Sunset stood in fear as she saw the shadow king smile evilly at her.

“ Sombra.” Sunset said as she backed away in fear. ”But how?”

“How what ?” Sombra said.”How I manage to use the image of the one you love. Well, to answer your question, it was a simple spell that will make the target of the spell see the person they value the most. After casting the spell, all that was left was to lure you to where I wanted you to go. Which is here. Of course the spell only affected the target vision, so I couldn’t actually see whoever it was that was important to you.Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get down to business.” Sombra then got closer to Sunset, who backed away in fear. Unfortunately, she didn’t get far as Sombra suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of her, and before Sunset could react, Sombra gently placed a hand on her cheek, causing her to stop at the sudden touch. Sunset was completely confused about this sudden touch of affection, but for some reason she can’t help but find his touch somehow comforting. However, she quickly shook this thought out of her head and quickly backed away, breaking the touch.

“What do you want from me, Sombra?” Sunset demanded as she glared at Sombra. Seeing the look of defiance, Sombra, instead of being angry, just let out a small laugh, causing Sunset to just glare at him angrily. Sombra then stopped laughing and turned his attention to Sunset.

“What I want you asked.” Sombra said mockingly. ”What I want is the necklace around your neck.”

“And do you expect me to just give it to you?” Sunset said.”In your dream, there is no way I will give it to you.”

“Oh really? Then how about a bargain?” Sombra said.”You give me the necklace, and in return I will not only return you back to normal but also send you home. So what do you say? Sombra then extended his hand towards Sunset, who looked at him with a look of shock.

“What.” Sunset said in a shocked voice.

“You heard me, sunset.” Sombra said.”Just give me the necklace, and you can go home safe and sound.” Sunset didn't say anything but instead just stared at Sombra in silence.

“Now come on, sunset, what is there to think about?” Sombra said.”This isn’t even your world. You have no personal stake in this conflict. Just give me this necklace, and you can go home, and everything you experienced will be nothing but a nightmare. So what do you say?" Sunset stares at Sombra in silence for a few moments before finally answering him.

“No,” Sunset said as she glared at Sombra.

“What.” Sombra said in shock.

“If it was the old me, I might have, but now I won’t do it.” Sunset said.”I am not the selfish person I used to be, so the answer is no.”

“Why you.” Sombra said angrily before calming down. He then smiled evilly at sunset.”Fine, if you don’t want to give it to me, then I will just have to take it by force.”

“Take it by force.” Sunset said in shock.”How are you going to do that xactly? As I recall, there is a strong magical protection on the necklace that prevents it from being taken by force.”

“The magical protection might be strong, but like all magical protection, it still has its limits.” Sombra said before suddenly what looked like a shadow tentacle came out of the ground and wrapped itself around Sunset's body, preventing her from moving. Sombra then smiled evilly before pointing his hands towards her, and immediately after he did that, a stream of shadows came out of his hands. Sunset watched in horror as the stream of shadows hit her necklace. However, as soon as the stream hit the necklace, it let out a small glow before releasing a burst of light that sent Sombra flying. As soon as Sombra was sent flying away, the tentacles that were wrapped around her suddenly disappeared, and both the wall that was covering the cave entrance and the ball of light that was floating above in the air suddenly disappeared. Seeing that the wall blocking the entrance was gone, Sunset took the opportunity to quickly run out of the cave as quickly as she could. However, she didn’t get far as Sombra suddenly appeared in front of her. However, due to his sudden appearance in front of her, she didn’t have time to stop, and thus she accidentally rammed into Sombra, and the two rolled on the ground before eventually stopping.

After regaining her bearings, Sunset saw that Sombra was now on top of her. However strangely, Sunset didn’t feel scared, as when she stared at the eyes of the shadow king, she felt some form of attraction. This goes for the shadow king himself, as he felt lost just from looking at her face, and as he continues to stare at her, his eyes turn from red to blue before turning back to red. The two just stare at one another in silence, and Sombra, without even thinking, lowers his head towards Sunset and brings his lips closer to hers, and just as the two lips are about to touch, the sound of a stick being snapped is suddenly heard, causing him to stop. He then quickly got off of Sunset, and both he and Sunset then turned to see both Eric and Alise coming into view. Once they saw Sombra, they immediately stopped.

“ Sombra,” Eric said as he pulled out his sword and glared at the shadow king. Sombra just stood in silence, not knowing what to do. He turned to look at sunset before turning to look at Eric. He then suddenly disappeared. As soon as Eric saw that Sombra was gone, he quickly ran towards Sunset, who was still lying on the ground.

“You okay?” Eric asked Sunset as he helped her up.

“Yeah, I am okay.” Sunset said in an uncertain voice.

“What happened just now?” Eric asked Sunset, who didn’t say anything as she didn’t know what to say. Eventually, after a few moments, Sunset decided to tell him.

“ Sombra used some kind of spell to lure me away and try to take my necklace by force through the use of his magic,” Sunset said, leaving out the fact that Sombra tried to kiss her and the fact that she, for some reason, didn’t try to resist..

“Anyhow, since you are alright, I think it is best we should go now. It’s no longer safe to be here.” Eric said.

“Alright.” Sunset said before she realises something. ”By the way, do you have my sword? I think I dropped it just now.”

“Oh well.” Eric said in a hesitating voice.”When Alise and me saw you run off, we immediately ran off after you, so we didn’t have time to pick up your dropped sword.”

“Well, that sucks.” Sunset muttered in an annoyed voice. ”Anyhow, we should go now.”

“I agree.” Eric said before he, Alise, and Sunset began their journey again. However, just as they were about to leave, they suddenly heard something and turned to see a familiar horse pulling a sleigh.

“Hey, isn’t that the sleigh we were riding this morning?” Sunset said.

“It is,” Alise said.

“Well, what are the chances?” Sunset said happily before she and everyone got onto the sleigh. As soon as they got on, Eric took the reins and got the horse to begin moving on the path towards the castle. As they continued on their journey, Sunset took the moment to think about what happened earlier.

“Why did I feel some form of comfort when he touched me?” Sunset thought to herself. ”And why didn’t I resist when he tried to kiss?" Suddenly Sunset felt a strange feeling overcome her, and her heart started beating faster.

“What is happening to me?” Sunset thought to herself as she placed a hand over her chest.”What is this strange feeling, and why is my heart beating this fast?"
….
Unknown to Sunset, Sombra was going through the same thing. In his throne room, Sombra sat at his throne with a hand on his chest.

“Sunset shimmer.” Sombra said in a longing voice as he thought about what happened earlier.

“Why did I try to kiss you?” Sombra said to himself. “I didn’t want to kiss you yet a part of me wanted to. Why is that?"

“ Sombra.” An angry voice called out to Sombra, causing him to quickly shake off his thoughts. He then saw his mother appearing in front of him.

“Hello, mother.” Sombra said calmly.

“I heard you failed once again in retrieving the necklace.” Sombra's mother screams angrily.

“The magical protection on the necklace is a lot stronger than I previously thought, as even with my magic, I wasn’t able to forcefully take the necklace,” Sombra said.

“This is troublesome.” Sombra's mother said. ”We need to get that necklace off of her before it is too late.”

“Hmm, if we can’t take the necklace by force, maybe we can find a way to make her hand it over to us willingly.” Sombra said as an idea slowly came to his mind.

“What do you have in mind?” Sombra's mother asked. Sombra didn’t say anything but instead just let out an evil laugh as an idea slowly came to his mind. Unknown to them, however, watching them from the slightly open door was a female figure wearing a black cloak. The figure looked through the small opening of the door for a few more moments before attempting to leave, but before she could, an umbra suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Where do you think you are going?” The umbrum said. Suddenly the throne room door opened, and the figure turned to see that both Sombra and his mother were now looking at her.

“Well, look what we have here.” Sombra said as his eyes glowed red.
….
The sun had risen, and on the path towards the sugar plum palace were Eric, Sunset, and Alise, who was still riding on the sleigh. Currently, Eric was still driving the sleigh, and as for Sunset and Alise, both girls were currently sleeping peacefully. However, suddenly the sleigh ran over a large rock, causing it to jolt, which in turn caused both Sunset and Alise to wake up.

“What happened?” Sunset said with a voice full of shock.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Eric said.”The sleigh just ran over something.”

“Then please be careful; you almost gave me a heart attack.” Sunset said as she calmed down.Suddenly she and Alise saw an apple tree just ahead.

"Hey, can you make a quick stop at the apple tree?" Sunset said."I am feeling quite hungry, and I am pretty sure Alise is also feeling the same."

"Oh right, you guys didn't get a chance to eat yesterday." Eric said before he had the horse stop the sleigh in front of the apple tree. He then got off the sleigh and began heading towards the tree, where he then climbed up it. After climbing up the tree, he quickly got on one of the tree branches and pulled out some apples from the branch and dropped them on the ground. He then climbed back down the tree and began picking up the apple. Both Alise and Sunset got out of the sleigh and went to help Eric pick up the apples. The three then headed back towards the sleigh and began their journey again. As they continued their journey, Sunset and Alise took the opportunity to eat the apples they had gathered.

"Mmmmmm, these apples are quite good." Alise said as she took a bite of her apple.

"I agree." Sunset said as she took a bite of her apple. She then turned to look at Eric.

"Don't you want some apples too?" Sunset asked Eric.

"No, thank you. I don't even feel hungry." Eric said as he turned to look at sunset. "My guess is that being made out of wood gave me the benefit of no longer needing to eat." Eric then turned to look in front of him, and immediately he saw what looked like a cloaked figure lying on the snow.

"What's that?" Sunset said as she and Alise saw the cloaked figure.

"It looks like a person lying on the ground." Eric said."They might need help." As soon as they got near, Eric had the horse stop, and he, Sunset, and Alise went to check on the cloaked figure.

"Hey, you okay there?" Eric said as he bent down and placed a hand on the figure. The figure then suddenly stirs.

"Please help." The figure said in a weak female voice as she raised a hand towards Eric. Seeing this, Eric grabbed her hand and gently pulled her up to her feet.

"What happened to you?" Eric asked in a concerned voice.

"We need to go before they get here." The figure said.

"They, they who?" Sunset asked.

"The Umbrum, they are after me." The figure said, and as if on cue, four umbrum suddenly appeared in the air above them.

"Their the escapee," one of the Umbrum said.

"And it seems not only did we manage to find the escapee, but we also found Eric and the girl." Another of the umbrum said, as it and the other three umbrum eyed Eric and Sunset. One of the umbrum then flew towards Eric, who acted quickly by pulling out his sword and swinging it at the umbrum once it was near enough. The sword makes a direct hit on the umbrum, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke.

"We need to go now." Eric said before he, Sunset, Alise, and the figure run towards the sleigh. Seeing this, the remaining three Umbrum flew down and charged towards them. Fortunately, however, all four were able to get into the sleigh, and as soon as Eric grabbed the reins, he quickly had the horse move forwards towards the charging umbrum. Seeing the charging horse, two of the umbrum quickly got out of the way. However, the third umbrum wasn’t quick enough as the horse rammed into it, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke. The two remaining umbrum quickly flew after them.

“They are getting closer.” Alise said, in fear, as she and Sunset saw the umbrum heading towards them.Thinking quickly, Sunset quickly grabbed an apple and threw an apple at one of the Umbrum, who managed to dodge the attack. Seeing that Alise quickly followed Sunset's example and threw an apple that was able to successfully hit an umbrum in the head, causing it to fall onto the ground.

“Good throw, Alise.” Sunset said to Alise,

“Thanks.” Alise said before she and Sunset turned to the last umbrum that was still after them. Both Sunset and Alise quickly threw apples at it. Unfortunately, however, it was able to dodge each of the apples thrown at it. Eventually they ran out of apples to throw.

“We're all out.” Sunset said as she and Alise saw they were out of apples.

“What now?” Alise said. Sunset turned to the umbrum and saw it was getting nearer. Suddenly an idea came to Sunset, and she turned to Eric and took his sword. She then turned to look at the umbrum, and once it was near enough, she quickly swung the sword onto the umbrum, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke.

“Good job, sunset.” Eric said as he turned to look at sunset.

“Look out.” The figure suddenly shouted as she pointed above them. Everyone looked up and saw the umbrum that Alise knocked out previously was now above them. The umbrum then swoops down towards them. Acting quickly, Sunset stood up, and as soon as the umbrum got near, Sunset swung the sword on it, causing it explode in a burst of smoke.

“Glad, that’s over.” Sunset said before giving Eric back his sword. She then turned to look at the cloaked figure.

”So now that the danger has passed and we are not in any imminent danger right now, can you please tell us who you are and why the umbrum were after you?" Sunset asked the figure who just sat in silence before eventually breaking the silence.

“My name is Adagio Dazzle.” The figure said before pulling down her hood, revealing a teenage girl with poofy orange hair and gold highlights that was around sunset age. ”And the reason the Umbrum were after me was because I managed to escape the mines.”

“Escape the mines.” Sunset said in shock.

“Yes, escape.” Adagio said.”You see, not too long ago, my sisters and I were captured by Sombra and were forced to work in his mines.” She then let out a small sigh. ”We were forced to work tirelessly day and night and were only allowed little food and water.”

“That’s terrible.” Alise said.

“It was.” Adagio said.”That’s why we plotted to escape. However, unfortunately, both of my sisters were captured, and I was the only one who was able to escape. I've been on the run since then.”

“I am sorry to hear that.” Eric said. Adagio then let out a small sigh before turning to face Sunset. ”So what about you? What’s your story?
….
“So you really are Eric,” Adagio said in shock.

“Yeah, I am.” Eric said.”And I promise I will defeat Sombra and free the land and everyone he has captured, including you sisters.”

“Thank you.” Adagio said as she smiled at Eric.

“So what are you going to do now?” Sunset asked Adagio, who sat in silence for a few moments before speaking.

“I want to join you guys.” Adagio said, shocking everyone.

“What?" Sunset said in shock, which was mirrored by everyone.

“You heard me.” Adagio said.

“But it’s dangerous,” Eric said.

“I know, but I want to get my sisters back.” Adagio said with a look of determination.”That’s why I am following, and you can’t convince me otherwise.” Sunset opened her mouth to say something, but once she saw the determined look on her face, she decided to simply close her mouth and let out a small sigh.

“Fine.” Sunset said shocking both Eric and Alise.

“What.” Eric said in shock. ”Sunset, you can’t be serious about letting her join us.”

“It’s very clear from the look on her face that no matter what we said, she will not take no for an answer.” Sunset said.”Besides, with our current situation, we would probably need all the help we can get.” Eric turned to look at Adagio and saw the look of determination on her face. He then let out a small sigh.

“Fine.” Eric said before turning to look at Adagio. ”But I advise you that no matter what, you stick close to us, as the journey to the sugar plum palace is full of danger.”

“Noted.” Adagio said. The four then sat in silence as they continued with their journey when they suddenly heard the sounds of wings flapping.

“What the.” Eric said as he and everyone turned to look behind to see that something was flying in the air and was heading towards them. Due to the distance, they weren’t able to properly see it. However, as it got closer, they could see its details more clearly.

“Is that a giant bat?” Sunset said in shock as she and everyone stared at what looked like a giant bat flying towards them. However, as the bat got closer, they saw something was on it. At first it was difficult to see, but as the bat got more and more close, they saw that it was the huntsman and his wolf.

“It's the huntsman.” Alise said in fear.”What are we going to do?" Sunset said nothing but instead just turned her to the side and looked at the woods. As she watched the countless trees that passed them, an idea suddenly came to her.

“We jumped.” Sunset said shocking everyone.

“What?” Adagio said in shock.

“We need to jump into the woods.” Sunset said.”We can hide in the woods until he passes us.”

“Jump into the woods? Are you crazy?” Adagio asked.

“Just trust me.” Sunset said before she turned to look at the bat that was getting near. She then turned to look at the woods. ”Come on, let’s go; we don’t have much time left.” Eric didn’t say anything but instead turned to look at the bat that was getting nearer and nearer.

“I think we should do what Sunset said.” Eric said shocking adagio.

“Are you serious?” Adagio said.

“It might be the only choice we have.” Eric said causing adagio to sigh.

“Fine,” Adagio said annoyed.

“All right, everyone, on the count of three.” Sunset said as she picked up Alise.

“ One”

“Two”

“Three.”

All three then jumped out of the sleigh and into the woods, and not long after they did that, the huntsman flew past them and followed the sleigh. Seeing that sunset let out a sigh of relief.

“It seems my plan worked.” Sunset said in relief. Currently she was on her back and covering Alise, who was on her with her arms. She then turned to look at the little girl.

“You okay?” Sunset asked Alise.

“Yeah, I am okay.” Alise said before she got out of sunset. Sunset then got up and turned to see Eric, who was lying on the ground, slowly getting up. She then looked around and saw Adagio's cloak had been caught on a tree branch, and lying near the cloak was Adagio, who was sitting on the ground clutching one of her knees. With the cloak off, Sunset was able to see Adagio's clothes. She saw that Adagio wore a mauve violet mini bolero with small shoulder puffs over a purple romper that stopped slightly above the thighs and what looks like an indigo music note with a gold gem on the bottoms, a golden, spiky belt with a yellow gem around her waist, lavender tights with lilac triangle imprints, and dark purple below-the-knee boots with yellow gold-spiked bands around the ankles and gold spikes on the brown medium heels. Seeing the outfit sunset was full of shock since the outfit Adagio wore looks like something that’s from the human world. This fills Sunset with many questions; however, she quickly shook them off once she saw Adagio had a look of pain on her face. She got up and slowly approached her.

“Adagio, are you okay?” Sunset said as she kneeled down near Adagio.

“Yeah, I am okay.” Adagio said.”I just scraped my knees, that’s all.”

“Please remove your hand so I can see the wound.” Sunset said.

“Why?” Adagio said.

“So I can help you.” Sunset said as she pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket.

“I guess I was right that the handkerchief would come in handy.” Sunset muttered to herself, remembering how she found the handkerchief in the same closet that she found her winter clothes.

“Now can you please move your hands?” Sunset asked, and Adagio stared at her for a few moments before removing her hands, allowing Sunset to see the wound. Sunset looked closely at the wound and saw it is not too serious, much to her relief. She then tied the handkerchief over the wound, and once she was done, she stood up and held a hand towards Adagio. Adagio stared at the hand for a few moments before grabbing it, and immediately Sunset pulled Adagio up.

“Can you still walk?” Sunset asked Adagio.

“Yeah, I believe I can.” Adagio said as she took her cloak off the tree branch and put it on.

“That’s good to hear.” Eric said as he and Alise approached them.”Because I believe it is best we get far away from here as quickly as we can before the huntsman returns.”

“I agree.” Sunset said.”Come on everyone, let’s go.” The group then headed deeper into the woods in order to get as far away as they could before the huntsman returned. However, as they walked through the woods, Sunset couldn't help but think back on Adagio's clothing, and a look of suspicion appeared on her face, and unknown to Sunset, Adagio had the same look on her face as she turned to look at Sunset. She took a sniff from sunset and smelt a familiar scent she hadn't smelt in a long time.
….
The group continued to walk throughout the forest in silence until eventually that silence was broken by sunset.

“So adagio.” Sunset said, causing Adagio to turn to look at her. ”What do you and your sisters do for a living?”

“Why do you want to know?” Adagio asked.

“Just want to know you better since we will be working together.” Sunset said.

“Oh.” Adagio said.”Well, if you want to know, my sister and I worked as singers.”

“Singers,” Sunset asked.

“Yes, singers.” Adagio said.”Me and both of my sisters worked as travelling singers in the past.”

“Both sisters.” Sunset said.”So you have two sisters.”

“Yeah, I do.” Adagio said.”And before you ask, I am the oldest; my sister Aria is the second oldest, and my sister Sonata is the youngest.”

“So what’s it like to be travelling singers?” Sunset asked. Adagio didn’t say anything and instead just had a blank look on her face. She continued to walk in silence for a few moments before eventually breaking the silence.

“It’s not bad, but compared to how our life has been before, it’s quite bad.” Adagio said.

“What do you mean by that?” Sunset asked causing Adagio to sigh.

“Look, I won’t tell you much, but I will at least tell you that my sisters and I weren’t always travelling singers. We had a wonderful life and lived a life full of luxury, but due to circumstances, we lost it all and now have to move from place to place and get whatever scraps we can get through our songs.” Adagio said.”But I suppose it wasn’t bad since I had my sisters with me. Sure, they at times annoyed me and drove me crazy, but I suppose having them by my side made my fall from grace more tolerable.”

“You may not believe it, but I sort of know how you felt.” Sunset said.

“Do you now?” Adagio asked in a sceptical voice.

“Yes, I do. You see, in the past I used to live a life full of luxury and comfort.” Sunset said as she remembered her time of living in Canterlot Castle as Celestia's student and all the luxury she gained from such a position, such as the castle servants that served her hand and foot, to the royal ball she used to attend with Celestia, to the high-quality food she used to eat with her.

“And like you, I lost it all and now have to get by on whatever scraps I can.” Sunset said as she remembered how when she first arrived in the human world, she had to sleep in a box in an alleyway before eventually finding an abandoned warehouse to live in until she managed to find a way to make enough money to afford her apartment room. ”But I suppose out of the two of us, you probably were still better off, as unlike me, who was alone, you had two people to watch your back and help you.”

“I guess you might be right with that one.” Adagio said.”Too bad it only took me losing my sister to make me realise how important they were to me. In the past I took them for granted, and now that I have lost them, I can’t help but feel guilty for not being a better sister to them.”

“I guess that’s another thing we have in common.” Sunset said as she chuckled a humourless laugh. ”I also have a person in my life that I took for granted.” Sunset thought back to Princess Celestia, and a feeling of guilt went through her. ”And if I ever see that person again, I want nothing more than to apologise to her for everything I've done.”

“Me too.” Adagio said.”I want to apologise to my sisters for taking them for granted and for not being a good sister to them.”

“I guess we have more things in common than we previously thought.” Sunset said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess.” Adagio said as she can’t help but chuckle along with Sunset.

“Don’t worry; we will get your sisters back.” Sunset said with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks.” Adagio said before the group continued to walk through the forest.
….
In a path somewhere, the sleigh that sunset, Alise, Eric, and Adagio rode in previously was destroyed, and running away from the destroyed sleigh was the horse. The huntsman and his wolf, who had gotten off the bat, were now staring in the woods.

“They must have gone into the woods.” The huntsman said as his instincts were telling him where sunset, Eric, Alise, and Adagio had gone. He then turned to look at the bat.

“On the bat would no doubt make it easier for them to quickly spot me. Need to go on foot.” The huntsman said.”Leave” Hearing the command, the bat quickly flew away, leaving the huntsman and his wolf.

“Now let’s continue with the hunt.” The huntsman said before he and the wolf went into the woods to begin his hunt.
….
End of chapter 5

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update, but I had a little bit of writer's block when writing this story.

Anyhow, don’t forget to leave a comment on what you think of my story so far.