//------------------------------// // Defender of the Crystal Castle 01 // Story: The Many Destinies of Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// It was the worst possible situation for Equestria now. Bad enough that not even Princess Celestia knew what to do and she was the one with the most experience with crisis and disasters, but this time it was different. Usually she was the one who knew a small detail or something that she had planned beforehoof helped Twilight and the others in survive and defeat the enemy and there were very few instances when even Princess Celestia was caught by surprise. One of them had been with the changelings and how much they had infiltrated Canterlot, but this time it was even worst. It all started when the sky had become black due to the massive ship arriving at Equestria. It was a situation right out of one of a sci-fi movie or a comic, not something that could happen on a normal day. No matter how ridiculous it could sound, the truth was that the ship soon descended upon Equestria with their intentions clear once it landed and released machines that opened fire upon the city of Baltimare, reducing the city to rubble in the matter of hours. The guards and the police force were no match for their power and soon Celestia had no other choice but to call Princess Twilight and her friends so with their power they would repel the invaders. It was in vain since not even the Rainbow Power granted by the Tree of Harmony could save the day. The ray of energy that could even strip the stolen magic from Tirek did indeed stop the robotic invaders but soon they were shot down form the air by monsters from the ship. Thankfully the girls could escape but now that the enemy knew the power the ponies commanded it would be capable of dealing with them next time. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were worried about the future of Equestria and that once more peace will disappear on their land, but what else could they do? What came was a week of constant fighting as the invaders kept pushing the front line until they were at Ponyville, the last stronghold before Canterlot. If the quaint town felt then there was nothing stopping the invaders for taking control of Equestria. The diarchy had even brought Princess Cadence and the power she and her husband commanded to create a powerful shield around the town but they knew time was ticking down. It was so desperate that Princess Twilight had called for help beyond the realm and soon Princess Celestia found her past student in front of her. It was definitely not how she envisioned meeting her former student again in a situation like that but there was very little time for private conversation. Sunset Shimmer and the rest of her human friends -who know found themselves in the strange situations of not only being ponies but meeting their counterparts on that side of the mirror- had been talking with Twilight and the rest of the group in charge of the defense of Ponyville. Maybe the powers that the six girls commanded as the Earth Elements of Harmony would be enough to finally stop their enemy, but they didn’t have enough time as the enemy was already at their doors. The sound of mortars being fired and crashing against the shield took everyone by surprise, making the reunion break apart as they all took positions outside the Friendship Castle -which Sunset still rolled her eyes every time she heard the name- and began to observe the machines taking positions and constantly firing against the shield. For his part, Shining Armor struggled against the powerful attacks and even with the help of his wife the strain was becoming too much. Sooner or later the shield would crumble and the future of the planet would be decided on a miracle. While the ponies and their transformed human friends got ready for the battle, inside the castle something weird happened. In a flash of light two figures appeared in the central chamber of the castle, the Cutie Map and the thrones the only witnesses to the apparition. The figures quickly got to work checking the cutie Map seeking something. As the man took something from the backpack he was wearing once he found out what he was looking for, the redheaded girl accompanying him took a look at what was happening outside. She sighed watching the struggles on the town and how the robotic army was getting closer and closer to break the shield protecting the ponies. “I know what you are thinking, and no, we cannot help them in that way Sunset Shimmer.” The aforementioned redhead sighed once more turning around to the man that had teleported her to that dimension. “I know, I know… I just wish I could help them. This is not my dimension but I still wanna do something.” “And you are doing that, just not directly.” The Keeper said placing the white sword he had been hauling around on top of the table “Look, I know it is difficult for you to just watch and maybe give some hints to other versions of you but that’s the way that things should be. It is probably killing you since you are used to hands-on approach to being a hero.” The Keeper said finally putting everything in place. “Where did you exactly got that sword? It looks familiar.” Sunset said checking that no one had walked inside the castle. “Well, you see, there are some guys that can travel to the human world and they sell magical items to people.” “What’s so bizarre about them? I know that there are people that sell magic items to humans, although sometimes they don’t know that the items are magical to begin with.” “Yes, but the problem is that they know they are magical and most of the time dangerous items; they sell it to human beings saying that they are only props for costumes and the like. The bad part is that those items transform a normal human being into the original owner of the item and then transport them to Equestria.” “Why would they do that?” “Because they are assholes that want to spread chaos, so my job is to find those guys, send them to jail and then confiscate those dangerous items. Sometimes those things can be useful, like in this case. The original sword from this dimension was destroyed in a fight thousands of years ago, so the only thing we are doing is introduce a new version of the sword from another reality and with everything on its place this world will be saved.” “How we will know?” Sunset asked Keeper before another flash of light made them blink, next time they opened their eyes the sword had been absorbed by the cutie map. “I think that was a very clear hint, now let’s get out of here before someone sees us.” Keeper said as both simply faded from that universe and went back to the space home of Observer. As all this happened inside the castle, outside it the barrier finally went down in a resounding boom, scattering the ponies everywhere as the robotic white army began to march inside the town as pony guards tried to stop them. The four princesses went up alongside their friends and got ready to use the powers they had to defend their town before one of them noticed something weird as they all got up. “Where is Sunset?” Twilight asked as her Equestrian counterpart stood gawking at the place where their friend had been standing before the barrier came down. All the others began to look around but they couldn’t find her. Sadly they had something much more urgent right now coming to them to search for her. Unbeknownst to them Sunset as nowhere near the battlefield right now, instead she found herself on an open field not knowing how she got there or why she was right now on her human form. Looking around she finally found something familiar, the castle belonging to Princess Twilight and began to run in its direction, but there was something weird about it, it didn’t look quite the same, it seemed bigger and then she realized that the castle was not the same since it had a big golden tower growing in the middle. “What you are looking for is not here Sunset Shimmer.” The redhead heard a voice and turned around to find a blonde woman with a red and white leotard standing close to her. “It is the castle but not the version you know.” “Where am I? Who are you?” “It will take some time to explain everything to you and sadly you don’t have the time to listen to everything I have to say considering the enemy attacking your world.” “Okay then, how do I get back? My friends need my help.” “Well, that is something a little easier, but before that happens, you need to understand that the enemy you have is not something that will be defeat with normal weapons and magic, you need something stronger. You need the power of your castle.” “Castle? I have no castle, only Princess Twilight.” “Oh no, Twilight only lives on the castle while she works alongside the Tree of Harmony to protect Equestria, but she has no access to the powers contained inside of it, that’s why you are here. Only the protectors of the castle. Only people chosen by the castle can enter this reality, we are outside time and space; you will find all the protectors in this world even if they are dead, almost like memories.” “Then that means-“ “My time of fighting was a long time ago, but don’t worry, I’ll tell you later on, the only thing you need to know right now is how to access the power you were always born to use, just take the sword.” “What sword?” “The one already on your back.” The woman said before Sunset finally put attention to the sword scabbard already strapped on her back “that is the Sword of Protection; if you want to help your friends and save Equestria you need to know this. My name is Adora, fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my sword and said, well, you know the words.” The blonde woman said as Sunset took the white sword out of its scabbard mimicking her. “I do now… FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!” The power ran through Sunset’s body as her attire changed becoming the one that she had used as Daydream Shimmer but now a golden winged crown was materialized on top of her head and a red cape finished the outfit. With a blink she was once again in Equestria alongside her friends who were amazed at the way Sunset looked and the power emanating from her “I am She-Ra! And I will never let you take my home!”