Shimmering Sunsets

by Evowizard25

FOALNAPPED...Oh wait (Sunsetverse)

"Alright hold on everypony, we are coming in for a landing." Fortune called back to her passengers as she and her partner pulled in for a landing in a small clearing high up in the mountain. Mount Cragheart was indeed quite cragy. Finding enough open space to safely set down the carriage had actually been a problem. The mountain was dark, almost black in color, with streaks of bright, pale blue laced throughout like veins. All in all the place looked quite foreboding.

As soon as the carriage was done, Pansy called back "Alright, we are here everypony, and we still have about an hour of daylight left. Let's try to make the most of it, I don't want to spend too much time in anyplace this unstable."

“This got nothin’ on the ice fields of the North,” Quickfix quipped. “One misstep and yer an icecycle...That and watchin’ fer Bunyips.”

"But bunyips are from lowland tropical rivers." Sunset noted, stepping our and stretching in a manner reminiscent of a house cat. "They're amphibious, how could they be up north?"

“Lots of blubber,” Quickfix said. “The darn things kind of look like fluffy crocodiles and lurk near pools and such fer passin’ critters. Darn near got snatched by one a couple of times growin’ up.”

"Yeah, that's a southern tropical bunyip, except for the blubber deal. They're very skinny, almost emaciated." Sunset said. She blinked a few times. "Did we just have our bunyips on opposite sides of the world?"

“Matters,” Quickfix pointed out. “Do ye have northern river mosasaurs or somethin’? ‘Cause they kind of outcompete bunyips if’n they met.”

"Uh no, we do not have any dinosaurs." Mask said, flopping out and stretching on the ground. "Ahhh, yeah all our dinosaurs went extinct a few dozen million years ago...which raises the question of where those pterodactyls came from now that I think about it."

“Ah chalk it up to chaos magic,” Quickfix said, helping Fiddlesticks out of the carriage. “That’s how Discord brought the dinosaurs back in the first place. Thought the world needed more animals or somethin’ like that. Dunno, maybe he just liked seein’ them chomp on us now an’ again, sick freak.”

"We'll worry about that later. Right now we need to find the correct cave from centuries ago in a mountain filled with caves known for instability, collapses, earthquakes, avalanches, and land slides." Sunset explained. "Now somepony wake up AJ and let her know we are on the ground.”

“Ah will,” Quickfix frowned and looked to Fiddlesticks, who was sulking to herself. “Chin up, FIddle. It’s gonna be alright.”

“Yeah,” Fiddlesticks muttered.

Quickfix sighed as she trotted inside. Both Applejack and Lightning Dust were still sleeping. Quite heavily in fact. So, she just needed to give them the good ol’ Northern wake up call….

She punched Applejack hard in the face. “WAKE UP!” And then proceeded to toss her out the window.

"Huh wha?" Applejack snorted awake, largely unphased. "Ah yeah, we are on the ground! Ah don't need no blinders no more!" Plucking them off, she tossed them back into the carriage. "It's good to be back on the ground."

“WAKE UP!”

“WAAAAAA!” Lightning yelled as she was tossed out the window and onto the ground. Holding a hoof to her swollen cheek, she glared at the carriage. “DO you always have to do that?”

“Northern hospitality,” Quickfix said.

“And they wonder why no one likes going up north,” Lightning muttered.

"Girls, keep it down will you? This area might be unstable." Fortune pointed out. "Last thing we want is an avalanche."

“Don’t ye worry,” Quickfix spoke up. “Ah have just the….Right, left my Avalanche Away ‘tm’ back home. On second thought, we’ll just use ye pegasi to-”

“For the last time,” Lightning said. “We don’t work like that.”

“Ye could if’n ye let me install the rocket boosters,” Quickfix said.

"Do I even want to know what her plan for us is?" Mask asked. "Or is it just too crazy?"

“Everything she says is crazy,” Lightning said.

“It’s not crazy,” Quickfix responded. “It’s science.”

“And that answer’s supposed to wave away all the moral dilemmas, isn’t it?” Lightning deadpanned

“Morals get in the way of SCIENCE!” Quickfix thrust her hoof at Lightning.

"But scientific studies need to be conducted in a moral manner, or else the results are tainted." Sunset argued back.

“That ain’t what me pa says and he’s still kickin’,” Quickfix shot back.

“But what about the volunteers?” Lightning asked.

Quickfix just answered with laughter.

Sunset glared. "Yeah, I am so looking forward to sending you home Miss wreck my house with a giant squirrel golem that shoots fireworks."

“Fine,” Quickfix glared at her in return. “Maybe that’s how ah like it. Don’t know a lick of science ‘round here worth me time anyways.”

“Quickfix,” Lightning put a hoof on her shoulder. “Calm down. She-”

“Wants me gone,” Quickfix cut her off. “Fine by me. Not the first pony to shoo me away, not the last. Got ye girls, pa, and Spike……..and Shade too.”

"Sunset, apologize." Mask said, shooting Sunset with a disappointed look.

"Oh come on!" Sunset moaned. "She was just talking about using volunteers in unethical experiments! That's not raising any warning bells for you girls?"

“You get used to it,” Lightning said. “It’s either that or let her wallow in that lab of hers all by herself.”

"Well...would that really be a bad thing?" Sunset asked. "I mean why are you friends with...her? I really don't get it."

“Whoa, that’s harsh.” Lightning said, before glancing at Quickfix. “Quickfix, don’t-”

“SHUT UP!” Quickfix roared in her face. Tears started running down her cheeks. “JUST SHUT UP!”

“She didn’t mean it like that,” Lightning tried to calm her down. “Come on. It’s not like you actually do that….Shade doesn’t really count.”

“She meant it and she’s right,” Quickfix stomped off. “Ah’ll get those soldiers to take us there. Get me out of her yer mane and all that.”

“Quickfix,” Fiddlesticks raced on after her.

Lightning sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Now you’ve gone and done it. She’s a tad sensitive about the whole ‘friends’ thing….Before the whole Nightmare Moon incident, Fiddlesticks was her only friend, you know, both of ‘em new to Ponyville and Fiddlesticks’ so accepting. Everypony else steered clear of Quickfix. Now….She’s my friend, strangeness included She’s had my back and I have hers till the end. Wish it didn’t take that long, honestly. She’s pretty cool once you get to know her. Robot squirrels and all.”

Sunset looked quite upset. "I am worst pony!" She then wound up curling up into the fetal position, crying while rocking back and forth.

Mask sighed. "Well, we are off to a great start here aren't we? Sunset is having an episode, Quickfix is in a tizzy, and there are hurt feelings all around."

“Well we better fix this soon,” Lightning groaned. “Fiddlesticks is already sad about not getting Sunset to smile earlier. This would just break her heart.”

AJ quirked an eyebrow. "When was this?"

“After Sunset threw herself out a window,” Lightning said. “Kind of threw us for a loop when she did it.”

"She what!?" Masquerade and Applejack shouted in surprise.

"Right, this is going to take a lot of work." Mask sighed. "Can you two check up on Quick? I've got Sunset...again."

“You sure?” Lightning said. She gave a concerned glance towards the weeping Sunset. “She seems kind of...over the top right now. You really think you can do it yourself?”

"Eh, I've done it before." Masquerade explained. "Not quick, but I can do it. Last time I had to convince her not to feed herself to the monsters of the Everfree."

"If ya sure ya got it Mask, ah'll trust ya." AJ said with a quick nod, before trotting off after Quickfix.

“....Quicky,” Fiddlesticks spoke up. “Sunset’s just upset. She didn’t mean-”

“SHUT UP!” Quickfix roared once more. Her crying had gotten worse and she turned her baleful glare to the mountain. “Ah’ll find the portal myself. Just like ah did before ye. Don’t need no ‘mad’ scientist’s daughter runnin’ around with ye.”

“That never bothered me,” Fiddlesticks said. “Yer my friend.”

“....Just go,” Quickfix sniffed. “Ah want to be by myself.”

"Well that's just sillier than a pig in a weddin' dress." AJ huffed coming up. "Ya got friends, and we all are worried bout ya. Why in tarnation would ya send us away?"

“....’Cause yer scared,” Quickfix said. “That ah’ll snap and turn on ye. Ah won’t….but everypony thinks ah will.”

“AJ’s right,” Fiddlesticks nuzzled her. “That is silly talk.”

“No it ain’t,” Quickfix pulled away.

"Now look, ah don't think ya are gonna snap." AJ replied. "Ah don't think nothin' bad bout Sunset none so why would I think bad bout you?"

“Because ah’m an Aperture,” Quickfix turned on her. “We think outside the box. We’re a family of mad scientists.”

“You’re not-” Lightning started.

“Yes we are!” Quickfix said. “We’re mad and nopony likes us. Even up North, nopony wanted to be my friend. They were scared of me….Ah ain’t somepony ye can really get along with.”

"Lot's of ponies didn't like Sunset back up in Canterlot, but now she's found plenty of friends. Ya just gotta be willing ta look fer them, and not push them away when ya find em." AJ advised.

“Ah know….it just hurt when ah heard those words…..ah honestly ask myself that everyday.” Quickfix sniffled, to which Fiddlesticks hugged her. The country mare hummed a little northern tune and Quickfix quieted down. “Ah’m sorry.”

"Yes well, an think yer a great friend." AJ said. "Right Lightnin'?"

Lightning nodded. “I mean, who else could make my life so interesting.”

“...True,” Quickfix relented. “Ah am an interestin’ pony.”

Fiddlesticks giggled. “Interestin’? No, yer fantastic. Remember that party ah threw ya when ya first came to Ponyville.”

“Ah cast a spell that made us deaf for hours,” Quickfix laughed. “Ye really spooked me, Fiddle.”

“Ah try,” Fiddlesticks said.

"Ya feelin' better now?" AJ asked.

“Course ah am,” Quickfix smiled. “Just a little misstep. Happens every now and again. Now, let’s get movin’. We’re wasting Celestia’s blessed light.”

"Yeah we'll, we are going to need to spend a bit more of it." Masquerade said, gliding in. "Sunset has something she wants to tell you guys."

Walking up nervously, Sunset weakly smiled. "Right, this is going to take a while. So, see, there's a reason I kind of reacted bad to what you were saying. See, it all goes back to when I was Celestia's only pupil, well maybe a bit earlier. Look, why don't I start at the beginning. Right so I was found on an orphanage doorstep..."

****************

"...and so I stopped being evil and became dedicated to trying to make up for my mistakes." Sunset finished. "So yeah, you kind of remind me about what I was like when I was a warlock, and I was doing a lot of projecting my own self loathing on you, so I'm sorry."

“Did ya get all that, Pat?” Fiddlesticks asked her pet.

Said platypus was laying on top of an open notebook. He trilled.

“Good boy,” she rubbed his head lovingly.

“Sounds kind of like you went full ‘evil’,” Lightning said. “Back home, you’d likely be put to death….or end up like Shade...I don’t know which is worse.”

Quickfix chuckled. “Stallion’s got the worst of luck, he does.”

"So yeah, I was kind of being overly sensitive." Sunset said. "So...can you forgive me?"

“Sunset,” Quickfix stepped forward and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Ah’ve done a lot of things others aren’t proud of. Me?” She shrugged. “Eh. Science is as science does. Ah’m zany and it isn’t goin’ away. So let’s just put it all behind us….’cept the body mech idea. Ah really think that one can work. Ye’d be great as a robot.” She smiled earnestly.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "No robots."

"Hey you girls still talking, or can we come over now?" Fortune called over. "Seriously, why couldn't we be over there?"

"It's private!" Mask shouted back. "And I think we're done!"

“We’re never done!” Quickfix shouted, thrusting her hoof into the air. “....Wait, what are we done with?”

“Bawlin’ our eyes out,” Fiddlesticks said.

“Oh….should ah try and remove our tear ducts?” Quickfix asked. “Wait, that sounds silly. Okay, let’s go.”

And then the sun set.

Fiddlesticks pulled off her hat and put it over her heart. The others bowed their heads. “Oh Celestia, though we see not of your blessed light. Give us strength to strive through the wretched night.”

“Amen,” the other two said.

"Were they just praying to Celestia?" Pansy asked, eyes narrowing.

"No." the local bearers all chimed in.

“Of course not,” Fiddlesticks smiled nervously.

“That’s silly,” Quickfix said, chuckling. “What we did and what you think we did are not the same thing.”

"Yes, totally different stuff." Sunset said, smiling nervously. "Anyway we don't have a lot of time until the portal closes. I know the area is a bit dangerous, but I think we need to explore the area at least a bit. We only have roughly two days left."

“Which is why we should hustle up,” Lightning said. “You can get your feathers knotted over praying later. We have a portal to find.”

"Not that anypony was praying." Mask quickly interjected.

"Right," Sunset said, before conjuring up a glowing ball of light about the size of a dodgeball that glowed with quite a bit of light. "Right, I think this is bright enough. Anypony need me to turn it up at all?"

“Seems fine,” Fiddlesticks said. “Maybe a little pra-”

“Preparation,” Lightning interjected. “Let’s go over the game plan.”

"We are going to stick together and search the area for a few hours before making camp." Sunset stated. "The good news is, these mountains are uninhabitable so we won't be running into anything bigger than a skvader out here."

“And if we do, we’ll just shoot it.” Quickfix quipped.

"...you have no idea what a skvader is do you." Sunset said, sighing. "Right, they're part rabbit, part bird, and they're a protected species, so no eating them Lightning."

“They’re part rabbit,” Lightning glowered. “They’re asking for it….annoying buggers the lot of them.”

“Easy now,” Fiddlesticks said. “They aren’t all ‘Angels’.”

“I’ll eat him one day,” Lightning said. “Count on it. The bastard’s beaten me one too many times.”

"...you know I would laugh," Sunset noted, "but it's Angel. I understand fully."

“He has it coming,” Lightning growled, bearing her fangs as she tensed. She could already imagine clamping down on the vermin.

"Just don't go after the local one." AJ admonished. "That'd just make Fluttershy cry."

"Applejack, they're going home. She won't have a chance to eat our Angel." Sunset pointed out. "Alright girls, enough chit chat, let's move out!"

Fiddlesticks hopped onto Sunset’s back and dramatically pointed forward. “Onward, mighty steed, to victory!”

"....please get off Fiddlesticks." Sunset asked, exasperated. "I need to concentrate to keep the lantern going."

“Okay,” Fiddlesticks hopped off. “....Can-”

“Ye can’t ride me,” Quickfix spoke up.

“Can we just get moving already?” Lightning said. “I don’t think any of us want to spend two years here….No offense.”

"None taken. Ah woudn't wanna stay away from home fer two years neither." AJ said with a shrug.

“Ya want me to put on some travellin’ music?” Fiddlesticks was on her hindlegs already with her favored fiddle in hoof.

“....Wait,” Lightning glared at her. “I had to listen to Applejack….APPLEJACK, SING THAT BOTTLE SONG AND YOU WAITED TILL NOW TO SING?!!!”

“Yep,” Fiddlesticks smiled innocently.

“You….gah!” Lightning groaned.

"And just what is so darn bad bout mah singin'?" AJ asked with a glare.

"Hey is that a giant cave over there? Let's check out over there!" Mask suggested in a hurry.

“Good eye,” Quickfix nodded, though she kind of wanted to see a fight. “Let’s check it out.”

The cave proved to be quite large, with numerous giant crystalline growths that glowed softly with reflected light. "Okay, no way is this natural." Sunset pointed out. "I have never seen crystal formations like this before. And I've never heard of anypony finding large crystals in these mountains either."

Masquerade shrugged. "I think they're kind of pretty."

“Reminds me too much of Emperor Sombra’s doin’,” Quickfix tensed. “Ain’t natural and comin’ from me, that means somethin’.”

"Whi the buck is Sombrero?" Fortune asked, taking a look around. "Sounds like a stupid name."

“His name was ‘Sombra’,” Lightning snorted. “He was a powerful warlock who took over the Crystal Empire. He tried to take over Equestria, but the sisters beat him back. So, being a sore loser, he cast a spell to send himself and the Empire’s capital city in some sort of ‘stasis’, so the sister’s couldn’t take it.”

"Right, sounds like a jerk. I'm gonna call him Sombrero. Evil jerks don't get to have a cool name." Fortune snarked.

"Fortune, focus." Pansy snapped. "You're a scouting expert, start scouting."

Fortune rolled her eyes. "Right, because it is so easy to track over magical glowing crystals that is so totally pliable enough for prints to impress."

“If only Crowland and Suri were here,” Fiddlesticks commented. “They’d have done it in no time.”

“That’s if we had enough money for it,” Lightning said.

"Suri, as in Suri Polomare? The fashion designer?" Sunset asked, confused.

“She’s a merc in our world,” Lightning said. “Though, she does love designing her own outfits and her and Rarity do sometimes ‘compete’ for fun. Otherwise, she trains with her master or goes off to complete jobs for clients. Which usually involve ‘capture’ ‘assassinations’ the works really. She’s pretty awesome.”

"And she has experience tracking across magic crystals?" Fortune asked, amused.

Lightning shrugged. “How should I know? She’s travelled the world several times over and hunted pretty much everything from here to Tartarus. Even let me have this sweet daemon jewel as a gift. Don’t worry, it’s harmless. She killed the daemon after all.”

"Awww, that sounds cute." Pansy said, smiling. "Sounds like when I gave my boyfriend a jaguar pelt."

"Didn't he dump you for that?" Fortune asked.

Pansy got a flat look. "How was I supposed to know he was a nature lover?"

"And the name Gentle Nature didn't tip you off?"

"Well at least I can get a date!"

"I just haven't found somepony right yet! It's just bad luck!"

"Your special talent is good luck! How much luck do you need to find somepony willing to settle for you?"

"Settle!?"

"Stop!" Sunset shouted, stepping in between the knights. "What is wrong with you two? You're professionals."

Lightning chuckled at that statement, before Quickfix roughly nudged her side which sent her tumbling over. “Oooph, yeah, yeah. I know….Stupid Northern strength.”

Fiddlesticks was eating from a bag of popcorn, throwing a couple to Pat. “Yeah, what Sunset said.” She munched on a few more and then offered it to Applejack. “Have some, cuz. It might not be over yet.”

Rolling her eyes as AJ took some, Sunset continued. "You two are more than just coworkers. I could tell by all your friendly banter back at the library, and on the flight. You two are friends. And friends shouldn't fight like that! Yes, friends won't always agree, but that's different from taking shots at each others character, or love life. Friends are supposed to be there for each other, and be understanding of each others troubles, easing their burdens instead of adding onto them. When we all work together, our burdens become lighter and our life becomes brighter!"

“Yep, yep, yep,” Fiddlesticks nodded trotting up to them. “Though sometimes, it’s fun to argue. My friends argue all the time. It’s good to let off a little steam every now and again….But nothin’ beats a little after argument popcorn.” She held out two bags that were balanced on her tail.

"Thanks." Fortune said, popping her own bag open. "And Fregrant, I am sorry. I'm just a little frustrated I can't do anything right now, I shouldn't have taken that out on you."

"And I shouldn't have taken my relationship troubles out on you." Pansy said, sighing. "Friends?"

"The best...oh my goodness this is some really good popcorn." Fortune said, digging in.

"Yes. Friendship triumphs again!" Sunset said, doing a tail-pump in victory. "...and can I get some of that popcorn?"

Fiddlesticks held out a bag to her. “Here ya go….” She frowned. “And sorry fer not doin’ a great job at makin’ ya smile on the carriage. No more songs out of me from now on out while ah’m here.”

"That popcorn smells really good." a quiet voice echoed from deeper within the cave.

“Ya can have some random voice from inside the cave,” Fiddlesticks held out another one she got from…..somewhere.

“I don’t think we should offer food to random voices, Fiddlesticks.” Lightning rolled her eyes.

“It never hurts to be polite,” Fiddlesticks said. “Even if it’s an evil abomination that wants to suck out our souls.”

"What? No why would I want souls? Hold on a second." Coming out from deeper in the cave is a very average looking tan earth pony with a brown mane and tail. The lantern in his forehoof matched his cutie mark. "Hey there. Name's Lonely Lantern. What brings a big old group like yours out here?"

“What’s it too you?” Lightning raised an eyebrow.

“Now don’t be rude, Lightnin’.” Fiddlesticks said, before trotting up to him. “Name’s Fiddlesticks. We’re just takin’ in the sights and stuff. Well, a lot of stuff really, but it’s kind of secret stuff. Ah’d tell ya, but ya might be a heretic. If’n ya ain’t, ah’ll hug ya to say sorry….Well, ah’ll hug ya anyways really.”

Quickfix pushed her back. “Now wait just a moment. What are ye doin’ here?”

"Exploring." Lantern said, smiling. " Not a lot of folks come out here, since the mountain is so unstable. Exploring's my special talent. I found this neat cave, never heard of anything like this before. I actually set up camp a bit further in if you're interested."

“That’s mighty kind of ya,” Fiddlesticks smiled and tipped her hat.

“Sounds suspicious,” Lightning narrowed her eyes.

“He’s by himself,” Quickfix pointed out. “And we’ve face worse before. So don’t go biting off his head, Dust.”

Lightning mimed ‘Don’t go biting off his head’ in mock attitude.

"Wait Lightning Dust?" Lantern asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

“.......What?” Lightning blinked in confusion. “Do I know you?”

"Oh come on, we didn't have that bad a breakup." Lantern said, rolling his eyes.

“Lightning Dust,” Fiddlesticks nudged her. “Ya sly fox, ya.” She chuckled, having a little fun at her friends expense.

Lightning was blushing. “Breakup? We dated for a while?”

"Apparently the breakup was worse than I thought then." Lantern muttered.

“Wait, why would you would you want to break up with me?” Lightning glared at him. “I’m awesome, sexy, and a fun pony. Who wouldn’t want a piece of me?”

"You broke up with me because I wouldn't stay home and kept going all over the world!" Lantern shouted back. "Don't go putting this on me!"

“Should ah stop this?” Quickfix whispered to Sunset. “‘Cause ah kind of want to see how this turns out.”

“Putting this on you?” Lightning scoffed. “Oh right. Maybe you should’ve thought to let me go with you or maybe go somewhere actually cool.”

"The butterfly migration is totally cool!" Lantern shot back.

Tapping Lightning on the shoulder, AJ whispered "Ya do remember that he's talkin' bout our world's Lightnin' right?"

“Quiet,” Lightning seethed, showing off her fangs. “Nopony breaks up with me and gets away with it….Even if I broke up with him, but I must have had a good reason. A butterfly migration might’ve been a good one.” She turned back to him. “And that’s it? You just walked away? Didn’t even fight for it? Come on. I make it difficult for all my boyfriends.”

"Well I couldn't have exactly followed you back to Cloudsdale." Lantern pointed out. "Yeah, real challenge, getting an earth up to the cloud capital."

“A cloud walking spell,” Lightning pointed out. “Just go get a unicorn to zap you and ‘wham’. A little jump into a balloon and you’d be cuddling this hot piece of pegasus all night. But no, you chickened out.”

"Augh, can you believe this Mask?...Mask?" Sunset looked around. "Hey, where did Masquerade go?"

****************

Mask struggled against her bindings, trying to chew on her gag.

"Good job. I can see why Dominion, may he reign eternal, would accept your offer of alliance." the dark cloaked figure said to the assembled pegasi soldiers.

“We do our duty,” one of the armored soldiers grumbled. “Just keep to your side of the bargain and we’ll be fine.”

"Of course. I would never defy the word of my master. You aid us in our conquest, and you shall have lands to rule, pegasi free of the influence of the other tribes. Now that the twinkle eye is out of the way, this will be just so much easier." the cloaked figure then let out a peel of evil laughter.

Mask quirked an eyebrow, giving one of the soldiers a glance that said 'you guys are really working with that?'.

“Begrudgingly,” the soldier muttered low enough that only Mask could hear. You could hear his teeth clash against each other in agitation.

“Yes,” the leader spoke up. “But I don’t see why we should waste time with but one. Why not catch the rest. My soldiers are more than capable of subduing these locals. They’re soft.”

"Why go through all that effort?" the cloaked figure asked. "After all, you removed the only one immune to illusions." Her horn started to glow lime green...

****************

"Wait what? We lost somepony?" Fortune asked. "How the bloody Tartarus did that happen?"

"You didn't lose me." Mask muttered, flying in. "I just had to go. It was a long flight."

“Go do what?” Fiddlesticks asked, tilting her head in confusion. “There was so much drama here. Don’t ya like that kind of stuff?”

Then, from deep within the cave, a roar rumbled out, shaking the cave slightly.

“QUIET YOU!” Lightning roared back. “I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF WINNING THIS ARGUMENT! HOW RUDE OF SOME MONSTERS!”

There is a pause of almost shock, before another roar sounds. Rounding the corner is a large, squat, bulky dragon skeleton wreathed and held together by black crystalline growths, fountains of green flame in its eye sockets.

"Maaaaask." Sunset asked, glancing over at her friend nervously.

"Not an illusion, not an illusion!" Mask said, quite frankly panicking for a second.

“A girl can’t even argue with her alternate self’s ex around here,” Lightning growled and extended her wing. Pointing her feathers, she sent a large arc of lightning at the ceiling above the dragon. Given her anger and expertise, it was large enough to crack it and have a large piece of crystal smash into the skeleton dragon’s head.

It bounced off the thing's head. It's eyes extinguish and reignite a couple of times, mimicking blinking. Then it shot a storm of dark crystal shards from its mouth, only to have them bounce off of a shield Sunset conjured.

“Alright,” Quickfix lent out her hoof and Fiddlesticks gave her a large wrench. “Finally something to smash. Who wants first? ‘Cause there might not be much left after my turn.”

"That would be us." Fortune said, flying high while Pansy stayed low. Gathering lightning into her front hooves, Fortune shashed hard into the creature's skull as Pansy launched several vacuum blades at the thing. The crystals somehow absorbed the lightning, dispersing it. Meanwhile the vacuum blades did do some damage, cutting into the bone and crystal, but the crystal just grew back from any damage, also growing to replace the gouges on the bone. "Oh that is just not fair." Fortune probably would have said more, but she was forced just then into a series of acrobatic dodges to avoid another crystal hail.

Quickfix rushed forward with a mad glint in her eyes. She was a scientist and given her father’s work, she knew full well where the weaknesses of the body lay. As the beast was preoccupied with the pegasi, she ducked in and smashed joints along the limbs. Given how she was a Northerner, she had plenty of experience with crystalized creatures. Hay, she killed a crystal raptor after all. So she buck and smashed her wrench in order to drive the creature to the ground.

The crystal held, showing at most tiny cracks that self repaired rapidly. The creature didn't even seem to notice Quickfix's efforts.

Quickfix paused as she stared at the creature. Yes it was large and certainly would be hard to take down, but such strength and rapid healing? No, something was up. Something sinister. Her eyes widened. “Somepony’s behind this thing!”

"No duh! Some warlock made the thing!" Sunset called out, trying to blast the thing with a fireball that failed to scorch the thing.

“Not like that,” Quickfix snorted. She leaned against the beast’s leg in thought, not really minding it really. It wasn’t paying her the least bit of attention, which was so odd. If this was a controlled, the beast would’ve at least roared in pain or showed her the least bit of attention. If it was a construct, it would have thrown her off. Constructs usually had self-defense protocols. Either way, when that crystal hit it’s head, it should’ve done something. At least a spark of magic or something. Even as Lightning blasted it with lightning, the creature showed no ill effects. She lightly dinged the creature’s leg in thought. Honestly, she kind of forgot it was there as she lost herself in her theories. And then she fell through the thing's leg.

Quickfix blinked in surprise. “What? Huh? Come on, ah was thinkin’. Ya can’t just…….” She stopped as a thought struck her. She bonked herself on the head with the wrench. “Argh, should’ve thought that one first.”

“Stop thinking and hit it already,” Lightning shouted as she sent several bolts into the creature’s spine.

“Hit what?” Quickfix quirked an eyebrow. “Ye mean the thin’ that ah just passed through?”

“Yeah the……..what did you say?” Lightning stopped to look at her.

“Fiddlesticks,” Quickfix spoke up. “Sing that annoying song?”

“NO!” Lightning flew down beside her. “I am not listening to that song.”

“But it did build moral,” Quickfix smirked.

“It built frustration,” Lightning said. “Like that guy!” She gestured to Lantern...who wasn't there anymore. “Wait? Where’d he go?”

"He probably ran away." Mask suggested. "I can't blame him, that thing is pretty nasty looking."

“Yeah,” Lightning nodded and jumped back into the fight.

Quickfix calmly walked beside Mask and stroked her chin. “So yer just gonna stay back here?”

"Um, I'm an actor." Mask pointed out. "What am I going to do to a giant dragon crystal thing?"

“What crystal dragon?” Quickfix quirked an eyebrow. “It ain’t crystal. Ah’ve lived my whole life near those things and that ain’t it….It’s kind of clever, this illusion. Has ye fooled, don’t it?”

"Uh, Quickfix, it ain't an illusion." AJ pointed out. "Mask's a twinkle eye, they can see through illusions so good they don't even know there's an illusion TO see through."

“Then how did ah fall through it’s leg?” Quickfix pointed out, her eyes narrowing. “How come it doesn’t act like a crystal critter? How come ah don’t see it anymore?”

"Wait, you don't see it?" Sunset asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "That sounds like an illusion to me."

“Fiddlesticks,” Quickfix said.

“Yep,” Fiddlesticks smiled.

“What do ye see?”

“A giant, crystal skeleton dragon.”

“Close yer eyes and believe what ah’m about to say.”

Fiddlesticks closed her eyes.

“It ain’t real.”

Fiddlesticks opened her eyes. “Where’d it go?” She glanced around.

Quickfix chuckled and patted her shoulder. “Ya did good,” she glared at Mask. “Fiddlesticks always believes me, no matter how strange ah can get. She can’t see. Ah can’t see it. It ain’t real.”

"...Mask has darker eyes." Sunset noticed, before smacking the fake with a dispelling beam, causing her to wink out in a burst of green light. She then blasted the dragon, causing it to also burst into green light. "Alright people, we've got an evil illusionist here, and they kidnapped the only pony immune to illusions, so keep your eyes peeled and stay on guard we've got a pony to rescue on top of everything else."

“Argh!” Lightning growled. “It was that Lantern guy, wasn’t it? I knew he was trouble.”

"I think he was another illusion actually." Sunset noted. "Mask vanished right about the time he showed up and distracted us probably."

“Then why come up with the story with Lightnin’?” Fiddlesticks asked. “Couldn’t he just take us into a trap or somethin’? Seems kind of pointless really.”

"Dark illusions can kill you if you believe in them." Sunset explained. "So yeah, it was setup for the illusion dragon to kill us."

"Well that's just lower than snake in a limbo contest." AJ grumbled.

“I’m going to rip out his throat,” Lightning growled. “I’m going to watch him choke on his own blood!”

“Calm down,” Quickfix rolled her eyes. “He didn’t ‘break up’ with ye, Dust.”

“HE STILL SAID IT!” Lightning shouted.

"Oh for evil's sake, I'm not even real." Lantern 'said', popping up out of nowhere. "You are so dense."

“I’ll show you dense when I smash in your skull,” Lightning threatened. “I’ll find the one who made you and show them what happens when you mess with a Dust’s love life!”

"You will do no such thing. We have your friend held hostage. If you guys don't turn around and leave...well do I really need to spell it out?"

“I doubt you can even spell your own name,” Lightning muttered.

"I will destroy you!...if you don't leave." the illusion relayed. "Don't push me."

“I’m going to push,” Lightning glared at him. “I’ve faced the dark goddess who slaughtered millions to drink their souls. I faced the chaos god who warped the world around him for his pleasure. I’ve faced monsters from here to Tartarus. Do you even begin to think you’re on their level?”

"....lieutenant, stab the actor. Not fatally, just to hurt her...alright, now then from now on whenever you sas me she's going to get stabbed again. Any I other smart remarks?"

“...You know,” Lightning pointed out. “How do we know you stabbed her? I mean, you’re an illusion. She’s far off, we can’t see her. For all I know, you’re having tea together. You’re plan is kind of flawed.”

"Tea? Tea? I would never have tea with one of the Bearers! They are the truest enemies of my glorious master! Glory upon Dominion! Long may he reign!"

Sunset looked furious. "Oh bucking Discord wearing a bucking tutu made out of the screams of children! Your one of Dominion's warlocks!? That's just great!"

“Oh so we know what sort of heretic he is,” Lightning said. “Wish we had a ‘Bearer of Flame’. I’d love to watch your sins burn away like your flesh.”

"Sin? Sin? I am a True follower of the one true master of the world!" the illusion shouted. "Leave, or your friend shall perish." And then it vanished.

"Right, well we are in some serious trouble." Sunset sighed. "Dominion only recruits top tier warlocks, and this one is a loyal fanatic on top of that."

“Top tier warlocks?” Quickfix looked stunned. “What the hay? How many are there here? Ah mean, don’t ye execute warlocks on the spot?”

"No." AJ said flatly. "We don't do death sentences here in Equestria. And a lot of the nastier nations don't forbid dark magic as much as be the ponies in charge."

"Yeah, the Confederacy is a messed up place." Sunset said. "But still, most of them are still low tier warlocks."

The three foreigner stared at them in shock.

“That….that’s stupid,” Lightning said. “If you just let ponies run free with dark magic, they’ll summon all sorts of daemons and kill who knows how many. That’s why we don’t mess around with them. If somepony is found messing with black magic, they are to be immediately detained/executed, questions, and then executed. Then the Inquisition would go and make sure the taint didn’t spread. The Holy Celestial Inquisition would never let something like that happen. Hay, we’d probably invade this ‘Confederacy’ if we found out they had such problems.”

"Yeah, we don't have that whole daemon thing here. And the Confederacy is an alliance of over a hundred island nations, you invade any one of them and the others will retaliate. And not all of them are evil...in fact the majority aren't." Sunset explained. "Hence while the C.I.S. is such a pain to deal with."

"Well, look, it's all kinds of complicated." AJ said. "It's somethin' for smarter ponies to work out."

"As fascinating as all this is," Fortune said "we have a serious problem with a hostage situation here, involving a crazy warlock."

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” Lightning said. “We’re going to save Mask and kill this warlock. Simple as that.”

"Works for me." Pansy said. "Kidnapping, attempted murder, and dark magic? Totally willing to do it."

“See?” Lightning gestured at her. “She gets it.”

"And we aren't in Equestria anymore." Fortune pointed out. "So we can't really arrest her, this is unclaimed land."

“The good ol’ smashe ‘em up,” Quickfix smirked, hefting her wrench over her shoulder. “They want to turn their back on Celestia, well, let’s show them how stupid that is.”

"Well she might not be Equestrian." Fortune pointed out. "So no idea if she turned her back on the Princess at all."

Quickfix stared at Fortune for a while. “Yeah, right….Well, she turned her back anyways to follow this ‘god’ or somethin’. Ah call bashin’ her brains in.”

"Girls, I'd prefer trying to take her alive." Sunset said. "The whole "redemption" thing me and Celestia preach, remember? Also, Dominion isn't a god...even if he bills himself as one. He is just the most powerful warlock in the world."

“So he’s like Sombra then,” Lightning said. “And we’ll try….I put emphasis on try.”

“We’ll do more than try,” Fiddlesticks spoke up. “Why, I bet she’s gonna be our bestest friend by the end of the week. Remember Shade?”

“But…..” Lightning said and then became silent. “Okay, you have a point.”

“Shade’s Shade,” Quickfix shrugged. “He’s an exception. He...wasn’t a great warlock?” She scratched her head. “Darn it, Fiddlesticks. Ah’m still gonna mess her up though. Shade’s an exception. Haven’t met a good warlock since...Only dead ones.” She smirked.

Sunset coughed uncomfortably. "Anyway, redemption, okay guys? If he, or she, is throwing around illusions, they're a unicorn. Worst comes to worse, we break the horn and take the warlock prisoner."

"Problem is that lieutenant thing." AJ pointed out. "The Cult don't have no soldiers."

“.......They don’t?” Lightning just stared at them. “Come on, all cults have them. Okay, they’re pretty much just canon fodder, especially chaos cultists. They really don’t have much more on their mind then ‘fun’, which is usually just stabbing you over and over and wearing your organs as hats, but still. Come on, this Cult’s got to have something.”

“....Can we not have that?” Fiddlesticks looked a tad bit green. She hid her face behind her hat. “Ah don’t want to remember that.”

"That is disturbing, and no, we don't have that." Sunset said. "The Cult is quality over quantity, to a high degree. Small numbers, big power."

“Huh,” Lightning shrugged. “Nightmare Moon managed to build a cult with both, but this ‘Cult’ must be tad slow. Apostle was good at his job, the filthy heretic.”

"Yeah, but again, mortal. And the organization isn't that old, maybe a decade at most." Sunset pointed out. "Actually kind of impressive he did this much that quickly now that I think about it."

“Which wouldn’t have happened if ye just put a bullet or somethin’ into their head,” Quickfix huffed. “Now, let’s go put somethin’ into him/her’s head then.”

"The hay's a bullet?" AJ asked, getting a shrug in response from the other locals.

“Ball of metal that are shot out of rifles,” Quickfix said. “They aren’t the most accurate, but they’ve got impressive range.”

"Huh. Well, let's figure out where they are so we can save Mask." Fortune said. "Sooo...anypony got any idea where they are?"

“Well we could always use my ‘DNA Tracker’,” Quickfix put out. “Did ah leave that at home though?” She tapped her chin.

“Or we could just check out the cave,” Lightning said. “Or walk outside a bit. Maybe we’ll bump into a ‘soldier’ or something, nab ‘em, and get them to tell us where Mask is.”

"Or I could escape." Mask said. "By the way, they're worse with knots than you are Fiddlesticks. Also, they're with the mirror and the warlock's got some weird stuff all around it."

“.........Give me a good reason to trust yer the real one,” Quickfix narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Dominion is a smelly moron, warlocks suck, Celestia is awesome, and the warlock that held me was an ugly, crazy mare with an oversized horn." Masquerade said, not missing a beat. "Also, does a group of fuzzy pegasi tribalists called the Enclave mean anything to you?"

“Those guys?” Lightning groaned. “This just got tougher and not in the good way. They’re an elite, tribalist group and they’ll stop at nothing till they’ve ‘liberated’ the pegasus race. We can thank Pansy’s ancestor for them.”

"Damn it alternate great great great great great great great great great great great great grandmother!" Fregrant Pansy shouted to the heavens.

“Damn her all you want,” Lightning said. “We’ve done it plenty in our timeline. I mean, she poisoned Commander Hurricane so she could become the next commander and how she hated the ‘intermixing’ of tribes and all that.”

"That is so alternate I don't even." Fortune said, shaking her head. "She poisoned her own father?"

“Probably angry her dad married a changeling,” Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Your Hurricane married?" Mask asked. "Huh. Ours was very...free with his love. I think like one in ten pegasi can trace their lineage back to him. And a good chunk of unicorns and earths as well actually, but not even close to ten percent. Maybe one or two percent."

“Yeah he was kind of like that in the history books,” Quickfix sniggered. “Till he met Queen Chrysalis and he fell head over hooves fer her and vice versa. Good thin’ too.”

Fiddlesticks sighed dreamily. “A romance for the ages.”

"So, shall we get going guys?" Mask asked.

****************

"What do you mean she escaped? You were supposed to guard her! While she was tied up! She's an actor and you are soldiers!" the warlock shouted.

“I have no idea,” the lead pegasus shot back. “Maybe you should’ve cast some spell to keep tabs on her, lock her up, keep her asleep. You’re a damned unicorn after all.”

"Yeah, but she sucks." a new cloaked figure said, flying in. "Seriously Picture Perfect, can't you do anything right without making a big production of the thing?"

"Shut it Firestorm!" Picture shouted back. "You're little fire lightning tornadoes failed too! You're a one trick pony!"

"Well at least my powers work without having to have my enemy believe it's real." Firestorm shot back.

"Don't you mean power? Singular. No backup trick you hack!" Picture shot back.

"Enough you two." a third figure called out. "Stop gobbling and do something! It will take me time to finish reinforcing this portal. If you want your army to come through, you'll need to keep me safe, or else you Enclave ponies will be stranded here for a few years."

“You have nothing to fear,” the Enclave soldier said, bowing his head. “Anyone who so much as looks at you with ill intent will have their blood spilled and their flesh served as dinner. That I can assure you.”

"Good. See to it." the third figure said. "Our master invested a great amount into this plan of yours. Show it is worth its investment."

“As we have of you,” the Enclave snorted. “We’ve risked a lot on this venture of yours. Our own master will be….displeased if things go awry.” The tone held an air of finality.

"Enough!" Picture shouted. "Lieutenant, get your men ready. They'll be here soon."

The Enclave nodded. He turned to his soldiers. Many of them were sharpened their blades, polishing armor, or keeping tabs on the Wyverns. Wyverns were the preferred mount of Enclave riders. They were fast, deadly, and sturdy. Their already thick scales were encomposed in standard dark gray Enclave armor and their tails, which could crack bone with a simple smack, had several spikes along it. The beasts were much larger than a pony, able to easily fit one in its mouth. The Lieutenant gave out a shrill, predatory call that caught their attention. “The enemy approaches. To you stations.”

The soldiers nodded and like a finely tuned instrument, took off. Though, the wyverns obviously took discomfort with the warlocks. As in, they would snap at them as they passed or generally hissed in anger.

"This is going to be wicked." Firestorm said, grinning wickedly inside his cloak.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment.

Comments

[Dragonok]

Why are there you're instead of your in some of these sentences? That's grammatically inaccurate? Your identifies the noun after it as its property while you're is an abbreviation for you are. Besides that, great story! Keep it up!

[howard035]

Cool intro of the bad guys this chapter.
- I kind of agree with Sunset on Quickfix. Quickfix wants ponies to be her friend and not be afraid of her, she just doesn't want them to be friends enough to stop setting Shade on fire and sending him to the hospital. I get that everyone else has accepted that Shade's life has no inherent worth, but strangers may not realize that and still fear for their safety.

-I really hope Lightning Dust ends up dating a version of Lantern at some point, they have good chemistry.

-Interesting how the Ponyhammer40K team managed to successfully redeem Shade, and then stopped immediately and have never tried to redeem another warlock.

-The history of Pansy and Hurricane was awesome. Also awesome? The entire illusionist bit. That warlock was clever indeed.

[Evowizard25]

5917327 Shade was a special case. Usually, warlocks are killed on sight. Thankfully, Redheart wasn't the type to 'kill', so he was given the time to be redeemed. There are other cases of it happening, but it's not that often since warlocks either escape or are killed.

Thanks for the comment. I've honestly considered writing a story about Equestria's past, including Hurricane. It might take some time, since I want to finish some of my stories first.

[howard035]

5917397 Right, and because he was spared, he was redeemed and has become a valuable ally, even though his special talent is dark magic! Maybe the moral of the story there is that Shade's treatment shouldn't be a special case. There's a powerful Inquisition and clergy of Celestia, they don't have any kind of ability to contain warlocks and keep them from being a threat during rehabilitation? And what about Apostle and Luna? They are basically powerful warlocks, and as far as I can tell they still live. I'm not saying Celestia is playing favorites, but...

I definitely find the idea of evil Pansy to be awesome, because I still imagine her looking/sounding like Fluttershy, and evil Fluttershy always sounds cool.

[Evowizard25]

5917422 Well, Shadow Warlocks were thought to be extinct for hundreds of years. The closest to them are chaos sorcerors and blood mages and both of them are so far gone in their madness, that the only humane thing to do is put them out of their mercy. While they have the 'means', they would need to relearn it and, well, given the ponies of Equestria and their fervor, they tend to kill first and ask questions later.

I have so many plans for Pansy. She's probably one of the most diabolical foes Equestria's ever faced.

[howard035]

5917516 Fair enough. And at some point, you have to balance in the factor that is is based on Warhammer, and they're not exactly big on rehabilitation.

[Festus]

Bunyips? What are... OH GOD, WHY DID I GOOGLE THAT?!

So we have dinosaurs as well? Wait... that would explain Snap, actually. Sort of.

"I am worst pony!"

That made me physically cringe. Seriously, never do that ever again.

Wait, insanity runs in Quicfix's family? Great, now I wanna see a fic with that!

Seriously, with all the talk about Quickfix and robots, I now wanna see that alternate universe with Android Quickfix actually come into fruition. Come on~ You know you want to!

Skavder? Lemme just... huh, not as bad as I thought it would be.

You know, if you guys do get stuck there for two years, I'm banking on Quickfix actually building an interdimensional portal. I mean, she's pretty much built a time machine in a single afternoon! What's stopping her? Or maybe this is what inspired her to build it in the first place. Interesting...

Oi, you do NOT diss on Sombra! He's pretty cool. Pays his rent on time, cleans up after himself, respects others' privacy. Sure, he scares the crap out of kids, but he doesn't mean it! It wasn't his fault he was born with glowing green eyes!

HOW DOES A FASHION DESIGNER AND A MERC HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?! Sure, she's an asshole, but how?!

Fiddlesticks held out another one she got from…..somewhere

Mind if you spice this joke up a bit? It's starting to get stale.

I don't trust you, Lantern. If Keima's thought me anything from the Goddess arc, it's that "A stranger that appears in a time of crisis is 100% SUSPICIOUS!"

... I KNEW IT!!

You know, the villains could totally just make Mask say all those things if she was an illusion. It would have worked better if she said something personal.

Oh, we're having THOSE kinds of villains.

/

You know, you should really check up on your grammar. You confused 'your' and 'you're' a few times. Just putting this out there.

[Honeytongue]

Why, why do I keep putting off from both reading this story (and so many others), as well as starting my own?!

Okay, with that aside now, great chapter. So much world building and history, and we finally learn who the bad guys from the Sunsetverse are here. Things are going to get interesting.