks Stark as he grabs a blueprint from the table, Tesla looks at it and replies. "Yes... your designs are the closest reference to having an external power source, plus... Twilight and I got some ideas from your suits, hope you don't mind if we took inspiration from them."

"Nah, its simple curiosity. What are you doing now though?" Asks Stark as he looks around the lab, many sketches of these armors are across the room, Tesla then heads to a chalkboard and begins to correct a formula as he says. "I'm making a final adjustment to Twilight's designs, they're great, these suits are capable of using their powers for combat, but there's one thing missing..."

"And what is it? Weight, aerodynamics, energy output?" Replies Stark intrigued as he takes a look at the plenty of sketches around the lab, but Tesla chuckles and replies.

"No, Twilight was very meticulous when we were doing the first drafts... what I noticed time after we made them, it's that the suits won't exploit their full potential because they're made to work individually, when the girls' power is meant to be used in... harmony between each other..." Stark seems a bit confused and replies. "Uhm... care to elaborate?" Asks Stark as Tesla went to a holo table and begin projecting the results from the readings he got from the perfomances of The Rainbooms, from their first visit to the Infinity to their last training with John, Stark looks at the readings as Tesla explains.

"Their necklaces emit energy in different frequencies, that's why their powers are so different one from the other. But when they first... pony up... I got some interesting readings, their frequencies, although different in essence, begin to vibrate in the same tuning. Creating some kind of connection that works as a reciprocal channel, exchanging energy between each other, which leads to an endless cyle of energy flow that repeats itself over and over again..."

"So that's why their powers boost up every time they... pony up?" Asks Stark intrigued of this discovery, but Tesla continues. "Yes, and that's why I'm making some adjustments to the suits, to be able to tolerate this constant energy flow and exploit it. According to my calculations, only by wearing this suits, their power is at the same level than when they transform without the suits... so if we combine their transformation and the suits, they'll have a power beyond any of their expectations, probably at the same level than Starkiller with his necklace. But probably Sunset Shimmer can surpass that."

"The girl with bacon-like hair and anger issues can be more powerful than a Sith Lord? Now THAT's suprising." Said Stark with a mocking voice, when he got word that a bunch of teenagers with powers were able to keep up against Master Chief, he thought it's some kind of joke... and the mere fact that someone can outmatch a Sith Lord in raw power is kind of impossible, since there aren't many people that can counter The Force. Tesla then looks at Stark with a serious expression and says.

"Don't understimate them, especially her... Sunset Shimmer can access another transformation, one where she becomes much more powerful, the thing is... that her Daydream form works as a result of combining the seven different energies into one, which is hers. Also, her light spectrum in her Daydream form is white... the combination of all colors, and by simple logic..."

"She has all the powers, right?" Asks Stark, continuing Tesla's conclusion, but he only shows a proud smile and replies. "Technically, yes... but she won't be able to use them if she doesn't break the barrier that stops her... which is more like a self-realization thing, like cockroaches... all of them have wings, but not all of them know that, which leads to having some cockroaches that fly and some others that don't." Stark seems shocked by the weird analogy, but it explains very well the phenomenon. "Sunset's suit has a third configuration that shows up whenever she enters her Daydream form, and thanks to the energy flow between her magic and her friends', she'll be able to awaken this hidden power... it'll be amazing if I can witness it, but who knows when that may happen." Said Tesla finishing his explanation, Stark is amazed about this, such potential liying within these girls, but a question came to Stark's mind, and he can't help but to ask.

"Haven't you told them yet?" Asks Stark with curiosity, but Tesla only nods his head in denial and replies. "And I won't tell them." Stark can't believe what Tesla said and asks. "Why not? C-Can't you see it'll be stupid not to do so? How are you expecting them to use this configurations without knowing they exist?" Tesla then replies with a confident smile and begins to explain. "If I tell you that after exiting this room you'll be robbed, you're going to make a plan to avoid that, and when the moment comes... the whole situation gets really undermined."

"Where's the comparison point?" Asks Stark regarding that analogy, but Tesla continues. "The girls' power doesn't show up properly when they want to, it has to be authentical for it to work... if I tell them the secrets of their suits, they'll seek to unlock them everytime, when that's not what I made the suits in the first place, they aren't tools, but extentions of themselves." Concludes Tesla, as the memory ends, Stark finds himself crushing the last bunchs of machines around the are with Miguel and Aloy's help, whilst magic and explosion sounds are heard at the distance.

The battlefield is now even, Sunlight is quickly overwhelmed by the incoming attacks from many directions, Pinkie's explosion distract Sunlight enough for AJ or Rainbow Dash to land hits on her, while Twilight and Sunset attack from the distance. "I've had ENOUGH!!" Shouted Sunlight as she clashed her fists creating a shockwave that stops her attackers, and with a raging assault she managed to spread away the girls, and with an energy beam, she blasted the girls away, leaving Sunlight alone trying to catch her breath, but a sudden pain invades her head, leaving her guard down and Iron Man came in and took her away flying.

Aloy and Miguel came right after and realized no one was there, except for Rarity who was unconscious, Miguel wrapped her around his web and took her on his back. "C'mon, we have to catch up with the others." Said Miguel as he began to swing across the trees followed by Aloy who was riding a machine.

Sunlight began to punch Iron Man bringing him down, landing on the battle zone where Optimus and the Blue Team are fighting, when the girls recover from the energy blast, they realize they're amidst a chaos of blaster shots, explosions and bullets all across the field.

"What is happening?!" Asks Rainbow Dash as everyone takes cover behind some rocks, Sunset peeks out of cover and sees Kylo fighting against Chief, they seem to be fighting for a case near them.

"Girls, glad you're here... we need to stop Kylo or anyone else from taking the case near Kylo. We don't know what that is, but it may be dangerous if falls in Kylo's hands" Said Cortana through their communicators, the girls nod in agreement and they head towards the case while Optimus deals with more machines and the Blue Team gives the girls' cover from The Final Order's fire.

Sunlight punched Stark so hard that it sent him flying away and crashing against a nearby hill, she then realizes the girls approaching to the case and quickly charges forward and intercepts the girls, but Fluttershy jumps and kicks her away, as the girls stop, Fluttershy says with determination and a seriuos expression. "You go, I'll keep her away." The girls, reluctantly but determined, leave Fluttershy alone.

"I don't want to hurt you Sunlight, but right now... the only way to stop you, it's by defeating you." Said Fluttershy as she assumes the exact same battle stance she did against John.

Sunlight's expression shows anger and charges against Fluttershy, both have skills in martial arts, and despite Fluttershy's short experience, her techniques manage to keep up against Sunlight's skills, as the girls head to the case, Kylo noticed it and pushes John away and shoots energy blast to the girls' position, that results in sending the case away as it opens, letting go the Kyber crystal that falls through many rocks and when it stops, it begins to float due to the magic within it, and also the girls were blown away by the explosion, a rock hits Sunset's head as she falls to the ground, opening a wound on her forehead that begins to bleed.

Miguel and Aloy arrived and left Rarity at Linda's care as they jump to join the fight, finishing the hidden troopers but also those who are in places too high, as Optimus head to help Stark get up as he kills the remaining machines.

"Dammit! NO!!!" Said Kylo as he rushed forward the crystal, Sunset was the first one to get up and as she realizes she's right in front of the crystal, something's calling her, she notices Kylo quickly approaching and when she extends her hand to take the crystal, Kylo was also there, both of their hands grab the crystal at the same time, a magical shockwave knocks everyone down, as a powerful blue light in the center is trying to be take by the dark purple magic of Kylo, and the golden magic of Sunset.

"(I'm losing?!! The crystal... chose her?!!!!)" Thought Kylo as he felt the repulsive wave of the crystal pushing him away, but not Sunset, who seems to be pulling it, trying to take it away from Kylo's hands. "If I'm gonna lose it, I won't leave with empty hands!!!" Shouted Kylo as he used his other hand to grab Sunset's arm, and begins to take away slowly her magic, the ritual succeded but as he tries to take all of her magic, the repulsive wave pushes Kylo away, interrupting his dark ritual, Sunset falls on her knees as she sees the crystal on her hand as she tries to catch her breath.

"FLUTTERSHY!!!" Shouted Pinkie at the distance, when Sunset looks at her friend, she sees Sunlight's blade piercing through Fluttershy's belly, but it didn't pierce any vital organ. As Fluttershy's falls to the ground, Sunlight's expression shows regret, as she didn't want to do that, her gaze seems lost, as she doesn't recognize what she's done, Rainbow Dash rushes at full speed and kicks Sunlight away, she didn't put any resistance, nor noticed Rainbow Dash's attack, which made the impact much more powerful.

Sunset was trying to stand up to go and help her friend as a purple glow becomes more intense behind her, like when Sunlight transformed, a massive surge of dark magic raises in the air, revealing Kylo's new form, achieved thanks to Sunset's magic. His height is now like Master Chief's, and his dark clothes are now hidden under an armor made of dark magic, his Sith eyes glow with dark magic as the main color of all his magic changed from purple to red.

"I have to thank you, Sunset... this was JUST what I needed!" Said Kylo as he lands on top of a rock as he lifted Sunset with The Force and pushed her away with a shockwave of dark magic, crashing against many trees in the deep forest. "BASTARD!" Said Chief as he unloads a whole magazine of his assault rifle, but Kylo stops all the incoming bullets.

"That won't work, you should know that by now." Replied Kylo with an arrogant voice, as a truck comes and tries to run over him, but he stops it with The Force combined with his dark magic without looking and says. "Really? Such a primitive tactic, even for you Master Chief." Said Kylo as he used the innert bullets and shot them through the driver's crystal, but little did he know, that there was no driver.

"And the driver?" Asks Kylo confused, but then, the right part of the truck's grill separates and turns into a cannon as Optimus's voice says. "Right here!" The cannon shoots, sending Kylo flying away.

"Get on everyone! We have to go and help Sunset!" Said Optimus as now the girls get on the back of the truck and the Blue Team gets on the sides, as Kelly goes to where the girls are and checks on Fluttershy. "This isn't good... Linda! Biofoam, now!" Said Kelly as Linda threw a container with biofoam and administrated it on the wound, it's a kind of foam that works as medical first aid, it desinfects the wounds, stops bleedings and eases the pain.

"It's not much, but it'll be enough to keep her stable as we get to more softer terrain." Says Kelly as she throws the empty container away, Rarity then wakes up and is shocked by the image she sees, but there's not much she or anyone can do for the moment. Meanwhile, in the radio within the driver's cab turns on and receives a message from Stark.

"I hate being the party pooper, but it appears an extraction team is coming!" Said Stark as the Star Destroyer appears above them through a portal and deploys many gunships with Sith Troopers in each one of them. their landing near Kylo's position who stands up and shakes off all the dirt he had on his armor with his hands as Sunlight approaches him with many scratches on her.

"I like your new style, it suits you more... what happened to your troops, though?" Asks Kylo intrigued of what happened to the remnants of the Death Squad. "What do you think? The Blue Team was relentless in terminating them, even Ap'Lek and Cardo." Replies Sunlight with an angered voice.

"Oh well, that's a shame... although I never had any high hope for them, it's fine if you and Starkiller are alive." Said Kylo with a relaxed voice as a commander approaches him and asks. "Sir, what are your orders?"

"Search for those rebels and destroy them, Sunlight and I will be leaving since we got what we were looking for, and commander... don't you dare to return if they aren't dead." Said Kylo with a menacing voice as he and Sunlight board a gunship and leave heading for the Star Destroyer, meanwhile the group arrives at Sunset's position, Chief says.

"Hunters, keep us away from any ambush from behind while we prepare for evac, the Blue Team and I will stop any trooper that comes from the front, got it?"

"Got it!" Said the Hunters through the communicators, Optimus transforms as he heads for the left flank, while Miguel and Aloy cover the right flank and Stark provides cover from the air. "Sunset!" Shouted Twilight as she sees her friend under a tree, barely unconscious, she grabs her by the shoulders and calls her name again as Sunset slowly opens her eyes. "Get down!!" Shouted Linda as she tackles Twilight, protecting her from incoming blaster shots.

"Open fire!!" Said Chief aloud as now the battle had started, the girls put on all their effort to stop the incoming Sith Troopers as Kelly was bandaging Fluttershy's belly to prevent the biofoam from coming out. "Infinity, this is Spartan - 087 requesting for immediate evac, we're under heavy enemy fire, our coordinates are... AHZD-32°N..." Kelly makes a pause by desperation as she tries to be as fast as possible to protect Fluttershy, and with despair she says. "Just track my signal for fuck's sake!" Said Kelly as she brings Fluttershy to the ground to avoid incoming blaster shots, Kelly draws out her shotgun and kills the Sith Troopers. "Understood 087, evac will be ready in 3 minutes..." Kelly cuts the conversation as she sighs with slight relief and takes her shotgun. "Fluttershy, you stay here, got it?" Asked Kelly with a calmed voice, whilst Fluttershy only nods in agreement as Kelly now leaves and begins to swipe out the area from any incoming Sith Troopers.

Chief takes cover behind a rock and sees Sunset standing in the middle of the firefight. "Sunset! Get down!" Said Chief aloud but it appears she can't hear him, he takes off his helmet and says. "GET THE FUCK DOWN!!" But Sunset looks at him confused, as she can barely hear what he says, but when she was approaching him, a thermal detonator bumps on her foot and Sunset looks at with shock and says.

"That's... not good." Chief realized earlier and shot his grapple hook, wrapping Sunset and pulling her towards him as the explosion thrusts her even more, once she lands next to him, Chief puts on his helmet and says. "The cyrstal! It's magical isn't it? Use it!" Said Chief as he unsheathed his blades and charged against the enemy, along with Kelly, they manage to clear the area for a bit until more troopers arrive. Rarity helps Applejack get up as Rainbow Dash takes her to some cover as she received a shot on her shoulder and Pinkie Pie is in the backlines providing smoke screens, stun granades and more explosives, Sunset looks at the crystal that turned now golden in her hand, as she hears a similar voice in her head.

"Don't fear the Kyber crystal, it's part of you now... think of it... as an extention of you." Said the voice with a calmed tone, Sunset then feels the need to clench her fist, as she now feels a vitalizing wave flowing within her from the crystal, she then raised the crystal that combined its magic with her flames and emitted a healing wave that patched up all her friends, and with determination, she closed her fist as it glows with a golden light, adn by punching the ground with her fist, she created a shockwave of magic that brought down all the Sith Troopers and destabilized any aerial troops, as everyone looks at Sunset amazed of what she just did, a portal opens right in front of them.

"GO!! We are leaving!!" Said Chief aloud as his team and The Rainbooms cross the portal, followed then by Stark and the rest of the Hunters, escaping them as The Final Order leaves that world. Kylo heads to his room as he changes back from his Overlord form, strangely... he feels heavily tired, as it consumed all his stamina in this battle and the only thing he wants now is to rest.

As he lies on his bed and closes his eyes, he feels the dark magic surging within him, as he hears many voices within him, but he can't udnerstand what they're saying, as he opens his eyes desperately trying to calm his mind, he finds himself in an empty but warm realm, he looks at his hands and it appears he's... covered in dark magic, as he raises his sight, he can take a look at the world he's in.

"Where... am I?" Asks Kylo extremely confused, a sensation of confusion invades his mind, but also, he has the feeling that he's right where he has to be. With this new power, he and Sunlight have become a much greater threat, but our heroes won't let them win, right now, great questions remain... who was that voice that talked to Sunset? Where does the Kyber crystal truly comes from? And what kind of is it capable of?

The answer to these questions might be easy to achieve, but they'll change Sunset's perspective on what she has to do in order to save everyone she loves.

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter 22: A Look At the Near Future

As Princess Luna watches over the dreams of everypony, she feels a disturbance in the Dream Realm, something she has never felt before. She flies quickly at the source of this disturbance and witnesses a part of the Dream Realm that got contaminated with evil magic.

"What is this cursed magic?! Who could've done this?" Asks Luna as she walks with her guard up through this pollution, anger, rage and such hatred have never been felt by the Alicorn before, as she dwells now deep within the polluted zone, she realizes there's a being standing still in front of her, covered in this dark magic and spreading it around.

"WHO are you and HOW did you end up here?!" Asks Luna agressively as she feels the individual right in front of her is nothing but pure evil, a broken soul that was engulfed in darkness, swallowing it completely and turning it into an avatar of darkness, but that doesn't answer the question... how could this individual came here? The man turns around and replies with a deep voice.

"My apologies... but I got lost... who are you?" His yellow eyes show only how much hatred he keeps within him, it's Kylo indeed, but his face shows genuine confusion as he looks around him. "My name is Luna, that's all you need to know." Said Luna as she uses her magic to cleanse the polluted zone which was about to consume the doors that lead to the dreams of everypony, but despite her efforts, she's only capable of keeping the dark magic controlled, since eradicating it would imply to destroy Kylo Ren.

"(His shape doesn't ressembles the one of a pony nor any creature from Equestria, which means this being comes from somewhere else. Also, his description matches the one Master Chief said, despite his different look, the essence is practically the same as he described. This has to be the so-called Kylo Ren.)" Thought Luna as she stands with determination, Kylo seems clumsy with his steps as he easily falls by the shockwave of Luna's magic, but he stands up and chuckles arrogantly as he looks at Luna and says.

"Wow! You Equestrians should really know how to close your mind sometimes, I could hear everything you just thought... Luna." Said Kylo as he stands proud and with an evil grin, he pleases as he sees Luna's shocked expression and with disdain, he says. "I know this is not Equestria, and also it's obvious you're not its ruler since you struggle to keep my magic at bay, tell me... what are you protecting in this place, huh?"

"Nothing of your... concern!" Replied Luna with effort as she intensifies her magic output and pushes Kylo back as he only covers himself with his arm. "You were wondering who am I, and although you already know my name, let me tell you something. I am YOUR retribution, your days of ruling unaware of its consequences end now!! SUBMIT TO YOUR NEW RULER!!!"" Said Kylo as he unleashed an even stronger wave of dark magic, overwhelming Luna, and when she began to thought that she'd lose the battle, a golden light comes from behind her, aiding her to push back Kylo's dark magic.

"I won't let you hurt anyone, much less my sister!" Said Princess Celestia with determination as she and her sister stand next to each other and combine their magic to push away Kylo, making him fall back even more as his dark magic loses ground against the sisters' magic. But Kylo thinks otherwise, with anger he focuses dark magic in his hands and pushes the sisters' back by combining his power in The Force and his dark magic.

"I won't be defeated, by SCUM AS WEAK AS YOU!!!!" Shouted Kylo arrogantly as Celestia used all her power to keep Kylo at bay as she shouts to her sister. "DO IT!!" Luna then used all her magic to cut that part of the Dream Realm and separate it from the main section, leaving the sisters alone as they began to have a conversation as they breath heavily by their previous efforts.

"Should we... tell... Twilight? Her crowning was not much long ago... probably it'll be too much stress for her." Says Luna as she sees how the polluted section drifts further away each second, Celestia looks at her sister and says. "If he was able to come here at will and withstand our magic... Kylo's power matches one of an alicorn, we must warn Twilight. And also Master Chief, who knows what kind of danger this might represent in the future... wait... did you put a magical seal on the doors?!" Asks Celestia as she widens her eyes with concern and looks at her sister, who steps back as her sister got too close and says with a serious voice. "I always put a magical spell on every door to protect them... he won't be able to breach into anypony's dreams." After that, Celestia sighed with relief as she and her sister proceed to leave the Dream Realm to warn Twilight about this threat.

Kylo stands in bewilderment as he tries to understand what just happened. "(W-what? Did they just... separated a realm... that doesn't exist?!)" Asked Kylo to himself as he looks around the part of the realm he's in, alone, surrounded by his darkness, which begins to take spread in front of him and reveals one door, one unfortunate door that was trapped in Kylo's new realm, purple and turquoise colors along with little stars decorate the door, Kylo reaches the doorknob and his hand is suddenly repelled by Luna's magic spell, as a magical field surrounds the door, but it quickly weakens as Kylo's magic disrupts the magical spell, dark vines pierce through a hole in the magical field and opens it, only enough to make Kylo able to open the door.

As he slowly opens this colorful door, he sees a sleeping equine individual, as the features of its face show it's a female pony, she has a lilac coat and a purple and teal mane, Kylo leaks only a small trace of dark magic that gets into the mind of this pony, as Kylo's voice sounds in her head saying.

"You have to help me... your world... is in great danger..." As this words sounded in the pony's head, she noticed quickly there was something wrong and quickly woke up. But Kylo had already closed the door due to the magic spell repelling his dark magic and sealing the door again, but it was already too late.

"What?!" Asked Starlight aloud as she wonders what's the meaning behind what she heard and who could've said it.

On the other side of the events

As the team arrives at the Infinity through the portal, Richtofen greets them as he stands behind the controls of the portal machine.

"Gentlemen! You finally arrive! Tell me, how was your mission? I expect successful since 4 Hunters, a Spartan team and magical teenagers took part in it." Said Richtofen with an optimistic voice, John looks at him and replies.

"We're alive, and Kylo couldn't get what he was looking for." Said Chief as he was about to approach Sunset, when Richtofen interrupts him by saying. "Wunderbar Master Chief, but Captain Lasky needs us to discuss some important information, und by us I mean Tesla, Galen, your team and I." Chief looks at him and sighs as he replies with a calmed voice. "Got it, you go first, we'll catch up with you later." Said Chief as he looks back at the group and says.

"Y'all go and get some rest, we can discuss anything else later." The group nods in agreement as the Blue Team leaves the room, the girls went and changed her clothes at a locker room nearby, as they exited the room, Miguel approaches the girls and hands Sunset a communicator and says. "If you find any clue that helps us to get Sunlight out of Kylo's mind control, let me know."

"Weren't you with the people that wanted her in a cell?" Asks Sunset confused as she grabs the communicator, it's a bracelet similar to Miguel's watch, but thinner. "Not anymore." Replies Miguel with a calmed voice. "What made you change your mind?" Asks Twilight she looks at the bracelet Miguel gave Sunset, but since her visor was replacing her glasses and it was broken in the fight against Sunlight, Twilight narrows her eyes to have a better look, but Aloy hands her glasses which were on a table nearby. "Oh... thanks!" Says Twilight with a smile as she puts back her glasses, finally able to see normally again.

"Yeah... long story, I had a... talk with Optimus and he... made some good points." Replies Miguel reluctantly to Twilight's question as they look at Optimus, who was standing next to them, he then says with a calmed voice. "I gave Miguel what humans call... a scolding, but to be honest... I just said what it's true, no one deserves to be treated as an enemy by someone else's actions. Especially when their under the control of evil powers." Optimus then proceeds to introduce himself.

"My apologies for not introducing earlier. My name is Optimus Prime, I come from a planet named Cybertron, I lead a group of automated robotic organisms... but you can call us Autobots for short, we've been fighting along The Resistance for a few years by now, it's a pleasure to meet you... uhm... Rain...booms?"

"Yeah, that's our band's name... but my name is Sunset Shimmer, and these are my friends, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy." Says Sunset with a friendly smile, but Optimus expression shows confusion as he now asks. "Twilight... Sparkle? Weren't you a princess from Equestria?" Everyone is shocked about this, since the only ones that know about Twilight's title are her friends, including John and the Blue Team.

"W-Well, that's another me... but... how do you know that?" Asks Twilight confused and intrigued at the same time, Optimus face shows reflection, as he's not totally sure of what he said, but he replies with a serious voice. "I'm... not very sure... since I began traveling across the Multiverse, my spark has memories of events I don't remember being part of... one of those memories was one where my fellow Autobots and I arrived to a world called Equestria, and we befriended Princess Twilight and her friends, but... I'm not sure if it was me the one who was there, but also... why would I remember that?" Asks Optimus trying to get an answer, but everyone is as confused as he is, except for Aloy and Miguel who seem to already know that, Miguel then says with a calmed voice.

"It was thanks to Optimus's knowledge that we were able to track down Equestria's coordinates, therefore we can now create portals that get us there. While also, we prevented anyone related to The Final Order to get to Equestria." Optimus then sighs in relief as he finally told what his spark told him to, and with a calmed voice, he says.

"I'd be taking my leave now, I hope you can find a way to help Eclipse Sunlight... and... if you see Princess Twilight again, give her my regards." As Optimus concluded his line, he transformed to his truck form and left by the huge door at the Science Division, which isn't big enough for someone as tall as Optimus.

"Maybe you want to learn how to use that crystal... what was its name again?" Asks Aloy as she looks at the golden light of the crystal in Sunset's hand. "It's... a Kyber crystal... does anyone knows it?" Asks Sunset as she shows Aloy and Miguel the crystal, but both agree on that it comes from another world.

"So... who can help us understand it?" Asks Sunset as she looks again at the crystal, its golden shine gives her an awkward yet comfortable vibe, like there's no need to doubt it, but Stark, who was taking off his armor and changed his clothes arrived and said. "That crystal seems kinda mystical... maybe you can ask Galen or his apprentice, they probably know a thing or two that can help you understand what the crystal is, don't you think?"

"GOOD THING I'M HERE!!" Says Rey as she comes from the main door, startling everyone, she then begins to do parkour around the many cables around the Science Division and lands on a chair next to everyone.

"I sensed something weird as I was meditating, and I followed the trace and it led me here." Says Rey as spins on the chair. "Rey, you can't do parkour here, the cables on the ceiling ARE important!" Said Stark as he rubs his eyes, but Rey replies with a cheerful voice. "Then why are they hanging from the ceiling? You should be more aware of keeping maintenance of this area if you don't want me swinging around."

"Y'know what? You may have a point, but I have more important things to do rather than attaching... cables back to the ceiling... someone will take care of that later." Said Stark as he leaves the group and heads to his lab. "That's what everyone says... anyway... may I know what do you need me for?" Says Rey as she stands up and looks at Sunset, who shows her the crystal and Rey's expression suddenly changed, amazed of what she's seeing, she says.

"A Kyber crystal?! And it chose you! Hahaha, these are good news, where did you get it?" Asks Rey as he eyes illuminate of fascination, Sunset smiles back and asks. "Really? What is it though?" Rey then takes her lightsaber and disarms it with the Force, all its piece floating around as the Kyber crystal lies in front of her, glowing with a powerful sapphire light as Rey begins to explain.

"Kyber crystals are minerals from my world that are connected to The Force, as Force users we can sense them and establish a connection where our thoughts and emotions flow through the crystal as energy. But the thing with Kyber crystals is... that they decide who their wielder will be. As Jedis, our connection to the Force seeks balance in it by keeping a middle point between light and darkness... in the past, the Jedi Order prohibited every kind of bond that distracts the Jedi from its objective, which is to keep peace. But as Master Marek said, it was their own obstination what truly caused their doom, that's why we're not like that, not anymore. On the other hand, the Sith bend the Force to their will to achieve their dark desires. They use their pain and suffering on the crystal to make it bleed and give it the crimson color you know. In a nutshell, Kyber crystals are Force sensitive minerals that work as the main power source for our lightsabers." Said Rey as she put the pieces together and ignited her lightsaber and swings it.

"WOW!" Said the girls in unison as they witness Rey's skill with the lightsaber, she then turns it off, and Rainbow Dash was the first to say.

"You're saying Sunset's gonna get a lightsaber and do all that amazing stuff?! AWESOME!!"

"That's the idea, but... only if Sunset wants to, this is a process that requires... space and focus." Says Rey as she attaches her lightsaber back to her belt and crosses her arms with a friendly smile, Sunset looks back at the crystal, it has magic... but also... it's part of a weapon, what may be its true purpose? Those thoughts are going in Sunset's mind, but one thing's for sure, better to learn as much as possible from it to know how to use it.

"It'll be a great idea, but... how much time will it take?" Asks Sunset as she closes her fist, holding the crystal with determination but with an optimistic expression. "Don't worry! The Infinity is now in another universe, and time moves different from your world, hours here will be minutes there and all that complex stuff." Said Rey with her cheerful smile.

"If that's the case, I don't see any problem... what do y'all think?" Asks Applejack to her friends, all agreed on waiting for Sunset to build this new weapon, the excitement of seeing Sunset wielding a lightsaber and also, some rest wouldn't be bad for them, Twilight adjusted her glasses and said.

"Maybe we can use this time to take a look around the ship, objectively speaking, we barely had any time to check everything the Infinity has to offer. Plus, there are many places I want to see, I heard the cafeteria here has the largest menu in the multiverse."

"It's settled then, we'll grab a snack and then we'll give a stroll around the ship, good luck sugarcube!" Said Applejack as she and the rest of the girls head to the exit. "See ya' later Sunset, you gotta let me use that lightsaber when you get it!" Said Rainbow Dash aloud as she leaves, Rey chuckles and takes Sunset's hand and heads to a room in the science divison, as the door opens, there's nothing but darkness until Rey claps her hands and the lights turn on, revealing what was hidden in the darkness.

"Woah! What is this place?" Asks Sunset amazed of what she's seeing, as Rey begins to move swiftly throught the aisles surrounded by shelves full of mechanical parts. "This is my... uhm... storage? Maybe you can call it workshop... it's where I keep all the good stuff I find everywhere I go, and just to make it clear, I don't steal... I only take what has no owner." Said Rey as she took a drawer with many parts and took it with her.

"C'mon, let's go to a more suitable place for you, we only came here to pick this stuff." Said Rey as she opened the door and waited for Sunset to leave the room as she now turns off the lights and closes the door, Rey gave Sunset context of the parts of a lightsaber as they were heading to her dorm room.

"This is my room! Feel free to make yourself at home, the only rule is to clean any mess is done in here." Said Rey as she enters first, followed by Sunset, who points at Rey's bed and says with a joking tone. "And I'm supposed to be the messy one." Rey notices it and chuckles, she then replies. "The bed is different... in my opinion, there's no point on making it up, I mean in the end..."

"... It will always get messy." Said Sunset, finishing Rey's line, both look at each other amazed, as if one understands the other, both laugh and Rey said. "I've never met anyone who thinks like me."

"Finally I met someone who won't criticize my way of sleeping." Said Sunset as she ceases her laugh, Rey then heads to a door next to her bed and opens it, revealing an illuminated room with a circular symbol in the middle of the floor.

"Sit in the middle of the circle." Said Rey with a serious voice as she placed the drawer with the many parts in front of Sunset, who's now in the middle of the room, with her legs crossed, Rey then moves her hand in the air and the lights around turn off, leaving only the light that reveals the symbol at the center.

"Why did you do that?" Asks Sunset with curiosity, Rey replies with a serious and calmed expression. "Sometimes, you can only find the light after dwelling enough in the darkness." She then sits right in front of Sunset and says. "Listen Sunset, this is something you have to do on your own, I won't be able to tell you how to do your lightsaber, as its something YOU have to discover... but what I can tell you, it's how to start..."

Sunset then replicates Rey's posture of meditation as the young Jedi says. "First, I have to tell you the basics about The Force..." Said Rey as Sunset listens carefully and replies with a calmed voice and a sarcastic smile. "So... there's like a guide of The Force for dummies? That'll be hillarious." Rey chuckles a bit but then replies with a serene voice. "Haha, I'm afraid there isn't anything like that, yet... whenever you think you understand anything about The Force, you realize how much little you know about it." Rey then proceed to give Sunset the instructions to begin this process.

"Now then... I need you to close your eyes and focus." Sunset follows Rey's instructions but she feels... nothing, only darkness since her eyes are closed, which is... kind of confusing for her, since she expected anything to happen, with a serious voice and her eyes closed, Sunset asks. "Focus on what, exactly?" Rey looks at her slightly smiling and replies.

"Focus on your magic, but not in using it... but in feeling it. The Force and Equestrian magic are very similar, I have my theory that The Force is a variation of the magic of your world, both flow throughout the universe connecting every living being in existence, we are born with a sensitivity to this powers, but some people are born with a stronger bond, which grants us abilities out of the ordinary, since you have a strong connection to Euqestrian magic, you should be able to have a connection to The Force. In order to awake your sensitivity, you have to ignore the outside world and focus on the inside... you have to be able to see... with your other eyes." Said Rey as Sunset focused even more, removing all the sound her ears receive, she was able to feel the magic in the past, but she'd never put so much attention to it, a small blue light appears in front of her, that should be Rey, but it's not her body... but her essence, Sunset then notices a golden light coming from her, both her and Rey's light are connected in harmony by some sort of... spiritual bridge that's not actually there, but she can feel it.

After learning how this sensation feels, she senses more lights, there's a group of them that share different colors and have different essences, Laugh, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness and... Magic, those are her friends' soul or core, from then everything was easier, Sunset could then feel everyone's essence in the ship, thousands of people and all of them are... connected without them noticing, creating an insivisible bond that helps this essences interact with each other.

"I want you to open your eyes now." Said Rey with serenity, Sunset was able to hear this and followed her instructions, but then asked her. "How could I hear you if I was ignoring all sounds?"

"I spoke to you from the inside, The Force helps us communicate what words can't sometimes, we can also make our desires flow through The Force, interacting with everyone around you, a good example would be whenever you feel that something's going to happen like you wish someone falls over since they were mean to you, or when you wish for the line at the cafeteria to move faster and someone moves out, leaving room for you to get there faster." Said Rey with a calmed smile as she prepares to give the next instruction to Sunset.

"You learned to feel other living beings, it took you an hour! That's a new record! Your next task is to sense objects... hmmm... why don't you try to open the locked door behind you, using only The Force." Said Rey as she placed the box with many lightsaber pieces behind her, Sunset sighs and focuses again, she feels Rey's essence, but there's no box she can feel, sense or see. "How am I supposed to do that, though?" Asks Sunset as she keeps trying, Rey then gives her a hint. "Focus on using that light you see, since that's your eyes in the darkness. It can guide you through the darkest hallways, whilst also giving you the information you need about everything around you."

Sunset focuses again, following Rey's advice and senses the light within her, and with the desire to illuminate the room, the light within her emitted a wave that resounded like an echo throughout the room, giving Sunset the perception of the room she's in. After understanding how this works, Sunset now recognizes everything around her, Rey's sitting in front of her, next to her there's the box with the pieces to make a lightsaber, Sunset even feels where she's standing, along with what pose she has, and there's the door behind her, Sunset can see it as clear as day, but... how can she open it? "I can sense it, but I can't open the door." Said Sunset as she frowns of effort, but Rey smiles and says.

"Think of your body as a transmitter, your... light is the source of energy and your body is the one that uses this energy to do stuff (Or at least that's how Master Marek made me see it)... you need to focus on what you really want to right now, and with your arm, you make sure that energy gets to object in question." Said Rey with serenity as Sunset sighs and focuses again, sensing the door and she then extends her arm with her opened hand, she feels how she's touching the door as she stands at least 2 meters away from it, as her light echoes and highlights the shape of everything around her, Sunset moves slightly her hand as she feels the control panel of the door, and with the mere wish of opening the door, Sunset manages to focus her magic on the edge of the door and feels how she grasps it and then pushes it by moving her whole arm, opening the door and letting the light of Rey's room leak to the meditation room.

Rey is astonished, she's never seen this kind of progress before, not even in her. "Great job! 40... minutes, Master Marek would be really shocked right now!" Said Rey with excitement as Sunset opens her eyes and sees the opened door, slightly smiling with a triumphant smile, but her achievement is then interrupted by Rey who says with cheerful expression. "Now close it." Sunset looks back at the door and closes her eyes, focusing her energy and grabbing the edge of the door with it, she then moves her arm pulling it towards her as she closes her hand, closing the door and receiving applause from Rey.

"How did you felt?" Asks Rey with a smile, intrigued of Sunset's experience, since she's the first being using The Force that doesn't come from her universe. Sunset looks at her hands with a reflective expression as she says. "It felt... weirdly familiar... is like, using magic but... different. Whenever I have to use magic it's like I'm using a tool, which is my necklace... but now... I can see everything differently, magic is not something that is exclusively for Equestria, but it lies... everywhere... connecting us."

"Now you've learned the basics! That's precisely what I was looking for you to achieve." Said Rey with a smile as she stands up and changes her epression to a more calm one. "Now, you have to put all these teaching into effort to make your lightsaber, here are the pieces and you have your crystal... Oh! If it serves of advice, you need to establish a bond with the Kyber crystal. Remember, it's not a tool, but an extension of your soul, if you're not right, neither will be the crystal... this is task only and exclusively yours, I won't be able to interfere... I'll be waiting you outside, good luck Sunset!" Said Rey as she opened the door and left Sunset alone, silence flooded the room until Sunset broke it by grabbing the crystal and saying.

"No pressure Sunset... remember all the steps, focus... sense... and connect with your surroundings." Said Sunset as she held the crystal with both of her hands opened and closes her eyes, despite the empty room, she can feel the crystal, it's a warm light... similar to hers, Sunset focuses her energy into the crystal and this one begins to float, ending right in front of Sunset's face, strangely, her power activates and her mind is transported inside the crystal, where she finds herself in an empty realm, filled with darkness, but she feels the warm light of the crystal behind her and as Sunset turns around, she sees how a memory begins to plays.

The ruins of a city appear right in front of Sunset, it took her a few moments to recognize where she was, it's... Canterlot City, but... why's in ruins? Asks Sunset to herself as she sees a cloaked figure approaching to some ruins and removing the debris, revealing a hidden door, Sunset follows this figure and as the person opens the door and goes inside the dark lair, Sunset begins to wonder what is she seeing and why is she seeing this.

The figure in front of her turns on a flashlight and begins to walk through a dark hall, seems like an abandoned train station, as they keep moving forward, a dim light can be seen at the end of the tunnel, when they arrived, there's a locked door in front of them, the person turns off the flashlight and takes off its cowl, revealing the person's identity, which is none other than Sunset Shimmer, wearing her now damaged battle suit, her expression seems tired, exhausted, but also, grieving, she sighs and then removes a brick next to the door, revealing a pinpad where Sunset introduces a passwrod, unlocking the door, revealing a hideout.

Many people live there, as this seems to be one of the last safe places across the city, as Sunset walks across the tunnel, she sees Applejack and Rainbow Dash helping some wounded, they're also wearing their battle suits, but they're also damaged, Rainbow Dash has a robotic arm whilst Applejack has a patch on her left eye, covering a scar that goes from the base of her cheek to the bottom of her forehead.

"Sunset!" Said both AJ and Rainbow Dash when they saw their friend, Rainbow was the first one to run and hug Sunset tightly and said. "We're so glad you returned, tell me... did you find anything useful?" Asked Rainbow with an excited smile, but Sunset's expression only discourages Rainbow, and with a sarcastic voice Sunset said. "If sadness, sorrow and misery are useful, then yeah... I found lots of them." AJ approaches them and says with an optimistic voice.

"Don't be down sugarcube, I know you feel like barkin' at a knot right now, but if we keep looking, we may find something that will better our situation." Said Applejack as she placed her hand on Sunset's shoulder, Sunset looks at her and sighs, with a serious voice she says. "Where's everyone? How's Rarity?"

"She's fine, still recovering though. John and Twilight are with the Hunters discussing our next move, maybe you'd want to pay them a visit first." Said Rainbow Dash as she points a distant door with her robotic arm, Sunset leaves her friends and heads to the door as many thought invade her mind. Sunset Shimmer, the one who sees everything as a memory from the crystal, manages to look at a calendar in one of the refugee's tents, this events are taking place a month away from her time, meaning... that this, is the future? Where are Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? What could've done such chaos?

Returning to the memory, Sunset opens the door and walks on dark corridor with a locked door, she places her hand on the door knob, which recognizes her biometry and unlocks, Sunset opens the door and finds everyone discussing something at the war table, or at least... that's what it seems like.

"...Did I make myself clear?" Asked Master Chief to everyone in the room before Sunset entered, she sees John, Twilight, and many Hunters around the room, although, the only familiar face is Miguel, who wears his upgraded suit and replies to Chief's question.

"I think you'll need to repeat the whole plan again since someone joined us." Said Miguel referring to Sunset's arrival, Twilight turns quickly and sees Sunset, without hesitation, she hugs her friend, followed by John, who remains still and only asks Sunset. "How was your scouting?"

"Again... nothing useful, only ruins, debris, and a gloomy city." Said Sunset with a serious voice, she's tired and it's obvious, not only in her voice but also in her behavior.

"Remain calm, young one. There's no point in giving up already." Said Hanzo with a neutral voice, Hanzo and Kuai Liang are Hunters that go by their warrior names, Scorpion and Sub-Zero respectively, it appears they've joined Miguel and other Hunters to fight... whatever caused this mess.

"It's easy to say when none of this was your fault, Scorpion." Replied Sunset as she changes her expression to a more guilty one, but John places his hand on her shoulder and says. "Sunset, stop blaming you. Don't feel bad if you haven't found anything yet, all the survivors are here and safe, why... don't you get some rest?" Sunset takes off John's hand and replies.

"I appreciate the invitation, John. But I can't rest, not now... there are things to do here and everyone is giving their best. I'm glad that y'all fine, but if you excuse, I need to leave." Said Sunset with determination as she gives a quick look at Twilight, who says. "If you're so eager to help, Flash and Adagio are distributing rations among the refugees, maybe you can lend them a hand." Said Twilight with a friendly smile as Sunset only nods her head in agreement and leaves, John then sighs and leans on the table.

"There's conflict within you, Master Chief... probably you also need rest." Said Sub-Zero with a compassionate voice as he stands up from his seat, John looks at his friend and says with a grieving voice. "She...she'll never forgive me.... am I right?"

"Hey, this is the first time she talked to you in a week, that's some progress!" Said Twilight with an optimistic voice, trying to cheer John up, Scorpion the says. "Don't regret your choice Master Chief, you had no other choice." John then leans back and stands firmly, with a serious voice, he calls fro Cortana, who appears on the war table, Chief then said.

"Cortana, I need you to run simulations with Twilight's model, we need to know how can we make it work..." John then looks at the Hunters and says. "There are still many soldiers fighting, Rey, Arbiter and Lieutenant Whilhem will need our help to clean the area around Canterlot High, call the remaining Hunters, we need to draw Kylo's attention away from our primary objective. I'll join you briefly. Twilight, you and your friends stand by for new orders, but make sure y'all know about this plan, got it?" Said John with a serious voice.

"Got it!" Said Twilight with serious expression, John looks at the everyone else and says. "Let's move team, we have job to do!! Check on your magical seals, monitor its time, stay hidden, be efficient and procure protecting everyone!" Everyone leaves the room and proceeds to head to their current missions, Twilight heads to check on Rarity whilst John heads to his room, an old metal door blocks the entrance of it, John pulls the doorknob and enters the room.

John takes off his helmet, revealing his tired expression, his face shows the lack of sleep, but his eyes show determination, as it's the only thing that's left in him. John heads to his desk and opens a drawer, revealing what once was Sunlight's pistol, the one she retrieved from Hell.

As John takes the gun, flashbacks of what he's done struck his mind, how Lucifer gave him another magazine with the order of killing Vader once and for all, since these bullets have the property of erasing every trace of darkness. John succeeded in his task, but when Sunset's life was in danger by Sunlight's threat, he had no other choice, but... to pull the trigger, only one of these blessed bullets right in the head was enough to take Eclipse Sunlight down, John's hand begins to shake as he remembers Sunlight's expression, begging for him to take the shot as she was slowly getting swallowed completely by the dark magic. And how the bullet pierced her head, blood and pieces of her brain were lying on the floor as her restless body fell. He desperately tried to make another deal with Lucifer to bring her back, but the problem was... that since her heart was already consumed by dark magic... the bullet erased her soul from existence, there wasn't... any way... to bring her back.

Since that moment, Sunset hasn't said a word to John until now, she believes he broke his promise of helping Sunlight, but what option could he choose? If he hadn't done that, Sunset would've ended up severely injured, maybe even dead. John checks on the gun's chamber, it had three bullets left, he remembers whom received the other three, Vader, Starkiller and... Sunlight.

John closes his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying, but when he opens them again, he says the dog tags of his family, the Blue Team and Aura Sentry's police badge, how she died at Vader's hands, and time later, each member of the Blue Team sacrificed themselves to ensure John and the others survive. "It should've been me." Said John with a grieving voice as he grabs a photo portrait he had on his desk, it was a photo of everyone together, happy, before all of this had happened.

"I... I've failed you all..." John makes a pause as tears began to run down his cheeks and then he says. "I couldn't protect them, Sunlight... Pinkie Pie... Fluttershy... please... forgive me... I could've done better... I could've saved you..." John then puts the photo back where he picked it up and took Sunlight's pistol and holsters it in his right leg. He then gets his hand beneath his bed and takes out his blades and sees them as he says. "But now... there's a chance to fix everything... And I won't let this repeat, never... again." As John made this oath to himself, his blades glow intensely with their crimson lightnings, John attaches his blades to his back and puts on his helmet and receives an incoming call from Jerome.

"Jerome?" Said John through his helmet communicator, his voice changed quickly from grieving to serious, just like Spartans were trained to do so.

"I heard you're leaving, mind to tell me where?" Asks Jerome with a serious but relaxed voice, as John heads out of his room, not before taking a paper with a magical seal, John remembers Princess Twilight made these to hide their presence from magical sensitive beings, such as Kylo Ren... but it wasn't long ago when she was struck down by Kylo's lightsaber, she tried to buy everyone enough time to escape The Eclipse, but battling Kylo directly wasn't the best option, since his power was way abover hers, plus... there wasn't anyone else to back her up.

John sighs and replies to Jerome. "We need to carry on the plan I told you about, me and the Hunters are going out, the Lindholms and Dr. Ziegler will stay in the bunker, I need you to look out after Flash and the others... please." John only hears how Jerome sighs, but he understands John's feelings only with the sound of his voice, Jerome then replies. "Got it, I've been thinking on taking them out, since being here for more than three days might drive them mad." John then replies with a calmed voice.

"Thanks... Jerome, I..." He's then interrupted by Jerome, who said with a relaxed voice. "Don't mention it... it's been a hard time for all of us, especially for you... we've lost too many people, we can't afford to having grumpy faces around, heh... Kelly would've gather everyone and play a game with the children, don't you think?"

"Yeah, she... always... had her way with people... *sighs*" John makes a pause to think of her lost friend, how she was always the opposite of John, her attitude and charm always managed to lighten the mood even in the worst missions, how she use to make jokes mocking John, her revitalizing laugh, her shining blue eyes and the angular beauty of her face are things John can't forget not even trying it. And the fact that he always looked after her, and that in her final moments, she told John the truth of her feelings towards him, this made it even tougher for him when John lost her, a weigh grows bigger in his chest, as his memories of his friends and familiy, along with Kelly's make John tremble and lean on the wall next to him. ("I could've at least... replied to... her feelings... but I said nothing!)" Claimed John to himself as he feels the weigh of his chest grow even bigger, but Jerome's voice made him snap out of his trance.

"John! Are you ok?" Asked Jerome through the communicator, John breathes heavily as he stops himself from shedding a single tear, and with a serious voice, he says. "Yes, I just... needed a moment, I'll be leaving now Jerome, if anything happens... let me know." Said Chief ending the call for his own sake, if he keeps dwelling in his failures, he'll never make it to the exit, he needs to focus in order to carry out this plan... since it's their last hope, Jerome was shocked about John's sudden reaction, but he understood it at some level, John's been stressed since Kylo won, despite alll his efforts and plans to change the tides, nothing worked... this plan is Twilight's greatest achievement, putting all her effort in finding an answer to her deceased mentor's greatest doubt. "Can we go back in time?"

Meanwhile, Sunset gets to the supply depot and grabs a box of rations, despite their bad flavor, they cover the basics in nutrimentation, that should be enough, she exits the supply depot and heads to the tents in the south side from the entrance to the bunker, as she begins to give the refugees their rations, Sunset thinks of the misfortune all these people had, as many lost their families, their homes... everything... as Sunset immerses herself in her thought and her body moves automatically, a familiar voice snaps her out.

"Sunset Shimmer?!" It was Principal Celestia, who came out of a tent after seeing her former student walking in front of her, her messy look and torn clothing couldn't wipe off the feeling of calmness whenever Sunset heard her voice, since she's been like a mentor and a mother figure for her. "Principal... I'm glad to see you're fine." Said Sunset with a smile of relief, she hasn't seen her since everyone was evacuated of Canterlot High before... the TIE Bombers arrived and... wiped out the whole building, along with Vice-principal Luna. Principal Celestia holds Sunset cheek, as she looks with pity Sunset's face, she's tired, and it can't be hidden. "But you, Sunset...? Have you been eating well? You must to take a rest every now and then, Sunset." Said Principal Celestia with concern, Sunset only sighed and took off the Principal's hand and said.

"Does it matter? There's a lot to do, and since Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy... are..." Sunset begins to remember the events that took them away, Fluttershy died fighting Eclipse Sunlight on her own, but Sunlight died later that day when she was fighting her and in her pursuit of not killing Sunlight, Sunset ended up severely injured, almost at the edge of death. John came in and after fighting Sunlight and many Sith Troopers, he picked that... "heavenly pistol" and shoot a bullet right through Sunlight's head. Pinkie Pie died not much long ago, in a mission to retrieve some "important" things from one of The Final Order's base, the exfill didn't get there in time, and Pinkie used all of her items to create a explosion big enough to cover their escape... but... to create such an explosion... demanded Pinkie to stay behind.

Tears begin to run down Sunset's cheeks, but she feels how her head lays on Principal Celestia's chest, who said with a warm voice. "It's... fine, let it out." Sunset then drops the box with the remaining rations and hugs tightly Principal Celestia, she then lets all her emotions out in the shape of tears, Principal Celestia caresses her student's hair, calming her down. "They... were... my friends... and now... they're gone." Said Sunset with a sobbing voice as Principal Celestia says.

"I get it... everyone has lost someone close to them, but we have to cope with their loss and move forward." Sunset lifts her head and looks at Celestia in her eyes and says with despair and grief. "But... how?! I just want... to lay down and... do nothing."

Principal Celestia smiles at Sunset and says. "Remember, hope is the last thing we lose... just take a look!" Sunset then turns around and sees all the refugees, sharing stories, jokes, the children are playing and laughing, there are also a few dogs that play with the elders and the adults, despite the bad conditions they're in, they manage to have a good time. At the distance, Sunset sees how Sonata plays tag with some kids, while Aria is preparing stew for dinner along with the help of other refugees. Sunset sees how Adagio is distributing the last of the rations in her box as the people greet her with a cheerful smile, Flash then comes out from behind a trash can, as he pretends to be a monster playing with the kids, he then catches a little boy and lifts him up and sits him on his shoulders, the kids laugh as they ran away from Flash, Sunset can't help but to smile after seeing this, Principal Celestia then says.

"There's still hope, John and Flash have always done their best to encourage us... heh, I gues you can call it magic, but it's like their presence transmits hope to everyone else, also... I never thought that I'd see The Dazzlings helping everyone. Even in the darkest of hours, you and your friends have managed to be the lights that illuminates our hearts, if there's anyone who can find a solution, I know it's you."

"She's right, but... let's not think too much of that, shall we?" Said Flash as he approached Sunset and Principal Celestia, his optimistic smile has been cheering everyone up since the war was lost, despite his scar on his cheek and the many scratches his suit has, his charm hasn't fade away, Sunset runs towards him and hugs him tightly, these were the few times Sunset felt safe, as Flash wraps her around his arms and says. "I also missed you, Sunset." Said Flash as he kisses gently Sunset's forehead, Principal Celestia looks at them with a smile as both Flash and Sunset's communicator began to beep.

"Axios Team, Jerome here! Meet me at the armory in 3, we got assigned with a mission and I need all of you." Said Jerome with a calmed voice as the message ended, Axios Team is a division of the Blue Team, though it was formed initally by The Rainbooms, the situation forced them to include The Dazzlings in this task force, Jerome's message was broadcasted throughout their communicators, Flash sighs and with a smile says.

"I swear if we have to clean up the sewers of the bunker again, I'll make Jerome go instead of me." Said Flash as he turned around and said goodbye to the children, who were waving back at him, Sunset turns at Principal Celestia and says with a smile, something Sunset hasn't done in quite a while. "Thanks, Principal... I-I really needed to hear that."

"Don't even mention, Sunset... now go, you were called for a mission, I'll deliver the remaining rations, sounds good?" Said Celestia with an optimistic smile as she grabbed the box of rations Sunset dropped a while ago. "Sounds perfect, thanks... again!" Said Sunset as she and Flash left the south part of the bunker and headed along with The Dazzlings to the armory.

Once there, the whole team reunites and begins to chat, except for Twilight who arrived late as she was putting on her bracers and connected them to her Tesla coils. "Sorry everyone! How long you've been waiting?" Asked Twilight as she tries to catch her breath, Applejack helps her to make the final connection of her suit as she says with a smile. "Meh, not too much, sugarcube! How's Rarity?" Asked Applejack with an optimistic look, Twilight sighs and heads to a desk and takes a small metal foil and welds it to her chestplate, closing a small crack there was on her left side.

"She's fine! Actually, she finally woke up but Dr. Ziegler said it'll take some time for her to recover her strength, so she won't come with us to this mission." Said Twilight as she finished welding the steel foil, Adagio looks around and says. "Uhm... where's Jerome?"

"That's a good point actually, and where are our suits?" Asked Aria as she looked around the room, before his death retrieving all the documentation regarding Twilight's investigation, Tesla made suits for The Dazzlings, although this weren't as resourceful as the Rainbooms' battle suits, these battle suits have configurations that allow The Dazzlings to create different weapons depending of the situation, powered by the energy of their restored geodes, the only problem... Tesla never managed to discover how to invert a magical artifact's nature, so their geodes still power up from negative emotions, luckily... Tesla isolated the radio of action and made it so that the geodes only work with their wielders' negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, envy, arrogance, only to mention a few.

Jerome then comes from another room holding a huge box with a label that says weapons and with an optimistic voice he says.

"Alright people, Isabel and I made some adjustments to The Dazzlings' suits, I adjusted your combat modules for you to have more weapons, although they are only three, they'll come in handy." Said Jerome as he opened the box, revealing the suits he mentioned, as The Dazzlings suit up, Jerome and Flash hugged brotherly, as it's been a while since the last time both saw each other.

"It's good to know you're still with us, bro!" Said Flash as he greeted Jerome with a wide smile. "Someone needs to watch over John, plus... we need as much hands as possible." Said Jerome as he took off his helmet, revealing his face showing an cheerful smile regardless of the many scratches his armor has, his optimism seems to be unyielding.

"Tell us Jerome, what's our next mission?" Asks Twilight as she and the team approached Jerome, who replies with a smile. "On our last patrol, Arbiter and I found a few shops at the mall that were in good conditions, I was thinking if we go out there and bring everyone something.... now that I think of it, there was a candy shop that didn't seem destroyed, we might find some edible candies for the children down here."

"Really? Don't you think we'll be beatin' the Devil around the stump instead of helpin' the fight out there?" Asks Applejack as she scratches her head, it's not that she dislikes the idea, but how things are going right now, she thinks it'll be better to focus on winning the as many battles as possible. "Nah, don't worry AJ... there's another mission we have, Richtofen asked us to retrieve power cells from an outpost of The Final Order and deliver them to him." Said Jerome as a holographic map appears right in front of him and Isabel appears next to it.

"...And if we take a look at the map, we can go first to the mall and take some supplies and we can go to small outpost on our way back, it'll be to kill two birds with one stone." Said Isabel with a confident voice, as she and the holomap dissappear and get inside Jerome's helmet. "But, if we want to have success, we better leave now. Is everyone ready?" Asks Jerome as he puts back his helmet and looks around, although no one spoke, the fact of seeing everyone looking at him with determination was enough for Jerome to understand that they were craving to do this, with a serious voice, he said.

"Alright, Axios... let's move!" Said Jerome as now the whole team heads to the exit of the armory, but Sunset stays behind as she seems unsure of this mission, the last time they thought a mission would be easy, they lost Pinkie Pie, but Sunset snaps out of her inner thoughts as she feels Flash's hand on her shoulder, and his kind voice saying.

"Hey, don't worry... we'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Sunset still gets amazed of the amount of optimism he has, Flash has lost most of his family, remaining only John and Jerome and yet he seems to be doing fine, Sunset then smiles back at him and both exit the armory, as they stopped at the main tunnel, they hear someone running behind them.

"Applejack!" Shouted Applebloom as she approach her sister with her hat on her hands, after hugging Applejack asks. "Hey, why the rush sugarcube? Did Granny Smith and Big Mac are ok?" Asked Applejack concerned, but her sister catched her breath and said. "Yeah, we're fine... but when I heard you and you're friends are heading out, I had to give you this..." Said Applebloom as she hands Applejack her hat, which was left behind by Applejack when it got torn by a blaster shot, but Applebloom managed to patch it up. With a moved expression, Applejack said.

"Aww! You shouldn't have!." Said Applejack as she put back her hat, although her reaction, Applejack indeed felt bad when her hat received the shot, but to see it now restores, only draws a smile on her face. "We're apples, helping others is part of what we do!" Said Applebloom as she hugged her sister tightly, Applejack hugs her back and after a short while, she says. "Alright, now go back sugarcube! I'm sure Granny Smith and Big Mac will need your help." Applebloom smiles as she salutes as a soldier and leaves, after this... the team walks through the main tunnel as they head to the exit.

"Twilight, would you mind to tell us about your plan?" Asks Jerome as he seems to be calibrating his weapons. "Yeah, John and you have been working on that for quite the time already, but we don't even know what it is!" Claimed Rainbow Dash as she stretches her arms, she does have a point though, the mission where Pinkie Pie perished was related to this plan, the only thing the rest of The Rainbooms knew was that they had to steal a portal machine, but that's it, they didn't question it then since the whole idea of Kylo Ren conquering Equestria and invading many universes at the same time wasn't easy to digest.

"She's right, why have you been keeping it away from us the whole time, Twilight?" Asks Sunset confused as she begins to think of the reasons, mainly because they're friends is that she feels kind of... betrayed. "I know I did wrong by hiding it from you all, but Cortana suggested that both John and I kept it in secret in case any of us got captured, that intel will be safe in someone else's mind. But now since it's almost finished, there's no point on hiding it from any of you..." Twilight then makes a pause as she begins to thin of where and how to start, but after mustering enough determination, she says.

"When... we lost... Tesla knew we will lose definitively if we don't have a plan... but, what could we do in our situation? Well, he had an idea, and it was if we can be able to go back in time?... I mean, you can go forward thanks to time-space relativity, but his theory suggested that we could also go backwards..." Everyone was making an idea of what Twilight was suggesting, but Rainbow Dash was the first one to react. "W-Wait... hold on! You're saying that everything we've done so far was to built a TIME MACHINE?!! That's... awesome!!" Twilight then replies with a gentle smile.

"Kinda... before his death, Tesla managed to upload a copy of all the documentation and research made by the science division into Cortana's memory, all of this was moments before the Infinity's destruction. The only problem, is that the machine requires a humongous amount of energy, to send only ONE person back in time, this because you literally have to enter the quantum realm while also travelling faster than light to be able to move a little bit into the past." Said Twilight with a confident voice as she begins to remember all the times she and Tesla had to lose sleep to make the calculations work, but that was oly the theorical aspect, Cortana is now running simulations to make it work in the practical way.

"So, how does it work?" Asks Adagio intrigued by Twilight's plan, even for a magical being like her, the fact of being able to go back in time is complicated. Twilight then looks at her and says. "It's more like a super accelarator that creates a portal with enough power to send you into the quantum realm, while also accelerating your molecules until they become a tachion, which means that you're moving faster than light, the only thing left to see, is how to make a safe jump." Twilight's expression changes from confidence to concern, as she knows that is a crucial part of the process, but she hasn't figured it out yet.

"Safe... jump?" Asks Aria as she looks at Twilight with confusion, the idea now doesn't seem very convincing, Twilight shrugs as she says. "Yeah, we know how to go back in time, but the problem is that you will appear in another point of time and space, and after the machine loses its effects, we don't know how to change someone's form back, unless there's someone in the past already waiting for you... *sighs* that's the only thing I've been thinking lately."

"And... who's going to make the jump?" Asks Flash as he reflects over this plan, but Twilight replies with an ashamed expression. "That... remains to be decided... but John said that it'll be better if I do it, since I understand how the machine and its effects work, but I haven't said yes..." Twilight's expression seems a bit saddened, but Jerome then stops them and says. "Don't overthink it Twilight, right now, we have other things to focus on..." Said Jerome as the team realizes they're right at the exit, a massive walls of debris covers the entrance, making sure only those who know the path can enter. Jerome takes a paper with the magic seal Princess Twilight made and he rips off one of the edges, as the seal begins to illuminate, indicating it's activated and the countdown began before it completely fades away.

"Minus the time we'll make to the city, we have 3 hours team, let's make them count." Said Jerome as he approaches the wall next to the entrance and pushes a misplaced brick, which opens a door-shaped hole in the wall in front of him, as they exited the tunnel, the look of their destroyed home leaves nothing but a pain in The Rainbooms' hearts, as they had the role to protect it, but they failed. After walking for several minutes, they finally made it to the city, but the sight didn't improve, it got even worse. A star destroyer sieged over the observatory, as it fights against X-Wings, Boradswords and Pelicans, but it's obvious they're only buying time for something else to happen.

As rain begins to pour, the team kept walking down the abandoned streets of what once was Canterlot City, now destroyed and filled with the sounds of blasters and assault rifles at the distance.

Destroyed buildings, smoking homes, Canterlot High had pieces of TIE Fighters and X-Wings inlaid in its infrastructure, Sunset can't look very long at it as she keeps moving forward. The team arrives at once was Flash's home, destroyed, the whole ceiling crumbled as a small squad of TIE Bombers attack them, in their efforts of protecting the lab, Fred blew it up with an explosive, taking a big amount of Sith Troopers along with him. As the team kept walking, they began to see the remnants of their city, Crystal Prep was now nothing but debris and broken glass, destroyed police patrols and tanks all over the city, Pelicans that were shut down crashed against buildings, filling the streets with broken glass as pieces of concrete sprout from the broken street.

As they keep walking, bodies of troopers lie dead in the streets, Resistance troopers, Banished, Sith troopers, and many more fought in the city, the ravages of war turned the city into a battlefield, the remaining troops of the Resistance fight only a few battles against the Final Order, only to ensure the civilians will survive and Twilight's plan succeeds, but all their efforts are placed in that plan, which is something that disturbs Sunset, as she thinks they're holding onto Twilight's plan as their last hope. "(All these deads, their sacrifices, are they worth of something? I hope they are, we're running out of options...)" Sunset then walks towards Jerome as she asks him in a low voice.

"Jerome... do you... think, we failed?" Jerome looks at Sunset, his helmet hides his reflective expression, but with a calmed voice he replied. "Sunset... war is always changing... but our duty... remains the same. We have to protect this world and its people, yeah... many have died since we lost Equestria, but... as far as there's still people that lives, there will be hope of a better tomorrow. Or at least... that's what John always says."

Sunset's expression seems thoughtful, but another question takes her mind, and her tongue can't help but to ask. "Sometimes I think John doesn't know what he's doing." Jerome then turned his head at Sunset abruptly, she had no need to look under his helmet to know he was partially offended, but also, he understands why she said that, his calmed voice then says. "John and I were raised as battle tools, the perfect weapons... but the moment we arrived to this world, John began to appreciate life with a new perspective. Not only as a soldier, but also as a father and as a friend... when everything began to go south, John and I had to rely on our first teachings... which are to fight... no matter what." Jerome makes a pause as he orders the team to stop moving, with another handsign, the team leans on the wall of a building next to them. There was a patrol of Sith troopers around the corner, thankfully, they were looking away from the team's position, the sound of the rain pouring and thunders in the sky hid the team's voices and footsteps.

Jerome points at a rock and Sonata hands it to him, after peeking, Jerome saw how they were finishing off a squad of marines, the sound their blaster shots filled the empty street as Jerome hid around the corner. There was nothing they could've done, Jerome then clenches the rock and throws it at the abandoned Sweet Shoppe, causing enough noise for the patrol to head there and ignore their rear, giving the team a chance to run to the other side of street, after walking away from the patrol, the team is now closer to the mall and Jerome resumes his conversation with Sunset.

"The whole point is... John is not someone who gives up, he never does... you might think he's plans are desperate, and probably they are, but... what else can he do? He has to protect you all along with the refugees, if fighting grants us another day to live, that's enough for him... also, he's human... and you aren't the only one who lost someone, we all did..." Jerome's voice changes from calmed to somber as he continues. "... I hope you can be more comprehensive, besides... he's also like you, trying to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders... that's never good, for anyone."

Sunset now reflects on what Jerome said, she realizes how this war got her bitter, John is still her friend, or at least... that's what she hopes, probably she should apologize once they return from this mission. "Alright people, we're here." Said Jerome as he and the team stops at the entrance of the mall, but the doors are locked with debris of concrete and metal, after Jerome and Applejack removed all the debris, there was a still a metal foil blocking the entrance, Flash then unsheathes his blade and imbues it with fire, and with a cross slash, he cut through the door and with a kick, he opened it.

"C'mon, let's get in... just make sure not to make too much noise." Said Flash as he enters first, followed by the rest of the team as they now begin to search for anything useful that might be in the remaining stores, the darkness of the halls and the light that pours in from a hole in the ceiling gives off the vibes of emptiness, there was a small battle here time ago, but now... there's nothing.

Meanwhile on the other side of city.
John moves jumping from the rooftops of the buildings as he sees how the Final Order movilizes towards an unknown destination. "(This ain't good, where are they going?)" Thought John as he hears a grappling hook clinging on the edge of the rooftop his in, a cloaked person climbs the rope and sits on the edge of the roof as he catches his breath, he then takes off his mask and hood, revealing his identity.

"Timber, how was your mission?" Asks John as he approaches Timber, who was carrying a leather bag, he shows it to John and says. "I... got it, Chief." Timber then opens the bag and takes out a device from the Final Order, he was tasked on stealing it without being noticed and then rendezvous with John as soon as possible.

"Just as you said, we'll have track of their next moves for at least a month." Said with a proud smile, as infiltrating a Final Order base isn't easy at all, John then looks at the flash drive and says to Timber with a serious voice. "Good job, you weren't followed?" Asks John as he takes the flash drive and plugs it in his bracer, displaying now a menu of many files regarding the Final Order's next plans. "Nope... rain makes a great job hiding your traces, although I had to run amidst the danger of receiving a blaster shot from the many battles there are across the city." Said Timber with a concerned voice as he remembers how his life was on the edge many times on his way here.

John then begins to examine the many files by date, ignoring Timber, who stands up as he says. "Y'know... I never got the chance to properly thank you for saving me when those creepy guys kidnapped me and Gloriosa, Chief... you really saved our skins back then." John then stops, he remembers that mission, there were many casualties, but the main objective was to save Timber and his sister, yet... John feels like he doesn't deserve any thanks.

"I don't deserve any grattitude... many people died when Kylo blowed up the building... I tried to deactivate the bomb, but... it had a biometric mechanism... I couldn't stop it... but I know I could've done it if I had arrived sooner." Said John with a serious voice as he resumes his research, Timber then reflects on John's words and says with a compassionate voice. "I know you're going through a lot, but... you don't have to carry the guilt of everything... it wasn't your fault." Said Timber as he looks at John concerned, but he ignored his words as he found a file with a sweeping route a platoon of Sith troopers will take in 20 minutes to make sure there aren't any survivors with The Resistance... and it goes right through the bunker. John began to make quick calculations to ensure the safest escape route.

"Fuck... Timber, take the flash drive and head to the bunker, right now... I'll warn Cortana, evacuate the bunker and relocate... the sweeping routes are slow, so if you're fast enough, the seal won't burn completely and you'll be safe, everyone needs to move at this coordinates, it's a far spot, take shelter in the deep woods and wait until we arrive, got it?" Said John imperatively, he wasn't asking Timber if he wanted or not, it's a direct order... Timber takes the flash drive and puts on his mask as he activates his speed boots, which are similar to Rainbow Dash's, but lack attack power. Timber slides down the rope he took to climb and begins to run towards the bunker.

John then uses the communicator of his helmet and begins to transmit a message to Cortana. "Cortana, prepare an evacuation plan! The Final Order is heading towards the bunker, get everyone into safety, now!" Said Chief imperatively as he receives a call from Rey. "Master Chief, we have a big problem here!" Claimed Rey with a desperate voice as John asks. "Rey, what happened? How's the situation with you and Arbiter?!"

"One thing... Kylo... Ren" Said the Arbiter through the communicator, John froze in place as he hears that name, knowing it only means one thing... "GET OUT OF THERE!" Claimed John to his friends, holding onto the hope that if they were fast enough, they'll be able to escape, but a deep part of him knew there was no way out of this situation, which got corroborated by Arbiter's voice. "I'm afraid that's too late, old friend. Don't worry, Cortana already has our part of the plan..."

John tried not to believe this, but his friends' last words made him swallow the crude reality. "Farewell... John... it's been an honor to be your friend." The communicator got smashed ending the call abruptly. John then looks at the building where Rey and Arbiter are. There's a secret base that worked as a research lab at the top of the building, Richtofen used it to get the main parts for Twilight's machine, but he had to abandon it when it got attacked by a dark magic wave, indicating only one thing... they're doom was upon them. At least, their sacriface will buy enough time for Richtofen to escape.

"Are you ready, Jedi?!" Said Thel'Vadam as he ignited his energy blade.

"More than you think, Arbiter!" Said Rey as she ignites her lightsaber after placing an explosive on the column next to her, both knew what will come out of the smoke in front of them, as they see a crimson blade ignite and flooding the whole floor with his dark magic, as his figure dissipates the smoke of the explosion.

"I wondered why this world was taking so long to fall... but now, it's your time for it to DIE!!" Shouted Kylo as he tries to overwhelm Arbiter and Rey with his dark presence, but their determination doesn't flinch, they're ready for the outcome and won't hold anything back.

"Let's see if you can do that, BASTARD!!" Shouted Rey as she and Arbiter rushed against Kylo, who engaged combat against them only for mere fun, he has absorbed such amount of magic that only Sunset and her friends can match him, but after all... he enjoys a good combat, it only took him a short while to stab Arbiter with his lightsaber and when he got to fight Rey, he began to use a warp technique, but his jumps were imprecise, he began to lose his ground easily as he couldn't know where he was jumping. which overwhelmed Rey quickly, as she's now on the ground with Kylo's heel on her neck.

"At the end, you weren't even match for me." Said Kylo arrogantly as he mocks of Rey, who tries to take off Kylo's heel but fails, with a smug on her face, she says. "If you focus only in the enemy in front of you, you'll lose focus on your surroundings." Said Rey as she made a hand gesture, which pulled her lightsaber towards Kylo's head, but as soon as it was about to reach him, he snaps his fingers, turning the whole weapon into a rubber toy.

"W-What?" Asked Rey as she couldn't understand what just happened, Kylo chuckles as he says. " Chaos magic really does unbelievable things, I'm really glad that I absorbed it from that wretched creature from Equestria."

"Yeah... you might be right, but you still lack training... you can't even control your techniques, you only pretend to, and that's why you'll lose!" Said Rey with a mocking expression as she looks at Kylo, who only angers by her statement and snaps her neck with his boot, but as he hears rocks moving, he turns around and sees how the Arbiter reached for a detonator and press it. The whole floor blew up, but the strength of the explosion was such that the whole building was brought down as John only looks at the distance.

If Kylo was now in this world, it meant they have to rush their plans or everything will go to waste, there's not time to think of any Plan B, John takes his blades and heads to the defensive position of Lieutenant Whilhem's platoon. If that position fell, the whole plan will fail and that is something John can't afford.

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter 22.5: The Hope Of A Lost Time

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 23: Past Regrets of Future Events

As Sunset stands in bewilderment and silence, her golden self says with a calmed voice. "So.... where do you want to begin?" Sunset then snaps out of her confusion and then says with an energetic voice. "Where to begin?! You gotta be joking, like... what exactly happened? Why Kylo has god-like powers? Why did my friends die? And... when did this happen? Is Kylo going to chase you?"

The golden Sunset seems reflective, and after a brief moment of thought, she replies. "Let's begin with the last question... don't worry about Kylo, he's trapped in another future. Tesla and Twilight's research is the work equivalent to half a century of investigation, even though he wants to learn how we made it possible, he'd ended up going mad by the excessive amount of magic within him. And to respond the previous question... uhmm... let's see... what's the most recent event in your current time, before the battle at Aloy's world?" Sunset seems thoughtful but replies after a short bit. "We were trying to contact Sunlight, but now I understand why didn't she reply any of my calls nor messages." Sunset remains frustrated after remembering she couldn't break Sunlight's chains, causing her to become this raging demon, just like herself a time ago at the Fall Formal.

"I see... well, if I remember correctly, it's 3 months in the future from your current time. But... everything has gone as expected, so maybe it'll take more time." Said the Golden Sunset to her past counterpart, but Sunset seems confused of something her future counterpart said. "Wait...!" Said Sunset with surprise, and she then asked her future counterpart. "... As expected?! What do you mean?" Her future self sighs and then she asks. "Do you remember Flash's visions?

"Yeah, I do... what about them?" Asked Sunset, intrigued about what her future self has to say. "Well... he saw those visions thanks to me. It was a hard task, but thanks to it... things have been different since then." Said the future Sunset with a calmed voice, finally her plans seem successful for once, but her past self can't comprehend the meaning behind her words, hence she asks. "It was you? You led him at the observatory? Why?"

"Allow me to explain..." The future Sunset takes a deep breath and begins to explain her reasons. "... When Sunlight kidnapped Aura in my time, Flash told us, including John and the Blue Team. Despite their efforts, Starkiller knew it'll be a danger to have many people involved when they only wanted to kill me. That's why he killed Aura with his lightsaber and used her death as a diversion for him and Sunlight to escape. Meanwhile... Kylo and his army were fighting at Zeta Halo to gain control of a Flood sample, and although they got away with it, the parasite escaped and began to spread its threat across the multiverse." The future Sunset makes a pause and then says.

"When Kylo became a Sith, he began to scheme his great plan, which included bringing back Darth Vader, and he then infiltrated in Equestria, but I don't know how... and there was another problem... Sunlight wasn't snapping out of her hatred against me and didn't flinch much when she was tasked to fight me to death... *sigh* I only hoped that I could've saved her... but... I can prevent that from happening, what you saw... was the fate that you'll meet if nothing have been done!" Said the future Sunset as she now opens her arms and looks above as she says. "This crystal, it's the tool that'll grant you the power I lacked to stop my world from crumbling."

Sunset only shows her shocked expression after hearing everything, now it has sense... but few questions remain, with determination Sunset asks. "We can talk about it later, but first tell me... why did you get Flash killed?" The future Sunset looks at her past self as she downs her arms and says. "Because it made Sunlight regret her decision of fighting for The First Order, Aura's death happened while she was unconscious after fighting John, so it didn't afflict her much, plus if we add Kylo's lies, it didn't help to make her realize she was on the wrong path. I'm sorry if it was a bad time for you while Flash was dead, but John and Sunlight worked together to bring him back, and that resulted in a much better outcome than expected."

"But this crystal? What's its purpose? Why does it exist and why is my future consciousness in it?" Asks Sunset with confusion as she tries to connect everything in her mind. Her future self creates an illusion of the Kyber Crystal on her hand and says. "This crystal... it's my last resort... my whole essence became raw magic and with it, I've aided you in order to change the outcome of your future. But time seems to be running out, and so are my options. The Kyber Crystal is nothing but the physical representation of my entire magic, which allows you to reach for a power that'll help you fight the incoming threat that Kylo and his allies represent. While also providing you of a great magic source..." The future Sunset chuckles and then says. "... But yes, it'll also work as a lightsaber, so that Rainbow Dash doesn't feel disappointed... besides that, this crystal is my will and essence translated into an object... I'm lending it to you since the magic I used to keep my consciousness alive is running out."

Sunset then seems utterly confused, but also she seems determined to take this power in order to protect everyone, with a serious expression, she asks. "What should I do? What can I do to stop my future from becoming anything like yours?!" The future Sunset looks at her past self and says with a emotional voice.

"Although I'd like to answer that, there are rules that I must follow in order for this plan to succeed, but... what I can do tell is one thing... Never Give Up no matter what, got it?." Sunset looks at her future self and replies. "Got it... and... thanks, Sunset... for this." Her future self begins to elevate as she begins to shine even more brightly and says before saying goodbye forever. "Don't thank me yet... Good luck, Sunset Shimmer!"

Then, a golden light engulfs Sunset and the cosmic realm where she's in, Sunset closed her eyes by the blinding light and when she opens them again, she finds herself in the meditation room where she was before connecting with the crystal. "Thanks... Sunset." Said Sunset as she looked at the brand-new tool in her hand, the door behind her opens and Rey comes in.

"Hey! How was it? I sensed a massive surge in The Force, is everything ok...?" Asked Rey as she came in and Sunset stood up and turned around, showing her the brand-new weapon she acquired.

"Woah! It looks great! But I don't recall having such pieces..." Said Rey as Sunset handed her lightsaber for her to check it, as Rey inspects it, she feels how the crystal's energy flows through the lightsaber, as if it's completely imbued with its power. Rey hands back the lightsaber to Sunset, who looks at Rey who was only looking at her with thrill and pride, Sunset instinctively felt like she had to ignite it, and by pressing the activation button and a golden blade floods the dark room with its shining glow.

"It suits you. Though... it's a strange color, most are normally green or blue, among other colors, but... gold?" Asked Rey as she saw the blade and hears a weirdly calming sound coming from it. "Is it... bad?" Asked Sunset as she slowly swung her lightsaber, Rey only chuckles and replies. "No no no, the color of the blade has a meaning, blue sabers like mine are for warriors, but the golden ones... were for the Sentinels..." Said Rey with a calmed voice as she reflected on all the books she read about the Jedi Order before its fall.

"Sentinels?" Asked Sunset as she deactivated her blade and looked at Rey with curiosity, who only says with a serious voice. "Jedi Sentinels were a division of the Jedi Order, as far as I know... they were skillful warriors and wise members of the Order, but their duty... was to protect those who were members of the Jedi Order and its secrets, their knowledge, and traditions. But, the Sith erased that meaning, now... that golden blade, is the nature of your soul manifesting through the crystal... that why it suits you, Sunset... also, its color matches yours." Rey then looks at Sunset and says with a smile. "Shall we go and show them your new toy?"

As both leave the mediation room with a smile, John along with his team, Tesla, Galen and Richtofen seem to be discussing something at the Captain's bridge along with Lasky, John takes off his helmet and places it on the holo table and with an outraged voice, he asks. "WHAT do you mean, we've been gone for MONTHS?" Tesla then answers John's question with a calmed voice.

"At least, on the general model, but just as Richtofen and I said. A massive energy wave coming from opposite directions clashed and caused this... displacement." John then looks at Tesla, but before he can ask anything, Kelly asked first. "And what caused this waves and where do they come from?" Richtofen then steps forth and says. "We did our best to track the source of the collision and our trackers aim at two different universes, one being the one where you were carrying out your previous mission, and the other one, well... it was... Equestria."

"What happened? Did the Final Order arrived there?" Asked Fred with a serious voice, fortunately Tesla replies with a friendly voice. "Nein my good friend, we didn't detect anything that involved the Final Order, it was more... like an inner event that caused tons of magical energy to be unleashed, and the same happened in Aloy's world, although we lack information regarding Equestria's current situation since no one answers our calls, we were expecting that you could illuminate us with the events that took place on your side of the cosmic scale?"

John began to think about the consequences of this, what if this made them move several weeks to the future? He only sighs and, with a reflective voice, replies. "We were chasing down Kylo, he was carrying out a mining operation to extract an anomalous Kyber Crystal, Sunset and him fought for its control, but Kylo... used a Sith ritual to try and absorb magic. Though he failed to absorb the crystal, he absorb a good amount of Sunset's magic and... he became like an Overlord or something like that."

"I detected 4 power surges, that's only one... do you know which are the others?" Asked Tesla with curiosity, John only looked at him with a serious expression and continued. "Sunlight became... something different... it's like the darkness of her necklace has finally fused with her being, creating... a berseker-like form." Said John as he shows everyone the images he got of Sunlight's new form, as everyone analyzes her new form, John only clenches his fist, it hurts him to see his friend becoming slave of darkness, and it hurts much more that she's under Kylo's command. But he has to continue, therefore he calms his fist and says with a calmed voice.

"On the other hand, The Rainbooms ponied up after quite the time, their suits changed while also becoming more powerful..." John's then interrupted by Tesla who says with a cheerful expression. "HA! I knew that they'll do it!" Everyone looks at Tesla with confusion, as he only looks at John and says. "Sorry, you can continue, Chief." John only agreed with his head and continued his report. "With those two power surges, along with the one created by the struggle between Kylo and Sunset to obtain the crystal, and Kylo's evolution... I think that's everything."

Captain Lasky finally steps forth and says. "Thank you, Master Chief. Galen... have you found anything about Vader and Starkiller?" Galen only crosses his arms and replies with a calmed voice. "I lost track of them, but... before losing them, they divided... the only certain track I have is Starkiller's location, he went to a distant universe... but, thanks to Tesla's research, we found that the universe he's in is surrounded by other realities that share similar properties."

"A Cluster? Now that's new." Said Fred with a serious voice, John then asked. "When are you planning to go after him?" Galen looked at John and said with a calmed voice. "Starkiller's not gonna go anywhere, the universe he ended up, is one of many powerful beings, they use something called... Visions to manifest elemental power, but that's all we know. But first, we must find ourselves right now, this displacement surely confused not only us, but many more... so we must put everyone up to the date in order to continue." John looked away with a concerned expression, but Galen replied. "Don't worry John, it'll be fine." Lasky then said while looking . "While we do that, we should be preparing to fight this new threats, I'll call General Poe in order to arrange a meeting and discuss the recent events, but also... we have to keep insisting on contacting our Equestrian allies, we better make sure that everything is fine back there."

Lasky then looked at everyone and said. "Richtofen, Tesla... put the Science Division to work on this incident, we must know about any other thing that changed for the worse. Blue Team, thanks for your report... we'll begin to do joint operations between strike teams and Hunters in order to deal with any further threat that rises because of this..." Lasky is then interrupted by Linda who asks.

"Captain, what's the situation regarding the Flood infestation?" Lasky looks at her with an optimistic expression and says. "Omega and Crimson teams have been dispatched to deal with this matter, we currentyl have contained 97% of the infestation that spread to other universes, but their job might not be done yet, there might be other unknown infestations hiding from us while we hunt them, so stay put if anything else comes up."

After this, everyone leaves the Bridge and part their ways, but before leaving... John asks Galen. "Galen, may I have a word?" Galen then turns around and sees John with a friendly face and says. "Sure! Is it related to Sunset and the Kyber Crystal?" John then seemed shocked for a bit and then said. "How did y... *sigh* I should've expected it, but yes... it's about her. Do Kyber Crystals can emit energy shockwaves?" Galen then seems confused and says with a serious voice. "As far as I know, they don't, but after hearing your report, probably it isn't an ordinary Kyber Crystal."

"What are your thoughts on it?" Asks John with a serious voice, Galen then says after reflecting for a bit. "Probably that Kyber Crystal has properties that make it unique, if it was the anomaly you and Kylo detected, it means there's a huge amount of energy within it. And since Kyber Crystals connect with their owner, you said Kylo and Sunset struggled for the crystal?" Asked Galen with curiosity, John then replies with a serious voice. "They did, there was a clash between their magic, an impressive lightshow but the crystal seemed to push Kylo away everytime... as... if it was protecting itself."

Galen seems now even more confused, and with a serious voice he says. "Now... that's... wierd. Maybe we need to investigate more this Kyber Crystal, if we can call it that way." John then replies with a friendly voice. "As far as I know, Kyber Crystals are what the people of your universe use to craft their lightsabers, right? Maybe you could teach her a thing or two about how to properly use it, don't you think?" Asks John, Galen then looks at him with a surprised expression, it's the first time the Master Chief himself asks him for a favor, Galen slightly smiles and says.

"Yeah, you're right. I could teach her the basics, to at least learn how to use that new power, but first, go and check back to your world and see if everything is still fine, then we can make a plan to hunt down Starkiller once and for all, got it?" Said Galen as he shakes John's hand in a bortherly way, after this, they part ways and Fred quickly says. "We need to call Aura, I nee-... We need to know if she and Flash are fine."

John looked over his shoulder with curiosity, Fred is not the kind of person that mispokes, but with a calmed voice he says. "Indeed, let's regroup with the girls and go back home." As the team reunites with the girls, John sees how Rey and Sunset seem to be discussing something. "We have to start your training, maybe Master Marek can lend us a hand."

"Ok, I'll see if I can find a good moment to train." Said Sunset as she attached her new lightsaber on her belt but Rey interrupts her by saying. "It's not something you can just "see", Sunset... your lightsaber represents a new responsibility for you, you can't take it so lightly." John then adds to the conversation. "She's right, you better take it seriously Sunset, since we know it has many abilities that remain unknown to us." Said John as he and the Blue Team approached the group, Kelly then asks. "So, who's ready to go back home?"

The girls quickly raised their hands and Kelly took the lead and began to walk towards the portal room, the rest of the team and the girls followed her, except for Sunset who remains where she was standing, John approaches her and says with a comforting voice. "Hey, I know a lot happened, but maybe some rest will help you think better, so what if we go back home and pay a visit to our friends?" Sunset sighs and then agrees with her head, after that, both she and John head towards the portal, where everyone was waiting for them, and as they began to cross the portal, John couldn't feel anything but uncertainty, since he doesn't know how much time has passed since they left.

As soon as they cross the portal and arrived to their home, John and the Blue team couldn't help but to sigh of relief, Kelly took off her helmet and threw it away while she went to the Brokkr room to take the rest of he suit off, then she's followed by the rest of the team except for John, who remained still as he hears footsteps from upstairs, the door opens and the thrill runs down John's spine, as he sees Aura coming down stairs and saying.

"You finally showed up, what exactly happened?!" Said Aura as she looked directly to John with outrage, asking for answers, but John replies with confusion. "I... I don't know how to explain it... things happened across the multiverse and weird stuff made us waste more time than I would've wanted to." Aura then sighs and says. "Well, you've been away for a day and a half, so I hope you haven't forgot about our plans." As Aura said that, John felt much more relieved, only a day and a half have passed and that's more than he would've expected to, but right now, he's glad he didn't miss Flash's birthday.

After that, Kelly and the rest of the team came out of the Brokkr room and Aura looks at them with a smile and says. "Fred! Guys!" Said Aura as she quickly ran and hugged Fred, after that John asked. "Uhmmm... Aura, is Flash here?" Aura then turned around and said. "Nope... he had to do some rehearsal with his band, he left home a few hours ago."

John feels much more relieved since he can finally take a break, as he heads to the Brokkr room to take off his suit, but Kelly then says. "Does anyone else is starving? Because I am, what can we cook?" Said Kelly as she does stretches to relax, while Aura only chuckles and says. "Don't worry about that, I was already cooking somemthing, but if you help me, we can finish earlier." As soon as she says that, Pinkie Pie shouts.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!!" As she said that, Pinkie runs upstairs at a speed visually comparable with Rainbow Dash's, leaving the Blue Team shocked, Linda asks. "Wh-what?! She has super speed too?!" As the rest began to walk upstairs, Applejack replies. "Nope, that's just Pinkie Pie."

Moments before the team's arrival back to their homeworld, the Apple Family was enjoying of a sweet evening chat with an excentric individual. "Sorry Mr. Morningstar, but we won't let our apples be mass produced, it simply kills the whole essence of Sweet Apple Acres." Said Granny Smith with a serious voice, as the visitor takes the final sip of his cup and said with a refreshed voice.

"I wouldn't expect less from you actually, this is the best Apple Cider I have tasted in eons HAHAHA!! But I respect your decision." Lucifer places his cup on the table as he stands up and puts on his hat and looks at the apple of his staff glowing with golden light. "Oh! That's my cue to leave." Lucifer then heads to the door but Applebloom's voice is heard behind him.

"I hope you can find the person you're looking for Mr. Morningstar." Said Applebloom with a kind smile, Lucifer turns around as he slightly snaps his fingers and says. "You're so kind sweetie, thank you, but probably y'all want to check your garage." Said Lucifer with his charming smile as he shuts the door and leaves. Applebloom and Big Mac head right away to the garage only to be left in shock, the whole place was rebuilt, newer tools, a new truck and many tools to improve the harvest, along with it, Big Mac finds a note on the back of the door that says.

"Consider this a show of my grattitude for your hospitality, Apple Family

I hope this little 'gift' may help you in the future, best of desires.

Your good friend, Lucifer Morningstar."

As the Apple Family shouts of joy, Lucifer hears them from the main door, he only chuckles and hits his staff on the ground, englufing him on gteleporting him right in front of Aura's house. "Humph... good taste Johnny." Said Lucifer to himself with a surprised expression, he then proceeds to ring the bell, but no one answers, he can hear the loud chatter inside though. Meanwhile, Cortana checks the cameras, she can't believe that all of them are failing, her surprise is bigger when she realizes the motion sensors don't detect anything, and the anomaly scanner has gone haywire, detecting an unregistered massive surge of energy coming from one being. Cortana then appears in front of the dinning table as everyone was enjoying of a good meal and says. "Guys, you better go and open the door." John is the first one to stand up and heads slowly but firmly towards the door.

"How rude of them..." Said Lucifer as he shakes off some apple crumbs of his suit and then knocks the door with a rythmic tone. It didn't take long for John to open the door and ask surprised. "Lucifer?! W-What are you doing here?" Asked John, trying to make the least noise possible, but everyone is already too curious to ignore the situation, Lucifer, with his charming smile and sarcastic voice, replies. "Well, y'know, I love knocking on people's doors... AHAHAHA! The truth Johnny, is that I have some business to talk with you and your friends. Said Lucifer as he peeks behind John only to see everyone's confused expressions, with a confident expression, he says.

"Oh, don't worry everyone, I'm Johnny's friend, uhm... may I come in?" Asked Lucifer in a polite way, Aura then replies. "Well, it'll be rude of us to leave you standing on the doorway, you may come in Mr....?" Asked Aura with intrigue since she has never seen this man before, but Lucifer replies. "Ah, thanks Mrs. Sentry, allow me to introduce myself... Lucifer, Lucifer Morningstar." Said Lucifer as he walks forward and extends his hand to greet Aura, who seems a bit confused about the fact that he knows her name already, but... she can't deny a polite handshake, as she grabs Lucifer's hand, she feels something strange about him, although his hands are black, those aren't gloves, but his hands itselves. John closes the door and looks at Lucifer with a serious expression, as he asks himself the true reason behind his visit.

"Lucifer? Like... the Devil?" Asked Aura with a sarcastic voice, as she tried to make a joke about the man's strange name, but he replies with confidence. "Yup, the one and only. But I prefer to be addressed as Mr. Morningstar, Devil it's only used by those who hate me." Said Lucifer as he ends the handshake, he then introduces himself to the rest. "It's a pleasure to meet y'all, I've been really looking forward to our meeting. John was very reserved with his family, but hey, I gotta shake the hands of the ones who have sent many sinners to their place downstairs, ahahaha.... if you know what I mean." Said Lucifer as he greets the Blue Team, the then looks at the girls and says with a happy expression.

"And LOOK who we got here, the people of the moment! Rainbooms, I gotta admit it, I didn't care much about y'all, but when I saw you almost sending Starkiller to Hell, aw man, I had to keep an eye on you... discretely obviously, so that John wouldn't find out." Said Lucifer with a joking voice as he looks at John, who has a slightly angered expression. But with a calm voice, John asks. "What is your business here, Lucifer?"

Lucifer then sits on the table and says. "Well, it's funny you ask, since... I mean, I've been looking for you for a whole day in this world, but... leaving that aside, the truth is... I have to talk with Sunlight..." After Lucifer said that, everyone had a sudden change of expression, as if they didn't want to touch that topic, but Lucifer then continues. "So, where is she?"

Sunset then says with a nervous voice. "Well... Mr. Morningstar... it's complicated, you see... we just ran into Sunlight and she..." Sunset tries to articulate the words, but just remembering Sunlight's demonic look makes her feel nothing but regret, as Sunset feels deep within she failed Sunlight, Lucifer interrupts by sighing and saying with a calmed voice. "*sigh* Let me guess, she got twisted by her necklace's dark magic, am I right?"

Sunset then takes a deep breath and replies. "Yes, she... did." Lucifer then places his hat on the chair backrest and says. "It was a matter of time, but she didn't listen, and now we have even bigger problems." John then interrupts Lucifer by asking. "Wait, what do you mean, Lucifer?" Lucifer then takes his staff and stands up, he slightly hits the ground with his staff and teleports everyone to an imaginary realm where they can see a vast part of Hell, Lucifer then says with a serious voice.

"As you may know, Hell exists aside from all the Multiverse, since all the sinners' souls end up here of course. But there are some... individuals... that deserve a much more special treatment, and that's when they are sent to Tartarus..." Lucifer slightly leans his staff backwards and the realm warps and changes, showing now the endless raws of cells that lie in Tartarus.

"Wow! What is this place?" Asks Twilight shocked and amazed, Lucifer then replies with a serious voice. "Tartarus is where I keep the most dangerous sinners under custody, and as you might already guess, there's ONE particular being that recently escaped..." Lucifer leans his staff forward and warps the realm in front of Vader's cell, which is obviously empty, Lucifer then turns around and says. "And someone, used Dark Magic to bring him back to life, but in the process... they brought back the merciless Sith Lord!"

John then asks confused. "Hold on, Vader died while he was evil, right?" Lucifer then places his hand on his face and says. "Allow me to give you a history lesson. Darth Vader was once a Jedi Master named Anakin Skywalker, he redeemed himself through helping his son, but after dying... he had to pay for the attrocities he comitted while being Vader. And I mean, for being in Hell, he had an outstanding behavior, he never broke a rule nor hurt anyone. Also, since he was The Chosen One, let's just say he had extraordinary abilities with The Force, so he could project a portion of his soul into the mortal realm, and also a lot of complicated shit that I'm not going to explain right now!"

"And what happened next?" Asked Sunset intrigued by this, she can't believe the Vader she fought was someone so different. "*sighs* Anakin is a kind soul, the problem is that the person who brought him back used Dark Magic, engulfing Anakin with all that darkness, only caused the motherfucking Darth Vader to come out and control him, and judging by the traces of the mark on his cell, the amount of magic was huge, meaning there isn't much room for Anakin to take back his body." Lucifer then hits the ground with his staff again, teleporting everyone back to the living room.

"And what does it had to do with us? I mean, Kylo Ren was behind that, they even gave Darth Vader a Dark Magic necklace." Says Rainbow Dash with a serious voice, but Lucifer then says with a more calmed voice. "Well, the Dark Magic Kylo used began to release many prisoners, I even had to ask Spawn and some other fella to hunt down the outlaws, they may get in touch with you later, but the fucking problem is... that if I get involved directly, the people upstairs will get word of this events, and I'll have them on my ass for more time I want to, so I propose to make a deal."

"A deal with the Devil? You gotta be joking!" Says Aura with a sarcastic voice, but Lucifer replies with a mocking voice. "Well, don't forget it was thanks to ME that John brought back your son, so please mind your place Captain, you have escaped death many times during your career, who knows when your luck will run out." Said Lucifer as he looks at Aura with a mocking smile, Fred then stands forth and says with outrage. "Is that a threat? Because let me..." Fred's then interrupted by a magic seal that shutted his mouth, he then sees that Lucifer did it by moving only two fingers and then he says with a serious voice. "Not a threat Frederic, but a warning. *sigh*" Lucifer then looks at John and everyone else and says. "This is the deal, I keep unexpected visitors out of your doorway and you help me erradicating Vader, sounds fair?"

"And how do you expects us to kill an overpowered Sith Lord, huh?" Asked Kelly as she placed her hand on her waist, Lucifer then looks around and says. "Well, it appears someone made it much easier." Lucifer snaps his fingers and Sunlight's pistol appears on his hand, John seems schoked as he didn't think he would've find it. "This blessed gun is capable of turning every bullet in it into a holy bullet... which eradicates darkness, a few shots to his torso and Vader will be weakened enough for Anakin to take back his body, a headshot would be much more effective, though. Just, make sure you can heal his wound, hahaha." Chuckled Lucifer as he hands the gun back to John, and Sunset then asks. "Wait, you're saying that the gun can cleanse darkness, then..." Before she can ask, Lucifer had it already coming and with a serious voice, he says. "No, Sunlight and Vader's situation is different the one from the other. Vader was brought back with Dark Magic, engulfing him, but he was already dead. Sunlight on the other hand, is being manipulated by Dark Magic, which infected her deep within, he heart might be contaminated already, if you use that gun, yeah... you may weaken her, but also you may eradicate her... forever."

Sunset's expression changed, when she thought there might be a chance to help Sunlight, there's actually a way to end her. "Then... what can I do?" Ask Sunset with frustration, Lucifer sighs and asks. "You're bearer of light, you tell me." Everyone remains shocked, except for Sunset, who begins to recall what she's been able to do with her powers, being the most important feat, to have eliminated all the magic that drove Twilight mad and turned her into Midnight Sparkle. "I think we can use Sunset's magic to free Sunlight, but... how can we create the perfect scenario?" Asked Twilight with curiosity, it appears she also thought the same as Sunset, John then says to Lucifer.

"You want a deal? Help us out and we'll help you, got it?" Said John with a serious voice, Lucifer rolls his eyes over as he seems not to have other option and says aloud. "Ok ok, I'll give you hand, Sunset... hand over your lightsaber." Said Lucifer as he extends his hand, leaving everyone shocked since no one else knew that, as Sunset takes her lightsaber out of her bag and proceeds to hand it over nervously, she asks. "How did you know I have a lightsaber?"

As Lucifer grabs the weapon with swiftness and delicacy, he says with a smile. "Darling, in my line of job, you don't get to make a good deal without the proper information." Lucifer then makes the lightsaber leviatate, and engulfs it in golden light, as he then hands it back to her owner, the light reveals her weapon, but nothing changed at all, then with curiosity, Sunset asks. "What... exactly did you do?"

Lucifer then puts on his hat and says. "I've blessed your weapon, now, everytime it hits Dark Magic, it'll cleanse it. Not instantaneously, but progressively, it should make it easier for you to free Sunlight from the darkness of her necklace." Lucifer then turns around towards John asks with a smile. "Now then, we have deal?" Lucifer extends his hand with confident smile. Although John wouldn't accept it, there's no turning back now, after a deep sigh, John shakes Lucifer's hand and says.

"Deal." After this, hellfire begins to circle around them wildly as Lucifer chuckles and says. "Now THIS... is what I call making business, bye bye!" After that, Lucifer hits the tip of his staff on the ground and flames begin to engulf him, teleporting him back to Hell and after leaving, the magic seal on Fred's mouth faded away, and a poker card was left where Lucifer was standing.

"Ugh, finally! I was getting tired of that!" Claimed Fred as he can finally speak, John crouches and picks up the card, it's similar to the one he used to have, now again, he can't cut binds with the Devil, after a bit of reflection, John stands up and says to himself. "I'd never get rid of you." After this, he keeps the card in his pocket, after this, Applejack asks. "So, what do we do now? I mean, everythin' was all of a sudden, and is that Lucifer, the real one, y'know, the actual Devil?"

John sighs and then replies. "He is, in fact, there's no other being I know in the whole Multiverse that's above him, his powers' limit are yet unknown to me, that's why we have to be very cautious when dealing with him." Then John looks at Fred, rolls his eyes over as if he says, 'yeah, got it', Rainbow Dash then says. "Ok, besides that, what do we do related to Vader and Sunlight, huh?" Kelly then says with a calmed voice. "Leave Vader to us, you can handle Sunlight, but you gotta be extremely careful."

"There might be only one shot at this, we have to make it perfect, but what can we do?" Said Twilight as she began to scheme in her mind, while the rest looks at Sunset, after all, she's the one capable of matching Sunlight in a fight, Sunset looks at her lightsaber, and she beings to recall the words of her future self... Never Give Up... with this in mind, her soul ignites with determination and with a serious voice, she says.

"It'll be honest with you, I still don't have it clear, but I won't give up until I save her, I'm ready to bring her back, would you help me?" Asked Sunset Shimmer with a serious voice. "Always, Sugarcube! We ain't best friends for nothin', plus... Sunlight deserves to live her life instead of being prisoner." Said Applejack with determination.

"Sunlight helped me out once, I also know she isn't a bad person, and she's also amazing. So we have to bring her back." Added Rainbow Dash, followed then by Twilight. "I know I had my disagreements towards her. But now, I see how fool I was, and after all she did to try and make amends, I can ask one thing..." Twilight then puts her hand on the middle and asks. "Who's ready to save our friend?" After this, everyone puts their hand on the middle, except for Sunset, who looks at her friends and says. "Thank you, guys! I really appreciate it!"

"C'mon Sunset, you're the only missing!" Shouted Pinkie, Sunset then places her hand on the middle and says. "Ok, at the count of 3, 1... 2... 3!"

"LET'S DO THIS!!!" Shouted the Rainbooms at the unison, John looks at them with a smile and says aloud. "Alright team! There's a lot to do, let's think of our strategy in the lab!" After this, everyone headed down to the lab, leaving only John and Aura behind, with excitement, Aura asks. "You seem thrilled, aren't you?" With a slight smile, John replies.

"It's been quite the while since the last time I've seen young blood so determined, and to be honest, I have high hopes on them." Aura then chuckles and says with a smile. "Yeah, in my whole career, I've never seen any like this, but I can't ignore the fact that they're kids." Said Aura with concern as John looks down reflective, and says with a thoughtful voice. "I know, it's dangerous and they might face many threats, but I'll protect them... I won't let anyone else die from now on." Said John with determination as he and Aura head to the lab, with only one resolve in his mind and his team's.

WIN

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Finally! After finishing my workload, I could finish writing this chapter. Firstly, I want to apologize to everyone, I know I've been silent and haven't said nor posted much to keep you updated, but I'm under a lot of workloads from college, so I'd appreciate your understanding in this matter. I'll still be continuing the story and I won't drop it.

Without further ado, I appreciate you reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while writing it. See ya later!!

-DReep

Chapter 24: Uncertainty

After Lucifer's visit, John began to think in the lab about the current stage, since now the conflict has scaled too much, and they have progressed too little. “Dammit” Said John to himself as he leans his head back against the wall, as Kelly looks at him and approaches him with a gentle smile, she also leans her back against the wall and asks. "Ok tough boy, speak up." John slightly smiles and says. "It's... n-nothing... I'll tell you later." Said John almost whispering to Kelly, so that no one listens to them, meanwhile on the other side of the room, everyone else seems to be thinking of many plans.

Kelly looks at John and chuckles, and with a gentle voice, she says. "Fine, but one thing's true, you haven't rest properly lately." John looks at Kelly with concern and asks. "And...? We've been in much worse situations before." Kelly then separates from the wall and stands right in front of John as she says. "Yeah, but this ain't normal, I mean... look at you, you need rest... John, and that's not up to debate." Kelly then places her hand on John's cheeks, as she sees how his recent wounds haven't healed completely, and yet, he's willing to go the extra mile. John looks at Kelly's concerned face and gently grabs her hand and says. "Ok, I'll rest if that eases you, but please... keep me updated with everything you might come up, got it?" Asked John with a gentle voice as he holds Kelly's hand down, for a brief moment, both looked at each other without saying a word, but the silence got cut off by Kelly's chuckle, and after that, she says. "When have I let you down? Now go, your bed awaits."

John heads upstairs and meets with Aura, who is cleaning up the kitchen, she sees John and then says with a smile. "Y'know... I just realized that the Devil himself visited my home." John then takes the backrest of a chair at the dinning table and says. "Yeah.... I guess that's a new value to the list of this house." Said John, trying to joke about it, but he knows Lucifer's visit may not be very pleasant for her. After all, this is of the few times she encountered someone not even John wants to see.

"Hahaha... yeah, my mother would've gone crazy after this." Aura then takes heads to the kitchen, begins to wash the dishes, John remains curious about one thing, and he wishes to know the answer, with a curious voice, John leans on the chair and asks. "Aura... what's between you and Fred?" Aura then stops suddenly and blushes, since John's question slightly startled her, with an awkward voice, she replies. "Between... us? Uhmm.... I.... don't know what... you're saying... hehehe!" John slightly chuckles, that was enough answer for him, so he decides to leave the topic there, he then hears the door opening and Flash comes in.

"I'm back!" Said Flash aloud before realizing John was there, but it only took him a second to see him, and with a smile he says. "John! You're back!" Flash runs towards him and hugs John, who only smiles and was about to hug him back, but Flash stepped back before that and asked. "What took you so long this time?" John then says with a calmed voice. "Let's just say a lot of things happened, but hey! How you've been while I was gone, aren't you excited about your birthday?" Asked John with a cheerful smile, right now, he doesn't want to think about all the mess going on, and he wants to spend some time with his family.

"Well, Principal Celestia was concerned about the girls' whereabouts, but I managed to handle her... I think... besides that, everything's fine!" Said Flash with a smile as he sits on the couch, as he sighs of relief after a rough day. "Tough day?" Asks John with a relaxed expression, Flash looks at him and smiles as he replies. "Kinda... truth is, I've been a bit stressed lately, I mean, our graduation is "near" so I better start thinking of my future, but now... I don't know if we're going to have a future, y'know?" Flash chuckles sarcastically, but John didn't take it lightly, in fact, he began to reflect on Flash's words and thinks of a way for both to distract themselves. John heads upstairs and in a matter of seconds, he returns with a basketball ball and quickly says. "Catch!" John throws the ball and Flash catches it, not before startling by the sudden movement, with curiosity, Flash asks.

"And this? Did something bite you?" John smiles and says. "To be honest, I've never assisted to one of your games, so I want to see how good is a member of CHS's finest." Flash stands and looks at John with a smile as he replies. "Are you sure you won't regret this?" John only looks at him and says. "Pfft! What are you saying? C'mon, let's play!" After this, John and Flash head out, but before leaving, Flash looks at his mother and says. "We'll be back, mom!" After this, both headed to the local park, as Aura only looked at them from behind as she smiles and chuckles.

Meanwhile, back on his starship, Kylo begins to reflect on the dream he just got, the door he preserved, and the realm that now belongs to him, but also... how could he use that young mare on his favor. As he meditates in his room, Kylo thinks. "(Right now, I have a power I never thought achievable, but I have to learn how to master it, and also... I need to keep my control over Sunlight, if I lose her again... my plan will go to waste completely.)" After this, the door opens and Vader walks in and asks. "How do you feel?"

Kylo stands up and says with a serious voice. "I feel... much more vigorous, like... all this time I was incomplete, but now... I'm whole." Said Kylo as he unleashes his dark magic and turns into his Overlord form, where he becomes taller and creates a dark magic armor that represents his evil nature now. "And with this power, no one will be able to defy me!" Said Kylo with an arrogant smile, whilst Vader looks at him with a serious expression and says.

"Don't forget the most important thing." Kylo looks at him with a smug on his face and asks arrogantly. "And what is it?" Vader then activates his necklace and uses his power along with The Force to drop Kylo on his knees, the shock can be seen on the Sith's face, while Vader replies with a serious but confident voice. "Right now, you're only a novice who got bestowed with amounts of power, but you lack experience on wielding power, so you better take it seriously from now on." Said Vader as he released his hold over Kylo, who deactivates his Overlord form and exhales of relief.

Vader turns back and heads to the exit, but before crossing the door, he says. "I've already dispatched Sunlight on a mission to bring back Starkiller, so if you like to join her, it'll be perfect." Kylo struggles to stand up, but he finally achieves it, after his master's statement, he asks. "And what would you be doing?"

Vader only says with a serious voice. "I'll take some troops and head out to a remote universe, I read your file about the Flood case, and... let's just say it got my attention." Vader then leaves the room, leaving Kylo in bewilderment, but with a new task, Starkiller's gone missing for quite the time and who knows what his current situation is, and Kylo can't sense him at all, making it much harder to at least know if he's alive or not.

As mentioned before, Starkiller is in a remote universe, but the truth is. He is held captive on a remote island. As he looks around his cell, dark but imponent, with only the shackles of his hands holding him tight and for some reason, he can't use his powers.

As the door of his cell opens, the shadow of two women reveals in front of him, Starkiller looks at them with hatred, but says nothing.

"So... this is the man you told me about?" Asked the woman to the woman one next to her, this is Kujou Sara, general of the Raiden Shogun's army in a nation called Inazuma, her determination is as solid as a mountain, and for her, the man in front of her poses a threat to her home and to Inazuma's people.

"He is, I wanted you to see him first to evaluate his situation, since he comes from a land of beyond he poses a threat to the Shogun's so called Eternity, so we better deal with him directly instead of recurring to standard protocols." Said the Kitsune lady, Yae Miko, she is head of a shrine in Inazuma, and thanks to her affinity with the elemental energy, she knew Starkiller wouldn't be someone they want to keep around, therefore she settled a trap for him and used elemental seals to restrain his abilities.

"What?!... you're going to kill me?! HA!... I'd like to see you try, and this time, without your cowards' tricks!" Said Starkiller, referring to Yae Miko, who only chuckles and says with a mocking smile. "Coward trick or not, you would've still fell for it, only a fool thinks they'd have an advantage against locals in their own land."

Starkiller only groans with anger as he feels completely humiliated, he lost the fight without it even started. Kujou Sara looks at Yae and says. "If he poses a such a threat as you say, we better inform Her Eternal Excellency, in order for her to emit a sentence." Yae Miko sighs and says with a calmed expression but with some dissapointment. "*sighs* Although I knew you wouldn't agree, I had some hopes, just remember... the Shogun won't take it lightly when she learns about the failure of two out of the three comissions to prevent an outsider to pass with the Sakoku Decree still up." After hearing those words, Sara's eyes widen, expressing shock, the Tri-Comission is the way the nation of Inazuma is ruled, excluding their ruler and goddess, The Raiden Shogun, the power is split in 3 comissions, Kanjou Comission has the job of dealing with all the borders' administration and finances of Inazuma, Yashiro Comission deals with all the public and cultural affairs in the nation, while the Tenryou Comission manages public security and enforces the Vision Hunt Decree, which has created contempt within most of Inazuma's people.

"This event would've a problem of the Kanjou Comission, why would it affect the Tenryou Comission?" Asked Sara with curiosity, she was only informed of this intruder, Yae only smiles and says. "Well, I called some soldiers of the Tenryou Comission that were passing by to detain the intruder, and they all died while causing a mess near my shrine." Sara's even more shocked now, the involving of her men made this an affair that truly involves two Comissions.

"You truly are a clever one, Shrine Maiden." Said Sara as she clenches her punch while Yae Miko leaves the prison cell, leaving Sara and Starkiller alone, whilst Sara thinks on what to do, she's interrupted by Starkiller's sadistic laugh and asks. "What's so funny, prisoner?"

"She... really played it on you! HAHAHA! What are you gonna do now?! Kill me?! HAHAHAH!" Starkiller kept laughing, but he stops as he sees Sara, who grows some wings and slices the air with her hand while violet lightning comes out of her hand and shocks Starkiller, after causing him some pain, she says.

"I could... but luckily for you, my duty demands me to bring you to Her Eternal Excellency... alive." After this, a squad of guards walks in and stand behind Sara, who then commands. "Take him to Tenshukakku, and keep your eyes on him in every moment! I'll give the report to the Shogun myself."

After this, Starkiller is taken away to the so called Shogun's temple, the only thing he has hopes is for Sunlight, Kylo or Vader to help him out of this one, since these people somehow know how to neutralize a Force user. Meanwhile, back at the CHS world, John and Flash are playing basketball, and after showing off some skills, both Flash and John sat on bench and began to talk.

"John.... can I ask you something?" Said Flash with some nervousness, John smiles and leans forward while replying. "Always kid, tell me... what is it?" Flash musters some courage to finally say with a serious voice. "I... have been wondering of how to ask Sunset to be my girlfriend, and I'd like to know if you can give me any ideas."

John widens his eyes as he is a bit confused, and asks with a calmed voice. "Hold on! You've already kissed many times, and after all of that, you're not a couple?" Flash only blushes as he scratches the back of his head and says with a nervous voice. "W-well... I mean... technically... yeah... but that's not the thing! I want to make it seriously, after all... I want to the spend my time with the one I truly love, you know?"

John then stands up and sighs, he turns back at Flash and asks. "Do you really love her THAT much?" Deep inside, John knew the answer, but he had to hear it, this is an important event in everyone's life, therefore, he needs to know if his son has enough determination to make this choice. With a serious voice, Flash says. "Yeah... all I know is that my love for her is true, if can... I'd like to spend my whole life with her, but right now, I can only focus on what's in front of me." A silence flooded their surroundings, John's serious look and Flash's determination were facing each other, after reflecting over it for a bit, John finally came to a conclusion.

John then smiles and says. "Get up then! I think we can help you with a thing or two." As Flash stands up, John crosses his left arm behind him and grabs him by the shoulder as both began to walk back home. "Wait... we?" Asked Flash with confusion, but John replied with a cheerful voice. "Well, yeah! I mean... I have little experience on this affair, so we better think of something along with Fred and Jerome, don't you think?"

"Hahaha... alright, sounds great to me... thanks... D-... John." Said Flash, as his mouth tried to say Dad, but for some reason unknown to him, he couldn't say it. "Don't worry kiddo, we got you." Said John as he got his hands in his pockets and began to chat while on their way home. As they are now midway, John receives a call from Kelly.

"Kelly, what is it?" Asks John with a calmed voice, Flash only sees how his cheerful expression changed suddenly to a more serious one, which meant nothing good, John ends the call and Flash then asks him. "What... happened?" John looks at him and replies. "Omega Team is back, but they don't have good news." After this, they didn't continue their conversation until they arrived home, after entering, John notices no one is on the living room nor upstairs, therefore he and Flash head to the lab and as they go downstairs, he hears the commotion among the people down there.

"Team, status..." Said John before being interrupted by the scene, Omega Team seems completely beaten up, blood all over their suits along with cracks on them, John quickly approaches and with a worried look, he says. "Team! Leon what the hell happened?!" Asked a worried John as Leon takes off his helmet, revealing his tired face, after a deep sigh of relief, he says with a serious yet frustrated voice.

"We were hunting down the last Flood spawn that leaked into a universe, but this time... fuck it was different, they... knew how to build a portal machine and then... messed up with it and... and... I have no fucking idea what happened." Leon leans back as August takes off her helmet and the broken pieces of her suit and says. "Maybe this will help explain what Leon can't." She said as she drew out a flashdrive from her suit, which contains the recordings of their last mission, John Linda takes it and says. "Cortana, can you show us what we're dealing with?" Cortana showed up and quickly accessed the flashdrive unit and displayed a video recording.

The video begins with the Spartan Team going deep inside a cave as they were following the last Flood spawn remaining, but as soon as they took a look, Robert saw how the Flood infected the portal machine, corrupting even the navigational computer with its tentacles, before Robert could took down the infestation form, the computer said. "DNA match found, beginning translocation..." After that, the machine began to fail and its core exploded, unleashing all of it energy within it and creating a massive rift with it, while also blewing off the whole cave revealing it to the outside, their surroundings began to corrupt as the Flood biomass began to melt with the machine and created a structure that holded the rift.

"What... the FUCK IS THAT?!" Shouted Leon as he unsheathed his promethean blade and drew his handgun out as he and his team began to walk back.

"I don't fucking know! But it surely isn't good!" Said Robert as he charged up his machine gun, August reloaded her railgun and said. "Guns ready! I detect something coming out of there!"

Right after seeing this, many humanoid and alien living forms began to sprout from the rift.

"Are those... ZOMBIES?!" Said Robert as he began to shoot his machine gun, supressing the incoming horde of undead beings, but the rift goes even more haywire and becomes bigger, letting other beings come out of it.

"Ok now THAT'S FUCKED UP!" Shouted Leon as he saw the incoming beasts, with a swift move he dodged the first attack and slashed throught the beast flesh, deintegrating it at contact, making the rest of the swarm to step back for a bit, which gave Leon enough time to began a brutal attack against these creatures, decimating them, until one of them landed a clean hit on him with its tail and smacked him on the ground.

"TEAM OMEGA HERE! WE NEED EVAC A.S.A.P! WE'RE BEING OVERRUNED BY THE ENEMY!" Shouted Robert on his communicator, little did he know that he was using the Blue Team communication channel. Robert then began to supress the zombie and Xenomporh horde with his machine gun and explosives, but it doesn't seem it'll last for long, August approaches and cleans the path with her railgun as she takes Leon's blade and drags him out of the fire.

"WE'RE READY! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" Said August as she and Robert began to shoot at practically everything that moved in front of them, and before the situation went worse, they got teleported back to the Blue Team's home, were they met with everyone again, moments before meeting with John.

"What... was that?" Asked a frightened Fluttershy after seeing the beasts in that footage. "We don't know... we only know... they're extremely dangerous." Said August as she leans back, right now nobody knows what to say, as more threats are rising and they are getting left behind. "And that rift... would it replicate somewhere else?" Asked a concerned Twilight, as she wonders what other dangers can sprout from those gates if they begin to appear everywhere. John finds himself in bewilderment, what kind of threat of would emerge if all these creatures work together, maybe they won't, but it's too risky to be left to the air, with determination, John replies.

"Let's make sure they won't, Cortana, can you run an anylisis on that rift?" Asked John, Cortana looked at him and said with a calmed voice. "Already done, I was just expecting for you to get to this point." Said Cortana as she shows various charts and metrics comparing the differences from the common rifts and these anomalous rifts.

"Send it to the Science Division as an urgent message and attach Team Omega's record, we need all their expertise on this matter." Said John with a serious voice, he then looks at Cortana and says. "Let's analyze these new threats and gather as much information as we can, we need to know what are we fighting against."

Meanwhile at the Infinity, Team Red and Galen seem to be discussing the intel they got from Sunlight while on the Eclipse.

"Y'know? We're lucky Cortana deincripted all of this, we would've taken days doing it on our own. By the way, who retrieved it?" Asked Douglas as they see all the classified files, Jerome then replies while holding a datapad as he lurks among the files. "It was Eclipse Sunlight... or... Sunlight...? Sunset Shimmer's human counterpart, but we lost her after this." Said Jerome with a serious voice, though slight traces of grief can be heard in his voice.

"Are you worried about her?" Asked Alice with a curious voice, Jerome is not the kind of person that worries, he's oftenly the one that calms everyone's worries, Jerome sighs and puts down the datapad as he says. "It's just... I read John's report on her and... I just can't tolerate someone innocent suffering of all these disgraces, and now... she's under Kylo's control! Which is... frustrating."

Galen only hears the conversation as he keeps looking among the files on the holo table, he suddenly stops as he sees a folder named "PurgeTK_Prjt" With shock in his eyes, Galen says aloud. "Guys look!" Galen then swipes the file up and shows its content in a 3D Hologram of a Purge Trooper model along with many data regarding their equipment and features.

"What are we seeing?" Asked Jerome with a serious voice, Galen then types in the keyboard of the holo table to get extract the records of the Purge Troopers, also as he says. "These... are the Purge Troopers, elite troopers bred to fulfill the so called Order 66, which had the purpose of eliminating all members of the Jedi Order."

"Wait... you said, bred?" Asked Alice with confusion, Galen nods with his head positively and says. "These troopers are a modification of the Clone Trooper unit that was mass produced during the Clone Wars in cloning facilities on a remote planet named Kamino." Said Galen as he shows everyone a picture of what he's referring to.

"During the Clone Wars, the Clone Army outmatched the Droid Army in every aspect, except for quantity, the thing was, as far as I know, all Clones had a chip in their heads that forced them to kill their general at the end of the Clone Wars, and by general, I mean Jedi Master." Galen said as he then looks down and keeps looking among the files for something, but Douglas asks with confusion. "Ok... but... why the history lesson now? And how do you know so much if you didn't live those events? You yourself said that the Empire of Darth Sidious erased all records of that."

Galen then found the file he was looking for, but before showing it, he replies. "Yeah, you're right, but they couldn't erase a veteran's memory, my master... Rahm Kota fought in the Clone Wars and told me about this. He never used Clones in his army though, he had his own Militia. But he saw how many of his friends died at their troops' hands." Jerome then asks. "And what woke up your curiosity regarding this Purge Troopers?" Galen then replies with a calmed voice.

"According to Team Blue's report and records, they fought against Purge Troopers in Aloy's world, but the thing is... Purge Troopers stopped existing years after Order 66, and now I wonder HOW did Kylo managed to form a squad of Purge Troopers." Alice then says with a calmer voice. "And that's why you insisted on checking this intel with us, right?"

"Exactly, and I've found the answer." Galen then shows everyone what he found, a DNA chain with the legend Purge Genome. Jerome looks at it and says as he builds the puzzle in his mind as he says. "So now that we have this genetic code..."

"We can bring back the Clone Army! We only need to remove the additions the Empire made to create the Purge Troopers, and then we might have a chance to fight against the Final Order's numbers, while also our winning rates might increase significantly." Said Galen with excitement as he looks at the DNA structure, he then looks at the Red Team and says. "We only need two things, a great team of genetists, and cloning facilities."

Jerome looks at his team and then he looks at Galen, with a confident voice he replies. "I think I know the right people to ask."

Meanwhile, at an Inazuman island's coast, Sunlight finds herself alone under the island's violent weather.

"Where the fuck I am?" Asked Sunlight to herself as she walks around the coast as she tries to find a way to get out of there and locate Starkiller, but as she walked calmly, she hears footsteps behind her, she suddenly stops and says. "Finally! I was getting bored!"

"You truly are a bold one, young lady! Coming to this desertic island all by yourself, heh!" Said the Rogue Samurai as he is followed by his group, Sunlight turns around as she asks. "Do you guys have a boat?" The gang leader replied with a serious voice. "And what if we do? Do you want a ride?" Sunlight smiles and says with a smug on her face. "If possible, I'd like to go.... there!" Said Sunlight as she aimed with her finger to the main island, the Rogue Samurai replied. "Towards Inazuma City? That'll be very expensive! But if you don't have any Mora... maybe we can find other waysfor you to pay."

Sunlight showed her evil grin as the marks on her eyes grew bigger and his eyes begin to glow with dark magic. "Nah, don't worry! I can drive..." Said Sunlight right before charging and piercing the leader's face with her gauntlet, spitting all his blood behind his teammates and all the brain pieces fell to the ground.

"BOSS!" Said one of his goons as Sunlight cut the dead body in half with a dark blade. "Let's have some fun!" Said Sunlight as she used her fists and legs to decimate the whole gang, although they seemed to be skilled warrios, none of them had any experience fighting someone like her.

It was only a matter of time before Sunlight could overwhelm her enemies, while showing off her sadistic side, corrupted by evil magic, her true self that was held within was screaming for her body to stop, but the relentless attacks and movements of her body didn't respond to her, as if Sunlight's body was not hers now, the imprisonment into one's body is a torture no one should ever experience, Sunlight only sees death, her fist piercing through chests, breaking rips, tearing off arms and even using rocks to crush down her enemies, everything happening while her body only laughs. "STOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!" Shouted Sunlight from within, her body finally stopped, but not because she order it to, but because there were no more enemies left, blood is spat everywhere, and a near-death Ronin seems to be crawling away, but he can't move fast since Sunlight broke his legs and hips.

Sunlight cleans off her gauntlets and heads to the remaining survivor and steps on his wounded arm, now broken and asks him. "Where is your boat?" Sunlight's voice wasn't serious, nor it was angered, but only pitied from the sad look of her opponent, weak, bruised and helpless. "It's near this coast! Just follow the path north ward and you will find it! Please, don't kill me! I can't fight any longer!" Said the agonizing Ronin as Sunlight loos at the direction he said, she then looks back at the Ronin and says. "I could, but you already know about me, so... yeah... there can't be witnesses."

"I WON'T TELL ANYONE! PLEASE, MERCY!" Sunlight then takes off her feet away from the Ronin's arm and says. "And now you're screaming, what if someone hears you, fucker!" Said Sunlight before stomping on the Ronin's head, crushing it on the process and spatting blood on her and around the corpse. "Fuck, I got too carried away." Said Sunlight as she heads to the ocean to clean the blood off her suit, she didn't pay attention, but after looking at the oceanic water, she saw her reflection and stared at it in bewilderment.

"This... is... me?! What the...?!" Sunlight grabs her face as she rubs it, cleaning off the blood spats, while also entering a crisis, she can't find herself in that reflection, seems like Sunlight finally can fight back the necklace, but she stops, as she breathes heavily, she says to herself. "NO! Don't... let it affect you! I... need... to complete this... mission..." Said Sunlight as she head to the boat, ready to depart and sail towards Inazuma City, while the storm on the island makes her wonder what caused it, a storm within her began to form.

It only took a few minutes for Sunlight to feel the boat began to slow down, and as searches for the cause of it, she finds a small hole that's been leaking water the whole time. "For fuck's sake! Just what I needed!" Sunlight then searches for the neares island and decides to use her powers to make a power jump, unfortunately, she didn't make it to land and had to swim to the coast.

"Why are all these islands so weird?" Asked Sunlight to herself, as she began to walk across the island, but as she walks deeper into the island, the whole environment acquires a purple-like color, as if something from within affects the outside, Sunlight kept walking cautiously, but she's suddenly stopped by a barrier and in front of her, a structure built in the middle of the island reveals to her.

"What...?" Asked Sunlight with confusion, she didn't feel anything, she then stretches her hand in front of her and she feels how electric charge begins to focalize in front of her hand, not letting it pass. "Interesting... what if..." Sunlight then tried to push the barrier with her hand, but it's useless, she didn't make any progress.

"Stupid barrier! Come down!" Shouted Sunlight, after this, she created her gauntlets and tries to pierce the barrier, many sparks go flying away as the clash of electricity and dark magic, but neither the barrier nor Sunlight will back down, it's not until Sunlight managed to pierce with the tips of her fingers that she stopped and retrieved her hand. "Now I get it! It's density changes when something comes in contact with it... but how did my fingers managed to pierce through it?"

Although Sunlight's current berserk is dominant, the previous events allowed for Sunlight to take over a small part of her judgement, allowing for her to find a solution to this problem. "Inverted Polarity?... No... what can it be?..." Asked Sunlight to herself as she begins to walk around and think. "If it reacts when something comes near it... then its ionized particles respond to the electric chargeI emit, making me unable to go through... but... humans have neutral charge... unless... it's not electric charge, but matter what this is about... therefore, my gauntlets shouldn't have mass in order for my fingers to pierce..."

"Vacuum... my gauntlets are made of energy... but if it can pierce through the barrier, then they are only a projection created by my necklace... what the fuck am I saying?!" Asked Sunlight to herself as she can't believe all the words she's saying, she then sighs and approaches the barrier. "Right or wrong... I have to test this shit out." Sunlight then created her gauntlets and used both of her hands to pierce through the barrier, with effort she's managing to cut through it, after a raging shout, Sunlight pierced through the barrier.

"Holy fuck, I did it! *coughs* What?" As soon as Sunlight entered, she began to feel an ominous aura all around, which began to affect her, she then quickly created a dark magic barrier around her to protect herself. "I have to make it to the other side!" Said Sunlight with a serious voice as she began to walk, although the ominous aura wasn't helping, after going beneath the gaint structure, the effects of the aura began to increase, it kept slowing Sunlight down and increasing the pressure upon her body. It took Sunlight several minutes to reach the other side of the island, but there was another challenge before reaching safety, she had to go through the barrier, again.

"I... have... to... use, all of my strength!" Said Sunlight as she repeated the process, using her hands to pierce through it, but this time, it was ten times harder. The feeling of dying and the adrenaline running through her veins gave her the enough strength to pierce the barrier, finally reaching the other side alive, as soon as she stepped foot outside the barrier, she had the urge to shout. "HA! SUCK IT YOU STUPID ISLAND!" As Sunlight laughs histerically, she feels her body heavy, and agains her will, her eyes begin to close as she feels how her body falls to the ground.

"Did I... faint? Oh crap! Now what can... I... do...?" Said Sunlight on her mind as she fell asleep, not before hearing some voice approaching. "Did anyone else hear that?" Asked a young female voice. "Hear what, Shinobu? Don't tell me you're afraid of Tatarasuna's ghosts, ahahah!" Said a burlesque young male voice, it appears its group of people. "Uhm... Boss, you got scared bby some Onikabutos flying around when we got here." Said another male voice, after that, the Boss replies. "Akira! Ehem... of course I would be shocked by those Onikabutos, their size was amazing, also... it was the first time I saw Onikabutos fly... I had to recognize their amazingness, which almost matches mine, of course." Said the Boss proudly as they kept walking until the female voice says.

"LOOK! There's a person over there, she seems unconscious... and..." Shinobu then places her hand on Sunlight back and stopped talking. "And... what else, is she also allergic to beans?! And what's that awful smell? Smells like...?" The Boss got interrupted by Shinobu who said with a concerned voice. "Tatarigami!" Everyone's expression changed, even more when they realize many Ronins and Kairagi arrived, but they are engulfed in a dark aura which makes them more violent.

"Akira! Mamoru! Genta! Take this lady away!" Said Shinobu with a serious voice, quickly, they moved Sunlight away as Shinobu unsheathed her blade and said. "Boss, we have to take her to the Grand Narukami Shrine, as soon as possible!"

"Yeah! I know, but this dudes won't let us go... which means... HAHAHAH!"

"They will taste the might of The One and Oni, Arataki Itto and the Arataki Gang!" Said the boss revealing his name as Arataki Itto, an Oni who lives among people in Inazuma.

After this, the Arataki Gang engaged combat with the rogue samurais, as they charged with their blazing and electrified blades, while Itto used his Oni King's Kanabou and Shinobu unleashes her electro powers on her blade. "BOYS! You take the lady to the shrine, Shinobu and I will deal with this guys!" Said Itto aloud with a confident smile as he parried a hit from a Kairagi. "HAHA! LET'S DO THIS!!" Shouted Itto as he kicked the Kairagi and used his Kanabou to shatter the ground beneath their enemies. Shinobu struck as lighting among them and quickly took the down.

"Were those the last ones?" Asked Shinobu as she was about to sheath her blade, but more enemies began to appear, and the Ronins stood up again. "They're not going to give up, are they?" Asked Shinobu as she stands next to Itto, who says with a cheerful voice.

"Then neither we will, c'mon LET'S DO THIS!!" The duo then began their assault, their combined attacks of Itto's raw strength and Shinobu's speed make the perfect combination to take down all their enemies swiftly, among punches, kicks and slashes, the Boss and his Deputy managed to take down the last enemy.

"YEAH! Don't mess with the Arataki Gang if you know what's best for you!" Said Itto with a proud smile as he stands triumphant, Shinobu then says with a calmed voice as she sheathes her blade. " Boss, do you actually think they can hear you while unconscious?" Itto then widens his eyes as hi just realized of what Shinobu said, he then laughs and replies with a nervous voice. "I... I already knew that... of course... I was just... practicing for the moment I get to say it." Shinobu only smiles as she rolls her eyes over, and with a concerned voice she says. "We better go and check if the boys got to the Shrine."

"Oh, yeah! It's been quite the time already, I totally lost track of time while fighting!" Said Itto as now he and Shinobu head to the Grand Narukami Shrine, where now Sunlight is having a conversation within her imaginary prison.

"Hmmm... weird, I haven't woke up yet, my body should be really exhausted then... wait..." Said Sunlight as her chains opened and now she's able to stand and move freely. "Whaaat...?!" Asked Sunlight confused as she sees a light that becomes more and more brighter, until she's blinded by it, forcing her to close her eyes. As she slowly opens her eyes, she hears a female and soft voice.

"You're finally waking up, repeat after me. Three, two, one. One, two, three *inhales* *exhales*" Sunlight opens her eyes and sees a fox lady in front of her as Sunlight is lying on the ground.

"Three, two, one. One, two, three *inhales* *exhales" Sunlight repeated what the lady said, but she suddenly realized, she has control over her body back again, Sunlight sits and with excitement, she says. "Hold on! How can I..."

"Move your body?..." Yae Miko then moves her hand towards the Arataki Gang who got reunited with Shinbou and Itto and says. "This fine people brought you here since you got poisoned with Tatarigami, since you're clearly not from here, allow me to explain, Tatarigami are the remnants of a dead god, which manifests as negative energy." Sunlight then stands up and asks. "But how did you free me from the dark magic's control?!" Yae looks at her with a calmed expression and says.

"Ok, calm down. After cleansing the Tatarigami, I still felt darkness within you, and everything aimed to that necklace of yours, so I just some paper seals to lock down all that energy." Sunlight then looks at her necklace and there are 4 paper seals on it, her curiosity told her to try an touch them, but Yae quickly said. "Now then, I wouldn't touch them nor use the necklace's power again. Those paper seals are the strongest kind I have, but they barely managed to keep the necklace's magic at bay. I tried to exorcise the necklace, but I couldn't... whatever that thing is, it escapes my capabilites."

After hearing that, Sunlight still couldn't believe she can be herself back again, with emotion she hugged Yae Miko tightly and said at the edge of tears. "Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this." Sunlight then looks at the Arataki Gang and says. "And thanks to y'all, if it weren't for you, I probably would've died."

"Don't even mention it, you needed help, we had to help you, that's what the Arataki Gang does!" Said Itto with a friendly smile, but Shinobu then said. "It was pure coincidence that we found you, but excluding that, who are you young lady?" Sunlight then began to doubt, as she needs to think of a good answer in order not to arouse suspicion, but then Yae asks.

"And are you also related to that individual... Starkiller?" After this, Sunlight widens her eyes, since she didn't expect such a statement, leaving Sunlight in a predicament, where the only thing she can say is nothing but the truth, as she musters enough valor, she prepares to reply to this descisive question.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing great, I bring you here the latest chapter of the story, as always, I'd like to thank y'all for following the story despite the inconsistency of the release time between chapters.

The story right now will begin its new arc, searching for the way to break Sunlight finally free from Kylo's dark control, while also trying to deal with the many threats that begin to appear throughout the Multiverse.

See y'all next time, my best wishes.
-DReep

Chapter 25: To the Nation of Eternity

While Sunlight's mission was taking place, everyone back at the CHS world were discussing their next move, while John was taking a holo meeting with Richtofen, Tesla, Galen, General Poe and Captain Lasky. After showing Omega Team's recording, Richtofen said with a serious voice.

"Scheiße... how is this possible…?!” After this, everyone looks at Richtofen with concern, John then asks. "Do you know anything about these creatures?" Richtofen looks at him with a serious expression and then says. "Only about the Zombies, I've fought those filthy spawns since long ago, I thought that we would've got rid of them, but it appears not."

"Then what can you tell us, Richtofen? Anything can be useful." Said John with a serious voice, although he sees Richtofen shocked expression, they need as much intel as they can gather. "The Zombies I fought against in my universe were corpses reanimated by a substance known as Element 115, which was made by dark entities known as Apothicons, their objective was to bring chaos to every dimension within my universe, luckily..." Richtofen then makes a pause as he begins to recall all those events, he then continues with a sentimental voice. "Me and... my... friends, stopped the Apothicons and saved our reality, but it appears our efforts only brought peace temporarily."

"And how did you defeat them?" Asks Poe with curiosity, Richtofen sighs and with a calmer voice, he says. "It was... difficult, but as I see it, these Zombies aren't created by 115, their movement is clumsy, and they only seem to attack everything that's moving, see?" Richtofen points out a frame of the recording where many Zombies are attacking the Xenomorphs, devouring their meat.

"Hmmm... so they're an easy target?" Asks John as he analyses the footage. "Yes.. und no... these Zombies are easy to kill, but they attack in large groups, which means that they are a big threat regardless of their own weakness." Said Richtofen with a serious voice, after all, he's seen what these Zombies are capable of.

"And what about our other friends, what can we know about them?" Asked Captain Lasky regarding the Xenomorphs with his arms crossed and a serious expression, Tesla then replies. "Thanks to Cortana's analysis, we have tracked them down. These beings... are called Xenomorphs. Basically, they are endoparasitoid aliens that grow within a hostage's body and sprout from its chest in… gruesome… ways, also, they change their appearance regarding their host capabilities, this footage shows Xenomorphs but of the Human phenotype kind. Strangely... these species can be considered, perfect, since they adapt to the environment they grow no matter what, acidic blood, ferocity, otherworldly resistance to physical damage, tearing limbs off won't kill them, but total decapitation will."

John brings his hands to his face as a frustration sign as he says. "How the hell are we going to deal with that?! We already have enough with the Final Order and their allies." Galen then came up with his idea, the one he thought of alongside Red Team. "Gentlemen, I may have the answer to it, while looking among the Final Order's files Sunlight brought us, I found the Purge Trooper genome. If we make some alterations to it, we can revert it back to the Clone Trooper genome used in the Clone Wars long ago. We only need a dimension where time moves slower and cloning facilities."

"Hold on... you're saying that we can produce an army? That'll take a huge amount of resources, Galen." Said John with confusion, Galen then replies with a serious voice. "I'm aware of that, John. But... if we can pull this up, we can fight back the Final Order! Right now, we Hunters are the best card The Resistance has, and they're using us to keep the Final Order at bay, not even winning! We have to do something!"

"And HOW do you think we can pull that out, HUH?! We need solutions, Galen! Not dreams!" Said John with frustration, as many things are gathering inside his head, but Galen replied with a much calmer voice. "At least I have a plan, what do you have? A bunch of teenagers with great superpowers and yet, they can't win in a fight against ONE enemy."

John began to get mad as he said. "It's not that simple, Galen... there are many things that make it difficult." Galen then interrupted him by saying. "Then find solutions, just as you said, don't you think?" Before this arguing continues, Poe stopped them as he says. "GENTLEMEN! This is NOT the time for this!" Poe then takes a deep breath and says. "John, we truly appreciate your concern, but we're not in a position of denying solutions, Richtofen, Tesla, track down these rifts, we have to begin to locate if these creatures are spawning somewhere else. Galen, I can assign you a search party, look after any remains of cloning facilities, everything you can find is useful."

Lasky then adds. "Once you do so, we can do as you say, move that equipment in another universe where time moves at our favor. Master Chief, you and your team have new tasks, to bring back Eclipse Sunlight in order to frustrate Kylo's plans temporarily, and also..." Lasky made a pause, as he is doubting if he should assign this to John, he then sighs and says with a serious voice. "Capture Starkiller... and bring him to the UNSC Eternity... alive."

John then says with a serious voice. "Understood... sir." After this, everyone finally calmed down and Lasky then said. "Alright people, we have our missions, let's get to work, General Poe and I will keep track of your progress, as long as we can, but good luck and we may all have success." After this, Lasky ended the call, followed by everyone else, except for Galen, who looks at John and both say at the same time. "I'm sorry."

"Ou... ahahah, that was awkward." Said Galen with a calmed smile, as John nods with his head and says. "Yeah, I let go of my emotions when I shouldn't have, it's just..." Galen then interrupts him as he sees John struggling to make up his mind. "I know, I get it, no one is having a good time, and I also recognize my mistake, but you should do something regarding those kids, we're in war, John... and... whether we like it or not, they're also involved in it."

"It's just... they don't deserve to live this, I wish we could do something more to not involve them but... I think we're now at a dead end... *sigh* I think I have an idea, thanks, Galen... I appreciate your sincerity." Said John as he turns around and heads to the exit, but Galen then says. "Can you deal with the task?"

"Saving Sunlight? Of course..." Replied John with a calmed voice, but Galen crosses his arms and says. "Y'know that isn't what I'm talking about." John then looks at him but remains silent, leaving room for Galen to say. "You and I know what Starkiller did, and I also want him dead, but we need him alive... and I've seen how you've struggled to hold back every time you faced him... and now after the observatory, it may be harder for you." John then turns around and heads to the exit, not before hearing Galen say. "This is not what Melodic Lightbolt would've wanted, remember the promise you made to him!"

John then exits the room, as in his mind resounds Galen's words. Melodic Lightbolt... was Flash's biological father, and also, he was John's informant and friend in this world, but he died long ago at Starkiller's hands... that day... John promised to take care of his family, unbeknownst to Aura and Flash, but John's duties required him to leave this universe longer than he wanted to. But now there's no time to worry about that, he exits the briefing room down in the lab and approaches the main room in the lab, where the girls, and Team Blue and Omega seem discussing the situation.

"Hey! You're back, how it went?" Asked Kelly with curiosity, John looks at her with his serious expression, giving her already the answer as he opens his mouth and says. "Team! Rally up!" After this, everyone gathered around him and John then begins to say. "Right now, the stage isn't very promising. The Final Order outnumbers us, Kylo Ren and his team have become a huge threat to everyone, and also we have these new threats to face, alongside anything else that comes up from those rifts."

"So... what's next?" Asked Rainbow Dash with enthusiasm and mostly concern, John looks at her as he then continues. "We discussed in the briefing our next move, and we chose to split our efforts in order to contain the Final Order, stop the incoming threats and deal with Kylo and his team." John looks at Leon and says. "Omega Team, we need all the hands possible to fight these new creatures..." John then gets interrupted by Robert who stands up and says.

"Yeah, we know... we'll have to deal with this..." Before he can finish his sentence, John interrupts by saying. "Yes, but this time, it'll be a much bigger operation, contact Commander Palmer and reassemble Strike Team Osiris, after Spartans II, they are of the most effective teams, then contact The Arbiter, we're gonna need all the Swords Of Sanghelios' help."

Fred then asks John with a serious expression. "And what about Red Team? Can't they help with this?" John looks down a bit before staring at Fred and replying. "Galen has a plan, if it works out... we may have a chance to turn the tables, so we gotta risk it, I'm going to ask Jerome if they can assist Galen on his mission." After this, Linda takes her sniper rifle and reloads it as she asks. "And what about us?"

John takes his time to process this, it'll be risky, but there's no other choice, with a serious voice, he says. "The Blue Team has been tasked with two missions, the first one is to free Sunlight and bring her back, the second one..." John then clenches his fist in order to contain his anger and says. "We capture Starkiller and bring him to the UNSC Eternity... alive. The Resistance's forces will be focused on fighting the Final Order, while the rest of the Hunters attack crucial targets in order to slow them down, so it'll be up to us."

After this, Kelly looks around and says. "Wait... only... the four of us?!" John then looks at Kelly and says. "Technically, yes, but we're going to need your help girls." Said John as he looks at the Mane 7, but Fred interrupts him by saying. "Chief, this is a higher level operation, they lack the authorization to take part in such a risky mission."

John then seems reflective as he then replies. "You're right... but... what if we change that, Cortana, can you add a subdivision to Blue Team?" Cortana appears right next to John, she seems reflective but she quickly says. "I can." She then shows a holographic control panel, where she accessed the database of Spartan teams, on Blue Team's section, she added a slot below with the names of The Rainbooms. "What would the name of this team be?" Asked Cortana as she looks at John, who says with determination. "Axios."

"Axios..." Said Aura to herself, only to then hear Rainbow Dash shouting with excitement. "AWESOME!" John then looks at the girls and says with s erious voice. "Calm down, Rainbow Dash. Although you feel excited, take it seriously, the moment we head out, you will become soldiers, warriors, your actions will have consequences and also your inaction, so you better keep this carved in your heads, this... is war."

"Hold on, John... don't you think you're going a bit too fast? They also have things to deal here." Said Aura with a calmed voice, trying to emphasize the fact that the Rainbooms will be overwhelmed by all of this, but John replied with a serious voice. "I know... but if they don't fight now, there won't anything left to fight tomorrow."

Sunset then steps forth and with a determined expression, she says. "I'm in." As expected, her resolve changed since she saw that lost future. "If you're going, then so we are, aren't we girls?" Asked Twilight to her friends with a determined smile. "You know we'll always got you're back sugarcube, no matter what." Said Applejack, followed then by the rest of the girls, who nodded their heads in agreement. "I'll go too!" Said Flash with determination, but he's then stopped by John who says. "No, kid... this time, you're staying here."

"But I want to help!" Claimed Flash with outrage, Aura then replies wth a serious voice. "The last time you went to a mission, you ended up swallowed by a strange rift, I don't want to expose you like that again, son. I hope you understand." After this Flash sighed with resignation, he can't beat his mother's argument, also, what could he possibly do against these new enemies?

Sunset smiles them back and says. "Thanks, guys... I truly appreciate it."

After this, John suits up and calls a reunion in the main room at the lab.

"Team, we're going to face unknown enemies where we're going, but one thing might be certain, we will end up fighting Sunlight, Starkiller, Vader or Kylo, so let's make sure we know what we're dealing with." Said John with a serious voice as a hologram of the four people mentioned appears in front of them and John says.

"First, let's start with the easiest ones to understand, Dart Vader and Starkiller, according to Galen's testimony, both are skilled duelists, the difference remains on Starkiller using Force techniques to deal with large numbers of people, and Vader using it to completely overwhelm his opponent, and with their necklaces, they have access to a whole loadout of magical techniques, mainly focused on darkfire, energy beams, dark blades and mind control, while also amplificating their connection to the Dark Side of the Force." John then looks at the group and says.

"Girls, Flash, you've fought against them, what can you add to this intel?" Flash then seems thoughtful but quickly replies. "Starkiller is skilled in both single and dual blade combat, he's really tough to handle, since his ferocity and ruthfulness completely exceed anything I've seen, I could barely manage to keep at his rythm using everything I had. All I can say is keep the fight close and personal, if you leave enough gap between you and him, he'll use his Force Lightnings, which are extremely dangerous."

Sunset then says. "And Vader... he's really good at close fighting, he doesn't need two blades to be a big threat, while also being able to counter our magic easily without using his necklace, *sigh*... to be honest, I feel like the Vader we fought back then was just testing us out, the only way we can have a chance against him is by coordinating all of our moves, and even so, we're going to struggle a lot. He's powers are so intense, it's like... when we faced Starkiller at the observatory but 3 times stronger."

John then says. "According to Galen's testimony, Vader is the only one capable of stopping him while fully enraged, and since Vader has an absurdly strong connection to The Force, he is capable of doing small feats with astonishing power, I think the key of succeeding would be to fight fire with fire." Said John as he looked at Sunset's lightsaber, while also thinking about Sunlight's blessed gun.

"Which means...?" Asks an intrigued Applejack, John then says with a serious voice. "Sunset, you're the only one with enough power to at least match Vader's, if you master it, maybe we can have a chance against him. I'll be with you..." John then takes out Sunlight's gun and says. "...With this gun, we can weaken him enough to erradicate Vader. But for it to be possible, you need to learn how to use that lightsaber." Sunset nods in agreement, John then continues with his explanation.

"And now... last but not least... Eclipse Sunlight. A high-skilled fighter specialized in close quarter combat, data gathered on our previous encounters indicates she masters many martial arts and uses her own style, which makes it even more difficult to fight her. Also, her necklace grants her physical enhancement along with the ability to use many powers which include, weapon creation, energy beams and magical shields."

"Don't forget her new form, the one we fought against in Aloy's world." Said Twilight, interrupting the explanation, Cortana then shows up some footage taken from Chief's perspective, it's really blurry since he didn't fight her as much as the girls did. "What can you tell us about it?" Asks Chief seriously, Twilight grabs her chin and begins to think aloud.

"As far as I know, when someone gets imbued with Equestrian magic, they take a different form, most of our encounters have shown a drastical increase in height, but Sunlight's case is different, she just grew a few more centimeters, I still can't figure out why, but she shows a great increase in all her previous abilities, she's faster, stronger and much angrier." As Twilight made a pause, Fred then says with a serious voice. "

"It's a combat form." Twilight looks at him reflective, leaving room for Fred to continue. "I've checked Flash's recordings, the Fall Formal, Friendship Games, Camp Everfree, and that woman at the mall... the one with the mirror. All of them shared one thing, their form is an expression of their power, therefore, changes such as an increased height seem to be part of the perception people have on themselves, but this... it's totally different, Sunlight knows how to fight, being taller makes it easier to be taken down, while also leaving less room to check your blind spots. But she can't help but to feel more powerful, hence the small increase in height. But, besides that... Sunlight can be as lethal as she is in both forms."

Kelly then feels intrigue, she was as old as Sunset Shimmer, but those fighting skills, are quite odd for someone her age, with confusion she asks. "How does she know how to fight like that in first place?" Applejack then replies with a calmed expression. "When we first met, she said she has been practicing martial arts since she was a kid and hasn't stopped not even once." With a serious voice, Kelly replies. "Did you really buy that idea? A teenager that knows advanced martial techniques seems logical, but after seeing this footage, there's something that doesn't fit her story, she knows how to kill, and not in a common way... it's like..." Before Kelly can speak her mind out, Linda interrupts her and completes her sentence.

"She has practice on killing. Her movements aren't the ones of a rookie, whatever she told you about that, it's probably not true, I know she and John were in Hell and you had to kill a bunch of demons, but everything aims that she knows how to kill people, swiftly, so you better watch out from now on until you can bring her back to our side."

Sunset takes her lightsaber and clenches her hand, holding it firmly, she then looks at John and says.

"What can I do to learn how to use it, Chief?" After this, John looks at Sunset and says calmly. "Galen and Rey can train you, not only in The Force, but also with your sword techniques, I've seen you did some fencing, but it won't be enough, you need to learn the fighting skills of the Jedi. So you won't be coming with us."

"Hold on a sec! What y'mean she ain't comin'? She just said she's in." Claimed Applejack confused, John then replies with a serious voice. "And I appreciate that, I also respect your Sunset's determination, but if we go there and we face any Sith Lord, what guarantees you can win or even fight at their same level? That's something we can't risk, if we're gonna fight, I'd like to have as many options as possible." Rainbow Dash crosses her arms and says with a concerned voice.

"So... while Sunset stays, the rest of us will go with you? I mean, Starkiller is there and most probably Sunlight, we're going to need a lot of hands to handle them." John looks her and replies with a calmed voice. "This is a capture mission, our priority won't be engaging in combat, that's why not everyone's coming. Also... since we're running out of time, we need to divide our efforts. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you're coming with me since you're the most suitable for direct combat against a Sith Lord. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, you stay here, help Flash to keep an eye on any possible threat and register it, you'd have to proceed with caution. Sunset... Galen and Rey must be in the Infinity, head there to begin your training."

"So this is how it's gonna be, huh? What about school? We also have a life back here y'know?" Asked a concerned Applejack, such series of events really make everyone be overwhelmed, John then replies. "I'm aware of it, that's why I didn't take everyone out to the mission, the fact that some of you stay here helps to not raise too much suspiscion..." John is then interrupted by Cortana, who appears standing right next to him and says with a calmed smile. "And don't worry, I've already sent your school Principal individual messages using your profiles explaining why you won't be going to school for a few days in the worst of cases."

"Wait... you hacked our phones?!" Asked Twilight as she widens her eyes, Cortana says with a confident smile.

"I cracked into your phones, if I had hacked them, I would've used a Malware or some kind of virus, which I didn't." After this, Fluttershy asks. "So, when are we leaving?"

"Right now." Said John as he heads to the portal room while The Rainbooms say goodbye to each other, before opening the portal, Fred and the rest of the Blue Team go with John, where Fred is the first one to talk. "I guess I get the lead of the team again, *sigh* any homework you have left to do?" Fred reffered to tasks as homeworks, since John often leaves the team in his charge, he lefts tasked missions for the team to complete while he's gone on another mission, but all of them take it now as jokes since they're all aware of the duty they have to carry out in this war. Chief then takes his blades and says with a friendly voice. "I did my homework this time Fred, so there." The team chuckled after this, John then change his voice to a more serious one and said. "You heard Lucifer, there are unknown threats lurking in the Multiverse without being stopped, he said that there are people dealing with it, but I'd like to assign you this personal task. If you can search for the prisoners of Tartarus and eliminate them, no blessed weapons will be needed, only bring your Hunting kits, don't hold back team."

"Got it, before you leave, there's something else you should adress." Said Linda with a calmed voice as she looks at John with a serious face, as if expecting an answer from him right there. "What is it?" Asked John, who tries to make up his mind, all the missions have been assigned, then what could he be missing? John's mind finally enlightened, with surprise he said. "Oh shit! You're right... Flash's birthday, how could I forget? It's tomorrow! Uhmmm.... Kelly, do you know any music shops that are open?"

Kelly then rolls her eyes up and begins to think, with a doubting voice she replies. "I think so... what do you want me to buy?" Kelly looks at John who seemed reflective since he can't think of anything to gift Flash, but his thoughts are interrupted by Kelly's calmed voice. "Don't worry, I got it, I'll tell you when I get it." John looks at Kelly and says with a calmed voice.

"Thanks, Kelly... I truly appreciate it." After this, the portal opens and the Rainbooms get in the room, John looks at them and says. "Are you ready?"
Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash step forth, with determination, Twilight says. "Let's do it." As the three of them line up behind John, they cross the portal, but this time, it feels different, the fact that not everyone is coming, and that now there's no turning back takes away all the curiosity of a journey.

A light blinds Twilight's eye and as she begins to feel the soil of this new ground, she opens her eyes and witnesses the entire landscape.

"Where are we?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she and the others see the landscape, John then reads the readings from the portal that provide some information of this world, with a serious voice he says. "We're in Teyvat, more specifically, in the nation of Liyue, we better get moving, according to our trackings, Starkiller should've fallen into the nation of Inazuma..." John then uses the holo display of hi bracer and shows himself a map of the nation.

"Liyue's harbor is on the other side of the nation, if we walk downwards, we'll get there in 3 days, considering possible hostile intervention." Said John as he turns off the holo map and takes the lead, not before saying. "Make as less interaction as possible, we don't want people making more questions that needed."

This being said, the group begins their journey to find Starkiller, but little did they know, that their presence has already been noticed. On a nearby mountain, a young man drinks some tea sitting on a rock table under the tree surrounded by a small pond.

"Hum... interesting." Said the man to himself as he looks at the horizon, after this, a white crane with gold, blue and black plumage asks.

"Rex Lapis, may this one ask you what's that of your sudden concern?" After this, the man named Rex Lapis, God of Contracts, and Geo Archon of Liyue, replies. "I felt the rocks' shaking due to an unknown event, my Gnosis somehow reacted to it, causing a burst of elemental energy within me. I sensed it in Qingce Village, so we better keep our eyes sharp, Cloud Retainer." Said Rex Lapis to the crane at his side, named Cloud Retainer.

Chapter 27: What Moves Our Hearts

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 27.5: How Others Mark Us

As Sunset keeps training and Axios reaches to Inazuma, Galen and the Red Team are now in the Rogue Shadow, dwelling amidst the void, searching for a clue that proves Galen's plan works. It's already been quite the time, and they haven't found anything, Jerome and Galen are the ones in the cockpit, but both are beginning to get bored after not finding anything. Jerome tries to change the mood by asking. "So... Galen, what's the story of this beauty?" Asked Jerome, referring to the Rogue Shadow. Galen spins his chair and begins to say with a reflective voice.

"The Rogue Shadow wasn't initially mine, well... it was... but... at the same time it wasn't. The original Starkiller was the first owner, after his passing, Juno Eclipse brought the ship to The Rebellion, where my Master took it and used it more as a Rebel Transport rather than an infiltration ship. After I woke up, I worked with General Organa to find anything of my past, my master, General Rahm Kota died from age, Juno fought in the Battle of Jakku and after that she retired, grew old and formed a family. Only Proxy and I were the only ones that weren't affected by time, and... well... The Rogue Shadow joined us too." Said Galen with a nostalgic expression, he woke up on a time he's not part of, everything he knew was no longer the same, the people he met, were no longer with him. His fight, was over, only to be replaced with a new one.

"And how did you cope with it? I mean... you were on cryosleep for how long?" Asked Jerome now intrigued about Galen's story, it's a bit similar to his, being away for 28 years really altered him. His brothers, most of them died, leaving only the Blue and Omega Teams left, the war was over, there was peace with those he once called enemies, and now he had to face an even bigger threat, alone. Galen only stands up and says. "Like 20 years, it really is a lot, but after finding out there was another war, I had to participate. After all, the same evils were behind the First Order in a beginning, but now, Kylo is making a huge change in the power scale, also... I'd like to finish Rey's training, but it's almost near complete, haha." Said Galen as he chuckled, but Jerome then says with a serious voice.

"And what if not everyone can share similar motivations to keep moving?" Asked Jerome, the truth is, this is a question he wanted to ask personally as that's how he feels, he wants to live his life, but his duty demands him to keep fighting, his ideals are only those with which he grew up and hasn't found enough time to adapt to this new era. Galen looks at him and replies.

"There always are, we only have to find them, I sense your uncertainty, Jerome. Not knowing what your future will be, growing in a reality different from yours, I know how it feels. If you want some advice from one old timer to another, I'd tell you to focus on what now lies in our hands, it's a burden, if you want to call it like that, but for me, it's a calling, one that encourages us to stand forth and face anything that comes our way in order to protect everyone." It seems the words have reached Jerome's deep mind, although he's wearing his helmet, Galen doesn't need to see his face, he only smiles and then says humorously.

"But right now, I dón't know what to face, haha, I'm only following my intuition, and I've dragged everyone with me, I really want this plan to work though." Jerome then takes off his helmet and says with a friendly voice. "I appreciate your words, Galen, I truly do. And don't feel bad if we haven't found anything, we only need hope." Galen then smiles and crosses his arms as he says. "Well, time's running out and everyone back in the Infinity trust us to accomplish this mission."

Jerome then has a thoughtful expression as he says. "Do we have any records, something left that we could check?" Galen now seems to be remembering something, up until now, they've searched in 12 planets, each of those were in Galen's knowledge while he was an enforcer for Vader and a fugitive from Kamino, but Jerome's question woke up an inquiry. What if there's more than he knows? But how could it be? He searched thoroughly for any clue left by his friends in the past, but there was nothing, the Travel Log was erased, and all classified files were taken away from the ship's database and used later by the Rebellion. But Galen felt something all of a sudden, The Force was telling him that he was missing something, he takes his seat and stops the Rogue Shadow's engines.

The Rogue Shadow stopped its engines, Galen left the cockpit and headed to the common lounge, where the rest of the Red Team was waiting for him. "What happened? Have we arrived somewhere?" Asked Douglas, as he was playing a match of Dejarik with Alice, but it appears she won the game. Galen looked at Douglas and said. "Not quite yet, I have to check if anyone left a clue." Said Galen as he headed yo the briefing room where he used to discuss his next move with Juno, although the memories always get to him whenever entering this room, he can't pay attention to them right now, he's looking for something but... what, exactly?

"Galen, what are we looking for?" Asks Alice as she, Douglas and Jerome enter the room, Galen only says. "I don't know, but The Force tells me we haven't found it yet, keep looking!" After a few minutes, Galen fell something calling him, he turned around and headed where Jerome was looking, he then pulls an old recording device, in an external unit, which means whatever the content it has in it, it should be really important to be hidden, but why was it kept in the Rogue Shadow?

"Jackpot!" Said Galen with a cheerful voice as his eyes begin to glow up from excitement, he then heads to the briefing room, followed by the Red Team, Galen places the unit on the holo computer and access to the files within it, all of them were video recordings, without hesitation, he played the first one and in the middle of the room, the holovideo begins to play. But for his surprise, he didn't expect to see the person on the hologram. His former lover, Captain Juno Eclipse, who stares at the holo recorder and asks aloud.

"Cal, are you recording?" After this, a male voice could be heard at the distance, but the person didn't show up in the recording. "I think, as far as I know, the recorder is fixed, but please, make a copy of all the schematics of the ship, it really was an odyssey to fix this."

After this, Juno looks back at the recorder's camera and clears her throat as she says. "Galen, if... no... in case any member of the New Republic is watching this, I'm Juno Eclipse, pilot of the Rogue Shadow, these past months we lost track of one of our allies, Jedi Knight Galen Marek, and, although the Senate rejected the idea of keeping an active search for him throughout the Galaxy, General Leia Organa granted us clearance to depart. It's already been 4 months, and we haven't found any track of Galen, but our recent discoveries can compensate that, now, the Jedi Knight Cal Kestis will share with you our findings." Juno steps out of the recording and leaves way for Cal to come in, who seems to be holding a strange cubic object in his hands.

"So... for those who don't know, one of our last missions with Galen drove us to an ancient Jedi Temple in the Tython System, there are records of the old Jedi Order using Tython as a sacred place, it was also visited during the Imperial era by Vader and his troops, but never carried out a research operation there. The thing is, we found something buried, deep within Tython, I don't know how no one found it before, but I think it was hidden thanks to Tython being abandoned for a long, long time..." Cal's then interrupted by Juno, who says. "To the point, Kestis." Cal clears his throat and continues with excitement.

"Right... what we found, was a Jedi Temple, one never seen before in any existing records, I consulted ancient texts dating back to the High Republic Era, but this temple already existed at the beginning of that time, which means... it existed long before, and... Master Kota and I combined our efforts and found out that the temple we found, was created during an ancient time, known as the Old Republic, and this is what we found in it..." Cal then shows the object to the camera and leaves the Red Team in bewilderment, but Galen let out some words out of his mouth. "The Holocron..." Said Galen as he kept looking at the recording.

"This Holocron contains records of many facilities used by the Sith Empire during the Old Republic, the full list lies within this archive, we have experimental facilities, ancient headquarters, even Sith Temples. The Crew of the Mantis is already searching for a few of these locations, but Juno, Kota and I will go for one particular facility, the Farnel Research Facility Industrial Complex, located in Balmorra, we're already heading there, so what we should expect would be..." Said Cal before the recording ends, leaving everyone in bewilderment as they see Galen leaning on the holo table, as he tries to keep his cool together.

"Why they kept that from us? And why did it cut off so abruptly?" Asks Alice with a reflective pose as she looks at Douglas and Jerome, but both seem to be as confused as her, but Galen snobs, wiping off his tears and says. "Because they knew that in case the ship was lost, leaving such recording would be a risk..." Said Galen as he looks for the next recording, but he's then stopped by an encryptaded passcode, one he didn't know, and therefore, became impossible to him to decypher. Jerome then stands forth and places his left hand on Galen's shoulder, Isabel appears on Jerome's right hand and he asks her.

"Isabel, can you help us decrypting these files?" Isabel then connects to the holotable and accesses the whole archive, with a serious voice, she says. "I'm not as quick as Cortana, but I'll be done in two hours." Jerome then leaves Isabel working on the terminal as he looks at Galen and says. "Great, now we have a place to go, Balmorra." The Red Team heads to the peacock to start the ship and search for that destination, Galen looks at the holotable, expecting to be heard by his friends, with a tear running down his cheek and a cheerful smile, he says almost whispering. "Thank you, guys." Galen then proceeds to the peacock and with the course set to Balmorra, the Rogue Shadow enters hyperspace aiming to finding what the old crew found decades ago.

Back in Inazuma, Axios managed to lurk in the city thanks to Captain Beidou's help, they left the payment before leaving of course. Once now in Inazuman streets, they have a conversation. "So, Captain Beidou said this is Ritou, the part of Inazuma that connects it to the rest of Teyvat, and as Beidou said, it's almost impenetrable, but if we can cross Ritou, we can get to the rest of Inazuma and start looking for Starkiller. So let's act natural to prevent getting caught." Said Twilight as she was arranging her ideas, the group then stops and sees guards standing in the path to leave Ritou.

John takes the girls away into an alley and says after checking they're completely alone. "They're not going to let us pass." Said John with a serious voice, he can punch his way out, but it won't be a smart choice right now, Applejack then seems reflective and says. "What if we make a diversion? They are guards, right? If something goes wrong, they should be first ones responding." After saying this, the group remains silent, it seems like a good idea, John then looks at Twilight and says. "Twilight, how many people can you make float?"

Twilights seems confused, although she is getting the idea John is about to say, she think it'll be too dare to use her magic in public, but with a calmed voice, she replies. "That depends, if I use my suit, I can lift 20 people at once." John peeks at the street and sees a large group of people, they're more than 20, but it'll be enough for this work, John looks back at Twilight and says.

"I need you to lift that group of people and make the guards see it, can you do this from this far?" Twilight takes a look at the people John mentioned, after reflecting for a bit, she replies with another question. "I think I can, but how am I supposed to make them float and run without being noticed?" John thinks for a second, he then gets his hand on the back of his waist and detaches a device.

"What is that?" Asks Twilight with confusion, John then approaches her and turns her around without effort as he says. "This is an Active Camo device, once activated it'll make you almost invisible as long as you don't move abruptly or sprint." John then places the camo on Twilight's waist, attaching it magnetically, Twilights tries to look at the device but she can't see it, since its on the back of her waist.

"How am I supposed to activate it if I can't see it?" Said Twilight with a serious expression while looking at John, who says calmly. "This version of the device is operated by the controls of a Mjolnir armor or any adapted suit, by using their power source to stay on for as long as the user wants to. But I just looked at your suit, and it isn't adapted to it, so I'll turn it on remotely and once I do so, you will only have 15 seconds to make the diversion." Applejack then questions with concern. "And what if she can't do it in 15 seconds?" John looks at her and says.

"Well... that won't happen, so don't worry." John then looks at Twilight and counts up to three, activating the device right after, Twilight moves cautiously avoiding any contact, she gets to a safe distance and begins to use her magic, making the civilians leviate abnormally and as expected, the guards headed quickly to investigate what was going on. Applejack and the rest headed to the exit of Ritou and before joining them, Twilight notices how the Active Camo is running out of time and before she heads to the exit, she feels a grapple around her waist that pulls her towards her friends with abruptness, but John catches her midair as he sees how the people begin to fall down to the ground without harm. "Well done, move!"

After this, Axios runs away quickly from Ritou, after finally getting some distance away from Ritou, the team stops on a shore nearby a village and begin to discuss their next move. "Ok, what now? Where can we find Starkiller?" Asked Rainbow Dash with a serious voice, but she also feels like this journey has lasted longer than it should be, John shows the holo map of Inazuma and says.

"Right now, we passed Ritou and we are now close to Konda Village..." John then pulls out the Anomaly detector and links it to his suit, scanning the whole nation live for a track of Starkiller's position, but many traces of dark magic begin to reveal. "What is that?" Asks Applejack while looking at all those traces, John looks at them confused and says. "In short words, these indicate where dark magic has been, and for some reason, there are two traces separated one from the other, one began here in Chinju forest and the other one appeared around Tatarasuna. This says to me only one thing." John is then interrupted by Twilight, who says with a serious voice.

"Someone was also here besides starkiller, and the trace stopped at the Grand Narukami Shrine, or whatever that is." Said Twilight as she pointed to the last location where Sunlight was, unbeknownst to them of who is this second visitor, but before scheming a plan, three dots begin to flicker in the map, John looks at them and sees that its right on their location. John then says with a concerned voice.

"Girls... what is..." He then looks at them and sees their necklaces glowing up in an abnormal way. "Uhmmm, guys... what's happening?" Asks Rainbow Dash as she looks closely at her necklace, similar reactions come from Applejack and Twilight, who replies with confusion. "Now this... is weird."

John shuts down the holo map and tries to adress the situation as calmly as possible. "Has this ever happened before?" Asks John with a serious voice, but Twilight replies. "Not precisely, when our necklaces overload, our powers have a surge and we begin to lose control over them, but this... I don't feel it like that." Said Twilight as she looked at her necklace, John then says with a more concerned voice. "Well... can you turned it off? The readings are starting to show some peaks and I don't want any unwanted attention."

Applejack then replies with a calmed voice. "Y'know, it's not like we can actually turn them off, probably its because we've been using them for a lot of time by now, they overload and begin to glow like this. We told Tesla about it, but he said that as long as we wear our suits, this won't happen... HOLD UP A MINUTE! We're wearing our darn suits!" After this, the three of them get in a trance where all of the Rainboom's consciousness are now connected, not in the way they can share thoughts or anything, but they are having a shared vision.

They see how their magics are now connected, all of them gathering into one, Sunset's magic, which is understandable since that's usually how her magic manifests its full power, but there's something off. Twilight looks at her right and sees the magic of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, while on the other side, there is Pinkie Pie, Rarity and hers, while Sunset's magic lies in front of them. But after looking with detainment, she sees something shocking. Two more elements, but these are different, they aren't connected, but instead, they seem to share place with Sunset's magic, a red geode with a golden aura along with a dark pink crystal with a cyan greenish aura are the ones Twilight sees, but before questioning herself, the vision ends.

As they return to their physical bodies, John seems extremely confused of what just happend, but Twilight looks at her friends, the three of them share the same reaction. "Did we all see the same?" Asks Applejack as she grabs her head, Twilight then rests her head on her hands as she says with a confused voice. "I think... but... what does it mean... an eighth and ninth element? But... how?"

John then asks with confusion. "Wait, what did you see? Eighth and Ninth? What am I missing?" Twilight then stands up and says with a calmed voice. "Right now, we know as much as you do, but if we stay here and discuss it, we might lose crucial time to find Starkiller, don't you think?" John looks at Twilight with a serious expression, but within, he's slightly surprised that she's focusing on the mission instead of anything else right now. "You're right, let's get moving, I hope you didn't attract anything or anyone."

Axios begins to move and heads to the Chinju Forest as a storm begins to form in the sky. Once entering the thick forest, the moonlight pierces through the foliage revealing a peculiar yet captivating sight.

After following the traces, Axios walks through the vast forest, but the girls stop after John raises his fist. "What? Why did we stop?" Asked Rainbow Dash looking around, but John orders to keep quiet, from the dark woods, humanoid creature emerges wielding an axe.

The creature swings down his electric axe, John parries the hit thanks to Cortana's help that indicated him of the attack beforehand, such strength is similar to the one of a Brute from his world, but after bringing it down with a direct punch on its belly, John proves these creatures are much weaker than they look like.

"Woah! That was awesome!" Shouted Rainbow Dash after seeing John display his combat skills, but with a serious voice, he replies to her. "Maybe, but we better get moving, who knows if it has a group." Cortana then interrupts him by saying. "I think its a bit too late to do that." John looks around and in fact, they're surrounded, with a serious voice he asks. "Why didn't you tell me before, Cortana?"

"Something's going on... since we entered the forest I can't make the radar work, I just detected the previous attack since it was wielding an electric axe, which emitted energy." Said Cortana with a serious voice as she tries to fix the radar, but it's pointless, the girls gather around John and keep each other's backs, the girls activate their powers and John draws out his blades and before engaging into combat, Cortana says. "Hold on! Don't move!" After this, a purple lighting had stricken the enemies around them, the lightning spreads around the creatures shocking them and immobiling them, only for a female figure to emerge from the forest.

"Civilians shouldn't be strolling through Chinju Forest this late, monsters have gone crazier lately. Go back to your homes!" Said Sara as she sits beneath a tree, she seems wounded but she's trying to hide it, but John notices it and asks. "Please accept our apologies ma'am, we didn't know about the curfew. But you seem wounded, would you be okay?"

Sara stands up grunting and says. "I'm... fine... I have to... check... if the area is... clear." As soon as she said those words, Sara fell to the ground, it appears the amount of blood she's lost its quite significantly, John expected this and approached her, he took a piece of her sleeves and made an imporvised bandaged to stop the bleeding, he then takes Sara in his arms and says. "Rainbow Dash, Applejack, please look for wood or something to craft a bonfire, Twilight, check the area with my radar to see if there aren't any remaining threats. We can't leave her here." After this, the girls being to move and John carries Sara to the bonfire AJ and Rainbow made, after putting Sara down in a resting position, Twilight returns with the group and says. "Everything seems clear, for now." Twilight then hands over John's portable radar. "Thank you." Said John as she indicated Twilight to take a seat.

"So... how long are we going to be here?" Asks Rainbow as she plays with a rock. "As long as it takes for the woman to wake up, I've already treated her wounds the best I can, so she might only need rest. But besides that, she seems to be a local, and by recalling the way she spoke to us, she might have some sort of authority, so maybe she knows a thing or two about Starkiller." Said John with a serious voice, although its risky to reveal the identity of whom they're looking for to a local, John gambles the possibility of being heard by Sara, and if she knows who they're talking about, that'll make their job much easier.

"Uhmm... shouldn't you be a bit more discrete, John?" Asks Applejack concerned about John's previous statement, but he replies calmly. "Have no worries, it'll be fine. But, besides that, I'd like to take this chance and know you better. To be honest, I've casted you aside indirectly by focusing too much on Sunset, I hope you can accept my apologies." Said John as he throws a branch at the bonfire, living its flame up. "Don't mention it, its comprehensible since Sunset is closer to your family than any of us." Said Twilight with a friendly smile, but Rainbow Dash then claims with a curious expression.

"Now that you mention it, John, how did you meet Flash and his mother? If... you'd like to share it, of course." Said Rainbow Dash as she felt a bit ashamed, since she thinks that story is a bit more private, but John looks at her and replies. "Well, since we're going to be here for quite a while, I think I can give you the full story." After this, the girls got closer to John in order to hear every detail, its not very often that they can hear a storytime from someone like the Master Chief himself.

John looks at them with a calmed expression and begins to say. "In order for you to understand it better in your timeline, my team and I arrived to your world six years ago if I remember correctly, but we knew about its existence like nineteen years ago, in your time of course, in mine was... like four years ago. The thing is, that by the time we arrived, we were tracking a slippery anomaly that leaked into your world, we ended up facing an entity that dwelled near the Camp Everfree, luckily, we destroyed her and therefore we stopped all the magic that was beginning to sprout from there." After this the girls' eyes widened, as that story ressembles the Legend of Gaea Everfree Timber Spruce told them time ago.

"Uhmm... how did this... entity... look like?" Asked Twilight with curiosity, in her mind begins to cross the thought of that legend being actually real, but it can't be, since Timber expressed to have invented that legend. John looks above as he remembers. "It had a female figure, pitch black eyes with yellow iris, her body was made of natural things, like wood all around her body, stone teeth, her hair was a mix of the roots of a tree and leaves, and for some reason, she used to leave a trace of gewels wherever she passed by, that's how we tracked it down." The girls couldn't believe it, that's the same description if not very similar to the one Timber made, but, how is this possible, the girls' astonished expressions raised John curiosity and made him ask aloud. "Why those faces? Did I say something wrong?"

Applejack shakes her head quickly and says. "N-No... it's not that, Chief... it's just... time ago a friend of us told us a story about a creature very similar to the one you just described, which... its really weird since... you two don't know each other and also, that the story he told us was fake." John then recalls what he read on Flash's report, the girls got their geodes in Camp Everfree while fighting the counselor, who was being possesed by Equestrian magic, but John then asks them. "If it was fake, then why there was magic in that camp in the first place?" Only to get another question from Rainbow Dash.

"But how can you explain a made up story matches yours?" John then tries to find an explanation for this, but he simply replies. "I don't know, but what I do know, it's that my team and I destroyed a magical creature that was dwelling in that forest. It was a tough fight since that creature could control nature and all that stuff, but nothing our hunting kits couldn't handle." After this, John continues with the story since the girls stopped him abruptly.

"Although our mission was only to eliminate that creature, we needed help to move around your world. You can say it was a fortunate encounter, but where we arrived, we found Flash first, he was small kid back then, he had run away from his home and was hiding from his mother. We couldn't leave him alone in the forest, so we introduced ourselves and after convincing him of returning with his mother, we took him with her. That's the first time we met Flash and Aura. She seemed reluctant about trusting us, but let's just say they got involved in our mission indirectly. After witnessing what anomalies can do, we thought of erasing their memory. But... I just couldn't do it."

Twilight looks at him with intrigue and asks. "Why?" John then takes a deep breath and says with a calmed voice. "Let's just say, that I felt really comfortable in your world, I liked Flash and his mom's company, and also... I made a promise to look after them." John then clenches his fist as doubt fills the girls' minds, Rainbow Dash leans forward with intrigue and asks. "What do you mean?"

John seems dubious, he wouldn't like to talk about this, but if the mission continues, this conversation will end up coming up, whether he likes it or not, he has spoken already, he can't stop now. After mustering courage, he says with a serious voice. "What I just told you is the story Aura and Flash know, I was expecting to tell you the same, but I failed. So before continuing, please promise me you won't tell anyone about it, under any circumstance, got it?" Applejack is the one that replies with a firm voice.

"It's a promise, you can trust us, Chief." John looks at Applejack with a grateful expression, he then sighs and says. "You remember that I said that we learned about the existance of your world long time ago, right? Well, the truth is, the time we met Aura and Flash wasn't the first time we visited your world. The first time we went there it was also to track down an anomaly which had some sort of consciousness, but we lost track of it suddenly and some First Order agents were also following it, the anomaly escaped both side since it had a teleporting nature. But we managed to trap it in an object thanks to the help of someone... Melodic Lightbolt, Flash's biological father and Aura's late husband."

The girls react with shock, what is the meaning behind all of this, and why is John telling them this. Despite their faces, John keeps talking. "You may wonder, what exactly could've he had done to help us? The answer, lies within your world. Back then we didn't know why, but now we do know that your world is directly connected to Equestria, which is the main source of all the magic and all that shit. The thing is, the people of your world have a higher tendency to being affected by Equestrian magic. Lightbolt was a fearless person, and just like his family, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, he adapted quickly, we explained the situation and created a plan to lure the anomaly towards him and imprison it. All of this while also dealing with a infiltration cell from the First Order. When it was done, we took the anomaly with us and managed to hide the tracks of our fight with Lightbolt's help, and we kept in contact, since your world was visited by the Final Order, I thought it'd be better to keep an eye on your home." John then grabs his hands together and begins to remember everything as he tells the girls.

"He used to text me almost every single day since we met, we had long video calls every time we returned from a mission, he was excited of meeting someone like... us. We became good friends, I don't know how but he always managed to hide us from his family, I remember that weeks later he told me he had become a father, he was overwhelmed by joy and happiness, by that time he never told me the names of his family, well... I never considered it necessary. But one day, I received a distress call from him, he was being followed by a mysterious figure, he managed to lure it away from his family, who were waiting for him at a restaurant. I told him how to buy as much time as possible while I was getting ready, I had lost contact with him by the time I got to the portal machine, which didn't work that day, I don't know why or how, but... I went to the anomalies recently contained and..." John makes a pause and musters strength, his affliction could be heard in his voice.

"I took the anomaly we captured thanks to him and forced it to get me to your world, when I arrived, the anomaly flew away and I headed straight to Lightbolt's position, when I got there, I found him extremely wounded lying on the ground, I couldn't get him to any hospital since it'll reveal my cover, so I stayed with him until he passed away, his last words... take care of... my family... Flash and... Aura. And when I heard the sirens of the police getting closer, I had to leave, but since the portal machine didn't work, I had to stay in your world hidden for a day, I only watched how Aura hugged Lightbolt's body so tightly as she began to scream of pain, while another officer held Flash in his arms. I left your world and never returned until the mission where we met Aura and Flash directly." John then stopped talking, a silence almost enveloped the forest if not for the sound of the bonfire burning. After a gulp, Twilight asked.

"Do you know who or what killed him?" John looks at Twilight with a dead serious expression and says. "It was a lightsaber. After leaving the scene, I received a call from Lightbolt's communicator..." John clenches his fists with such tension, that it could be heard perfectly by everyone around him, and rage began to take control of his voice as he said. "That motherfucker of Starkiller had it, he said... try not to recruit weaklings to be your moles... he then destroyed the communicator, I told Galen about the situation and in one of our encounters, he used all his power to erase the location of your world from Starkiller's mind, but the murder, that couldn't be erased. So I'll tell you this..." John then looks at the girls with an expression that shows nothing but hatred as he said. "The only reason that son of a bitch is still breathing, it's because ONI wants him alive and once I get my hands to him, I won't care about what ONI or anyone else tells me after I'm done with him."

Though John would've loved to now ask the girls more about them, the conversation is then interrupted by Sara who woke up, and with a calmed voice, she says.

"Excuse my intromission, but... who are you people?" Claimed the Tengu as she looks at everyone around him, the moment John was waiting, maybe this person can guide them to where Starkiller is, but little did they know, that they were dealing with the the General of the Shogun's army, a stiff soldier that will carry out her orders, regardless of anything.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone! Here DReep with a new chapter, I know it's been taking quite a while for new chapter to come out, but I've been also making some drawings regarding future chapters while also for the next upcoming ones.

For the next chapters, I'd summarize it like this: "Axios vs Raiden Shogun." I've been preparing some drawings for this chapter, but I'm not done yet, so it'll take more time for it to come out, so please be patient. Again, thanks to all of you who have been reading the story, I'd really appreciate you, if you'd like to share with any of your friends that'd be extra awesome.

Wish you the best of lucks.
-DReep

Chapter 28: The All-Mighty Violet Thunder

As Kujou Sara woke up, she immediately asked her savior of their identities. After their introduction, Sara sighs of relief as she takes a more comfortable position and says. "I truly appreciate your actions, there aren't enough words to express my gratitude except for, thank you."

"We had to help you, after all, you were the one who saved us first from that horde, remember?" Replied John as he looks at Sara, she then chuckles and says. "Well, it's my duty as part of the Shogun's army, but regardless of it, you shouldn't be here, monsters have gone more violent recently, and we've mobilized in order to protect every civilian." Claimed Sara with a serious voice, she just revealed her identity to them without knowing that's what John wanted, but before he can say anything, Applejack replies. "Uhmm... yeah... we're sorry about that but, don't ya'think it's also dangerous for fellas like you to stroll around'ere alone? I mean... you've just said that those beings are madder than a wet hen." Sara and John looked at Applejack with confusion and both said in unison. "What?" Applejack then replied with a serious voice as she looked at both of them.

"Yeah! Madder than a wet hen, y'know... hens go really mad when they get wet, if you aren't careful, you'll be upside down in two shakes of a lamb's tail." John and Sara kept their confused expressions as Applejack sighs and says. "Y'know what? Scratch everything I've just said. The thing is, Miss Sara, why were you alone here in the woods anyway?" Sara then clears her throat as she begins to recall the events that brought them together.

"I was patrolling the area with some men, but I got separated from them by a Thunderhelm Lawachurl that ambushed us... I don't know why, but all creatures have increased in aggression levels, after I lost my squad, I had to fight several hordes of monsters nonstop, and before I knew how long was I fighting, I heard some fighting in the distance, which led me right to you."

Rainbow Dash leans forward and asks. "Do you think your team is going to be ok?" Sara then sighs and replies. "I hope so, we agreed that in case we get separated, we'll retreat to our headquarters in Kujou Encampment. I better get moving... agh!" Sara tried to get up, but her wounds still hurt a lot, John stops her and says. "You better not move too much, you haven't given enough time for your wounds to heal, plus I didn't have any anti-inflammatory, so I could only clean your wounds the best I could while also use all the bandages we had while also administrating some local antibiotic."

Sara then looks at John with a serious expression as she gets on the ground again and asks him. "Oh, are you a doctor of some sort? You three are wearing strange armors I've never seen before, which makes me think that you aren't from here, am I right?" Applejack then steps in and says. "Well, you're right, we come from a place beyond this land." Sara then raises her knee and rests her arm on it as she asks. "And what drove you guys to come here in the first place?" Twilight then pushed back her glasses and replied. "We're looking for someone, the last thing we knew was that this person came here." John then looked at the girls, as if saying that he'll handle the conversation from now on.

Sara looks with intrigue as she asks the group. "I suppose this person must be a local, otherwise why would you cross the seas?" John then looks at Sara with a calmed expression and replies. "Well, we don't know that for sure, it's been a while since the last time we talked with him, the only thing we've known, it's that he's here in Inazuma, but besides that, we know nothing."

Sara begins to connect the ideas, probably these outlanders are related to Starkiller, that'd be a big coincidence, but if that's so, she must know their intentions regardless of who they are. "You have a name? Probably he's among the people we evacuated from Chinju Forest." The girls thought about what they should respond, but John had it covered, he leans forward and looks at Sara with a serious expression as he says. "Can you take us with him in case he's among that people?"

Sara crosses her arms and replies with a stiff voice. "If he's not already a prisoner, then I might be able to. But I'd only know that, if you give me a name." John then makes his move by saying. "The truth is, we don't know his true name, so we can't tell you even if we wanted to, so... any other help you can provide us will result most useful."

Sara then sighs and stands up as she says. "Sorry, can't do, I have other official business to attend to, I have to regroup with my squad and keep patrolling these areas." She then picks up her bow and was ready to leave, but Applejack stopped her. "Wait! Let us go with you, you aren't fully recovered yet, and maybe we can find the person we're looking for. It's a win-win, don't ye think?"

John stands up and follows Applejack's question by saying. "Please, we only want to find this person and return home." Sara accepts their offer reluctantly, after all, these outlanders must not get involved in the inner affairs of Inazuma, but they saved her life, at least, she can keep an eye on them by keeping them close. The Group leaves Chinju Forest and Rainbow Dash is shocked by the fact that it's already morning, inside the forest, it seemed to always be nighttime.

Once in Kujou Encampment, Sara takes the group to her temporal office, where she enlisted the names of all the people that was evacuated from the area, Sara leaves the shack and orders two guards to keep an eye on them, but after reading the list, Twilight says. "Why did we ask for this in the first place? It's highly probable that HE won't be here. Starkiller would be anywhere around, and we lost track of the dark magic he left."

John then sits down with a reflective expression as he says. "And what can you infer of that fact, Twilight?" The young genius was left in bewilderment for a few seconds, she then asks with confusion. "Probably they stopped using their powers at some point, but that doesn't make any sense. Up until now, what we know about their necklaces tells us that it's not like they can turn it off, at least, the Sith Lords can't, Sunlight is something else. Which leads me to think... Oh! I get it now." Rainbow Dash saw Twilight's illuminated face and after looking at Applejack, both with confusion, they ask. "What?"

John then takes a more relaxed pose and says. "There are only two possible options. One: Starkiller and whoever else came here were captured and left knocked out, which explains why their magic trails are gone. Second: As Twilight said, they're hiding somewhere in this land. To be honest, the first option it's the most logical, this place is too calmed to be threatened by someone as powerful as Starkiller."

"Then why are we here? Shouldn't we be looking for them and prevent any chaos from happening?" Asks Rainbow Dash, she's bored from walking and walking the whole journey, she only wants to deal with this as soon as possible, for her, time's been wasted while they're talking about this, but John then asks. "What if he was captured by the Raiden Shogun? Would you be so brave to face a god, huh? This is not a matter of finding them first, but to prevent any disturbance in the timeline occurs. There's too much at sake and if we don't act with intelligence, we might doom this universe."

"Then what's your plan? Sit here and wait for... what exactly?" Asks Applejack with confusion as she crosses her arms, but John opens his hand and shows Cortana, who nods with her head, indicating it's time to do their move. While walking towards here, Cortana managed to register Sara's walking profile, the speed, and strength of each step, along with the vocal recognition metrics using the Mjolnir's sensors. The signal indicates Sara is nearby, John wants to trigger her first, the guards outside are out of range to hear their conversation, and luckily. There's an unexpected guess approaching them right now. But before everything else happens, John says with a serious voice.

"My theory, Starkiller has been captured and considering his condition, he won't be on a normal prison, he'd be probably with the Raiden Shogun, we'll go there and ask her to give up the prisoner, and then we leave. If she refuses our request, then we'll force her to surrender him." The girls looked at John with shock, hoping he's not talking seriously, but one thing they know, it's that John always talks seriously.

"You're kiddin', right? Didn't ye'hear Mr. Zhongli sayin' she's a literal divinity, one of the strongest beings in this universe? We're gonna be in a world of pain if we fight her, dontcha think?" Asked Applejack with a concerned voice, but John looked at her and asked. "Well, we ain't stopping now, we're too close, we have to do be willing to take such a risk."

Twilight, worried about John's apparently blind confidence, can't help but to feel uncertainty when avoiding obvious facts, with a serious expression she asks the super soldier. "Do you actually think we can fight her? She's an unknown enemy, with unknown abilities, and you are willing to fight a god? We would certainly lose or die if we try." Although she seems to be pessimistic, her fear is what drives her arguments now, the uncertainty and the perplexity of John's request is what bothers her more, Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, looking for her friend's support, but Rainbow instead chooses to ask John one thing. "Chief... what makes you think we have a chance, honestly?"

While taking a deep sigh, John looks at the three teenagers and says some words that came from deep within him. "We have a mission, if our Plan A fails, we have to try Plan B, regardless of the risks, you might not notice it, but we're in not position of not trying something. I trust in the seven of you and in your potential. Maybe if the whole group was together, you might be able to defeat her, but that's not the case. Right now, we share one thing, our desire to protect our home, those whom we love and the inherent wish of a better tomorrow for everyone. That's what moves us, so YES Twilight, we CAN fight her, and not only that..." John then took his blades with anger and continued. "I promised myself that I'd never bow to any god, they've never done anything for my people or my world, so I owe them nothing! And since I'm here with you, allow me to say. We would certainly win." John then activated the glow of his blades, although his expression show anger, his voice transmitted determination, something that seemed most inspiring for the girls. John turns off his blades and puts them on his back, with a calm voice he says. "Let's take our leave."

After leaving the shack, Axios was heading to the exit, but they're stopped by Sara who says with a serious voice aloud. "Leaving already? Did you find the person you're looking for?" The group turns around and John says with a polite voice. "Unfortunately, we couldn't find him, so we better start looking somewhere else, anyways, thanks for your assistance, General."

Sara looks at them with a serious expression, she walks towards them and says. "I'm afraid you won't leave, not until..." Sara's then interrupted by the sound of a soldier shouting aloud. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" As everyone looks at the direction of the voice, they see a violent Thunderhelm Lawachurl approaching their base as its roar shocks everyone, as if its looking for a fight, with a confused look Sara says. "That Lawachurl... was the one that attacked us. All troops! Defensive positions! Don't let it breach into our camp!"

Sara then takes her bow as she looks at Axios and says. "We're not done yet." She then leaves rushing towards the entrance to defend the base, with confusion, Rainbow Dash asks. "How did that thing knew where we are? Wasn't it supposed to be in that forest?" Twilight looks at the Lawachurl and changes her expression to a more reflective one, with a serious voice, she replies. "Technically, but it didn't follow us, John would've noticed, so it only means one thing, something called it here, and I think I know what it was." Twilight then grabs her necklace, its still glowing and they haven't figured out why this happened so suddenly, but as far as she can tell, magic attracts magic, so probably the magic emitted by her necklace and her friends' served as a beacon for this Lawachurl to find them. Applejack steps forth as she clashes her fists, charging up her suit and her Vision glows along with her necklace. With a serious voice, she says.

"Then let's beat it up, if that thing's too strong, I ain't lettin' it hurt anyone else. You comin'?" John slightly smiles after the display of leadership and says. "We're right behind you." Axios beings to move towards the entrance, Twilight then asks her friends. "Maneuver F-8?" Rainbow Dash laughs and says. "HA! You've read my mind." After this, the three of them began to mobilize on their own, leaving John behind as Cortana asks him. "Amazed?" John then replies. "Kind of, but we're talking about it later, I have to protect the locals." John then takes out his blades and rushes forward, passing the girls. The soldiers' attacks only manage to make the Lawachurl angrier, as it took a boulder and threw it towards an archer in the backline, but John jumped in and with multiple slashes, he cut the boulder into pieces, protecting the soldier, who asked. "Who are you?" John looks at him and says. "A soldier, like you."

After this, the girls exit the base and proceed to their plan, while the Lawachurl charges up and thrusts forward.

The girls move aside, except for Applejack, who stays in the middle and stops the Lawachurl by grabbing its fists, both begin to struggle to win the clash, when Applejack began to give in, her vision activates and envelops the Lawachurl's hands with stone, giving Applejack the upper hand as she begins to push back, Twilight then activates her super coils and lifts the Lawachurl in the air, as Applejack sees the Lawachurl begin to levitate, she releases one of her hands and with a punch directly in its face, she launches the Lawachurl away in the air as Twilight smacked it down on the ground.

Applejack looks beneath and she sees a weird shard floating in front of her.

"What's this?" She then touches the crystal that transforms into a purple shield around her. "Woah! What's this?" Said Applejack with surprise, a serious voice then says behind her. "It's called crystallize, when Geo interacts with any other element, it creates a crystal that can turn into a shield." Applejack turns around as she sees Sara approaching, she then begins tensioning her bow as she aims towards the Lawachurl and says. "It won't fall that easily." Applejack then looks at it and says. "We know, but its part of the plan." Applejack and Twilight began to approach the Lawachurl as it stands up and charges up with lightning, but Rainbow Dash appeared running around the Lawachurl each time faster, creating a wind current that makes the Lawachurl loses focus by the wind, it was about to smack the ground but Twilight lift it in the air again, as the Lawachurl spins faster in the air and Applejack stands next to her as she says.

"I hope this works!" Applejack then punches the ground and with the idea of creating a ramp, withouth her knowing it, her vision follows her thought and with a pulse of geo power, a stone ramp sprouts from the ground. "Holy Moly, it worked!" Rainbow then uses the ramp and jumps above the Lawachurl and by spinning extremely fast, she charged a powerful kick that brought their enemy to the ground, leaving a dust cloud and a crater as big as a house.

After landing, Dash reunites with her friends and Sara. "Do you think that'll settle it?" Asked Rainbow Dash after cleaning some dust off her suit, but Sara looks at the dust cloud and manages to see something moving from within, with a serious voice, she says. "Not yet." Sara then charges her bow with an electro arrow, powerful enough to pierce a boulder, as the Lawachurl roars and clears the dust with a shockwave, Sara shoots and pierces through its chest, as blood began to split on the ground, the Lawachurl stumbled after receiving the hit, but the adrenaline within it allowed it to roar with power, making Sara and the girls lose their ground after taking the powerful shockwave created by the Lawachurl's roar.

The static surrounder their bodies, making them unable to move freely, the Lawachurl, charged up and filled with adrenaline, thrusts itself forward, Sara was about to use her vision to summon a powerful thunder, but a red lightning crossed above them and intercepted the Lawachurl, the crimson light pierced through the beast and John reveals himself on the other side in a battle stance.

"Sound Breathing, Second Form: Ounslaught Symphony" A barrage of slashes began to appear around the Lawachurl cutting it, and making it shout of pain as it finally falls down, defeated. John then sheathes his cleavers and groups with the rest as the soldiers in the camp begin to attend the wounded, thankfully, the damage to the encampment was kept at minimum.

"Well done, team..." Said John to the girls with a slightly proud expression, he then looks at Sara and asks. "General, are there any more wounded?" Sara's serious expression makes Chief suspiscious of what her answer would be, with a serious voice, she asks. "Just what are you people trying to do?" Everyone kept silence, Rainbow Dash was about to ask but Chief stopped her, Sara then continued.

"I heard your conversation, you aren't looking for a friend, but for a prisoner, especifically the one we recently captured. Why?" Sara then draw her bow aiming towards Axios, the rest of the soldiers though confused, quickly side with their general, surrounding them.

"General, there's no need to rely on intimidations...." Said John with a calmed voice but Sara tensed her arrow more and said. "Answer me... now!" It appears she won't let them get out the easy way, but John wants to try anyway, with a serious voice he says. "I'm a soldier, like you, so you'd understand how much important a mission is for us, and retrieving that man is our mission, he represents a danger for everyone, it's better for you to heed my warning and surrender him to us, we'll leave afterwards."

"Her Excellency will be the one to determine the prisoners' sentence, in this land, you have no authority." Said Sara as she keeps aiming her bow, as John tries to come up with something, Rainbow Dash shouts. "THEN WE'LL CHALLENGE HER TO A DUEL!!" Everyone looked at her with amaze and shock, Twilight approached her and asked. "What?! Are you serious?"

Rainbow Dash then replies with frustration. "We'd be stuck here forever if we don't come up with something." Applejack then looked back at her friend and asked with a serious voice. "And what makes you think that'll work out?" Rainbow then shrugs and says with uncertainty. "Uhmmm... because it always works in Samurai action movies." Twilight and Applejack smack their faces with their palm as Chief tries to keep everything under control, but he says to himself. "Movies... hmph... hope it works."

"That's a high request the one you're doing, but I'm afraid that won't be possible for you." Said Sara as she pointed her finger towards Axios and claimed out loud. "You'll be put under custody for suspiscion of conspiracy in joint with intruders that have altered the order in Inazuma, you'll come with us peacefully or by force, your choice." After this, all the soldiers began to surround Axios slowly, as the group gets closer to each other, Twilight says.

"Ah great! We just helped them and this is their thanks?" John draws out his cleavers and says with a serious voice. "Don't blame them, they're soldiers following their duty, nothing personal." As combat seemed unavoidable, a voice could be heard from the distance and approaching. "DON'T YOU DARE, KUJOU TENGU!" A big figure landed in front of Axios with such strength that lifted a dust cloud, revealing certain Oni who claims himself as the One and Only.

"Sorry compadres! But these people are under my protection now. So if you still want to capture them, you'll have to go through me, HAHA!." Said Itto as he raises his club against the soldiers, his confident smile makes everyone wonder his intentions, Sara asks with confusion and frustation, since Itto being here is nothing but a nuisance. "What brings you here, Arataki Itto?"

Itto looks at Sara with frustration and replies. "Oh, you know why Kujou Tengu, you took in one of MY people, so this is your last chance..." Itto's expression suddenly changed, and with a threatening voice, he said.

"Give Sunlight back, or things will get messy around 'ere." Axios was shocked after hearing this, how does someone know that name. At least, that proves their theory of the second person involved and it appears is none other than Sunlight. Sara looked at him with a serious expression and said. "She's a prisoner and is about to be sentenced by the Shogun, we found also some murders that happened back in Seirai Island, our investigation leads to suspect that she was also the culprit behind these, since the methods used in those murders were... brutal. So she's not leaving Tenshukakku, so cease your reckless behavior at once, or I'll arrest you." Sara then tensed her bow as a warning, but Rainbow's voice interrupted these two.

"Wait, you know Sunlight?!" Asked Rainbow Dash aloud, Itto smiles and replies. "So Shinobu was right, she said that you might be related to our captive fella, and luckily, that was TRUE!!" Itto raised his club and stroke the ground with such fierce might that shattered the ground in front of them, causing the nearby ground to shake, making the shogunate troops to fall to the ground, even Sara.

"C'mon, let's move!!" Said Itto as he lead the way, guiding Axios away from the troops. Though the shogunate soldiers stood up quickly, John turned around and threw a few smoke grenades, to hide their tracks, escaping from the soldiers chasing them and leaving them behind.

"Why are you helping us?" Asked Applejack as the group keeps running, but Itto only said. "I'll explain ya'later, keep running." As they kept running away from the Shogunate, they hid in a cave that was near Narukami Island, though it seemed dark at first, Itto knew the way without a torch, as they began to walk deeper into the cave, they met with the rest of the Arataki Gang around a bonefire.

"Boss! You're back!" Shouted the boys while Shinobu only crossed her arms and said. "So... I was true after all. We're glad we noticed your arrival, we have a few doubts about... someone. But first, let us introduce ourselves, we're members of the Arataki Gang, I'm Kuki Shinobu, we encountered someone with similar features as yours. So we suspected that you'd be related to her."

"You're speaking about Sunlight, right? How did you met her in the first place?" Asked Twilight with a surprised expression, she also wondered how are they unharmed, since as far as they know, Sunlight's still on her berserk form. But Itt sits on the ground and begins to tell. "Well, we found her knocked out on Tatarasuna, she was really harmed so we took her to the Grand Narukami Shrine and that Fox Lady treated her and sealed all the darkness that was consuming her, or somethin' like that, I don't recall the details. *SIGH* The thing is, we were hanging together and we kinda got along, and then some Shogunate soldiers came and arrested her with NO reason, and SHE GAVE IN! I mean, why would she? Everyone on the gang began to see her as one of us then she's taken away?! Nuh uh! I ain't letting my people be held captive for somethin' they didn't do!" Itto sounds frustrated, as he remembers how he did nothing when Sunlight was taken away.

"Boss, you have to cool your head! It's the Tenryou Commission we're talking about!" Itto then looked at Shinobu and said. "I know! We... have to think of something, but I don't know what, that's why were looking you people..." Itto looks at Axios, and says. "We saw you with Kujou Tengu and Shinobu thought you could help us, so... here we are." Chief then sighs and steps forth, this was a bit awkward, but at least they're closer to Starkiller and Sunlight, two birds with one stone, Chief sits down and begins to say.

"Listen... Arataki Gang, since you're going to the point, this is the plan. We come from the place Sunlight's from, we must rescue her from someone evil, so I'll state this clear, we take her out and we must leave quickly. We will help you, but you won't interfere directly, this is a delicate matter, leave it to us, just tell us how to go to that Tenshukaku?"

"It's not too hard actually, it's the biggest temple in Inazuma City, but it's highly guarded by the guards of the Tenryou Comission, they won't let anyone enter that easily." Said Akira with a calmed voice, but before anything could be calmed, Itto claimed aloud. "Oh snap! That Tengu said Sunlight will be sentenced by the Shogun! We have to hurry!!" The whole gang was shocked after this, even worse after knowing Itto seemed to have forgotten about it in first place.

"WHAT?! That's bad, really bad!" Said Shinobu with a worried expression, the girls followed them but Chief stood up and said firmly. "We can't waste any more time, Arataki Gang, take this..." John then gave a bunch of Mora from the bag to Shinobu, and then said. "Head to Ritto, secure a boat, and hide it for us, we'll meet there once our job is over, and take that as a payment. Itto, guide us to Tenshukaku, Axios... we're changing our plan, no peaceful dialogue, we're engaging direct combat." The girls prepare mentally for this, as Chief was about to head out, he's stopped by Shinobu who says.

"Hold on! Are you serious?! It's an Archon what we're talking about, you will fight all of her guards and then her?!" Chief looks at her with determination, although it's a crazy idea, he's willing to do it, with a serious voice, Chief replies. "If there's a way to beat her, I'll find it out and rescue Sunlight, just you wait with our boat ready." Chief then heads towards the exit and is followed by the girls, they seem nervous, but there's no way of changing Chief's mind now. Itto only says with a confident voice. "Alright people! Follow me! Sunlight, we're coming for you!!" Cortana then only asks John. "Do we have a plan?"

"Just one: Win." Said Chief with a serous voice as the girls look at each other, they trust Chief, but this, is a bit excessive for them.

Now in Tenshukaku, Sunlight and Starkiller find themselves shackled to the ground,, unable to use their powers as they wait for the Raiden Shogun to appear.

"How were you captured by these vermins?" Asked Starkiller with frustration, Sunlight was supposed to be his way out, but now they're both in the same place, Sunlight looks at him and replies. "They had some tricks under the sleeve and seized my powers, then, it was only a matter of outnumbering me, but you?! You are a Sith Lord with dark magic powers and yet, you were captured by a single person?"

"That's different! That darn fox already knew about my arrival and made a trap to seize my powers, even my connection to The Force." Said Starkiller as he looked down on the ground, the shame of his defeat haunts him, since he lost the fight without even noticing anything. "And why did you set me up like that?! Huh?! How was I supposed to take you out of here if you help them capture me?!" Starkiller then looked at Sunlight and said with a serious voice.

"Silence! It's all part of the plan, we needed to be together in order pull off our escape plan." Said Starkiller as he lowers the volume of his voice, luckily for them, there are no guards in the room, after all, their shackles are anchored to the ground and the Raiden Shogun is the one in this room, but she's not here, with confusion, Sunlight asks. "And where is the Shogun? Aren't we supposed to be interrogated by her or some shit?"

"I ask myself the same." Replied Starkiller, but unbeknownst to both of them, the Shogun seems to have an argument with Yae Miko on the higher rooms of Tenshukaku.

"So, you came out of the Plane of Euthymia only to execute those people on the room below?" Said Yae with an angry expression, the Plane of Euthymia is a mental space created for the real Shogun to preserve her consciousness, the body that moves and talks is only a puppet left by the Archon, in this mental space, the Shogun can meditate while monitoring some events in the outside world, all of this for her persue of Eternity for herself and her nation, but when she learned of Starkiller and heard of Sunlight, she couldn't look away, such individuals must not be allowed to wander through Inazuma while posing a threat to everything she's built until now.

"Yes, their presence might be a danger for Inazuma in the future, and therefore, a threat for Eternity, something I have to deal with directly. Also, I still can't fathom the reasons of why you helped one of them, Miko, are trying to plot against me?" Said the Shogun with a serious voice as she looks at Yae, who only replies with a calm expression.

"Plotting wouldn't be the word I'd use, I only want to state that since that day, you're behavior isn't completely justified, many holes are left and yet, you're still willing to keep your search for Eternity." The Shogun then quickly interrupted her with a more emotional voice, but firmly and seriously said. "It's precisely because of what I lost after that day 500 years ago that I must act like this, if I let anyone do as they please in Inazuma, I won't be able to protect the nation they sacrificed for, and if that happens, I won't be able to protect her dream anymore."

The Shogun turns her back on Miko, who seems that she won't be able to change Ei's mind, with reluctance, she replies. "*sigh* Fine then, but before you leave, just keep in mind that this goal you seek might eventually fall before nature itself, or who knows, maybe it'll be the influence of people that make you change your mind." The Shogun only looks at Miko one last time and says with a serious voice. "That won't happen, and if someone dares to be in the way of my goal, then I'll gladly accept the challenge." After this, the Shogun left for the lower floor of Tenshukaku, where she finally meets the prisoners. Yae only looks at the sky and sees many dark clouds coming together, with a serious voice, she says before leaving. "A storm is coming."

Now inside Tenshukaku, as soon as the Shogun enters the room, Starkiller and Sunlight felt her ominous presence, Sunligth can't help but feel intimidated before the presence of a God, and Starkiller can't believe all this power coming from one single being. "Now then, prepare for your execution." Said the Shogun with a cold voice as she draws her blade, the Musuo Isshin.

As Sunlight and Starkiller begin to witness their seemingly end, an injured guard bursts through the door, interrupting the execution and shouting. "Your Excellency, you... have to... stop the...." The guard then fell to the ground, leaving the Shogun in bewilderment, as fast as lighting, she gets to the exit and sees how the General Kujoou Sara is defeated on her knees, along with all the guards of Tenshukaku who are knocked out.

"What... is the meaning of this?" Asked the Shogun with a serious voice as the rain pours down agressively and thunders strike the sky. Down in the entrance of Tenshukaku, Axios and Itto are looking directly to the Shogun, but Chief said to the Oni. "This is where ends your part of the agreement, Itto, leave now, you have our thanks." Itto looks at Chief and says with a confident voice. "Oh no, don't think that I'll leave you now that we're here..." Chief then looked at Itto with a determined expression and said. "Don't worry, when we met again, Sunlight will be with us." Though he doesn't like the idea, he has no other option than to trust them, he leves but not before saying. "Good luck, you guys!"

With a nervous voice, Applejack asks. "Uhmmm... Chief, are really goin' to do this? What if... y'know... we get hurt bad?" Chief then steps forth and replies. "I promised that I'll bring you back home safe, and I won't break any of my promises ever again." Then with a strong voice, Chief shouts to the Shogun. "Raiden Shogun, we challenge you to a duel for the freedom of the prisoners you're helding captive, would you accept, or would you back down?!!!" Chief then aims one of his blades towards the Shogun, even she can feel the determination in his eyes from that far away, with a quick move, she turns into lightning and strikes in front of them, landing with ferocious strength.

She looks at the four individuals in front of her and with a serious voice, she raises her blade and says.

"Challenge, accepted." With a swift move, she slashed through space and created a dark void that swallowed Axios and teleported them to another place in Inazuma, where they are meant to have, their duel with the Raiden Shogun herself."

END OF CHAPTER.

Chapter 28.5: Axios vs The Raiden Shogun

Author's Note

Hi everyone! This chapter really took its time since I had to plan many further things, plus, College is finally over and vacation have started, so expect further updates on the upcoming chapters while also these being released more often (if nothing bad happens, of course)
Anyway, enjoy the chapter and as usual, I wish y'all the best, see ya next time.

-DReep

Chapter 28.5: Axios vs The Raiden Shogun

As they find themselves in the landscape, Axios hears a familiar voice from the distance.

"Hey! What the hell are we doing here?! And what are YOU doing here?!" Shouted Starkiller towards Axios, with confusion, Twilight asks. "Sunlight? Are you ok?" Sunlight sighs and replies with a calmed voice. "Yeah! Thanks for concerning, but my friend here seems to not enjoy his staying here."

"Knock it off, Sunlight! What the heck is happening?" Replied Starkiller, he can't understand why is Master Chief and some Rainbooms here, and challenging the Raiden Shogun, for what purpose? In order to shut his yapping, Chief replies. "Stop crying, asshole, we're getting you both out of here." He then proceeds to look at the Shogun, who sheathed her blade and drew out her spear, and with a serious voice, she said.

"Your insolence confuses me, though you can't go back in your word anymore, so there's no need to explain your reasons, but let me state the rules clear." The Shogun spins her spear and strikes the ground with the knob of her spear, creating an electric shockwave that intimidates even the fiercest mortal. With a serious voice, she said aloud. "There's one thing that you outlanders must learn, here in Inazuma, duels are meant to cleanse one's name and honor, not someone else's, therefore, your request will only be to pardon your lives for your insolence."

With that explanation, Axios' plan went to trash, but fortunately for them, none of them were ordinary cases. "But..." The Shogun continued. "Since ALL of you are a threat to my ultimate goal, I'll make an exception..." She then points her spear towards Axios and says. "You... are going to fight for your freedom and to pardon your crimes against the soldiers of the Tenryou Comission..." She then points towards Sunlight and Starkiller, who are shackled to the ground. "Since you two are certainly dangerous, I'll allow only the girl to fight, since she at least has some respect." with a slight move of her spear, Sunlight's shackles got cut down.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Said Starkiller, Sunlight then stood up and heads towards Axios, although she's nervous, the situation is quite delicate right now. Rainbow Dash received Sunset's counterpart with a friendly hug, the three of the girls asked about how was it possible that she could be talking so normally without the influence of the necklace.

"Well, I got help of these." Sunlight then points to the 4 paper seals wrapped around her necklace, with a serious voice, Chief asks her. "Can you fight, though?" Sunlight looks at him with uncertainty, she remembers what Lady Yae told her, but right now, it doesn't seem like she'd be able to restrain from using her powers. With a calmed voice, she replies. "I think... but I'd only limit myself to using the most basic of my powers. So... there won't be any fancy moves from me." With doubt, she asks them. "You have a plan, don't you?"

Applejack looks at her and replies. "Well, sort of, but it's too simple to explain."

We go back to a few minutes before Axios arrived at Tenshukaku.

"Chief, you have a deeper plan than just winning, right?" Asked Rainbow Dash as they run towards their destination through the city, Chief then replies with a serious voice. "We can think of something once we're there, but for now, our only way to fight her will be learning how she fights. Itto! Y'know anything?"

"Sorry pal! The only thing I know is that everyone say that it's the ultimate sword art, she basically created swordsmanship in all of Teyvat if you ask me." As Itto replied, a rain began to pour down, and a familiar voice spoke behind them, but Itto didn't notice due to the rain and kept running forward, leaving the group behind. "If you want to at least have a chance to defeat her, I'll tell you only this..." Everyone turned around and saw Yae Miko, though no one perceived her, she seemed utterly indifferent by the group's shock.

"She's the incarnation of Thunder itself, but there's one thing she hides that very few people manage to notice. She's a warrior, and has the pride of one, therefore, if you manage to hurt her pride, there's a probability that she might lose focus."

"Wait... w-who are you? Why are you telling us this?" Asked Twilight with confusion, but Yae interrupted her by saying. "But there's one small thing, she's been training her will for centuries, so you better have a good trick under your sleeve. Which you probably do, since you aren't from this nation, or from afar. Good luck." In the blink of an eye, Yae disappeared in front of everyone, leaving them in bewilderment. Itto only peeked from a corner since he just noticed he was running alone. "Hey, guys! C'mon, we're almost there!" After this, the group kept running and later arrived at Tenshukaku.

As everyone takes position, Chief says. "Cortana, scan her." As Cortana began to conduct many scans, she replied. "I can't detect anything from her, it's like, empty, no Equestrian energy, there is only one thing I'm catching up from her, her chest, there's a huge source of energy in it. So, in the meantime, be careful as I collect more data."

With a simple stance, The Shogun managed to make everyone uncertain of her next move, in the blink of an eye, she was already in front of Chief, swinging her spear towards him. He barely managed to notice the attack, but wasn't able to defend himself, thankfully, Cortana had to use their neural link to take control over Chief's body for a fraction of a second. Which was enough for Cortana to clench one of Chief's cleavers and clash with the Shogun's spear. The Shockwave was such that the girls were pushed back.

"Impressive." Said the Shogun with an emotionless expression, Chief was already thinking of him struggling to fight this speed. A stone column emerged from the ground, Applejack was aiming to hit the Shogun and create a gap between them and the Shogun, but she climbed the column and jumped from it and aimed to attack Applejack, but Twilight threw her friend into the air since there wasn't enough time to make a controlled move. The Shogun missed her attack and changed her target to Twilight, who was wide open.

"Crap!" Said Twilight as she saw the deity approaching her, but Rainbow Dash saved her by getting in the way and taking her away, Sunlight then approached with a dropkick, but the Shogun blocked it with her spear and grabbed Sunlight by the leg and threw her away to a nearby rock.

Chief then clashed his cleavers against her spear again, as the demonic runes turned on, the Shogun noticed and felt it weird, Chief began to surpass the Shogun in raw physical strength, with a powerful swing, she pushed Chief back, who was about to keep attacking, but noticed Applejack falling.

As she screamed since the ground seemed closer each time, Twilight used her powers to move Applejack towards her and Rainbow Dash. As Chief and the Shogun kept fighting, the girls began to think of a plan. "We almost died back there, she's so quick!" Claimed Rainbow Dash, Twilight then replied. "Well, if she's the incarnation of thunder, I wouldn't expect lesser than that."

"How are we goin' to defeat her, then? We can't rely on Chief, wait, where's Sunlight?" Asked Applejack with a concerned expression, she then saw how from a distant rock, Sunlight began to stand up, she seemed pretty wounded, although the battle is just starting. She seems to be struggling to stand up, she tried using her powers to boost her physical powers, but the seals aren't helping. "Ah well... we're gonna die if we lose." Sunlight then grabbed one of the seals and ripped it off her necklace, she felt how the dark magic began to flow through her body.

With a quick dash, she approached the girls and said. "We can't waste any more time, c'mon!" Sunlight then dashed towards the Shogun, only to see her quickly overwhelming Chief and slashing the back of his armor, and with a lightning strike knocked him down dropping his blades in front of him. "Foolish mortal. Know your place!" Said the Shogun as she raised her spear to finish him down, but after hearing this, something snapped inside John, his pride won't allow him to let such an insult slide. He quickly grabbed one of his blades and clashed against the Shogun.

"Don't underestimate humans!" The Shogun seemed expressionless, but inside she was slightly surprised, not many humans have been able to stop an attack from her with one arm. But her thoughts seemed interrupted by an approaching punch from Sunlight, but the Shogun blocked it easily, although the knockback pushed her away. As she raised her sight, Rainbow Dash comes from above aiming to land a spinning kick, but the Shogun blocked it, she then suddenly felt slower, and noticed Twilight aiming her hands to her, as she's casting something upon her. This pressure made it so that she couldn't block the incoming uppercut from Applejack, that pushed her back even more and made her groan a bit from pain.

As they all group up, Twilight said to Chief. "This will be far from difficult, right?" Chief stands up and activates the runes of his blades as he says. "Yeah, but one thing's for sure, we won't lose. So let's go all out."

As both sides charged against each other, Twilight recalls their strategy in her mind. "Chief's the vanguard, Rainbow Dash the flanker, Applejack the defender and I'm the support. Just as Dash said, we're in a video game, you can do this, Twilight!" As she said, Chief was the first to clash his weapons against the Archon, her speed is too much for the Spartan, as they trade blows, Chief was pushed back with a single move of her spear, still, he hasn't landed a single blow against her.

Ranbow Dash comes in with a flurry of kicks, but each one of them were blocked swiftly by the Shogun, she then tried to slashed Rainbow but she managed to dodge it by mere luck with her powers, she only sees how the blade slowly passes right in front of her. The Shogun tried to strike again but a stone wall stopped her attack, leaving room for Chief to charge again against her. As they were trading blows again, Chief had to use his breathing techniques to at least match her speed, but in the blink of an eye, he already was cut in the chest by the Shogun's spear and as his blood blocked his sight, the Shogun raised her spear to swing it down.

Sunlight charged forward blocking the spear, with her bracers, she began to trade blows against the Shogun, who seems slightly surprised someone fights a spear with bare fists. With an uppercut, she pushed the Archon back and Sunlight along with Chief continued their attack, leaving the rest behind. But they can't land a blow on her, with a powerful lightning, she pushed both back and targeted Chief, who was about to be cut into half until Cortana took over his body and jumped over the slashing spear. Surprising the Shogun and leaving enough room for Sunlight and Applejack to land a blow together, leaving barely a scratch on her clothes.

Twilight then uses her powers to keep the Shogun in place, as she tries to fight the small gravity field around her, Sunlight and Rainbow Dash pushed forward, trying to land another blow, but with an electric pulse, the Shogun broke free and swung her spear, striking both girls, but before she can swing her spear down, Applejack used her gloves to stop the spear and used her vision to engulf the tip of the spear with stone, unabling the Shogun from getting away.

"Sorry ma'am! But we really want to go home, you ain't winnin' this fight."Said Applejack as she was holding the Shogun down, who only replies. "You're a threat to Eternity now, I shall eliminate you in this fight." With a kick, she managed to push Applejack away, but lost her spear in the process, as the girls regroup, Chief seems to be struggling with his wounds.

"How did she cut so easily through my armor?" Said Chief as he tries to think of how to counter the Shogun's attacks, but Cortana replied through the team's comms. "Guys, try fighting her a bit more, I'm downloading her technique, just as Flash's fighting style, hers uses combat forms already established, if I can download at least 60% of it, then we might have a chance."

Chief stands up and grabs his blades as he breaths heavily and says. "Noted." As now Axios and Sunlight grouped up, they stand with caution as the Shogun hasn't moved to claim her weapon, which lies on the ground next to Applejack, with a calmed voice, she said. "It seems you've gone far from my expectations, but I'm afraid this fight ends now."

As the Shogun draws out her blade, Axios and Sunlight see how the Archon is fully determined to kill them, with a concerned voice, Cortana said through their comms. "Guys, forget everything I just said, we're starting from scratch again. She's totally different now... like... she's a living electric circuit."

The girls widen her eyes in the presence of the Shogun, and with pessimism, Sunlight said. "Ah GREAT! Now how the fuck we fight THAT?!!"

Chief then stands forth and says. "We gotta improvise until we come up with a plan. Twilight, we're counting on you!" As he takes position, the rest of the team are in formation around Twilight, with a serious voice, Chief says. "Sunlight, you and I are the fighters, Dash! Avoid as much damage as possible while attacking, Applejack! Cut the Shogun's path whenever she uses our blind spots! Get ready team!" Once Chief is done, the Shogun's expression changed to a more expressive one. She charges forward clashing her blade with Chief's cleavers, as both look at their faces, she says.

"You're the strongest, aren't you?" With swift moves, she manages to break Chief's stance and aims to slash him on half, but Chief managed to block the hit with his blade, but the knockback thrusted him away and rolled over the ground. Then, she began to fight the girls, Sunlight engaged first and although she was barely managing to block the Shogun's attacks, it wasn't enough to avoid a slash on her back from the deity.

As she falls on her knees due to her wound, Sunlight sees how the Rainbooms fight the Archon, Rainbow Dash rushes forward and thanks to her powers, she's able to dodge the Shogun's attack while landing some quick but weak hits. As Applejack tries to back up Dash, the Shogun was about to summon a thunder slash with her blade, but she was stopped midair. "(That purple girl, again. She's becoming quite annoying.)" Said the Shogun to herself as she uses her unrestrained arm and moves it in swiping motion, which summoned an electric slash that cut through space and hit Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the same time.

The Shogun charged against Twilight and was about to cut her down, but the Shogun was stopped by field around Twilight's arms, she seems to be struggling, but it's strong enough to push the Shogun back. It was enough time for Sunlight to come in and began to trade blows against the Shogun, as she blocks every single attack, she asks her. "You seem to know how to fight against swordsmen, but you let your emotions drive you away easily." Said the Shogun as she used the pommel of her blade to bring her down to the ground with one hit, though the Shogun seems weak, her raw physical strength is above the average. She was about to pierce Sunlight's chest, but Rainbow Dash came in and rescued her while Applejack come from above thanks to Twilight, the Shogun blocked the hit easily and then asked. "Why save her? If you were even an inch late, your friend with rainbow hair would've died alongside the other girl."

"Well, you just said it, that's what friends are for, don't ye'think?" Replied Applejack as she tried to land a blow, but each one is unsuccessful. As Chief tries to stand up, he asks Cortana. "Why am I getting so easily beaten?" As he musters enough strength to get up, Cortana replied. "Well, she attacks with electricity with huge voltage, so she overloads your kinetic shield easily and since that blade holds an big amount of energy within, it produces enough hit to cut through your Mjolnir."

Chief then breathes heavily as he looks at his bleeding wound and then looks at the Rainbooms fighting the Archon. "Dammit." Said Chief as he charged forward and joined the fight, as now everyone joins the fight and try to overwhelm the Shogun, she moved her blade quickly, slashing everyone while dealing electrical damage to everyone. As Chief is the only one standing, he tries to catch up his breath while muster strength to get up, he raises his sight and sees the Shogun, who says. "You're heavily wounded. You'd end up diying from your wounds and that would be dishonorable..." She raises her blade and prepares to finish Chief, who couldn't raise his blade in opposition, but Cortana took over his body and tried to block the direct hit from the Musuo No Hitotachi, blocking the main slash that pushed Chief backwards but not the simultaneous hit of six lightning bolts that followed the attack. This attack sent Chief flying towards a mountain, leaving him at the edge of death, bleeding from his multiple wounds while the damage of all the lightning strikes runs through his body.

"...At least, you died in battle, strong warrior." Said the Shogun as she swung her blade downwards, indicating her victory upon the Spartan, she then looks at the Rainbooms and says with a serious expression. "You'll meet him too soon enough." Sunlight was the first one to stand and she quickly says. "Twilight! Find a way to beat her, I'll buy you as much time as I can." She then rips off another seal, leaving only half of them wrapped around her necklace.

"Wait! We're coming with you!" Said Applejack as she and Dash stood up and prepared to fight. As the trio charged forward despite their wounds, Twilight stayed behind and began to think of a way o winning. "(What can we do? I heard Cortana saying something about the Shogun being now a living circuit. Wait...)" Twilight stares directly at the Shogun as she analyzes her movements and abilities, whenever she dashes she becomes lightning. "(That pink-haired lady told us she's the incarnation of thunder, so no biolectrical process are involved. But if the Shogun IS thunder, then all that electricity must flow through her body, as a nervous system, which means that if we manage to alter the flow of her electricity, she might lose balance and give us an opening. But how can we alter it?)" Twilight then looks around to find an idea and ends looking at her coils.

"(That's it! If I can ionize the air and create a shock wave, I can recoil her electrons with the Compton Effect. She won't be stunned since she's a living being, but it'll gives us a great opening for us to strike. Yes! I have to create an EMP, now!)" Twilight then realizes she's unable to create an explosion without absorbing energy first, which means she'd have to get involved in the fight. As the trio of girls keeps the fight, they're slightly getting wounded as the fight goes on, and as the Shogun keeps the three of them at bay, she sees Twilight approaching from the back, with a quick move she took the girls off her and attacked Twilight with a rush of flying electric slashes.

Twilight stops running and focuses her powers to create a small Black Hole that absorbs the lightning strikes, the energy accumulated runs through the circuit of her suit, being a risky gamble, she exposes the core of her main coil, which emits high levels of uncontrolled magic, which in science terms means high levels of gamma rays. "What the...?!" Asked the Shogun after witnessing this move. Twilight has to act quickly, she puts her coils together and after accelerating them, she emits her desired shockwave and with her core exposed, she ionizes the air wave, affecting everyone excepting Sunlight.

As the Rainboom's suits briefly turned off, the Shogun seemed to be the most affected. She had to step back due to the shockwave, Twilight then closed the core of her coils, if it was still opened for any longer, it would've caused severe damage to her friends and herself. But it seems it worked, the Shogun seems confused, her mind is dizzy, she feels her body numb, something's off, but before she can understand what happened, Sunlight came in and knocked her into the air with an uppercut, followed then by a jump and a spinning kick that sent the Shogun flying away.

"Twilight! That was AWESOME!" Shouted Rainbow Dash with a smile after witnessing her friend's strategy. "Wow! What was that, Twilight?" Asked Applejack as she picks her hat from the ground, it seems slightly torned off, but it's not anything she can't fix. "It was an EMP, since she's lightning, it's meant to recoil the electrons running through her body and wreak havoc within her to give us a chance to fight." Said Twilight as she gathered up with her friends. Rainbow Dash then replied with a question. "So... you just nerfed her, right?" Sunlight then replies with a smile. "Yeah, something like that, but Twilight. How long would last its effects?"

"I don't know, so we better hurry beating her down." Said Twilight with a serious voice as now she and her friends prepare to take the ofensive. but from the dust cloud raised by the Shogun's impact, she struggles to get up as she asks to herself. "(What did they do?! That wretched girl, I won't let them take the advantage!)" Although she's still feeling dizzy, she charges forward, but her speed, is much less intimidating. Applejack blocked the incoming hit with a Geo shield, followed by Dash and Sunlight, who punched the Shogun in the face while Dash used a sliding kick that combined, brought the Shogun down again.

Their attacks are beginning to have some effect, but the Shogun grabbed her blade and was about to slash the two of them, but Twilight jumped into the air thanks to Applejack's help, she uses her coils and creates an electromagnetic field around her fist, that when clashed with the Shogun's slash, made both attacks stop each other, as both of them pushed their attack, Twilight had the upper hand since she increased the output of her magnetic field, which broke through the Shogun's guard and punched her hard enough to pushing her back through the soil, leaving a huge trace behind.

With a surprised look, Starkiller witnessed the events and couldn't help but say. "Those bastards, they actually pulled it off." As the Shogun struggles and fails to stands up, using her blade as a cane, the scratches all around her body and for the first time in years, she feels exhausted, but the knows that she hasn't reached her limit, that'd be impossible, it has to be with that EMP Twilight did moments ago.

As now the four girls are welcomed with a glance of winning, Sunlight step forth as she said. "You've lost, Raiden Shogun." As the deity can't fathom the fact of being defeated by mere mortals, a looming wave of thoughts flooded her mind, the people she cherished and lost, and the dream she's willing to uphold to honor her late sister.

"(If I lose here, what would be the meaning of everything I've done so far? How can an Archon rule a nation if it can't even protect its ideals...)" Thought the Shogun as she clenched her teeth, such event can't be allowed to happen, as a single tear runs down her cheek, she shouts with a grieving voice.

"I REFUSE IT!!!!" The Shogun stood up and cleared the path with a shockwave of pure power as lightning begins to flow through her and spreads around her body creating an ominous aura regardless of her condition, her will exerts a tremendous pression upon the Rainbooms. With her blade in hand, she dashes at an extreme speed, passing through the girl's formation and slashing Twilight's chest without her noticing, breaking her main coil and her visor, as the blood coming out of her shocks Twilight as she falls to the ground, the rest of the girls can't stop to help her, before the Shogun recovers from the EMP, they have to attack.

"John, you have to stand up!" Said Cortana to Chief, who was still lying on the ground, he struggles a lot to get up but he fails as he spits blood from his mouth, as he falls agains, he says. "I won't make it in time, even if *cough* I do get up *coughs blood*, I'll be a burden." Chief then looks up and sees how the Shogun and the girls are still fighting, her overwhelming strength is capable of knocking down the girls easily. First, she was able to cut through Applejack's Geo shield, and with a thrust of her blade, she was able to pierce through her armor while making a wound on her belly and sent her flying away, crashing against a rock. With her hand, she summoned a barrage of lightnings that obstructed Dash's path, leaving room for the Shogun to slash Rainbow Dash, who thanks to her powers, she was able to threw a powered kick to cancel the attack, but it wasn't enough to block the Shogun's wrath, which sent Rainbow Dash rolling away and crashing against a tree that ends up breaking and falls over her.

Being Sunlight the last one standing, she reluctantly takes off another seal, which boosts her current powers, but she restrains from using any other power in order to not overuse her dark magic and be consumed by it while going berserk. "I'm not going down without taking you with me!" The Shogun looks at her with a piercing gaze just as lightning, and says. "You will fail, pathetically." After this, both began to trade attacks.

"I... have... to do... something!" Said Chief while struggling to get get, as this words sound in his mind. "(I won't lose, not against a god... I refuse that truth... I will show her... THE TRUE POWER OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT!!)" As his conviction becomes more powerful, Chief falls again, he sees all the cruelty the people of his universe experienced, invasions, the memories of innocent people dying and using their last moments to pray for a savior just before dying in gruesome ways. Chief's anger towards the divinity its something few understand, but the fact that he's about to lose against a deity makes his blood boil, suddenly, he begins to feel heat coming from his left hand, Chief looks at it and sees a strange object, similar to Applejack's but with a big difference.

While Chief contemplates the new Pyro Vision on his hand, on his other hand where he's grabbing his blade, the edge turns ablaze, suddenly, an idea came to Chief's mind, he first lies on his back and looks at the blazing edge of his cleaver. "Cortana, there's only one way to this, prepare the adrenaline shots."

Cortana, who seems to be getting the hang of Chief's plan, asks. "How many?" Before he begins to cauterize his wounds, Chief replies. "All of them." Chief then begins to cauterize his chest wound, groaning of pain but determined to do it, since it's the least he can do to join the fight again.

But back again in the fight, the Shogun tried to slash Sunlight, but she was able to block the damage with her bracers, though the knockback sent her flying away. As the Shogun contemplates the sight, she tries to calm herself down, but she sees someone standing up again, it's Twilight.

Her bun breaks and her hair comes loose, though her visor broke and therefore she's struggling to see, for some reason, her eyes accustomed quickly and began to see clearly, she tries to catch her breath while thinking of how to deal with her open wound. "You dare to stand again? You're quite a nuisance." Said the Shogun slightly angered, but Twilight seems to be struggling with her own thoughts.

"(Everyone's down, what can I do? Firstly, can I actually do something? No! Don't think like that Twilight! We have to do this, someone else will stand up later, I only have to endure long enough. If I charge the coils of my fists, I can create a field around them that will protect me, and since she's lightning, I'd have the same effects of the EMP but much lesser.)" The Shogun seems confused as how Twilight didn't answer her, with insistency, she asked. "Why did you stand up again, brat?!" Twilight then looks at the Archon, right now, there's no room for fear or doubt, with determination, she says.

"Bring it on already." Twilight then charged her coils and created an electromagnetic field around her, the Shogun then dashed forward, aiming to slash her into half, but her attack was stopped by Twilight's field, only for the daring scientist to use one hand to stop the attack while she punched the Archon with her other fist, which made the Shogun step back a bit. "Insolence!" Said the Shogun after taking the hit, but Twilight used her coil and created a gravitational field that pulled the Shogun back at her, she can't understand how this is happening, before she can cut anything, she received another punch that sent her flying away.

"(That's science for you, Shogun)" Said Twilight after succesfully landing those hits, after this, the Shogun felt somewhat enraged, how can she be defeated by a Visionless mortal, she dashes forward and Twilight tries the same trick, but this time, the Shogun summons her spear and blocks the hit, with ferocity, she tries to hit Twilight, who can only block using her Super Tesla Coils, after an electric shockwave caused by the Shogun, Twilight was ssent flying against a stone, the Shogun then tried stab her in the heart, but Twilight uses her coils and stops the Shogun.

Twilight screams with effort as she's pushing back the Archon, who's groaning while trying to stab the scientist, both struggle, but Twilight seems to be the first one to give in, she tries to push herself even more, but it appears it isn't enough, her arms are getting tired, but when everything seem lost, a thunderclap was heard nearby and from the rubble, Rainbow Dash emerges with her wings, but her suit also looks different, the first word that came to Twilight's mind was, speed.

Leveraging of the shock of the Shogun and Twilight, Rainbow Dash charged forward, seemingly using the air to change her course, it appear to be as if she was following a lightning's path, in a quick moment, she was able to kick the Shogun's face and sent her away, as Rainbow slides on the soil due to the extreme speed, she remembers what Tesla told her when she got her suit.

"So, it basically makes me faster?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she holds the suitcase that contains her suit, Tesla then seems to be arranging some weird papers, one of them falls off his desk, Dash crouches and picks it up and before handing it back to Tesla, she could read only the title. "Entropy Effect" Tesla then took the papers and put them on a safe within his laboratory, with a calm voice, he then replies. "Not exactly, little one. You see, your suit only uses the energy you produce when running to boost itself, so technically, as long as you move, you'll charge up your suit."

Rainbow Dash seems thrilled by this, but before she can do anything else, she asks. "What if I reach its limit? I mean, you say I can charge it up, but I suppose it has a limit like cellphones, laptops or anything with a battery, right?" Tesla was erasing some formulas from his chalkboard, he chuckles and turns around, replying to Rainbow Dash. "That's the neat part, when you unleash a punch or a kick, the suit inherently uses the storaged energy to boost those attacks, but if you reach the storage limit, you'll enter the Celeritas mode."

"The... what now?" Asked Rainbow Dash, Tesla then began to draw on his chalkboard while explaining. "As soons as you fill the suit's tank, you force the suit to enter Celeritas mode, which begins to boost all of your physical capabilities for 4 minutes, reaching an accelaration near light-speed, though to activate that mode, you don't necessarily have to reach the storage limit of your suit, you only have to take off the back plate of your left bracer to activate that mode. But be aware that the 4 minute duration lasts only when the storage is at maximum, any lesser than that and you'll last less time in that mode."

Now in the present, Rainbow Dash says to herself. "(I had to activate it sooner, Twilight would've died otherwise, we can win, we only have to keep pushing!)" Dash then unleashed a powerful thrusting kick that hit the Shogun, as both are now leaving a trace of rubble followed by blue and purple lightnings. "I'm getting tired of you!!" Said the Shogun as she swept her blade and got Rainbow Dash off her, she then raised her blade vertically and was about to slash everything in front of her, but Applejack came in flying forward and clashing her fist with the Shogun's blade.

Many things are going on and the Shogun is feeling slightly overwhelmed, Sunlight then approached an injured Twilight and said. "Try not to push yourself much, your wound might get worse than it already is." Said Sunlight as she helped Twilight stay on her feet. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are fighting now the Shogun, landing a few hits and making her even angrier. "(I'm losing! How can it be?! It's that girl, that purple girl... I have to take her down first!!!)" Thought the Shogun before unleashing a barrage of lightnings that pushed the girls away, she then dashed forward only to be stopped by Sunlight.

"I won't let you get to her!" Said Sunlight as now she and the Archon began to trade attacks, they seem to be barely matched, but the Shogun's blade quickly overpowered Sunlight. "Out of the way!" Shouted the Shogun as she struck the ground with her blade, causing a shockwave that brought them down. As Twilight tries to get up, but the incoming violet edge of the Shogun's blade gets closer and closer.

In a desperate moment, red lightnings followed by a blazing cleaver came in, blocking the Shogun's attack abruptly. Without anyone believing it, Chief has arrived, revealing a weird appereance, a blue eye, indicating Cortana using Chief's body, and a red eye, indicating Chief using the power of his blades at maximum. The perfect teamwork, Cortana predicts the Shogun's moves and prepares Chief to counter them, while he pours in the strength and movement of his body.

Before the Shogun can do anything else, Chief attacks with his blazing cleaver, but it was blocked by the Archon, however, the clash between Pyro and Electro created and explosion that sent the Shogun away while slightly damaging her. As she lands again, she questions herself. "How?! He's supposed to be dead! And he's wielding a Vision?!!"

With a smile, Twilight asked aloud. "John?! How are you...?!" She's then interrupted by the Euphoric Spartan, who claimed with a smile.

"Armies have tried to killed me and failed, victory will be OURS!!!" Chief then charges forward with an extreme speed. "Just DIE ALREADY!!" Shouted the Shogun with frustation as she unleashed a barrage of flying slashes, but Cortana indicated him in which order to cut them, leaving explosions in his path. With ease, Chief broke through the Shogun's attack, while shouting. "IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE, RAIDEN SHOGUN?!!" This left the deity surprised and from the dust cloud, comes Chief aiming to slash the Archon, but she blocked the hit while also being sent flying away by the explosion.

"(He slashed through my attack! What kind of tricks is he using?! And then he dares to insult me?! I won't lose to a mere mortal like him.)" With frustation, the Shogun shouted. "DON'T GET TOO COCKY!!" She then dashes forward extremely fast to unleash a slash from the Musuo no Hitotachi, but Chief was able to parry it in time.

A huge explosion occurred and both warriors are parrying each others' attacks, leaving a trace of explosions, the Shogun pushed Chief away with a heavy slash that he blocked, only to be followed by a wall of thunder slashes, but just like before, Chief parried them all and thrusted forward with ferocity, clashing his cleavers with the Shogun's blade while both are thrusted towards a row of stones, destroying them one by one. Surrounded by fire, both warriors prepare unleash eveything they have.

Intense shouts come from the warriors' throats becoming each time more intense along with the sound of clashing metal, both want to kill the other, creating a chaos of fire, purple and red lightnings.

A huge explosion is then left by the two of them, while they're still clashing while moving from one point to another, as the girls try to reach them, Applejack says. "Has Chief passed the Shogun's strength?!" Everyone seems to share this though, but Sunlight then brings them to reality. "He matches her strength, but it won't be for long, adrenaline might rune out sooner or later, come! We have to be ready to finish her!" On the other side, Chief and the Shogun stopped moving and clashed their weapons again. With a thrust, Chief slashed the Shogun's cheek, but she tried to cut his arm, which only resulted in Chief losing two fingers and the chain of his cleavers broken. The Shogun aims for his heart, but Chief stops the attack by letting it pierce through his other palm.

"JOHN!!" Shouted the girls at unison, but Chief shouted. "DON'T YOU DARE TO STOP, PUUUUSH!!!" With his remaining strength, he uses his elbow to hit the Shogun hard enough to sent her flying away, Chief sees his wounded arm that turned to black steel for a moment before falling to the ground. Leaving it now, on the Rainbooms hands.

"AJ! Twilight! Stay with John!" Shouted Sunlight as she trade a few blows with the Shogun, as she prepares her most powerful attack and launches it, the Shogun blocked it with her blade. "You won't be able to pierce my defenses like him!" Shouted the Shogun as she holds Sunlight down.

"(It's now or never Sunlight, you have to use everything you have now! I need to summon more strength, I'LL USE ALL OF IT!!)" The darkness marks now appeared on Sunlight's eyes as she shouts with anger, making her push stronger and making the Shogun step back, but it's not enough to break her defense.

"(Dammit! She's now stronger, but I can feel my strength returning, I won't let any of you win! Here's where you LOSE!)" Said the Shogun in her mind as she raised an Electro barrier that slowly pushes away Sunlight. But the sound of incoming thunderclaps alerted the Shogun and with her other hand, she fortified the barrier, at the same moment, she stopped Rainbow Dash who was using all her remaining energy to break through the barrier. "Just break, you stupid barrier!!" Said Rainbow as she sees how her attack barely has an effect.

"I will END YOU!!" Said the Shogun as she used her hand to summon lightning, but her attack changed its course and went away, shocking the Shogun. "My attack!" She then looked at the direction of her lightnings and saw Twilight, absorbing every lightning and charging up her coils while holding up one of Chief's cleavers.

"You again?!! Why don't you get out of the way, mortal?!!" Asked the Shogun as she struggle to hold down Sunlight and Applejack, after absorbing all of the attack, Twilight smiles and with confidence says. "Everyone is pushing themselves, I'd feel bad if I don't do the same. I may not be as strong as them, but I have the strongest power of humanity... THE POWER OF SCIENCE!!" Twilight then used some of the energy absorbed to punch the Electro barrier, breaking it and forcing the Shogun to use both her blade and weapon to stop Sunligh and Dash. W

With her other hand, she thrusted forward and stabbed the Shogun with Chief's cleaver while inducing it with her electric current, destabilizing the Shogun. "(This is not good, I'm losing strength!)" Thought the Shogun after spitting blood, followed by the last push of the Rainbooms, the three of them go beyond their limit while as they shout of effort, with their combined strength, they finally broke the Shogun's defense, crushing her with the power of this combined attack and creating a massive energy explosion, resulting, in what seems to be, Axios' victory.

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter 29: Abnormalities

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 30: Approaching Land.

After the previous events, the reason behind the sudden abnormal glow and the vision Twilight and her friends had while on their mission is now revealed, but returning to Axios' mission, we find the team sailing the seas on a familiar ship. The Alcor, which is heading towards the port of Liyue, a beautiful sky and the vast of the sea can only be accompanied by a cheerful melody, which can be heard across the wide empty sea.

The whole crew seems to be singing with joy, followed by The Rainbooms, Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash seem to have a fun time singing, as the main performer is Sunlight playing the piano, all their wounds seemed to have healed and the seals around her necklace were replenished. Whilst everyone is having a good time upstairs, that melody reach the ears of an unconscious Spartan, those lyrics woke up an old memory that came to his mind, making him finally come to himself and get up from bed, Cortana then tells him.

"You're finally awake! It's been a whole day, your injuries were quite worse than we thought." John looks at her companion and asks with confusion. "W-Where are we?" Cortana then replies with a calmed voice. "In the Alcor, remember? The ship that brought us here? Well, the Shogunate hired them to return us to Liyue, since it's the closest city and they're the only crew capable of sailing through Inazuman waters."

John then nods with agreement, he sees the Pyro Vision next to his pillow, with uncertainty, he takes it and attaches it to his belt. He then follows the sound of the melody and reaches the door that leads to deck, the rays of light annoy his eyes only for a brief moment, before he can see what's happening, he mumbled. "R-Roger...?" His eyes finally adapted to the light and saw the full scene, everyone partying and singing at the top of their lungs. John seems a bit surprised, but everyone seems to ignore his presence, except for one person.

"Yer finally on your feet, sleepyhead?" Asked Beidou, like him, she seems to be watching the scene from the distance, but her face can't hide the joy of seeing the whole crew having fun. Ignoring the question, John asked her. "Where did you learn that melody?" Beidou crosses her arms and replies with a happy face. "Bink's Brew? Every pirate knows it, it's an ancient tradition, nobody knows where it comes from, but everyone agrees that a good pirate must know."

John moves her eyes towards the girls, they seem to have fun, he feels it'll be cruel to spoil the moment, so he just gives a hint of a smile as nostalgia floods his mind. But his thoughts are quickly cut by the fact that all of them are singing the same song, with curiosity, Chief asks. "How did they learn that song in the first place?" Beidou walks forward and stands next to him as she says. "I don't know, when we planned on singing, they wanted to join us, but when they heard the name of the song, they went inside and returned with the whole song memorized, crazy, don't cha think?"

John connects the dots, it had to be Cortana, but it's still odd that a song can exist in other universes. As Chief looks at the cheerful crowd, he looks at Beidou, who seems to be sharing that same excitement as her crew, she follows the rhythm by tapping with the sole of her boot, but for some reason, she chooses to remain at the distance. With curiosity, Chief asks. "Why don't you join them, Captain?" Beidou crosses her arms as she replies with a smile.

"As a Captain, one must be always vigilant, specially when the crew is so full of joy. But that doesn't mean I don't share their excitement..." She then moves her hand towards her waist and brings up a canteen, she opens the bottle and the smell of rum gets to Chief's nose, as Beidou takes a good sip, she cleans the liqueur off her mouth as she exhales with relief and asks. "Y'know, not long ago, the girl with freckles had to throw up, HAHA! But fortunately, we had some nausea medication, and the other three seemed somehow inexperienced about how turbulent a pirate ship is, they fell on their knees many times, but they finally managed to stand firmly, it was fun while it lasted, though."

Chief only smirks and says. "Well, they're young, and have a lot to learn, a trip on a pirate ship would be a fine addition to their anecdotes, am I right?" Beidou seems to agree with that, she then hangs the canteen back on her waist and asks. "But you seem to be doing pretty well, the Alcor is quite the rough ship, y'know? Have you ever been on a pirate ship before?" Said Beidou as she looks at the calm Spartan, who changes his face with a nostalgic expression and a smile as the song comes to an end, but he looks at the distance as he says. "To keep it simple, yes, I have."

As he said that, Beidou began to reach for his crew, leaving Chief alone, not before saying. "Well, there are still some hours left to arrive at Liyue, so feel free to hang out with the crew, everyone must be excited of seeing a bunch of new faces." After saying that, Beidou left, Chief then wanted to meet the girls, so he walks forward and upon them noticing him, the four of them said aloud. "JOHN!!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first ones to hug him, followed by Twilight and Sunlight at last. Resulting in a bulge of four people wrapped around the Spartan, who only managed to say. "K...Kids... it... hurts." After that, the four of them released him, Twilight then said with shame. "S-Sorry, we forgot your wounds haven't completely healed." Chief grabs gently the wound of his chest, as he recovers from it, Applejack says. "We were worried about ya', since everyone woke up after a few hours, but you were the only one still knocked out, but later a medic came into the room and said that it's expected since you were the one who took the most of the wounds."

John then remembers everything that happened back in the fight, he then looks at girls and said. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm more worried about you, are your wounds hurting? Sunlight, are you feeling anything weird?" Sunlight only looks at him with a friendly grin and replies. "Nope, Lady Yae visited us while recovering and replenished the seals around my necklace, right now, I'm protected from the influence of Kylo or anyone else. As long as I have these seals, of course." Chief then sighs of relief, that's one problem solved, but the other one remains. "Where's Starkiller?" Asked Chief with a serious expression, but when he expected an answer from the girls, he got it from Captain Beidou. "The creepy guy? He was handed to us with some sort of special handcuffs, and we were told not to remove them, right now, he's been held captive in the lowest part of the ship, where the jails are. One thing's for sure, he won't be leaving this ship on his own."

After this, Chief seemed even more relaxed, everything is going smoothly, but that's no reason to let his guard down, after all, nobody might know what will happen. In his mind, he began to scheme the current situation, once they arrive at Liyue, it's imperative to take Starkiller to a seperate place and then, contact the Eternity to open a portal and take them there, where he can be interrogated. Though the thought of keeping him alive goes against his wishes, but orders are orders. After that brief moment, a crew member asked them. "Oi, travelers! C'mere, it's story hour!" Sunlight was the first one to head towards the currently forming circle on the deck, taking boxes, crates, barrels, or anything suitable for sitting. Followed by the rest of the girls and Chief at last, Twilight asked as soon as she took a bucket and sat next to Applejack. "Story hour?..." After that, a female crewmate replied. "Yeah, since the waters are calm, only the Helmsman, surveillance, and Captain Beidou are busy, the rest of the crew gathers, and we raffle turns and the one who gets chosen, must come up with a good story to share."

"And what about those who are busy?" Asked Applejack to the crewmate, who replied. "Don't you worry, sweetheart, they have good ears, specially Captain Beidou." Rainbow Dash then asks. "And how do you make the raffle? Is there some papers where we write our names or something?" Asked the Rainbow-haired girl as she scratches her head, but a robust crewmate came in and placed a bottle in the middle of the small of crate that lied in the center of the circle, with a proud voice, he says. "We don't make any of those fancy things, young one... we use the classic, one of us spins the bottle and the one whom the bottle mouth points, gets to tell the story, easy, right?"

Rainbow Dash then gets excited and says with cheer. "Then what are we waiting? Let's do this!" After this, in her proactivity, she made the bottle spin, catching everyone off guard, but no one complained, as the bottle spins, some are mumbling their desire not to be the one chosen, others seem to be craving to be chosen. But as the bottle slows down, the result seems nigh, when the bottle finally stops, it's pointing towards Master Chief, who only widens his eyes, but Rainbow Dash felt that he might now want to be selected, so with a bit of shame, she said. "S-sorry, I got ahead of everyone, if you want I can spin it again." But the crewmate that placed the bottle said. "Nah, don't apologize, kiddo, we had already explained the rules, so it's up to him to tell the story." After that, everyone looked at Chief, others with craving eyes for what he had to tell, others with doubt, and the girls were looking at him with uncertainty, since nobody would know what he'd tell.

Chief seemed more than open to share a story, after all, that's something he'd never run out of, with a gentle smile, he leans forward and says. "Well, I have a good one, about how I met a peculiar group of pirates..." John then looks at the bottle, there's still some rum in it, as he sees how the rum waves from one side to another, he says with a serious but calmed voice. "It all happened a long time ago, it was on an island far far away from here, beyond the sight of even the bravest of sailers. This island, known for being special, as if it was a miracle, the island had an abundant amount of natural resources, animals, plants, minerals, you name it... such a paradise island was bestowed with a singular name..." It seemed that Chief enjoys telling stories, adding drama in such a way wasn't expected from someone like him, but it seems intriguing, with a serious voice, he said.

"What I am going to tell you, is what happened back in the land known as God Valley."

"It was meant to be a simple mission, actually, it was part of the first missions we had when we began travelling, but the three of us didn't know what we were about to experience..."

Though that story is indeed interesting, there is something much more important happening, during the temporal displacement, Equestria and its counterpart were disconnected, in both technological and magical ways, there was no way of learning what was happening back in Equestria, resulting, in the perfect smoke screen for a certain somebody. But luckily for now, it seams there's nothing disturbing this peaceful night at Canterlot and Ponyville.

After the defeat of the Knights of Order, Equestria began its restoration and Twilight's kingdom is now on its peak, but her former apprentice, who currently is making new plans to teach the young ones at the Magical School of Friendship.

"Ahh... well done Starlight! I hope these new academic plans work, I've spent quite the time planning them..." Said Starlight to herself as she orders her scrolls around her office, as she finishes ordering the last scroll, she can't help but to yawn from exhaustion. "Oh! It's already that late? Hehehe... time to sleep!" After realizing that and reacting suspisciously, Starlight heads to the Castle of Friendship, once arriving, she heads to her bedroom with a smile on her face. It didn't take her long to get into bed and after a few minutes, she was able to enter a deep sleep.

As she begins dreaming, she finds herself outside a cabin.

After realizing she's where she wanted to be, she heads to the door and opens it, revealing a comfy living room, a set of armchairs, but those are different, one ressembles those in her office, and the other one, seems to be suitable for... human, use. After a short while, a calmed male voice said.

"Oh... you're back, how was your day, Starlight?" Asked Kylo Ren with a serious expression, as if he's being overwhelmed by some thoughts, Starlight approaches as she says. "It was great! Being the headmare of the School of Friendship is complicated, but fortunately, there are great ponies helping me out when I need it." Starlight then sits and a cup of coffe comes floating towards her, she then uses her magic to hold it, but before even drinking, she asks Kylo. "Are you alright, Ben?"

Kylo then looks at Starlight with a friendly smile as he says. "Yeah... it's just... I think that my partner got captured, I haven't been able to contact him for quite a while." Starlight then changed her expression with concern, with doubt, she asked. "Oh... probably, I should give you some space then..." Said Starlight before starting to move slowly backwards, but Kylo replied with a gentle voice. "Please... don't worry, he'd be fine, after all, it was expected something like this would happen. Our chasers have gotten more and more stubborn lately. I'd only wait for him to contact me back, so... what do you think if we continue with one of our lessons?" Asked Kylo with a smile, one that makes someone believe in his words, but for those who know him, could tell not to trust 90% of the words he said.

The lessons he mentions are the conversations they've had since Kylo stablished contact with Starlight through the dream realm, first, Kylo could only manifest himself as a voice or a dark mist. But as time went on, and the Displace happened, Kylo has been learning how to dominate his ethereal form and manifests his consciousness into the realm where Starlight got to when she began dreaming, Kylo teaches her about the Multiverse, and the curious pony teaches him about her world.

Starlight seemed slightly excited, with curiosity, she asked. "Well... if you insist, what's next on the list?" Kylo gets up from the couch and asks calmly. "What have been our lessons until now?" Starlight sits as she begins to say aloud. "Hmmm... first, the existence of the Multiverse, then, we talked about the Equestria being at the center of everything. You then taught me how Equestrian magic is extremely unstable, creating... anomalies, yeah, anomalies. After that, we discussed how magic works in our universes, and from that point, we've only talked about normal stuff."

Kylo then walks towards a kitchen, created with the knowledge Kylo has and some ideas Starlight added to his design, and brews some tea to serve.

"You seem to have payed attention, this lesson in particular, will be the most important, the true reason we're talking in the first place..." As Starlight heard those words, she remembered the first thing Kylo said to her time ago. With surprise she asked back. "Wait, NOW you're going to tell me why my world is in danger?! Why not telling me before?!" Kylo then looked at her as he places the kettle on the stove, he widens his eyes and replies with calm. "Hey, calm down. I couldn't tell you any sooner if you weren't even able to comprehend most of the things that are at stake. Don't blame me, blame them."

As the water begins to boil, Kylo snaps his fingers and bunch of crackers appear on the counter, after a few more seconds, the kettle was already boiled enough and vapor was leaving it with pressure, Kylo turns off the stove and serves cups of tea while taking the crackers with him towards the living room using the Force. Kylo sits on his couch and places the tea cups on a small table in front of him and Starlight, as he takes a sip of his tea, his expression suddenly changed and asked with a serious voice. "Tell me, Starlight, have you and your people experienced any encounters with people beyond your universe?"

"Starlight grabs a cracker with her magic as she replies. "Well, not me, but Princess Twilight told me that a few months ago, Sunset Shimmer came accompanied with unknown... people, and they even went to Canterlot and had a talk with other ponies, but why the question?" Said Starlight as she ate her cracker, Kylo then puts the cup back on the table and proceeded to say. "I'm afraid that its highly likely that all of you have been fooled." Starlight looks at him with confusion and after swallowing the last bit of the cracket, she asks. "What.. do you mean?"

Kylo then sighs with tension, as he looks at Starlight with a serious face, he said. "First, its possible that Princess Twilight and some others are aware of my existence and probably target me as a threat as a result of a bunch of lies, if only they'd know the truth..." Kylo then looks at the bonfire and with his hand, he begins to twist it, transforming it into his canvas for the storytelling, as he begins to display in it, the events he's about to tell. "When I first learned about the existence of the Multiverse and Equestria, I wanted to learn what makes your world so special. Thus, I began my journeys, it was only a matter of time before encountering anomalies, aberrations caused by the excessive leak of Equestrian magic, a group of people rised, with the objective of protecting the multiverse from these anomalies, but all their efforts will be pointless, the anomalies will keep appearing, and all thanks to the Entropy."

Starlight seems confused, Entropy... is the first time she hears about that, so without delay, she asks. "What is that Entropy?" Kylo then looks at her with a concerned look and says. "In research, entropy is a way of measure disorder, but what I'm meaning, it's the natural state of the cosmos, constantly heading to chaos, planets and stars are created in such a violent way, with destruction and death in the process. But still, we live in order, planets follow an orbit, and everything seems to work fine, but in the end, stars burn their fuel and explode, and planets may clash with each other or be turned to ash by their star. What I mean, is that as we've spoken, Equestrian magic connects every single universe, but also, these links create the leaks that produce anomalies, since nobody controls the flow of magic from Equestria to another universe, magic will keep pouring into every universe and at the end, everyone will end up facing a chaos created by the non-stopping magic that keeps leaking. And as magic still grows in your world, I'm afraid that if nothing is done agains it, your whole universe might be doomed and when that happens, it'll be too late."

Starlight seems shocked, Kylo has told her quite a few things about the dangers of Equestrian magic, and since its her world he's talking about, she can't help but to feel she must do something, with concern, the mare asks her companion. "A-And... what can we do about it? There must be something that can stop that future from happening?" Kylo then looks at Starlight and he grabs some fire from the bonfire and begins to mold it as he says. "I have a strong theory, which leads to only two possible solutions. First, by controlling all the magic from its main source one might be able to regulate the amount of magic that flows through the multiverse, keeping the levels at minimum, and safety at maximum. Second, sealing all the existing magic, cutting all connections between universes, thus, isolating every world and ending the Multiverse by doing so."

With despair, Starlight seems to be between a rock and a hard place, but, her determination drives her to find solutions to this problem, with courage, she said. "Then, what are we waiting for? We must tell everyone! Princess Twilight must have an idea of how to deal with this, after all, everything that has happened in Equestria must pay off somehow, what we need to do first is get this information to everypony and then..." Starlight is then interrupted by Kylo, who asks calmly. "And how do you expect them to believe us? Probably they already have the concept of the Resistance as the only truth and won't hear anything else, or worse, think of you as a liar."

Starlight suddenly stopped and began thinking, after a short while, she said. "I know! You said you and your people are able to travel from one universe to another, right? Then, why don't you come here?" Kylo seemed genuinely shocked, but deep down, its going just as planned. "I don't think that'd be possible, Starlight..." Said Kylo but he was then interrupted by the mare who asked again. "Why? Is there something wrong?" Kylo then scratched the back of his neck as he began to say. "We can only travel to worlds to which we get its coordinates. And your world, is yet unknown to us of its location, we could track it if there's a surge in magic that reveals its position, but light years are a problem and the Displacement is quite nuisance, unless there is a gateway directly to Equestria..."

Starlight then began to think, as the idea of the portal crossed her mind, an idea came to be, with excitement, the mare said. "Technically, there is, but I don't know how can I get you there? Probably I'd have to ask Sunset for help." That last sentence, made Kylo widen his eyes, though he quickly changed his expression to not appear to be surprised, with a fake confusion, he asked. "Who is that, Sunset Shimmer?"

Starlight then replies with a confident smile. "She's a friend of mine, she used to live here in Equestria but after some disagreements, she went to another world and lives there since then, if we want to look for a portal, it's probably that one." After Starlight said such things, Kylo couldn't believe it, all this time, Equestria was right under his nose, frustation floods his mind, but can't lose it, not now that he's so close to achieving what he wants.

"I don't think she'd be as open-minded as you are, Starlight, after all, we lack physical evidence that proves Entropy exists." Kylo and Starlight now begin to think, as one grabs his chin and the other one does the same with her hoove, suddenly, as their eyes widened, both said at the same time. "Then let's make it!!" The two of them look at each other with a smile, Kylo grinned as he asked. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Starlight then says with irony. "It depends, does your plan include writing down your theory in my language so that Princess Twilight learns the truth and we finally take action against this problem?" Kylo then crosses his arms and says with a friendly expression.

"Ehmmm... kinda... but your plan is more specific, so we're sticking to it." Kylo then sits down on the couch, Starlight does the same and asked calmly. "One questions remains, how are we supposed to write anything in this dream?" Kylo then looks up to the ceiling, thinking of an answer, as his mind is reaching its goal, his mouth began moving, saying. "Technically, we're not in a dream. This place can be accessed through dreams but its more like, a non-physical space where minds can connect, yes, you are sleeping back in your home, but also, everything we're saying and thinking here works just as when we're awake. You haven't forgotten anything we've talked about in these last few days, have you?"

Starlight then shakes her head as she says. "N-No! I haven't, actually, I remember with clarity everything we've discussed whenever I wake up." After hearing this, Kylo leans his head on his hand as he thinks, though the answer is not too complicated, it might be quite rustic. "*Sighs* Well, we'd have to use the old-fashioned method, I tell you the whole theory and you make sure to write it down when you wake up. But don't worry, I won't abrupt you with all that information, I'd share it with you in fragments, it might take us two or three days, but the job will be done."

Starlight then looks at her recently-made friend and says with determination. "Great! Let's do this!" After this words, both began to work together, what could the possible outcome be? Since Nikola Tesla is already aware of this concept, why hasn't he revealed this truth yet? What can the reason be behind this mistery?"

As we return to the Alcor, it appears Chief's story is over, since everyone around have an expression that could only describe the story as jaw-dropping, a strong silence is present in the Alcor, only to be broken by the euphoric voice of Rainbow Dash, who said aloud. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!! DID ALL OF THAT REALLY HAPPENED?!!" Chief then takes the bottle and drinks the remaining rum, not before saying with a serious voice. "Yeah, it really did, that's how I got the scar on my jaw."

Beidou seems to have heard everything from the distance, with a smirk on her face, she said to herself. "So that's how he learned Bink's Brew, huh? Quite interesting." After that, Chief gets up from his seat as he says. "Well, it appears we're getting closer to Liyue, so I better get our stuff ready." As Chief leaves the deck, he only hears a cheerful crowd excited, and eager to share their opinions on his story.

Chief opens the door and heads below deck, as he closed the door behind him, Beidou's voice came from behind, unnoticed by the Spartan. "Are you visiting the prisoner?" Asked Beidou, Chief turned around slowly and sees Captain Beiodu leaning on the wall behind him, as he assumes she isn't a threat, he says. "Is there be a problem, Captain?"

"Not at all, it's just that my contract said that I'm suppossed to keep an eye on the prisoner, that includes any visit, don't take it personal, but it's my job." Replied Beidou with a calm voice, Chief only agrees to her terms, after all, he has no grudge against those who follow orders, or at least, he tries his best to keep a balance between following orders and not doing so, that's the lesson this war has left him. "Would you guide me to the prisoner then, Captain?" Asked Chief politely, Beidou only smirks and replies. "This way." Beidou then walks forward, passing Chief, who began to follow her as they began going downstairs, once they reach the jails, Chief sees a hall with up 6 small jails and a big one at the end of the hall, where Starkiller is held captive.

Starkiller, who is shackled to the floor and with cannonballs hanging from his handcuffs, along with the paper seals granted by Yae Miko, have put the Sith Lord into total captivity, he's only capable of looking at his visitors, the lack of light inside the cell only allows Chief and Beidou to see the contour of the prisoner along with those piercing yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

"Where's his weapon?" Asked Chief with a serious voice, Beidou then moves her hand behind her waist, where she usually attaches her water bottle and takes a small bag, she opens it and shows Chief Starkiller's lightsaber, with a serious gaze, Chief looked at the weapon and asked Beidou as he opens his hand. "May I see it?" Beidou then reluctantly agrees as she slowly places it in Chief's hand.

Chief looks at it with disgust, this weapon has caused too much damage to everyone. He ignites it, revealing its crimson blade, as Chief slowly swings it in front of him, not removing his sight from the device. "What would happen if I crush it right now?" Asked Chief to its owner, looking only at his yellow eyes, not even the red glow of his blade reaches the dark cell.

"Good luck trying, you'd destroy the mechanism, but the crystal will remain intact. After that, I don't think you have the will to hold a bleeding Kyber crystal directly." Said Starkiller in the dark with an ominous voice. Chief only turns off the blade and attaches it to his belt as he approaches the cell as Starkiller says. "But don't worry, once I get out of here you won't need to think of what to do with my lightsaber, in fact, you'd be the first one to experience what I'll do with it once its back in my hands." Chief bends on his knees, directly looking at Starkiller's eye, unfazed by his words, with a deep voice, Chief replies.

"Oh, please do, I only need ONE excuse to kill you, and both you and I know what you've done, so don't expect any kind of mercy, I don't care what people have to say, I'm only keeping you alive because you're somehow useful to us, but guess what, when the heart stops, it takes up to six minutes for the brain to die. Which means, if you get out of this jail by your own and try something funny, I can gouge your heart out and still extract all the information needed from your brain, so you should be thankful to those who wanted you alive because if it was left to me to decide, you wouldn't even be aboard of this ship." Said Chief to Starkiller, both looked at each other with hatred, the silence became even stronger until Starkiller broke it by saying.

"Then those people are extremely stupid because I'll break free eventually and when that happens, I'll go and finish the job with that kid and his mother, so that the whole family can be together." Chief seemed extremely angered, he was willing to finish him right here and now, but his duty stopped him from doing so, he stands up and proceeds to leave along with Beidou, who didn't say a word during the whole conversation, without looking at her, Chief handed back Starkiller's lightsaber to Beidou, who grabs and puts it back on the bag. "I'll get our stuff ready to leave the ship once we reach Liyue." Said Chief with a serious voice, as Beidou only looked with confusion towards what just happened, but after thinking it twice, she refrained from asking, after all, it's not in her contract to get into other people's business.

Meanwhile on the deck upstairs, the girls are having a conversation thanks to the free time they have now. "So Twilight, would you care to explain why aren't you wearing your glasses?" Asked Sunlight as she watched Twilight, who was drinking some water and stopped after hearing the question. "Yeah, when we woke up, I thought that ye' weren't wearin' them 'cuz of your wound, but it's been a while. Can you even see properly?" Asked Applejack with confusion, followed by Rainbow Dash who asked. "Don't you have any replacements or something?"

Twilight then replied with a calmed voice. "Well, I can see quite well, as if I'm wearing my glasses right now, but to be honest with you, I don't know why it happens. During the battle with Raiden Shogun, I received a slash from her blade that damaged my armor and broke my visor, and when I couldn't see anything, I thought I was done for, but for some reason, I began to see clearly short after being hit, I don't know why was caused in the first place or why am I still able to see without them now."

Sunlight crosses her arms and says. "Well, as long as it doesn't affect you more, I think it's fine." After this, Rainbow Dash changes the conversation topic, quickly asking Sunlight. "Oh! By the way, those were some awesome moves the ones you pulled back then Sunlight, you're truly an expert at fighting!" Sunlight then began to scratch the back of her head with shyness, followed by her reply. "Uhmm... t-thanks... Rainbow, it's not the big deal, honestly, I just need to extremely focus whenever I fight..." As she was speaking, her mind travelled back in time and remembered some words.

"You get angry quickly, flooding your head with unnecessary heat, which stops you from making choices in a fight. Learn from her for example, if you use her method, you'd be able to last longer in a fight, while also being able to adapt the most you can to your foe's fighting style."

"Sunlight... is everythin' fine?" Asked Applejack after noticing Sunlight spacing out, who quickly reacted and shaked her head to focus on the question. "What do you mean?" Replied Sunlight with confusion, not knowing what Applejack meant. "Well, you were talkin' fine and suddenly stopped and began to look at... nothin'." Sunlight then understood what AJ meant, she shrugs with shame as she says. "S-Sorry, my mind remembered something." Sunlight can't understand why all these memories are coming to her, probably, the time for her to face her past has finally come, just as it happened to Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh look! We're approaching the port." Said Rainbow Dash and headed quickly to the front part of the deck to see Liyue much closer as a navigator shouted Land Ho!, Twilight and Applejack followed her friend at their own pace, leaving Sunlight alone, who's hand reached for her forehead as she said to herself. "(What should I do? Would... they hate me if I show up just like that? I'll ask Sunset for advice...)"

Sunlight was about to join the girls when she spotted Captain Beidou coming outside, later followed by Chief, without hesitation, she approached to talk to the Spartan. "John! Hey! How was it?" Chief looks at her and asks. "About...?" Sunlight then followed by saying. "You... uhmm... checked on him didn't you?" Asked Sunlight referring to Starkiller, Chief only looks away as he replies with a serious voice. "The least I think of him, the more I can tolerate his presence." After saying this, Chief sighs, uncertain if it was of frustration or mental fatigue. "Anyways, how you've been Sunlight? Excluding all the, being-used-as-a-tool-for-a-Sith-Lord stuff." Asked Chief with a calmed voice, Sunlight smiled back at him as she replied. "Hahaha! Well, having control over my body for now is quite the relief, but I hope we can find a definitive solution."

Chief then remembered Sunset's blessed lightsaber and Sunlight's pistol, with a calmed voice he said. "There might be, but first, we must return home, don't you think?" Asked Chief as he crosses his arms and contemplates the sea, Sunlight looked at the same place as Chief did as she replied with a hopeful voice. "Yeah, I want to see my girls again, specially Adagio, I wonder how has she been since I left." Said Sunlight as she stretched her arms as the incoming breeze hit her body, feeling such freedom was quite relieving, Chief looked at her and slightly smirked as he then asked with curiosity. "And your family? I mean, I know you left everything behind and all of it since Sunset took your place, but have you ever thought of how are they doing?"

After hearing the question, Sunlight began scratching the back of her head with an expression of disgust, as if she's not willing to talk about it, but since Chief is of the people she's known for the longest, she sighs as she says. "It's not that simple, at least, with my parents... but, with my sisters is a whole different thing, but still complicated." Chief widen his eyes after hearing that, he asked with geniune shock. "Sisters? You've never told me about them."

Sunlight's expression changes, as in her mind she thinks that it would've been better if she hadn't say that. With a shame on her voice, she said. "Y-Y-yeah... it's not that easy, y'know? I mean, it's not that I hate them or else, actually, I really appreciate them, it's just... erhm... how can I say it? I... screwed up... I think, and now... I don't talk to them, I haven't in quite a while." Chief seemed reflective, as he thinks of a way to adress Sunlight's situation, he comes up with a question. "And what are the doing now? Do you know where they live, how are they or anything?" Sunlight again scratches the back of her head as she says.

"Well... the last thing I knew about one of them was that she was working at the Town Hall, and the other one... well she... uhmm... let's just say that she's a security guard." Chief looked at her with doubt, picking what she said with a grain of salt, in case she is hiding her sister's real job, it must be for something, but for now, he lets it slide. "And haven't you ever thought of talking to them again? After all, they are your sisters, aren't they?"

Sunlight sighed of frustration as she said to the seemingly confused Spartan. "I know! And I haven't! Not because I don't want to, but because there's just been a lot going on and well, I wouldn't know how to approach them. After all, it's been 2 years since we lost contact..." Chief approached Sunlight and said with a calmed but supportive voice. "Don't feel sad about it, first, we'll deal with all the darkness-within-you thing and then, you can pay them a visit, I don't say it'll be difficult, but it's important you take the step." Sunlight smiled back with thankfulness, as a voice from the top said aloud. "We've arrived!" Chief and Sunlight turned around and saw the Port of Liyue, where their ship is now docking. "I guess this is our stop." Said Sunlight with a calmed voice, she then then headed with the Rainbooms, leaving Chief alone with his thoughts, only for Cortana to ask him. "Y'know? Excluding everything that has happened up until now, I've been wondering something lately." Chief then was about to head to Starkiller's prison when he heard Cortana's question. "Didn't Flash's report say that the Rainbooms had a weekly streak of dealing with magical anomalies? And if so, why did that streak stopped? I mean, the readings from the lab's scanning system haven't detected anything since we landed on their world, excluding, of course, the Flood Outbreak."

Chief then changed his expression, showing concern but he did his best to hide it as he asked back at her friend. "What are you insinuating?" Cortana then made a short pause and replied. "I need a bit more of time to structure it, but once I'm done, I'll arrange a meeting with Tesla, Captain Lasky and Lady Morgana." After stating this, Chief closes his eyes and sighs as he says. "Whatever, let's just get this over w...." He's then interrupted by some sudden coughing, as he covered his mouth and as he takes it away, he sees some blood on his palm.

"That's.... not good, you need to be checked once we get to the Infinity." John then grunts as he says. "I'm fine, Cortana, it's probably due to the blades, I'll just stop using them for a while and problem solved." Cortana reluctantly agreed to John's statement.

"Let's get this over with, I just want to get home." Said Chief as he looks for Captain Beidou, in order to tell her his plan to extract Starkiller safely.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

Hi everyone, it's been some rough days lately, college has got even harder these days and I've done my best to write this chapter while also dealing with my student life. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter and for anyone out there having a rough time for college, let's give our best shots, we're almost done. Please take care, and I hope to see you all again in the next chapter.

-DReep

Chapter 31: Back Home.

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Prologue: Unexpected Visitors

It was a clear and peaceful day in Canterlot High's dimension. The mane 7 were having a picnic at the forest, trying to enjoy these days off before starting their last high school year, in the calm of the moment, Sunset throws up a question:

“We've been through quite a lot of things this year, haven't we?”

“More than I'd like to admit” -replies Twilight.

“The incident with Wallflower, the summer vacations, the Everfree camp, and the list goes on and on” -adds Rainbow Dash.

“Y'know, I'm glad that we managed to get through all of that and save the day, who would've thought what would happen if all those catastrophes weren't stopped.”- exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

“Well, fortunately, no Equestrian threat has showed up and if you ask me, I want to keep it that way.” — says Applejack

“I just hope you haven't jinxed it AJ, it is such a beautiful day that we're having” -says Rarity with an ironical expression.

Everyone starts laughing by Rarity's comment, but then, an extremely loud noise is heard from above, the girls look up to the sky and see what they seemed like a damaged spaceship crashing in a nearby zone in the forest. The girls watch shocked while the mysterious spacecraft descents abruptly into the ground.

"The birds are screaming, that ship is totally unknown for them" - states Fluttershy.

"¡Wow!, Rarity was right, you jinxed it AJ" -says Rainbow Dash.

"We don't have time to waste, if there's something evil in that ship, we're preventing it from going any further than here." -claims Twilight.

"Or maybe there's someone injured that needs our help" -replies Sunset.
The group headed to the crash zone, where they found a mysterious spaceship lying on a crater quite big, but they managed to see an acronym in one of the ship's engine.

"UNSC? What does that mean?" -Asks Applejack

“I don't know, but we must inspect the whole thing to know it's safe around it” – answers Sunset

While inspecting the ship, Rarity places herself towards the rear door of the ship, a sound of something being released starts playing, but Rarity's curiosity makes her stand still before the door.

"Girls, what's that sound?" -asks Rarity with a worrying tone.

In a matter of seconds, the door blows away towards Rarity's position, fortunately, she managed to put up a shield from her powers before something bad happened.

"Rarity! You ok?" -asks Applejack

"I'm fine, but.." -says Rarity before being interrupted.

"Put your hands up!!" -claims a deep voice from within the ship.

A 7 feet (2.13 m) green armored soldier comes up from the smoke that the blast left, alongside his partners: Another man with a blue armor and two women, one of them with a gray armor and the other one with a brownish armor. All of them were peculiarly tall and seemed people not to mess with, plus the fact that all of them had a three-digit number in their chest.

Quickly, they point out their guns to the mane 7, the woman with gray armor says:

"Chief, we have to find the kid before something bad happens"

"I agree, but first we have to confirm if these girls aren't a threat. Fred (the man with blue armor) cover me while I inspect them, Linda (the brownish armored woman) and Kelly (the gray armored woman) check the area for any suspicious activity." -Claimed the Master Chief (green armored guy) with a serious and neutral voice.

The Master Chief proceeds with caution towards the girls while he interrogates them.

"How did you find our ship?" Asks Master Chief while pointing his assault rifle to the girls, he's not messing around. Twilight then answers Chief's question with nervousness, after all, he's the one with the gun.

"We were having a picnic nearby, and we heard the noise of your ship above us. We saw it crash, so we decided to come and see if there would be someone who needs help, but it appears that wasn't necessary." -Replied Twilight

"Hold a sec, we should be the ones makin' questions, you are the strangers that ended up crashing here." -Claims Applejack.

The girls start looking at each other, they have a plan and didn't hesitate to do it, it's their home, the one being invaded by these strangers.

"Do it." -Says Sunset with determination, encouraging her friends to act.

In a brief moment, Pinkie creates a smoke/candy screen with her powers, Rainbow Dash disarms Master Chief with her super speed. AJ kicks him in the chest to blow him away, but the super strength wasn't so amusing this time, Master Chief just moved a few meters backwards. He draws a handgun, but before being able to shoot it, Twilight lifts him in the air and Rarity creates a diamond cage around him.

"That was quick." -says Master Chief, who is a bit amused about the girls' powers because it's not something he has seen very often on his missions across the Multiverse.

"Now answer us, who are you and why are you here?" -Asks Rainbow Dash with determination and a triumphant pose.

"I would've, but you're forgetting something" -Answers Master Chief with a calmed voice.

"What is it?.." -asks Sunset with determination, she's not going to tolerate that any possible threat to wander around her home.

Then, she hears the hammering of a gun, but it's right at her head, then everyone looks in the direction of the sound and then an invisible figure starts showing up. It was Fred who camouflaged himself to ambush them once the assault was finished.

"I'm offended that you forgot about me" -claims Fred with a mocking voice.

"How did y-? -ask AJ before being interrupted by Fred

"If you want to preserve your friend's life, I suggest you to release him before my finger pulls the trigger, and trust me, none of us wants a nonsense conflict."

"Girls, we don't have other option, it's Sunset we're talking about" -says Fluttershy

"Listen to the shy one, she seems to comprehend the situation much better than you" -says Fred

After a few seconds of thinking, Twilight gives the signal to release Master Chief, once he's in the ground, Fred stops pointing his gun to Sunset's head and takes distance, to start pointing towards the girls.

"Alright, everyone, let's calm down. We all have questions that need an answer, but now my team and I have something to do, and we cannot waste time any longer. So let us go, we do what we came here for and then leave peacefully."-says Master Chief to the group.

"What makes you think we're going to let you go when we don't even know who you are?" -asks AJ in an angry tone.

"Chief, they're not joking around, and we don't know how much time we have left so take a choice" -claims Fred to Master Chief.

After a few moments, Kelly and Linda return to the group.

"Chief, the area is clear, there's no one in a radius of approximately 2 km." -states Linda

"Have you solved the situation with these kids?" -asks Kelly to Master Chief

"No, I'm about to." -claims Chief

Then, Master Chief keeps his weapons down and tells the rest of his team to do the same, after that, he proceeds says.

"Listen kids, I'm going to tell you the truth, if you don't believe me that's your problem, but you have to let us leave. We're soldiers from another universe that have been fighting against a multiversal threat, and we ended up in this world because we're looking for someone that might help us to figure out something about our next target."

"Who are you looking for?" -Asks Twilight, concerned about what can this people do to anyone who lives in her world.

"What make you think I'd tell you?" -Replies Chief with a serious voice.

The girls raise their guard, before something bad happens a noise starts playing, it is something like a phone ringing, but it comes from Master Chief's helmet, he takes the call.

"Chief! Is everything alright? I got your Pelican's distress signal and..." Said the voice, it sounded a bit concerned about the Blue Team's welfare, Chief then replies with a serious voice, interrupting the person talking in his head.

"We're fine kid, we're having a setback, we'll be there in 10 minutes once we're done here." -says Chief to the voice in his helmet

"Setback? What kind of setback?" -Asks the voice inside Chief's helmet

"The one that is making Chief regret coming here." -says a blue AI that appears in Chief's helmet

"Cortana, this isn't time for your jokes, have a plan?" -Asks Chief.

"Yeah, actually I do, hey kid look at this" – then Cortana shows the person in the call a live transmission of what Chief is seeing right now, the mane 7 being surrounded by Chief's team.

"Chief, release them, they're my friends."- says the voice with a desperate tone.

"Really, so these are the girls with superpowers you mentioned? If so, they're beginning to annoy me."- asks Chief with an angry voice, despite having some information regarding the Mane 7, he's proving if that information is true.

"Long story, but let me talk to them." -says the voice

"Fine, but be quick." -Chief projects the image of the incoming call and with the speakers of his suit, everyone hears what the person has to say.

"Hey girls, Flash here... I know this is a bit all out of sudden, but I'll explain to you later. Just to let you know, they're good people who you can trust too, they'll take you to the meeting point where your questions will be answered, Flash out."

After a silence from both groups, Master Chief says.

"Flash told me about you, but I never expected... well, that those girls with superpowers would be the first ones to track us down. We have to move, time might be against us... Let us guide you, if you please."

"You crazy, aren't you? What makes you think we'll follow you?" Asks Applejack outraged as she and her friends stick together, Master Chief then sighs and says. "Your world is in great danger, whether you want to believe us or not, it's up to you. But, if you trust Flash Sentry, you'd know he ain't liying, and so am I." Kelly then attaches her shotgun to her back and says.

"Plus, no offense girls, but there are dangerous people chasing us and you won't be a match for them. So for your own sake... you'd be wise to listen." Kelly makes a pause as she begins to take off her helmet, showing her face as she's tried to be stopped by Master Chief, but she quickly dodges him and says.

"Too slow, John, haha!" Kelly then approaches the girls and says with a friendly voice. "The name's Kelly! John is the green one, he's a bit grumpy but he's a good guy. Fred is the blue one, he might seem serious, but he's funny to hang out with, and there's Linda, the one with brown armor. She's serious most of the time, but you get used to her."

"Why are you telling us this?" Asks a confused Twilight as she adjusts her glasses, Kelly then smiles and says. "Because you're friends of Flash! He's like my little brother, so whoever he thinks is a friend, it can be a friend of mine too!" Said Kelly with excitement as she extends her hand towards Sunset, looking for a handshake, the glow of her eyes shows honesty, for the moment, it's safe to trust her word, Sunset extends her hand and shakes Kelly's as she says. "Glad to hear that, Kelly!"

"Awesome! Now, we relally need to go so... if you don't want to die, well... you can come with us. All your doubts will be answered there." Said Kelly as she indicates the path that she and the team are going to take, Master Chief only sighs, as he knew he wouldn't be able to stop Kelly once she felt like making new friends.

After a time of reflection, the mane 7 choose to trust Flash and Kelly's word and went along Master Chief's team to the meeting point, from this day on, nothing would be the same for none of them.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

He y'all, this is a story I've been willing to express quite a lot of time ago, but I'll take my time to give it a proper structure. I still don't know how many chapters would there be, but this is just the beginning of something great, at least for me.

Hope y'all like this prologue, stay tuned and see ya'next time.

Chapter 10: A Helluva Journey

A day passed, Sunset's now at her place thinking of the visions written in Flash's notebook. She can't help but to understand them, thanks to her conversation she had with Chief yesterday, the first vision already happened. According to chronology of the events, the third vision is the newest one to occur with Flash's death, using this logic, then the second vision referred to Aura's kidnapping. That leaves with three of the six visions solved, but what do the rest mean? Also, there's nothing implicates that the visions will occur one after the other, the only thing Sunset can do is pay attention to every detail from now on in order to find answers to these visions.

Sunset looks at her diary, maybe princess Twilight can help her decode them, Sunset takes her pen and starts writing, in hope of finding an answer to her doubts. Meanwhile, at the Everfree Forest in Equestria, Jerome and princess Twilight are going even deeper into the forest.

"So... Jerome... Would mind telling me why Master Chief didn't come?" Asks Twilight, when Jerome arrived, he went straight to check all the detectors that were scattered throughout Equestria, Twilight decided to follow him in order to help him complete his task faster.

"Something bad... Happened... Chief won't be available for a while." As they go deeper into the forest, the ambiance turns even darker, Jerome takes his knife out to cut off branches and bushes to clear their path. "...Twilight, why is this place so... sinister?"

"The Everfree Forest has always been like this, is like a place separated from Equestria, it's an ecosystem completely functional without pony intervention. It also harbors many kinds of creatures, making the forest a dangerous place for every pony that wants to enter here." Replies Twilight, being in such a dangerous place doesn't suit anyone.

Jerome then takes his hydra launcher and loads it.

"Then we better keep our eyes sharp... Also, it's not like they're smarter than a rocket projectile." Said Jerome, Twilight followed behind him, then Jerome receives a transmission from a Spartan team. "... Omega Team here... We detect friendly signals... Can you hear us...?"

"Omega Team I receive you, this is Jerome-092, what's your status?" The voice then replied. "Jerome...? Finally some help... We had some complications with the detectors... These... Creatures damaged the one we brought for this area... Comms are down... We can't communicate with the outside world... The creatures don't stop coming, and we're running out of ammo."

"Understood, Omega Team, we're on our way there." Said Jerome before the transmission got cut off, he then looks at Twilight and says. "C'mon, we gotta move!!" As they began to go deeper into the forest, the sound of heavy weapons such as an energy turret and a rail gun can be heard, also many energy slashes are heard at the distance. As Jerome and Twilight approached, these sounds became louder, and after going through a dense bush, they finally met with Team Omega.

Leon-011 is attacked by a pack of timberwolves, he slashed a few with his blade, but he's then surrounded by the rest of the pack, he's struggling to keep them at bay. As he 'kills' them, they reassemble into endless groups of timberwolves.

"Jerome! Mind lending us a hand?!" Asked Leon as his energy blade ran out of fuel and turned off.

Leon then unsheathes the grip from his left shoulder pad, revealing a retractable blade, which is modified with Forerunner technology, converting the Timberwolves into data that is then absorbed by the blade. Jerome shoots his hydra launcher, burning the Timberwolves he hits. "Why didn't you use that blade in the first place?" Asks Jerome while making the Timberwolves spread. "John said not to kill the native wildlife, but in our defense... they started this fight by damaging the device!" Replied Leon as he drew his handgun and shoots at the Timberwolves.

August-099 is shooting her railgun against a pair of Cragadiles and an Ophiotaurus as she dodges their attacks and protects the device on her back, Twilight aids her by using her magic to teleport August near her. "Are you ok?" Asks Twilight, although August is unharmed, manners are never lost. "Yeah!.. Thanks, by the way, I'm August – 099.” Said August as she reloaded her railgun and shoots again trying to eliminate her chasers, the Cragadiles withstand the shots, although they receive the knockback, unlike the Ophiotaurus which moves so erratically that it makes August miss the shots. "Nice to meet you August, I'm Twilight Sparkle." Said Twilight as she shot magic beams to make the Cragadiles fall back even more.

"Let me help you with it!" Said Twilight as she took flight and headed towards the Ophiotaurus. By using the black vines that had grown all over the forest and her magic, she managed to tie the Ophiotaurus up, restraining it from making any move, Twilight then teleports back with August.

Then, plasma shots come from the deep forest, after that, a Bugbear appears, falling dead to the ground, a shootout can be heard from the forest, but as the sound stops. A Spartan is thrown away and crashes against a tree, he then stands a picks up his weapon, which is an energy turret.

"I'm getting tired of this! Bring it on, you freak bags!!" Said Robert-025 as he took his turret, from the bushes, Bugbears, and a Manticore appear, Robert quickly shoots to the Bugbears, but they managed to dodge the shots due to their low speed. One of the Bugbears uses its claws to damages Robert's weapon, making it unusable, Robert then throws the turret away and engages melee combat with all of them, while also using his handgun to keep the manticore at bay. Robert finished the Bugbears swiftly yet also brutally, after that, he engaged combat with the manticore, and with a suplex he managed to bring it to the ground, then Robert broke the Manticore's neck with a swift move, killing it. Meanwhile, Leon and Jerome hunt down the last Timberwolf and as this one was turning to ashes, they head where everyone else was to help them, August and Twilight were still fighting with the Cragadiles.

August can't land a good shot, as the Cragadile's skin is too hard for the magnetic projectile to pierce it, but before she realizes, she is hit by one of the Cragadile's tail. August is sent away and crashes with a tree, dropping her gun in the process, Twilight was about to help her, but she's also handling the other Cragadile. As August gets up, she sees a Cragadile jumping towards her with its maws opened, fortunately for her, Robert grabbed the beast by its opened maws, creating a chance for August to kill it. She takes her rail gun and with a precise shot that pierces through the beast's entrails, she finishes it off.

Twilight then uses her magic to lift a boulder and throws it to the last Cragadile, pushing it far away, Leon and Jerome arrive and reunite with the rest of the team. "Phew! We have to leave before it becomes more dangerous." Says Twilight, then, she uses her magic again to teleport everyone to her castle, the team appears at the central room.

"That was.... weird." Said Jerome as he was regaining composure, and so was the Omega Team. "Sorry if it was odd for you, but I had to take us out of the Everfree Forest in order to get to safety." Replies Twilight, then August places the device on the table, it had a cube-like shape, but it was so damaged that there was no way to find its original shape.

"What happened, Team?" Asks Jerome after seeing the devastated device. "It was being bitten by those crocodiles when we arrived, we tried to take it away from them, they got mad, the fight began, we bumped into more creatures, the rest is history." Replies August, summarizing the events of how they ended fighting.

"Did you try to call for help before your communications were disabled?" Asks Twilight, probably the Omega Team has been fighting for quite the time already.

"We tried, but as soon as we approached the forest, our comms were off, and we couldn't return to the path where we entered the forest because we were being chased by those stupid wolves." Replied Robert, he's been fighting against many creatures that inhabit the Everfree Forest, so it's normal he sounds jaded.

Leon then adds. "Anyway, we're out of that wretched forest and we thank you for your help..." He tries to thank Twilight but he doesn't know her name. "...Twilight." Said August right after Leon stopped talking, she then looks at Jerome and asks. "Jerome, did you bring something to fix this?" Said August while pointing to the device.

"Isabel, can we fix it?" Asked Jerome while he was extending his hand, an AI appeared on his palm and replied.

"Hmmm... the power supply has minor damages, nothing to worry about... but, the control matrix is mostly destroyed, we can fix it if we can find replacements for the missing pieces, fortunately, the sensor remains intact so if it detects something it will beep but we won't know where exactly. Let me see the schematics, probably it will take us 3 days minimum to fix it and set it in motion again." Isabel then pops a digital blueprint of the device, Twilight looks at it surprised, she's never seen anything like that, yet she comprehends a few things of the design. "...The other option would be... to take the detection device off this world and take it to the Infinity, but who knows what can appear at the location where this device is supposed to surveil in the time the device is gone."

"Who did this device?" Asks Robert while he sees the blueprints, Jerome looks at himand replies. "It is an invention with the purpose of tracking down any portal that gets opened in this world and its not from our side, Tesla and his apprentice ma... hold on..." Jerome makes a pause as he interrupted himself and looks at Twilight, she notices it and gets confused for the situation. "What...? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not, Twilight but, tell me, do you understand anything that appears on the blueprints?" Asks Jerome, she remembered the other Twilight is Tesla's apprentice, maybe this Twilight can figure out a way to fix it in less time that the one Isabel suggests.

"I understand a few things, but I'd need to check again in some transcripts I made from books of Canterlot High to see if my suppositions are right. Let me go get them." Replies Twilight as she teleports to her library, she remains partly confused of the blueprints, but she's confident she'll find the answer in her library collection.

"Jerome, why didn't Chief come? He was the one assigned to this mission." Asks Leon, he sounds a bit worried of what could've happened to his friend.

"Something.... bad.... happened, John needs... time, to process the events." Replied Jerome, he doesn't want to talk about it but it's inevitable. "Is the Green Oldster ok?" Asks Robert, August is the only who remains silent, if it's something bad, discretion might be needed.

"He's not, physically, he's fine, emotionally, he's shattered...." Jerome was about to continue but then Twilight arrives with the book she was looking for and the diary she shares with Sunset Shimmer, her face is seems shocked, she already knows.

"Is Flash Sentry dead?!!" Asked Twilight, she can't believe it, it has to be a mistake. "I'm afraid yes, Twilight, if he was close to you, I'm sorry." Replies Jerome, suddenly he's interrupted by Leon. "The kid?!!! But... he was like a son to Chief, how did he die?!!" Asked Leon, the Omega Team knew Flash, not as much as the Red Team though, yet they considered Flash as their friend. "He was killed by Starkiller, he died protecting Sunset, her friends and his mother." Robert then says. "Now that shit's personal..." August interrupts robert and says. "They fuck with our friends, we have... to bring them retribution."

"Please tell me John is already hunting down those motherfuckers, I want to be at the front seat when they find their hideout to fucking kill them." Said Leon, they're angered, such thing cannot go unpunished, but Jerome calms everyone down.

"I know it's not something easy to cope with, but... both Starkiller and Kylo Ren acquired new powers, Chief said it's dark magic from Equestria, they're now threats that we can't handle ourselves. John is now trying to cope with the pain, but I'm afraid he won't ever be the same, he has seen a lot of death throughout his missions in our world and in other universes, the best we can do is to work harder, and of course.... we're going to kill those motherfuckers, in the meantime."

Twilight now has a sorrowful look. "Poor Sunset, I can't imagine the pain she's going through." Jerome approaches her and hunkers a bit, then he says. "She's doing her best right now, but... what if you pay her a visit after we're done with this?" Twilight then replies with a more cheerful smile. "Sound like a good idea, ok everypon... everyone, let's get to work!" Now with Twiilight's help, they might be able to fix the device in no time, but they have to hurry in order to not leave that area unprotected for too long.

Meanwhile....

"So... this is... hell? It looks like a huge dumpster. Y'know... It's quite ironical that your last hope relies in such a hopeless place. Do we have a plan, Chief?" Asks Eclipsed Sunlight as she admires the landscape, she never imagined that she'd be here.

"Yes, everyone, pay attention!" Exclaims Chief, the trio gathers and listens to his explanation. "We're now at the surface of hell, if we move forward through this ruins, we'll get to the entrance of the rings, once there we're going to look for Lucifer at the ring of Pride, if we move constantly with maximum 10 stops on our way there, we'll be there in two hell years, got it?" Asked Chief, he's then interrupted by Sunlight who asks surprised. "Hold up! Two years?!! I'd be twenty years old then, Kylo's going to notice my absence. Chief looks at her and replies with a serious voice. "I said hell years which is literally two days in your world, so we better hurry up." Sunlight accepts and now the group moves, it only took them 30 seconds after they started moving to come across with the first horde of demons.

The Slayer is the first one to jump into the slaughter, grabbing a demon by the neck, he's quickly sorround by the rest of the horde, but The Slayer starts killing many of them brutally with his guns and arms.

"Is he crazy?! What are we gonna do against all of them?!!" Asks Sunlight, Chief loads his assault rifle and says.

"Rip... and Tear." Chief then joins the fight, filling up the demons with bullets and tearing them apart with his strength.

Sunlight activates her dark powers and says to herself. "This is going to be a long journey." She then charges and joins the fight, creating a shockwave that brings down the smallers demons, she then creates dark blades with her power and starts slashing every demon she's coming across with.

It only took them 10 minutes to finish the horde, as they kept moving forward through hell, more and more demons started to sorround them, but they didn't flinch. Chief incrusted a grenade into a demon's body and use it as a massive explossive, knocking down many demons, he then proceeds to squash their heads with his fists, tear their arms off and piercing them with his fist. Then a Fireborn Baron apperas.

It charges directly against Chief, tackling him, Sunlight immobilizes the Baron with a dark blade, she then cuts off on of its arms with a dark sword and uses the blade of the Baron's arm to pierce its face with it, slicing its head in two, Sunlight then apporached to Chief and lend him a hand. "I suggest you to use your blades, your ammo is going to run out sooner or later."

Chief rejects Sunlight's hand, he stands up by himself and says. "If I start using them right now, I would become a brainless killing machine by the the time we reach the entrance to the rings." Chief takes his gun and starts shooting again, as they move through hell's domain, they leave a trail of dead bodies behind them.

After a killing many demons, the group makes their first stop, The Slayer makes a improvises a bonfire with demon meat and his flamethrower, while Sunlight contemplates the sight, she asks.

"Why does Hell looks like a dumpster?" Asked Sunlight with curiosity. Chief seats on a rock and replies. "Because it is, let me explain you. Hell has a tunnel-like form, but its upside down and its segmented in different levels, like this..." Chief then displays a hologram with the description he just said.

"...Although this is just a reference from a human description of hell, so take it with a grain of salt, the first difference, there are only seven rings or circles and Lucifer rules all over Hell at the Pride Ring, which is the top-most ring, the problem comes when we want to get there..." Chief makes a pause and changes the hologram to one of a plain, he then continues. "But only the sinners can arrive directly to the Ring of Pride, which is the only ring populated by them, the rest of the rings are populated with hellborn creatures. That's why we arrived at this dumpster, this is the connection of Hell that the Slayer's world has, and its the only one we have explored until this moment, in this part of Hell, all the remaints from his world lie here, every object that has been destroyed ends here.. it's like the opposite part of each universe, from one side there's life, and in this side, there's the opposite. Each universe has their own connection to Hell, but they still remain unknown to us." Added Chief, Hell seems to be complex yet simple, like two sides of the same coin.

"Did you get it?" Asked Chief, who now turned off the hologram and picked up his weapon. Sunlight remains thoughtful of what he just said, and the Devil owes Chief a favor, that sounds unbeliveable to her, Sunlight can't help herself but to ask Chief.

"Chief, what did you actually do that made the Devil owe you a favor?" Chief loads his assault rifle and the Doom Slayer is cleaning his dagger, both look at Sunlight but Chief replied. "It's a long story, but the short version is... I saved his daughter and he gave me this as a reward..." Chief then takes out a playing card with the image of a golden apple in the middle.

"Wow! It's like a... special... token?" Asks Sunlight while looking at the card, Chief then seals it inside his shoulder pad, sealing it to prevent the card from slipping. "It is, and I'm going to use to bring Flash's soul back from the Purgatory, that's why I've preserved his body in a cryogenic capsule." Replies Chief, Sunlight after seeing Chief's determination to bring Flash back, she can't help but to ask.

"Chief... sorry if it makes you feel bad but.... what was your... relationship with Flash that makes you so eager to bring him back?" Chief remains silent for a bit, he then takes courage and says. "When we first arrived to your world, we were looking for an anomally, coincidentally... Flash and his mother got involved in our mission, they helped us move through their world without being noticed, and when the mission was over, a bond was created between all of us, plus the fact that your world was... surprisingly peaceful. Also, my team and I had been thinking on settling down somewhere once the war ends, and your world seemed like the best option, we talked about it with the UNSC and Aura made the suggestion to use her home, but the UNSC made some improvements to it in order to transform it into our headquarters. After that, we spent time with Flash and his mother from time to time, and I realized that.... he.... Flash, used to see me as a fatherly figure, he came for advice with me, even though I'm not the best in many areas, I always did my best to advise him..." Chief then looks at the bonfire and says.

"... With time, I also realized that I began to see Flash as my son, and all I wanted was to protect him, but now... he's gone... and I won't tolerate that again, he's innocent... he should live peacefully for the years to come, not die at such a young age... that's... the reason I want him back... I've run many simulations with many methods to bring him back, but all of them failed... this is my last shot, Sunset..." Chief said while looking at Eclipsed Sunlight, he's not gonna let this chance slip out of his hand.

"We'll bring him back... I'm sure of it." Replies Sunlight with a serious voice, she doesn't know what else to say, the pain of loosing a son is nothing she'd ever experienced. "What about you?" Asks Chief to Sunlight, she is surprised for the question, after all, why would Chief even ask her something?

"M-Me?" Replies Sunlight a bit nervous, Chief then explains. "Yes, I don't know anything about you, excluding the fact that you have the same anger issues as your counterpart, and that you're a bit more violent than her." Sunlight now understands, maybe a sharing stories can help them endure this infernal journey, after all, they're going to be there for 2 years minimum, she thinks of how to start, she sighs and begins to tell.

"Well... I was a normal teenager but, let's just say I had no friends... at all, I only had my guitars and a few books... everything changed in my first school day at Canterlot High, I woke up late, missed the bus and when I arrived, I saw Sunset Shimmer ocupping my place, I waited for her to get out of school and I faced her.... *sighs* She took advantage of my fear and threaten me with eradicating me from existence if I didn't leave her alone. I left, only with my electric guitar and a few buck, I started working since then. I've had jobs as DJ, musical composer, waiter, bounty hunter which I'm not very proud of, and my last job was playing my guitars at bars or cafeterias."

"And why do you hate your counterpart?" Asks Chief with a calm voice, after all, Sunlight lost years of her life because of the selfish actions of the past Sunset Shimmer.

"Because she stole my life! I mean... everywhere I saw, she had that happy face that sickens me, everyone loves her! And what about me?! I was rotting in my apartment for years, alone, helpless, until Kylo offered me the chance to take revenge for what she did." Replies Eclipsed Sunlight, she got a bit angered by Chief's question.

"But do you know she wants to fix her mistake, right? She wants to help you, Sunset." Asks Chief, he's trying to make Sunlight reflect over her actions and seek a better future, Sunlight stands up and replies. "My name is Eclipsed Sunlight! And I-I don't want her help, she can't bring back those stolen years no matter what she thinks!" Chief only looks at her and replies with calmed voice. "Do you truly want those years back? What is that wish your soul truly yearns for?" Sunlight now doubts of her actions thanks to Chief's questions, but she comes back to her senses and says with a calm voice. "We can sort that out later, we have to keep moving, don't you think?" Chief and The Slayer stand up, The Slayer turns off the bonfire and takes a piece of flesh with the blade of his bracer.

"Are we actually going to eat that?" Asks Sunlight while looking at the cooked piece of meat, although it's edible, it doesn't feel right to eat a demon's meat.

"Believe it or not, demon meat is only... meat, it has no noxious agents, the only problem is that you have to cook it at a higher temperature than normal meat and let it cook for a bit longer. But once it's ready, you can eat it, wanna give it a try?" Replies Chief, it appears he already has experience with eating demon meat.

"Maybe later, I'm not hungry to be honest." Replies Sunlight, the truth is, she's a bit esceptic about eating that. "By the way, how does the Devil looks like?" Asks Sunlight while wondering how would he be, maybe he'll be a horned demon like depicted in many stories, or maybe he's a demonic goat, or maybe... "He's a a short, goofy and silly, jester, he always has that smile that might seem cheerful but I think it's a mischievous one, and although he's also a business man, he's an honest being, he might be many things, but not a liar." Replies Chief while walking, Sunlight got surprised by Chief's answer.

"You didn't get along very well, do you?" Asks back Sunlight with a funny voice. "Let's just say that we tried to kill each other in our first encounter... and as you would guess, it didn't end well." Replies Chief, the conversation ends there because they were interrupted by another horde of demons. As The Slayer and Sunlight killed the demons brutally, Chief used focused on using tactics and bullets to finish them all.

The group then resumes their long journey through Hell, killing the hordes of demons that come across their ways, bathing themselves with their blood.

Meanwhile at the Infinity, a day has passed since Chief left, Tesla enters his lab with a cheerful smile while looking at some annotations he's holding.

"Finally, with this data I can start the..." Tesla then raises his sight and sees Twilight filling his chalkboards with many formulas and graphics, Tesla got surprised for a bit, but he then asks. "T-Twilight, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your world fulfilling with your academic responsabilities?" Twilight then stops writing and looks back at Tesla, she has a serious face, and with that same seriousness, she replies. "I should... but after the events at the observatory, I came to the conclusion that we're weak..." Twilight then takes a prototype from Tesla's table, it's seems to be a prototype that Tesla had designed a while ago, but Twilight made some adjustments to it, making it two pieces of armor with magnetic gloves that grab her arms completely and are linked to her geode by using small Super Tesla Coils, she then says. "...My friends and I lack the abilities to fight a threat like Kylo Ren, or even Sunset's counterpart, that's why we have to beat them with our own strength, which is..." Twilight then activates her geode and uses the energy that comes from the geode to power up her prototypes, she now looks at Tesla and says with determination. "...Science."

Tesla now with a smile on his face says. "Perfect! Then let's make science, Twilight!" Now they moved to the training room, which is now the testing room by Tesla's decree, they have a digital whiteboard, an item table besides it and an energy turret on the other side. After a few hours, and many failed tests, Tesla makes a correction in the formulas and says. "Alright Twilight, focus on the energy output, change the magnetic polarity on both of your gloves at opposites, put your palms together but leave some gap between them, and then..."

"Maximum the output, concentrate the energy at the center of the gap and it should create a black hole, and if I can't control it, cease the power source immediately, got it!" Said Twilight while taking position. Tesla then takes his distance, puts on his goggles and says. "Ok, test #36, ninth correction to the magnetical pressure formula.... this has to be the one, beginning test... now!!" As Tesla gave the signal, Twilight began to release an extreme amount of energy, which started to focus on through the Tesla Coils, amplifying Twilight's gravity grasp, applying a huge amount of pressure on her palms, after struggling to keep control for a few minutes, in the middle of the gap between her palms, a small dark sphere appears.

"Keep it steady!!" Says Tesla while looking at the sphere, they're close yet so far. "I'm doing it!!" Replies Twilight while struggling to make the sphere bigger but, she's also trying to keep it under control, now that it has a optimal size and it's stable, Tesla then grabs the energy turret and aims to the small Black Hole. "Steady Twilight!! Don't move or this might end bad for you!" Said Tesla while centering the weapon's muzzle, Tesla pulls the trigger, shooting many energy rounds, the Black Hole absorbed each one of the rounds, growing a bit bigger due to the energy it consumed. "Revert the cycle, now!!" Said Tesla, Twilight then with effort changes the direction of the magnetic fields oppositely, dissolving the black hole but thanks to the mechanism of her prototype, she managed to absorb the energy that the Black Hole absorbed, the Tesla Coils on her arms start emitting small amounts of energy, creating an electric net between the Tesla Coils and her geode. Twilight relaxes from the effort as she breathes heavily, Tesla then remains serious and takes an empty box from the item table and throws it at Twilight.

Twilight then throws a powered punch to the empty box, denting it and sending it flying away at least half a mile, but she used all the energy she abosrbed with her artificial Black Hole, after that, Tesla takes of his goggles and looks at the box surprised, he then looks back at Twilight, both start smiling and with an insane amount excitement they say. "YES!!!" Both start laughing as they accomplished something new, dominate magic and use it at will. "We made it Twilight!! We made it!!!" Says Tesla while finally giving the positive check on the prototype, Kelly then enters the training room and after seeing Twilight and Tesla celebrating, she asks. "Hey there! Why are you so cheerful? Did you find something new about Equestrian Magic?"

"Magic?!" Asks Twilight with a smile as she turns around, Tesla also turns around and says. "No, non, nem... NEIN!!! It's not magic...!!!" Then, both Tesla and Twilight point at Kelly with determination in their eyes and smiles in their faces and say at the same time.

"...IT'S SCIENCE!!!!" After they said that, they began to laugh again, Kelly smiles and approaches them, as they calm down, Tesla says. "...Hahaha... haha... sorry for our over enthusiasm Kelly, tell me, what brings you here?"

"Sorry to crash your party but, have you seen John? He's been missing for a whole day." Replies Kelly, Twilight changed her expression to confussion and asks. "Missing? Where was the last time you see him?" Kelly then says with a worried face. "Sunset said that he was here at the Infinity the last time she saw him, but I've asked everyone and they said that they didn't know. And now I'm worried for him."

Tesla then interrupts with a cheerful smile. "C'mon people, it's the Master Chief who we're talking about! Whatever he's doing, he'll be done with it before we even realize, you just have to be patient." Kelly agrees with Tesla, he has a point in his statement. "I guess you're right... anyway, if you hear anything, please let me know." Said Kelly before leaving, now Tesla then says. "Well... let's get to work Twilight, bring your friends here!! We can finish all the prototypes before tomorrow if we hurry!" Twilight then agrees with him as they now began to stablish new formulas for the remaining prototypes.

Back at Hell, almost two years have passed since they arrived at Hell, the group is resting inside a cave, Eclipsed Sunlight is eating a pice of meat while Chief is cleaning off the blood from his blades and the Doom Slayer is sharpening the blade of his bracer with a rock, although they preserve their suits, Chief now wears a brown cloak he found on a fortress, while Sunlight wears pieces of armor from cyberdemons, such as shoulder, knee and shin pads, while also her jacket shows many scratches and is a bit torn apart from the lower section of the jacket, while her pants seem a bit ripped and her hair shows that it has grown, but also that she has cut it with her dark blades, and also has many scratches on her body.

"Y'know... I'm starting to like this meat, although it stills seems weird to me." Says Sunlight after finishing the piece of meat she was eating. "I told you... here, drink." Chief said as he lends Sunlight a canteen they found back a while ago, Sunlight takes it and drinks a bit from it, rehydratating with every gulp she takes. "...Ahhh, thanks John, I really needed it..." Sunlight gives back the canteen, then after a bit of silence she says. "I would've never thought that I'd miss taking a shower so much, hahaha."

"And I wouldn't imagine that I'd end up becoming friends with you... no offense." Replies Chief with a calm voice, his armor shows to be wore down, while also having blood stains in it. "Hahaha... yeah, you're right... Chief... do you think... they would forgive me?" Asks Sunlight with a serious face, Chief sees that and replies with a warmth voice. "As long as you want to be forgiven, they will forgive you, but it will take time, probably more than you think." Sunlight looks a bit reflective, it appears that now she regrets her actions. "Guys... I don't want to crush the moment but, I think we have to move, I'm beginning to catch communications from the Red, Omega and Blue Team regarding your status Chief." Says Cortana, who shows up on Chief's hand.

"Wait... you were with us the whole time?!" Asks Sunlight, she never noticed that. "Of course I have, but I've been monitoring Chief's brain activity to moderate the usage of his blades, and also I've been tracking the communication channels from both the Resistance and the First Order." Replies Cortana with a smile on her face, she seems proud of admitting it, then, Chief stands up and also does everyone. "Anyway, Cortana's right, we need to move."

The group picks up their stuff and resume their journey, after walking for hours, they finally arrived to the entrance to the rings of Hell.

The dark door is being custodied by an inmense horde of demons, not hundreds, but probably a thousand, as the group prepare to engage combat, Cortana tells Chief. "You need to be moderate with those, if you over use them, you'll end up succumbing to their demonic power." Chief only unsheathes his blades but doesn't activate their powers, the Slayer takes his Super Shotgun from the back of his waist and Sunlight creates dark blades, they begin the bloodshed, dismembering, mutilating, tearing apart, slitting and decapitating every single demon, then many elite demons appear, Chief couldn't help but to unleash the power of the blades and striking down the demons brutally with his red lightnings, after taking them down, Chief cahrges against the remaining hundreds of demons and begins to slaughter them brutally. Once the killing's over, Sunlight and the Doom Slayer take back their weapons as there are no more threats, but one thing remains. "...U-uhm, guys... I need you to... s-stop Chief!" Said Cortana through their communicators, Sunlight looks at Chief who's now covered in blood and slashes a Baron of Hell endlessly, Sunlight takes Chief by the shoulders, to stop him from continuing his senseless attacks, the Doom Slayer then takes off Chief's blades from his hands and also his helmet, revealing Chief's face, wounded, with many scratches, and with small traces of white hair, also his eyes' iris were turned red and emitted red lightnings due to his blade's demonic power.

In a few seconds, his eyes turned back to his normal blue color, Chief finally calmed down and came back to his senses. "W-What happened?" Asks Chief, he seems lost. "You lost control Chief, you were slashing that corpse senselessly, but now you're ok, just... don't use your blades, ok?" Says Sunlight, she seemed a bit worried about Chief's welfare, he then stands up, puts on his helmet and attaches his blades at his back. "Understood, c'mon, we're almost there." Said Chief while heading to the door, as they opened it and started walking towards it, Sunlight notices that the Doom Slayer is not going with them. "Why is he standing there? Shouldn't he come with us?" Asks Sunlight confused, Chief looks at the Slayer who reloads his shotgun and turns around and begins to walk back to where they came from. "He's going to wait for us." Replied Chief, as now only Sunlight and Chief came across the door, a red light blinded them, and before they realize, they were falling, although they had a short moment to act, they managed to protect themselves from the fall, as they stood up, Sunlight lookead around and contemplated a city not very far from where they are.

"...Pentagram City?" Asks Sunlight while looking at the city with more detail, it looks... chaotic. "We're here, let's move." Replies Chief with a serious voice, he seems not enjoying being there, but they have to in order to bring Flash back, they're now almost at achieving the goal that brought them here in the first place.

It's time to meet old acquaintances again and try to make a deal... with the Devil himself. Although Chief is uncertain of what can happen from now on, he's determined to return with Flash's soul.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note

Hi everybody!!! I really hope you're doing just fine and if not, you'll see how everything will become better. I hope you liked this chapter, I recognize I used a lot more of text in these latest chapters, but I've been quite busy. And I'm lacking the spare time I used to have to draw my character, but be sure that I'll draw the corresponding designs once I'm free from my academic overload.

Wish you a nice day.
- DReep.

Chapter 26: Among Memories, Gods and Contracts

Author's Note

Hi everyone! Here again with another chapter of Multiversal Crisis, I know I've been absent quite a while, but I had to take some time to properly define the route the story will take, and I think I've figured it out, but regardless of it, I'd like to hear y'all out to get some feedback and improve the story in the upcoming chapters. Without further ado! I leave you to read the chapter, hope you enjoy it!!

-DReep

Chapter 26: Among Memories, Gods and Contracts

Now back in Inazuma, Sunlight finally replies Yae's question. "My name is Sunlight, and I do... know him, but... we're not friends if that's what you ask... he's... my superior to put it in a simple way." Yae looks at Sunlight with a calmed gaze, but also undecipherable for everyone, she gently holds her chin with her hand and says politely. "You seem like a good girl, Sunlight. May we have a word in a more private place?" Said Yae as she moves her hand towards her shrine, the place where she often meditates, Sunlight only nods with her head and both head there, leaving the Arataki Gang outside.

"What do you think they will talk, boss? Asked Mamoru to Itto, who replies with a confident voice. "Well, whatever that may be, it surely won't concern us, so we better head back to the city." Itto then stood up and was about to walk out of the shrine, but a Shrine Maiden suddenly appears out of nowhere and startles Itto, and says. "Please, Lady Guuyi requests you to stay while her meeting ends."

"WOAH! Ok, ok, ok... we'll stay, but don't jump out of nowhere again... jeeezsh!" Said a scared Itto as he and the gang sit around, meanwhile, inside Yae's room, she and Sunlight have a more open talk.

"Tell me, Sunlight, what's your true relationship with Starkiller?" Asks Yae with a calming voice, helping Sunlight muster enough courage to tell her. "Listen, back to the world I'm from... I made some bad choices and joined his evil army, and when I wanted to leave... they used this dark magic to control my body to do their bidding. I was sent here to retrieve him and take him back to their headquarters, but to be honest... Not only that, but I'd rather leave him here to rot than anything else, but I won't be able to go back unless he comes with me." Sunlight then sighs of relief and looks at Yae, who says calmly.

"I see... now allow me to share you what I know... Starkiller arrived suddenly to this nation, and I began to track him when I sensed his dark presence. After his imprisonment, I handed him over to the Tenryou Commission, who will make sure he is judged by the Raiden Shogun, since he is a clear exception to all the laws in Inazuma due to his external condition, plus also killing a few soldiers. The thing is, when he gets judged by the Shogun, she'd probably choose to execute him right away, since he might pose a threat to the Shogun's quest for Eternity, but there is another outcome which is more likely to happen. Since he's an outlander of all kinds, the Shogun might need to ask herself which is the righteous choice. Everything we know until now, it's that there isn't any rules or laws known that already apply to him, so the decision of his sentence would not only involve the Shogun, but also the three Commissions in Inazuma, so his sentence will be delayed even more."

Sunlight then looks at Yae with confusion and asks. "And what do you want to say? That I can go with this Raiden Shogun and ask her to spare Starkiller's life?" Yae then chuckles and says with a calmed voice. "That would be an option, but what I want to say is... you're going to have time to think of your next move, I won't tell the authorities about you, so that you can decide whether to save Starkiller by doing what you said, or... you could do nothing and let his fate be decided by the Shogun, the choice is yours." After this talk, Sunlight now understands more the current stage, as she looks at Yae, she sees how she moves her hand towards the door, saying that this conversation has ended.

"Thanks... Lady Yae." Said Sunlight with a thankful smile, Yae only replies with a friendly voice. "Don't even mention it, I only did the easy part, now it's up to you." As both exit the room, Yae says. "Arataki Gang, may I give you a commission?" Itto stands up and was about to say something but he's interrupted by Yae who says. "Yes, there will be a remuneration if that's what you were going to ask." Itto then widens his eyes as Yae read his mind, but he then shakes his head and says. "Hey, if it's a favor for the Grand Narukami Shrine, the Arataki Gang could do it for free..." After saying this, he felt the gaze of his gang on him, even Shinobu's, so he had to fix it right away. "... But, since you insist, we won't decline your kind offer, what's the commission anyway, Lady Guuyi?"

Yae then says with a calmed expression. "Please give Sunlight a tour around Inazuma, she's not from here so before she leaves, she'd like to see everything from this beautiful nation." Itto then blinks for a few seconds and then says. "Is that all? Really? HA! Then c'mere little pal, let the Arataki Gang show you EVERYTHING there is to know about Inazuma, this is going to be AWESOME, HAHAHA!" As Itto said this, he wrapped his arm around Sunlight's shoulders and then began to walk out of the shrine along with the gang, as the sound of their laughs slowly fading away, Yae says to herself. "I hope Ei will make the right choice."

As Sunlight's tour begins, back in the Nation of Contracts, Axios finds themselves beneath the moonlight, approaching what appears to be a statue of a man sitting on a stone throne.

(I couldn't find any photos at nighttime)
"What is this?" Asks Applejack as she hits the tip of her hat with her finger, Twilight then approaches and says. "For the obvious looks it's a statue..." She then uses the visor of her suit and scans the statue, detecting a large amount of energy that lies inactive. "... But it appears it works as a beacon, or maybe a power source, but in any case, who might be the one sitting on the statue?" Asked Twilight as John and Rainbow Dash caught up to them, John then uses a weird device Tesla gave him time ago to scan anomalies, after some time and with Cortana's help, John says. "According to the readings, this is a statue that is fueled by some kind of Elemental Energy, more specifically, an energy that shares many similarities with... rocks?" John's answer made everyone a bit more confused, although Twilight then tried something... risky.

As she approaches her hand to the statue, she feels how its sleeping energy wakes up and gets to her, even if only for a moment, Twilight could felt how someone gazed his eyes upon them, but she couldn't describe the feeling to anyone else. "Hey Twilight! Are you okay?" Asked a concerned Rainbow Dash, but Twilight replies calmly. "Yeah... it was... a simple reaction of the energy of the statue, nothing to worry about." Twilight knew for sure, she couldn't say what she truly felt, but John's HUD Display showed him an enemy target, Cortana then quickly said.

"John, unknown entity approaching..." John then said with a serious voice. "Speed?..." John's expression changed when he heard Cortana's worried voice saying. "NO TIME!!" John then lost control over his body, this only happened a few times before, Cortana used the neural link between her and John to move his body quicker than any reaction time a Spartan can have. John felt his arm taking his blades and quickly turning around, John only saw a green shine approaching and his blades taking guard in front of him. In a matter of half a second, the green light approached and clashed against John, revealing itself as not a light, but as a young teenager holding a spear while wearing a demon mask.

John used the power of his blades and swung them away before their attacker could do anything else, while John analyses the situation quickly as everything moves slowly.

"Dammit! That was really fast! If not for Cortana, that would've done severe damage to me! What's with that power? It's... wind? Anyway, I didn't use too much strength to swing him away, so there might not be a huge power gap between us, but why to strike now? Probably it happened when Twilight touched the statue, whatever it did, I won't let him hurt anyone!" As John saw their attacker almost touching the ground, he knew the moment that happens, he will attack again.

As the tension intensifies, John prepares to attack as their attacker finally touched the ground. Both charged, and the clash between a wind spear and the crimson slashes of the blades caused a light show that blinded the girls only for a moment, after John and their attacker's shape became more clear, John shouts. "DASH! NOW!" Rainbow Dash couldn't get what he wants her to do, but she knows one thing, there's an opening.

Within the time of the small opening, Rainbow Dash charged at a lightning-like speed and kicked their attacker on the side of his belly, launching away, then John quickly said. "Twilight, Applejack! Reduce his movement!" Applejack then punched the ground in front of her and shattered it, lifting many rocks in the air. Twilight used her power and pushed the rocks towards their attacker, who quickly recovered and used the flying rocks as platforms to thrust himself forward, John took the lead and thanks to Twilight, their attacker head to him in a straight line.

John used his blades and intercepted their attacker's spear with his blades. "Who are YOU?" Asked John as he doesn't flinch, not even a millimeter, only to hear their attacker's voice. "The only thing you need to know, it's that I will defeat you, demon!" After this, both engaged into trading slashes. But their attacker got quickly overwhelmed by the violent nature of John's blades and the coordinated attacks of the girls and John, he creates openings for Rainbow and AJ to land heavy blows. In a brief neglect, their attacker couldn't see John's punch heading direct to his belly, launching their attacker away while Axios regroups. As John tries to think of a plan to defeat him, he looks at their attacker's face, his mask has faded away and reveals his wounds.

"I recognize your strength for being Visionless mortals, my name is Adeptus Xiao, Conquerer of Demons." Said Xiao as he wipes off some blood he spat due to Chief's last punch and prepares to attack. John then says with a serious voice. "Well, Xiao. You have a choice between keep fighting or stopping and give explanations. And by the looks of your face, I already know the answer." Said John as he also prepares to attack. Xiao then summons his mask again and John charges up his blades, both then charge forward at the same time and as the tip of their weapons come closer, a pillar sprouts from beneath the ground and stops their attacks, followed by a deep voice saying. "Enough!" Revealing someone else's intervention.

John and Xiao remaing still, although Xiao recovered quicker than John, who couldn't believe the feeling of his attack bouncing back to him, such an awkward feeling, the pillar in front of him is an outstanding creation. "How is it....?" Said Xiao after seeing the man that caused this, Rex Lapis.

"Cease this fighting, now!" Said Rex Lapis as he walked forward, getting in the middle of both of them. "May I know who are you?" Asked John as he calms down but doesn't sheath his blades. Rex Lapis then looked at John and introduced himself. "Greetings good sir, my name is Zhongli, I'm a counselor at the Liyue city, I also offer my services to deal with many threats, I recently arrived to assist Wangshu Inn with a monster issue, but it appears I find myself with the Conqueror of Demons himself fighting strangers." Said Rex Lapis, introducing himself as Zhongli.

John looks at Zhongli and Xiao, with doubt in his mind, he asks. "Why is HE attacking us?" Asked John pointing out to Xiao with his blades, Xiao then ceases his attack and says with a calmed voice. "I sensed a demonic energy near Wangshu Inn, I had to intervene in order to protect the people around the area. Sorry if I may seem hostile, but my duty as Adeptus is to destroy all evil, even if I have to die to do so."

John then looks at Xiao. Just like him, his role at the beginning of the war in his universe was only to kill whom he was told to, no questioning, only blind loyalty, John understands Xiao's actions, it isn't his fault to be entrusted with such a heavy burden. Chief then looks at his blades, it appears the people of this world can sense energy on a different level as anyone John has met before, he then proceeds to sheath his blades, with a calmed voice he says. "My blades were forged with demonic runes, although I'd like not to use them very often, their powers come in very handy most of the time. We're outlanders, but I can assure you, our intentions aren't hostile." Zhongli then makes a statement with a serious and calming voice. "Then, if you plase, we can go for a walk to Wangshu Inn, I'm sure a good meal will be more welcoming to our visitors." Zhongli then looked at Xiao and asked gently. "Would the Conqueror of Demons join us?"

"You go, I still have to check if there aren't any other monsters that were attracted by the energy of those blades." Said Xiao with a serious voice as he takes his spear and quickly jumps away, leaving the group alone. "How unfortunate... the Conqueror of Demons never rests, I wish him the best of lucks. Now then, may I know who are our distinguished visitors?" Asked Zhongli as he leads everyone towards Wangshu Inn. A fine place that serves for visitors from the North to have shelter and warm food to continue their journey.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, Rainbow Dash and Applejack and he's..." Twilight was about to introduce John but he chose to introduce himself. "My name is John, we come from far away, so we offer apologies if we result to be ignorant of your traditions or costumes." As they walk, Zhongli says with a reflective voice. "Greetings to you all, would it be rude for me to ask where are you from exactly? Your names aren't familiar with any Nations' tendencies." After this question, none of the girls wanted to reply, since they knew barely nothing of this world and they would be caught lying if they make a wrong answer.

"We come from a distant land far beyond the sea, it's irrelevant its name, we're only here to find someone who is in Inazuma." Said John with a calmed voice, Zhongli then says with a peaceful voice. "Is that so? Then let's not waste any more time, we'll have a quick dinner and if you wish, I can guide you safely to Liyue City."

Rainbow Dash then said with a cheerful voice. "That would be great, what do you think John? We might need some help to get there quicker than scheduled." John then began to think of this possibility, this would mean to involve locals into their mission, but not necessarily, as long as Mr. Zhongli doesn't involve directly, everything should be fine, with a serious voice, John replied. "As long as Mr. Zhongli is ok with it, we can gladly take your offer."

"Marvellous, then, let's get going." Said Zhongli as everyone began to walk towards the Inn, once there, the locals began to look at John with shock since they've never seen anyone as tall as him, nor using an armor like his, as they get on an elevator, Zhongli said. "Your armor really stands out, John, I hope it doesn't bother you the awkward looks of the people."

"Don't worry, I'm aware of that..." As the pulley mechanism activates, the elevator stucks and doesn't elevate. "What happened?" Asked Applejack as she looks up, thinking the problem must be on the pulley mechanism, but John walks out of the elevator as he says. "Me, that's what's happening." As John steps out of the elevator, it began to elevate much quicker than usual, his armor truly is a problem right now, but he can't wear it off, so he uses his grappling hook and shoots it to the rock and thrusts himself, catching up with the rest as they exit the elevator. "Ok... that was, strange nonetheless, I've never seen this elevator getting stuck, not even when merchants bring their supplies." Said Zhongli with a slightly surprised voice, John then says with a serious voice. "This armor is heavy... really heavy, let's get going." As John turns around and was about to walk, he feels how each of his footsteps puts a lot of pressure on the wood planks beneath him, at the third step, the planks broke and John feel to the water. As he swims out, he uses his communicator and says. "Girls, you stay the night here, I'll make my own camp nearby, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you." After this, John then began to collect branches and rocks to make his improvised camp.

"He's... extremly tough, not many would've walked out of such a fall like nothing happened." Said Zhongli with a surpised look as he just saw John fell right in front of him, Applejack then said with a smile. "Yup, he's a tough fella indeed, but it'll take some time to fix the hole he left." After this, they saw how John began to walk out of the Inn with a few branches. "That's right, don't worry, I'll talk to the manager so it doesn't become a bigger problem. But... where's he going?" Asked Zhongli with curiosity, Twilight then received the message and then replied with a calmed voice. "He's going to make his own camp, don't worry, he'll be fine." After this, the rest of the group head to Wangshu Inn and check in, Mr. Zhongli's skills helped them to calm the waters as the group promised to fix the hole John left.

As the night goes on, John sits in front of a bonefire, contemplating which could be their next move since now they have Zhongli's help, but as John finds himself in his thoughts, he's interrupted by Zhongli, who came with a box of food and says. "Oh! I wasn't expecting you would still be awake." John looked at him and said with a calmed voice. "Then why bring some food?" Zhongli sees a rock and sits on it, as he takes the box and hands it to John as he says. "It's some dishes originary of Liyue, I told the chef to use ingredients that taste good no matter the time of its consumption, I was aiming to leave it here for you to eat as breakfast, but since you're awake, I think I'll spend some time here chatting with you." John takes the box and although reluctantly, takes off his helmet to eat, showing his face to Zhongli, who says. "You look different from those girls, but not as different in the way of your features, but different on its own constitution."

John tries to avoid the topic by saying. "Well, one thing I've learned throughout my life is that the Universe will always have something new to show you." Said John as he took another bite of his food, although there is one question in his mind. "Y'know, Mr. Zhongli, I've been wondering something, what is an Adeptus?" Zhongli looks at him reflective, after a few seconds of thought, he says with a serious yet calming voice.

"The Adepti are a group formed by Illuminated Beasts and Gods of Liyue, some are bound by a divine contract to protect this land from demons and evils. They've existed for many millenia by now, I'm assuming you asked yourself this after your encounter with Adeptus Xiao. But even among Adepti, there are different rank, Adeptus Xiao is member of a faction of Adepti named The Guardian Yakshas. These were elite Adepti summoned by the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis to fight the remnants of dead gods after what some call The Archon War, but many were corrupted by the darkness they faced, leaving only Adeptus Xiao as the only Guardian Yaksha remaining." After hearing this, John can't help but to understand that feeling, being a soldier was never easy. In the beginning of his career, he and his fellow Spartans were deployed to fight in many lethal missions to win the war against The Covenant, one by one, they were dying, leaving only 8 Spartan-II s in the current time. His duty always demanded him to be on the front lines doing the impossible, and when they time came, they were replaced with the new generation of Spartans. Though someone would think that it's good, the truth is, being replaced is a hell when you're the object in question, many considered him old, obsolete, a memory of a past achievement that could be improved in the future. But regardless of that, he still fights, no matter how many times they try to bring him down, as long as he has blood and oxygen in his body, he'll fight for what he thinks is right.

With a serious voice, John then asks. "Are you also an Adeptus, Mr. Zhongli?" Zhongli can't help but to widen his eyes, as he tries to disimulate, he chuckles and replies with a friendly voice. "I appreciate that you suspect of me to be a member of the Adepti, but I'm afraid I'm only a simple advisor of Liyue." John then eats the last bite and begins to say. "When we arrived here, the local folk stared at us like if we were strange creatures, we ignored them, yeah, but the feeling remains, and when we faced Xiao, he felt indifference for our appereance, just like you do, but he had a target, a mission, you on the other hand, are doing this only because of a good action? Really? Also, you seem to pack quite the punch, stopping my blades just like that? I've managed to slash tougher things before, so it is clear to me that you and Adeptus Xiao are powerful beings."

Zhongli replies with a calmed expression. "That, my friend... it's due to the existence of... this." Zhongli then takes from his lower back what it seems to be a golden jewel, which glows with a symbol in the middle of it.

Zhongli then begins to explain with a serious voice. "In Teyvat, there are 7 elements that rule everything, Anemo which is the power of wind, Geo the power of the rock, Electro the power of the thunder, Dendro the power of plants, Hydro the power of water, Pyro the power of fire and Cryo the power of ice. Each of this elements are also the main feature of a nation, in the case of Liyue, this is the land of Geo, ruled by the Geo Archon Rex Lapis. In order for mortals to wield the power of the elements, there exist Visions, which are granted by the Gods' gaze, recognizing one's ambition and wishes, a Vision Wielder is much more powerful than many mortals, but even so, there are creatures that lack a vision and can outmatch even the best of the Vision Wielders, both the Conqueror of Demons and I have a Vision. That might answer your question."

John looked at Zhongli with doubt, he wasn't sure if what he was saying was truth or not, but regardless of it, he couldn't afford losing their guide on this land, John then sighs and says. "Well, you may be right Mr. Zhongli, may I ask you a favor?" Zhongli crosses his arms and gently replies. "As long as it's in my capabilities, I'd gladly help, tell me, what can I do for you?"

John leans forward and with a serious expression, he says. "I'm going to be honest with you, I'm a soldier on a mission, in order to fulfill it, I need as much information as I can of this place, you seem to be a cultured fella, so I'd appreciate if you could help me providing that info." Zhongli looks at John with a serious expression, a deep silence was created between them, if not for the sound of the bonfire, it would be an awkward situation, Zhongli could recognize John's determination, his blue eyes, though tired, seem to be like the ones of a wolf hunting down its prey, but Zhongli uses this chance to give John another history lesson.

"Liyue is also known as the nation of contracts, if you have a basic knowledge of these, you'd probably know that in order for a contract to be carried on, both parts need to come to a mutual agreement. Although I could gladly help you, what do I earn from this? I'm already helping you to move throughout Liyue safely, so what could be worth of this favor you're asking me for?" Said Zhongli with a peaceful voice, John's expression changed to a more reflective one, he then hears Cortana's voice advicing him. "John, whatever you're thinking, we can't compromise our mission." John then looks at Zhongli and says with a serious voice.

"If that's the thing, let's make a fair trade, I've seen your intrigue about our purpose here in Teyvat... you seem to hide your identity by evading my questions with valid arguments, I respect it though, so here's the deal. I'd tell you the truth about our arrival, you tell me your true intentions, after that, you will be able to choose whether to keep guiding us to Inazuma or leave us to our own expenses. Sounds fair?" After this, Zhongli seemed reflective, for the first time in ages, he's right in front of a mortal that suspects his identity and he can't lure his attention away from it. It appears he won't have another option, in order to ensure Liyue's safety, Rex Lapis must know the intentions of these outsiders, with a calmed voice, Zhongli says.

"Sounds fair, shall we begin then?" After this, both began to explain themselves thoroughly throughout the night, ending their conversation a few hours before daybreak, as John got some sleep leaning on a trunk, Zhongli headed back to Wangshu Inn, being Applejack the first one to get up and headed down, waking up John.

"Chief, it's mornin' already, we gotta fix the hole ya' did yesterday, remember?" John slowly opens his eyes as he says. "Yeah, wake up the others and have breakfast, I'll handle the hole." John said this as he stands up and puts on his helmet, Applejack stretches her arms as she replies. "Allow me to help you, there's nothin' better to start the day than a good dose of hard work." As John nods with his head towards Applejack, he puts on his helmet and checks on his HUD the various notes Cortana made out of his conversation with Mr. Zhongli, Cortana then says with a calmed voice. "So, I've checked this notes over and over again, as also I checked the recordings of your conversation, we got one question remaining. What kind of Adeptus is Zhongli? He said he was indeed part of this group, but his behavior is much different from the one of the Adepti he told us about."

"There's one option remaining, y'know? But do you think it might be possible?" Said John as he goes back to his ideas, Streetward Rambler, Cloud Retainer, Sea Gazer, Moon Carver, all of those are names of members of the Adepti, but Zhongli never mentioned his name as one of them, he said the he prefers his mortal name, but the doubt remains, although that won't be an actual problem for their mission, it's something John's curiosity can't ignore. As John and Applejack fix the hole, Twilight comes out of the Inn and says. "Good morning guys... woah! John, how are you standing here?" John finishes nailing the last plank and replies with a calmed voice.

"Cortana redirected the electric composition of my kinetic shield, focusing all the electrons beneath my feet in circular constant motion, making me much lighter than before, and therefore I can walk over not very strong surfaces without breaking them, it's an idea Cortana and I came up with yesterday after my accident." This idea is similar to a design Tesla made of anti-gravity boots, but it's much less elaborated, Twilight then looks around and says. "Have you seen Mr. Zhongli? I didn't see him while breakfast."

"That¿s because I left to make some scheming for our journey." Said Zhongli, who just arrived and startled Twilight from behind, Zhongli then salutates everyone and after they finished fixing the hole, they left to continue their journey, as the group keeps walking, Twilight has been wondering something for quite the time, Rainbow Dash notices her expression and asks on a low voice. "Hey, Twi! Is everything ok?"

Twilight looks at Rainbow with concern and replies. "It's just... I've been thinking about something that came to my mind lately." Rainbow Dash now feels intrigued and says. "Oh! What is it?" Twilight then begins to say with a reflective voice. "These journeys... every time we go to another universe... we alter its reality, and by that I mean... if we think of every universe following their unique storylines, what consequences have the external intervention of individuals like us? There must be a limit for all of this, don't you think?" Rainbow Dash now begins to think about this, and replies with another question.

"What are you trying to say?" Asks Rainbow Dash, Applejack couldn't help herself but to hear their conversation, Twilight then said with a more serious voice. "My theory is that if we begin to interfere with the events of a universe, there might be a point of no return, but the question is, what will happen when we get there? Would the whole reality collapse? Would we create a chaos in the time-space continuity which might implicate a reality splitting into many thanks to unexpected turn of events, or maybe..." Without noticing, Twilight began to think aloud, she only realized when John said. "Twilight! Calm down! Your worries are justified, but trust me when I say, those possibilities have already been considered. We can talk about them later, but now, we must focus on the road ahead."

After a few minutes walking, Rainbow Dash claims bored. "Can we do something else than just walk? Like... Oh! I know! Mr. Zhongli, you seem to be a local, do you know any interesting story or fun fact of this land?" Zhongli gently turns around as he keeps walking and says with a friendly face. "Sure I do! What would you think if I say you're standing on what once was a stage of a brutal war?" Zhongli sees the girls' shocked expression and he continues. "Thousands of years ago, this world was full of gods of many kinds, each had their own vision of how the world should be ruled. It was a matter of time before they began to fight, and since no one gave an inch, it unleashed one of the greatest conflicts in history known as the Archon War. But as in every war, there has to be a victor and a loser. Those gods who lost the war perished and their memeory has now faded through the years, and those who won settled their own vision of governance over the land. And in order to prevent further conflict, the land of Teyvat was divided in seven nations, Liyue, Monstadt, Inazuma, Fontaine, Snezhnaya, Sumeru and Natlan, each nation has their own culture and each land is ruled by gods known as Archons, Liyue is ruled by the Geo Archon Rex Lapis, and your next destination... Inazuma, is ruled by the Electro Archon Baal, also known as the Raiden Shogun." After this, the girls felt more thrilled about this story, but John interrupted by asking.

"What can you tell us about this... Raiden Shogun, Zhongli?" Zhongli looks at John and replies with a calmed voice. "The God of Eternity, Baal is one that rules with an unyielding will, her goal to seek for Eternity is one I respect, but maybe not everyone in Inazuma may agree with her, but one thing's for sure, she won't let anything stand in her way to achieve the goal previous mentioned. She has isolated her nation from the rest of Teyvat because of this, so that's why getting to Inazuma is an extremely difficult." John then looked away with a reflective expression, if this is true, then they won't be very welcomed in Inazuma.

"So... what about the other gods? Are they like her?" Asked Rainbow Dash with curiosity, Zhongli then replied to each of the girls' questions about the history of Teyvat, in order to endure the long journey ahead. After several minutes, the group finally arrives to Liyue Harbor, a maginificent city that gathers the best there's in Liyue.

"Welcome to the Liyue Harbor, here you will find Liyue's cultural specialties, alongside the headquarters where all of Liyue is ruled, if you hurry, you may reach them on time." Said Zhongli said as he began to walk towards the city as Applejack asks. "Uhmm... who are we looking for exactly?" Zhongli turns around and says. "For a Captain, as I said, Inazuma is far across the sea, and not every crew can navigate through those wild tides, fortunately, I know a crew that might be useful for you, once you get to the docks, look for Captain Beidou, of the Crux Meridian fleet, she and her crew might be the only ones that could take you to Inazuma."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Asks Twilight cofused, Zhongli only replies with a calmed and serious voice. "This is where my deal with you ends, I said that I'd bring you safe to Liyue Harbor, and so I did. From now on, your journey depends solely on you, but don't misunderstand me, I wish you the best of the lucks in your mission." John then shakes Zhongli's hand and says with a serious voice. "Thanks, Mr. Zhongli, we truly appreciate your help, we'll take it from here." As Zhongli shakes John's hand, he says. "Not without this." He then moves his hand to behind his back and takes a money bag that's a bit heavy and in it, there's a geo symbol on it. "What's this?" Asks John as he openes the bag, realizing the amount of More there is in it, which is quite a lot to fit in this bag and be so light.

"A gift that may help you on your journey, it'll attend your needs, but only your true needs." As Zhongli said this, they parted ways, Axios headed into the city as Zhongli watches them from the distance. As they walked, John could feel the looks of everyone over them, but he ignored them, as long as they didn't interact with the locals, there won't be any problem.

As Axios prepares to move forward, back in Inazuma, Sunlight is having breakfast with the Arataki Gang, after their day touring around the nation, Sunlight was astonished by the beauty and diversity of this world, while also doing a few comissions beating up some bad guys that stole goods and supplies from merchants. "Hey! Shunligh! How did ya' lern do figh anhway?" Asked Itto as he was munching a bite of a roasted Lavender Melon, Sunlight only looks at him as she also munches her food, but Shinobu says to Itto. "Boss! Talking with your mouth full it's considered a lack of manners." Itto swallows his food and replies. "C'mon Shinobu, y'know me! I speak my mind out regardless of the situation, HAHA!" Said Itto with a cheerful voice, Sunlight finishes her food and replies Itto's question. "I've been training since I'm a kid, so it's not too big of a deal." Shinobu looks at Sunlight and says. "Then I'd like to meet your mentor, whoever can teach such high-level skills must be a great martial artist." Itto the said loudly. "Me too! I'd like to see if your mentor can handle the Oni style created by yours truly!" Akira then says with a serious voice. "Uhmm, boss, since when do you practice martial arts, at all?" Itto looks at him and replies with a proud laughter. "Oh my dear Akira, Onis already have a martial art running through our blood, with my unique talent, that's how I created the Itto Style." Sunlight and Shinobu laugh about this, since both know such a thing doesn't exist, but Sunlight remembers the question, meet her mentor, with a nervous voice, she says. "I don't think you'd be able to meet her."

"Huh?! Why not? Is she dead or somethin'?" Asked Itto suddenly only to receive a weak punch of Shinobu on his shoulder, leaving Itto in bewilderment, Sunlight then scratches the back of her head as she says. "Yeah... not exactly... let's just say... we ended... in bad terms... so I had to leave her side." Sunlight never thought that she'd say this words, only remembering those times, makes her feel awkward, as she looks at the wood stick she used to pierce her Lavender Melon, she remembers the words of her first friend and mentor. "Hey, you good?... The name's Tempest... What's yours?" Although is only a memory, it weighs on her chest as nothing else in her life does, probably, she can pay her a visit after so much time, hoping that they don't fight like the last time they talked.

Sunlight's mind gets instantly bombarded with an aching pulsing, there's something or someone trying to get to her, and it's obvious who it is since her necklace began to glow dimly, as Sunlight gets her hands on her head, Itto asks. "Yo, Sunlight, you good?" Sunlight then looks at Itto and says with a groaning face. "Y-yeah... it's just... I need a moment. Phew!" Said Sunlight as the feeling faded away, Shinobu then says with a concerned voice. "Was it the necklace? Remember, if something's wrong, we can go with Lady Guuyi again and..." Shinobu is then interrupted by Sunlight who replies with a calmed voice.

"Don't worry Kuki, it won't happen again, plus, Lady Yae said that as long as I don't use my necklace and don't take away any seal, its magic won't be able to control me." As the Arataki Gang looks at Sunlight with concern, Itt can't help but to ask. "If that necklace is so dangerous and stuff, why do you still wear it?" Sunlight sighs with resignation, although she doesn't like to say this, it won't hurt anyone to know, they already know the necklace is dangerous so what could be worse? Sunlight then musters courage and says.

"Whether I like it or not, the necklace gives me powers, and in order to beat the hell out of the guys who used me, I'll need power." After this, Sunlight stands up and says. "Let's change of topic, what else do we have to do on the list? I think we have like two or three things left, am I right?" As Sunlight and the gang began to check everything on their Fabulous Touring-To-Do Things List, a squad of samurais of the Tenryou Commission gets to them and interrupt their task.

"Eclipse Sunlight, you're under arrest for suspiscion of conspiracy against Inazuma and its people." Everyone's eyes widen as they heard those words, Itto quickly stands up and intervenes by saying with an upset tone. "Hold on! Conspiracy?! She's been hangin' with us the whole day! How is she goin' to be part of a... conspiracy?!"

"You better stay back, son! Or we'll take you and your Gang in too!" Said a samurai as he unsheathes his blade and aims it towards Itto, who wasn't planning on stepping back, but Shinobu intervened before he couold do something reckless. "Boss! We better not make this situation worse than it already seems, ok?..." Asked Shinoub with a serious voice, Itto calmed down reluctantly as Shinobu now handles the conversation. "What evidence do you have of those crimes, sir?" A samurai then steps forth, he seems to be the captain of the squadron, with a serious voice, he says. "We received an intruder of the outside in Tenshukakku and before his execution, he told the Raiden Shogun that his partner was nearby, preparing to strike down this nation, he gave us a name and we began to search around the city, and thanks to the many testimonies of people you've helped today and a few locals, we located you."

Sunlight now begins to connect the pieces, probably Starkiller gave her away with the idea of getting together and then escaping this world, but his plan will be ruined, if she resists the arrest, everything will be worse and maybe she'd have to face the so-called Raiden Shogun, and it's not in her plans to fight a god, so she has to play it smart, buy time and prove that she's not with Starkiller. With a calmed expression, Sunlight looks at the gang and says. "Don't worry guys! Everything will be fine." Sunlight goes with the samurai and turns herself in as she says. "Alright gentlemen, I'll go with you." The captain of the squad handcuffs her and the group leaves with Sunlight.

As Sunlight heads to her meeting with the Raiden Shogun, we can't ignore one missing part, Vader's plan, as he said before leaving, he felt intrigued by the recent incident with The Flood, as he and a platoon of Sith Troopers explore different universes, they now settled a camp near a remote universe, as Vader is now in his tent having a private conversation with Kylo Ren.

"What do you have in mind, master? You left without telling me anything." Said Kylo with a serious voice, Vader seems reflective as he replies with a calmed voice. "When I read the case over the incident with the Flood parasite at Zeta Halo, something I saw caught my attention, and it's the fact the Master Chief worked together with you, his sworn enemy."

"Yeah, it also caught me off guard, but the situation needed it." Replied Kylo as he crosses his arms with a serious expression, but Vader highlights that by saying. "Precisely, he put aside your differences and the fact they we're enemies only to fight a bigger threat, and by reading his profile on our database, he'd only do that on the worst case scenario, a threat so big that his motivation to eliminate it is.... fear...." Said Vader with a deep voice, but Kylo still can't fully understand what he's saying, so he keeps silent as Vader asked him.

"What exactly is the overall idea we have on Master Chief?" Kylo then replies with a serious voice. "A pain in the ass, he doesn't give up, he managed to take down bases and operatives, he has an insane amount of luck, it's like he is capable of making things go his favor on purpose. That makes difficult every time we are making a secret operation, if he becomes aware of it, it's matter of time before he crushes it." Vader now seems reflective as he begins to walk around as he says.

"And that's why The Resistance has him in such high hopes, his record has granted him a title of savior, am I right?" Kylo now begins to feel intrigued and replies. "Not exactly, but they do rely on him quite a lot, the fight at the observatory only lasted long because we lured him away, and the ambush we settled in his home, we almost killed him by combining our efforts, but it was really hard." Vader now begins to connect the pieces and tells his plan to Kylo.

"Indeed, but... in the end, he's human, he's no divinity or force of nature, he's as mortal as we are and therefore, he can feel all of our emotions, happiness, sadness, anger, anguish, and... fear. We can use that fear to bring him to us, killing him would be a high endeavor, and we might need a lot of our efforts to do so, but... if we can imprison him... forever, we won't have to worry about him, I'm looking for the knowledge required to do such a task, but we'll need something that can lure him into our trap." Kylo now understands it and says. "His family... the closest ones to him are the ones that can hurt him the most, we already tried kidnapping someone, but we didn't do it to capture him, but to draw those teenagers out. But... I think I know whom to capture to lead him right into our trap." Said Kylo with a serious voice, as Vader now says with a confident voice. "Then make the preparations, once I get a way to seal him, we'll begin our operation." After this, Kylo nods with his head and disconnects, as Vader now shows a sinister smile and says with a reflective but deep voice.

"When God can't no longer protect mortals, Demons will now be free to unleash hell on earth." As the Sith begin to move in the shadows, using the chaos created throughout the multiverse as their cloak, it won't be much longer until true chaos is unleashed upon the innocent.

END OF CHAPTER