In a flash of purple flames Opaline reappeared inside the throne room of her castle. Her invasion of Equestria was all going according to plan. Using the network of Together Trees she had successfully stolen the Cutie Marks of all the ponies in Equestria. Well, all except for six of them. The Alicorn absentmindedly reached a hoof up to touch a golden necklace hanging around her neck with six empty slots on it. For whatever reason the traitor Misty and her friends had been outside of the range of the Together Trees when Opaline had begun her plan, but no matter. The six of them would get what was coming to them in time. For now, Opaline had preparations to do.

As the stolen Cutie Marks attached themselves to the leaves of the Together Tree Opaline’s castle was built around the tree started to glow and hum with power. Opaline let out a mad cackle as the castle began to shake and crumble around her.

Misty galloped over the rough terrain, heading in the direction of her old home. Izzy and Hitch were hot on her tail while Zipp and Pipp followed from above. The five of them came to a stop at the top of a slope as the castle came into view. Alarmingly, there was a bright green light coming from the Together Tree.

“What’s she up to?” Izzy asked no one in particular.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like what I’m seeing.” Zipp replied.

Misty stared at the place she called home for a large portion of her life, eyes narrowed. “What are you planning now, Opaline?” She said quietly.

She got her answer a moment later. The group watched in horror as the tree turned into a giant ball of green light and rose into the air, while the castle fell apart and collapsed. The ball continued to rise into the sky until it disappeared in a blinding burst of light. A creature of some kind appeared where the ball had been, dropping down to the ground.

The creature was massive in size. Its body was made of the same type of wood as the Together Tree. It stood on six legs with the bulk of its mass being made up by its torso, a sinister pulsing green light coming from its underbelly. Atop its back stood many jagged spikes twisting in different directions, along with four arms bearing claws on their ends. Its head had fins on it, with a giant mouth containing three rows of sharp teeth and five purple orbs that seemed to serve as eyes. The creature breathed and snarled.

Pipp gulped. “What… am I looking at?”

“Opaline,” Misty growled. “She must have used the energy from all the stolen Cutie Marks to transform the Together Tree into some kind of monster.”

The head tilted, seemingly looking at them.

“Can it… see us?” Hitch asked.

As if in response the creature let out a bellowing roar.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Zipp said sarcastically.

Suddenly the group heard a laugh that was all too familiar to Misty coming from inside the creature. A section of wood beneath the neck moved away to reveal Opaline.

“Hello, heroes.” The evil Alicorn greeted, grinning from ear to ear. She studied their group closely. “No sign of Sunny, I see. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh well, I’m sure she’ll be here before long. In the meanwhile, it’s going to be fun watching you all struggle against my unrivalled power.”

“What have you done?” Misty demanded.

Opaline cackled. “Oh, nothing much. I simply used the power of the dragon stone combined with the magic of the Cutie Marks I took from those worthless ponies to create a weapon that even you lot, with all your luck, cannot hope to defeat.”

“So that must be the dragon stone emitting that green light.” Pipp realised.

The wood moved back into place, obscuring Opaline from view. The creature roared again before taking a battle stance. Beams of purple energy shot out of the spikes on its back, raining down upon the group. Misty threw up a magical shield, the beams crashing harmlessly into it. Once the onslaught ceased Misty dropped her shield and charged down the slope.

“Misty! Where are you going?” Izzy called after her.

“We have to keep her busy until Sunny gets here.” Misty shouted back.

Izzy, Hitch, Zipp and Pipp exchanged hesitant glances with each other before following after Misty. The creature’s mouth opened and fired out dozens of small balls of purple fire at the incoming ponies. Misty defended herself by throwing her shield up again. Izzy meanwhile had resorted to either dodging the balls of fire or blasting them with beams of energy from her horn. One of the balls collided with her beams very close to Izzy’s head, creating a flash of light that briefly blinded her. When she recovered from this brief blindness Izzy saw that one of the fireballs was about to hit her in the face. Before she could react large vines burst out of the ground in front of her, forming a wall between her and the fireball. The fireball slammed into the wall of vines and burnt them away, but burnt itself out in the process. Izzy looked to her right and saw Hitch standing there, his hooves glowing with Earth Pony magic.

The Unicorn sighed with relief. “Thanks, Hitch.”

“No problem.” Hitch responded.

Meanwhile above them Zipp was flying around in a circle at high speed, generating lightning as she went. Upon stopping, Zipp flung the lightning at the creature’s head. Unfortunately while the Pegasus scored a direct hit, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. The creature retaliated by firing a beam of energy from one of its back spikes which grazed Zipp’s wing. She hissed in pain.

“Sis.” Pipp called out.

Misty watched all this from the ground. They were outmatched. They needed Sunny.

“Come on, Sunny.” Misty muttered. “Where are you?”

Over at Maretime Bay the mind controlled Jade and Lava were trying to force their way into the Brighthouse, but were unable to break through the barrier erected by the Unity Crystals. Spike and the other dragons were standing inside the barrier in front of the Brighthouse doors, while Sunny and Sparky were watching from the Crystal room at the top of the building where the Unity Crystals themselves were housed.

“Do you think they’ll be able to break through?” Sunny called down.

“Not a chance,” Spike replied. “That barrier was designed by Twilight. They aren’t getting through. I’m more worried about the fact that they’ll hurt themselves if they continue to just throw themselves at the barrier.”

Sunny tapped her hoof against her chin in thought. “Oh. I think I can stop them.”

Her Alicorn form activated and she took off, flying through the barrier.

“Hey. Come and get me.” She taunted.

It worked. Both dragons broke off their assault on the barrier to pursue her instead. Once she was sure both of them were directly behind her she spun around and released a blinding flash of golden magic, stunning the two of them. Then she created a magical sphere around the stunned dragons, gently lowering them to the ground.

“Well done, Sunny.” Spike praised as he and the other dragons stepped through the barrier.

Blaize gave the sphere a gentle tap. “Huh. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

Just then Sunny noticed Sparky was trying to get her attention, waving his arms around while holding… her phone? She flew up and took the phone from him, discovering Izzy was on the other end.

“Izzy?” She asked.

“Sunny! We ne_d yo_ he__ _ow…”

“Izzy? Izzy!”

The line went dead. Sunny hastily dropped her phone and rode the elevator down to the bedroom, where she grabbed her lantern. It wasn’t much, but it contained a portion of the Unity Crystals’ prisbeam magic so it might be useful. As she was turning to leave again she spotted a faint red glow in the corner of her vision. Approaching it she found the source was the heart shaped pendant she’d gotten from the Breezie market. The Breezie who had given it to her said it had long been searching for a special pony and that it thought Sunny was “the one”. Sunny still had no clue what that meant, but the pendant was currently giving off a faint red glow, meaning it held some sort of magic of its own. It could come in handy.

Deciding to bring it as well, Sunny rode the elevator back up to the Crystal room and took off, flying in the direction of Opaline’s castle. “I’m going to help my friends.” She called to the dragons.

“Let’s go with her.” Blaize said, preparing to take off.

“No!” Spike commanded. “While Opaline possesses the dragon stone, we’d be more of a liability than a help. It’s down to Sunny and her friends to end this.”

Back up top Sparky was picking up Sunny’s discarded phone when the prisbeam suddenly cut off. Sparky stared at the Unity Crystals as they separated from one another before they took off at high speeds, following after Sunny.

The dragons watched the crystals fly off from ground level. “Um… are they… supposed to do that?” Asked a rather confused Fountain.

“Yes,” Spike confirmed. “Twilight may have eventually placed all pony magic within the crystals to keep it safe from Opaline, but their original purpose was to grant the powers of all three pony kinds to a heroic pony in times of dire need. Sunny tapped into that power when she reunited pony kind, but now it seems she’s unlocked a new power, even if she isn’t aware of it yet.”

Back at the battle, things weren’t going so well for Misty and the others. Opaline had reverted back to her initial tactic of raining down beams of energy on them, forcing the five of the to take cover behind Misty’s shield. Unfortunately, both Misty and the shield were starting to weaken from the constant barrage.

“Look.” Izzy said suddenly. She was pointing at the claws on the creature’s back, which were all generating large fireballs.

“Oh, no.” Misty groaned. Her shield was already under strain from the beams, meaning the fireballs would probably smash right through it.

The creature launched the fireballs at them and Misty braced herself for the impact, but fortunately Sunny arrived at that moment and threw up her own shield in front of her friends.

“Sunny!” Izzy, Hitch, Zipp and Pipp called out.

Sunny groaned from the effort of holding up her shield against the fireballs. Eventually they shattered the shield, using up the last of their energy in the process. Sunny was sent tumbling backwards through the air. The heart pendant was still hanging safely from her neck, but she lost her grip on the lantern. It fell to the ground and landed by her friends. Exhausted from having to hold up her shield for so long, Misty let it drop and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Sunny meanwhile managed to regain control of her movement and oriented herself to face the creature.

“Ah, Sunny. So nice of you to join us.” Opaline said as the wood pulled away to reveal her again.

“Opaline, give back those Cutie Marks you stole.” Sunny demanded.

The evil Alicorn let out another cackle. “Oh, I don’t think so.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Especially when I’ve yet to acquire the six I most desire.” She tapped her golden necklace to indicate where she would be putting those six particular Cutie Marks.

Upon hearing that, Misty forced herself back onto her hooves. After everything she went through to get her Cutie Mark she wasn’t about to let Opaline take it away from her, nor was she going to let Opaline take her friends’ Cutie Marks either. “Just try it.” She growled.

Opaline simply laughed as the bark once again obscured her from view. The creature opened its mouth and launched a giant fireball at Sunny, who avoided it by flying upwards. The creature then started to breathe fire at Sunny. As this attack was too large to escape Sunny threw up her shield. The shield held against the flames, but the sheer force pushed Sunny higher into the sky. Eventually the flames subsided and Sunny dropped her shield, gritting her teeth in frustration. Suddenly she noticed the light from the heart pendant was blinking repeatedly.

“Guys, look!” Pipp shouted. The Pegasus was pointing at the approaching Unity Crystals, which flew up to Sunny and started circling around her, just like they had done when they first gave Sunny her Alicorn powers. Suddenly the Crystals seemed to get absorbed into Sunny’s body, creating a blinding flash of golden light.

When the light faded, Sunny looked very different. Her orange coat was now glowing the same golden colour as her wings and horn and her mane and tail were now flowing with power. The heart pendant was now giving off a bright red glow and Sunny’s usually green eyes were glowing the same shade of red as the pendant.

“What the!?” Opaline cried from inside the creature.

“Woah.” Sunny’s friends all stared in amazement at her new form.

“Opaline, this is your last chance.” Sunny said calmly. “Surrender, or else.”

“Never!” The fire Alicorn called out in defiance.

The creature charged up beams of energy from its back spikes, but rather than firing at Sunny the creature aimed for her friends. The five gasped in shock, but before they could react the lantern rose into the air in front of them and generated a dome around them, protecting them from the onslaught.

Seeing that her friends were safe Sunny flew in, bucking the creature’s head with her hind legs. This single strike sent the creature skidding backwards, its feet digging into the ground as it tried to anchor itself. Once it came to a stop the creature retaliated by launching a fireball from its mouth, but Sunny casually batted the attack away with one of her wings.

“Oh, come on.” Opaline exclaimed.

Sunny smirked and let out a small chuckle. Now that she was able to go head to head with this thing, she was starting to enjoy herself. Continuing to go on the offensive, she created several balls of golden light with her magic and launched them at the creature’s head, breaking off one of its fins. She followed this up by flying towards the creature at high speeds, turning into a golden blur. She struck the creature in multiple places before coming to a stop again in the air behind it. The creature swayed on its feet.

Opaline growled. “Alright, I’ve had enough of this.” The four claws on the creature’s back came together, forming a massive fireball between them before chucking it at the dome protecting Sunny’s friends.

“No!” Sunny cried. She wasn’t sure if the dome could withstand an attack that powerful. Quickly she teleported in front of the dome and threw up her shield. The fireball collided with the golden shield, cracking it. Sunny struggled to maintain her shield, but the fireball broke through it, forcing her to grab the fireball with her hooves to try and stop it that way. That didn’t work either, as the strain of trying to hold back the fireball caused the Unity Crystals to separate from Sunny, reverting her back to her regular Earth Pony form. She screamed as she started to fall out of the sky, the Unity Crystals circling around her.

“Sunny!” Her friends called out.

Fortunately, Sunny’s efforts weren’t for nothing. While she didn’t stop the fireball she had managed to alter its trajectory. The fireball flew harmlessly over the dome protecting Sunny’s friends and struck the slope they had been standing on earlier, exploding and kicking up a dust storm. The dust cleared to reveal that Sunny had stopped her fall by transforming into her Alicorn form. The Unity Crystals once again absorbed into Sunny’s body, transforming her into her new form. She glared at the creature. “Time to end this.” She growled.

The creature roared and charged at the group. Sunny responded by landing so hard it caused a shockwave. The creature halted its charge as it tried to keep its balance. Sunny used this opportunity to fly underneath the creature and buck it in the underbelly several times, knocking it high into the air. She followed this up by generating a large ball of golden energy with her horn before firing it at the creature, sending the creature flying all the way into orbit. Sunny then flew towards her friends, the dome lowering as she approached.

“Guys, lend me your strength.” She said.

Energy from her friends’ Cutie Marks travelled to Sunny, just like the first time they had fought Opaline. Energy from the lantern also flowed into Sunny’s body, causing her coat, wings and horn to start flashing multiple different colours while her eyes started glowing the seven colours of the rainbow. She looked up at the creature in orbit before flying towards it, zigzagging through the air as she went. She pierced the creature’s underbelly, destroying the dragon stone in the process. The creature crumbled into dust, releasing the stolen Cutie Marks, which flew down back towards the surface.

Spike and the other dragons watched in amazement as the Cutie Marks flew through the sky, resembling shooting stars as they returned to their rightful owners. The magical sphere around Jade and Lava disappeared as the two dragons returned to their senses.

“Wha…” Jade murmured.

“What happened?” Lava asked.

“They did it.” Blaize said softly as she watched the returning Cutie Marks.

Spike nodded his head in agreement. “They won.”

Back in orbit Opaline was left floating there now that the creature was destroyed. Was this how she died, claimed by the endless vacuum of space? Suddenly a magical sphere surrounded her.

“What the… Sunny?”

Sunny, back in her golden form, flew up beside her. “You didn’t think I was going to leave you here, did you?”

Sunny flew back towards the surface, towing Opaline with her. Down on the ground Sunny’s friends were scanning the skies for her. Misty was the first one to spot them.

“Look.” She pointed.

The Unity Crystals separated from Sunny, reverting her back to her Alicorn form, before flying back towards Maretime Bay. Sunny landed in front of her friends, the confined Opaline landing a few feet away. Izzy was the first to move, running up and tackling Sunny into a hug. Zipp joined them a second later, followed by Pipp and Hitch and finally a rather tired looking Misty joined the group hug. They separated after a few seconds and Misty walked over to Opaline. The two stared at each other for a moment before Opaline turned her head and looked away.

“Well done, I guess,” Opaline said, refusing to look Misty in the eye. “You won.”

It took a moment for those words to sink in for Misty. “Yeah,” she said, sounding exhausted. “Yeah, we did.”

Opaline looked over to Sunny. “What are you going to do with me now?” She asked.

“That’s for dragon lord Spike to decide.” Sunny informed her.

“Twilight’s faithful assistant? Bleh.” Opaline made a disgusted face.

Sunny ignored her, levitating the lantern into her hoof with her magic. “Come on, guys. Let’s go home.”

Author's Note

This was my first attempt at writing a book focusing on action. I drew inspiration from the final battle against The End Supreme from Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC.

What do you guys think Sunny’s new form should be called? I deliberately avoided giving it a name in the story because I couldn’t decide on a name. Obviously the transformation is based on Super Sonic, but Super Sunny sounds unoriginal. I personally think the name Unity Sunny has a nice ring to it, especially since her powers come from the Unity Crystals, but I want to see if someone can come up with a better name.