//------------------------------// // The Undead Burg Part 3 // Story: Sunset Shimmer - The Princess of Lordran // by ratedoni //------------------------------// The way Madeleine was looking at her made it even worse due to the way her eyebrow was raised, as if asking what in the world Sunset was doing. The redhead slightly groaned, knowing that the beginning of her adventure was not good and will definitely only get worst from this point onwards. “Okay, I know this may sound a little heartless but… how in the sun are you here so soon?” Madeleine was trying to be serious, but Sunset could almost hear the way the black haired woman was trying to contain her laughter. “I died okay? Wow, never thought I would be using those words in a sentence and mean it,” Sunset said, slowly getting up and checking her body; she was getting used to the benefits of being an undead since she didn’t feel a thing out of place with her body, no pain or broken bones, even her slash injury form before was healed. “So how exactly did you die?” “It’s quite funny in fact,” Sunset answered, thinking back to several minutes ago when she finally saw the shocking revelation that dragons still existed in that world and that they were very cranky. “Why didn’t you tell me that dragons were alive?!” “Because Seath is the only one that exists right now, all the others are dead, that’s why the Age of Dragons ended.” Madeleine looked quite confused at the way Sunset was asking something about that. After all, she had already explained that part of the history of Lordran. “Then why the fuck did I met a dragon at the other side of the aqueduct!?” “Dragon? What are you talking about? What did it look like?” “Well, it was big, red and was throwing fire everywhere!” “A drake… what’s a drake doing in this place?” Madeleine said slightly distracted at the distraction while Sunset was having her crisis and freak out at the same time. “Excuse me, I’m the one that died right here. Aren’t you a little worried about that?” “Sunset, you are an undead. Unlike me, you will just wake up at the last bonfire you rested at. Speaking of that, you look too well to have been dead.” “What do you mean?” “Just look at your skin and hair; also don’t take it in the wrong way but you still look quite beautiful.” Madeleine said, obviously surprised behind her mask. For her part, Sunset began to check her arms under her long cloak and was quite surprised as well. Last time she had died she had been looking like a corpse but now, here she was, as good as new. “Have you used something out of the ordinary?” “I found a ring.” “Did you really? That’s it? You found a ring?” Madeleine said, incredulous at the words of Sunset and the things that were happening so far. Here she was in Lordran and now had to be helping Sunset Shimmer in her own travel, it was just great. “What do you expect me to say? It’s my first experience as an undead!” “Well, you have more experience being one than me! For all I know you could have gotten a ring that wouldn’t allow you to resurrect!” “Wait… there are magic rings?” “Well, yeah, don’t those exist in your world?” “They are very weird and very few wizards even bother with them, considering we don’t even have hands or fingers.” With the way Madeleine was arching that eyebrow that was one answer the dark haired woman was not expecting. “She reminds me of you Applejack.” “Why? Because of the eyebrow? Rarity, Ah hate ya,” the blonde girl said to her friend once more starting their bantering, helping a little with the high tension. “Wait, where’s Fluttershy?” The five girls that were all hunched over the tablet began to look everywhere but they couldn’t find their friend. “I think I know where she is, don’t worry,” the fashionista said before the other girls returned to the world of Lordran and the way Madeleine and Sunset were discussing things. “Okay, you lost me my dear, what do you mean by having no hands or fingers?” “Oh, I’m originally a unicorn but got turned into a human by crossing into another dimension through a mirror.” Madeleine raised a hand and seemed ready to object those words, but apparently thought it over and simply lowered the hand down. “You know, I would like to say that that was the weirdest thing I have ever heard but sadly, it is not; that does say something about my life though,” Madeleine finally said before helping Sunset up. “So, you never finished saying about how you died.” “Right, so, there I was, ready to get into the city when this huge drake comes down out of nowhere and every single hollow gets restless. I think ,well, I guess I will have to run or something to get away from those guys but suddenly they all get scared or something.” “Probably due to the drake. They are not dragons in the sense that they don’t have stone scales that will grant them immortality. In fact, I’m not even sure if they are related. It’s something that most researchers are not sure of, if they are a subspecies of dragons or simply monsters that try to mimic dragons.” “That is not comforting. So there I was, minding my own business when this drake decides he watched enough and begins to fly away as if nothing had ever happened. Next thing I know I fight a couple of hollows, get up stairs and to my surprise I start being burned alive by hollows that are throwing bombs at me. Just as I am battling the flames a freaking hollow appears out of nowhere and tackles me, throwing both of us over the small bridge I was crossing,” Sunset explained, remembering those horrible moments in which she felt gravity do its dirty job. It was not a nice experience and she knew she will live through many other bad moments. “Well, seems that you get all the fun lately.” “If that’s your definition of fun, then I don’t want to be you.” “Oh, don’t be so melodramatic my dear. I’m simply talking about having quite an adventure in front of you. Things are so dreadful in here, what with our dear monk not even wanting to talk. I do feel he is not very enthusiastic about his destiny as caretaker and so far I haven’t been able to get even a peep out of him. There’s something in him that puts me on edge. It also doesn’t help that I watched him stash some things in a corridor.” Sunset heard her companion talk as they both began walking in the stairway’s direction without even noticing. Suddenly, at those last words Sunset understood what Madeleine had been doing. “You didn’t.” “Oh yes I did; apparently our nice little monk stashed away pieces of cracked red eyed orbs.” “Okay, explanation for the one that is not from this world.” “Sorry my dear, sometimes I forget you don’t belong to this realm, considering your knowledge about magic. Cracked red eye orbs are a very dark magic type of item, considering they allow the user to ‘invade,’ in a way, other people’s realities. It is used as an assassination tool most of the time when someone evades the law and crosses to another world or simply as a tool to gain more power through Humanity. Makes you wonder, what he was doing with those magical items.” “Well, isn’t that just great? Something else to add to the list of mysteries in this place, as if we didn’t need more… what are you doing?” Sunset asked as both female warriors began to ascend and went face to face with new hollows. “Oh, I’m just going your way,” Madeleine said as she impaled a hollow with her spear and pushed him out of the cliff as Sunset defeated the next hollow. “Let’s just say that I’m a little bored. Besides, I’m on my own mission.” “Yeah? And what’s that?” Sunset asked as they got to the top and with the two of them it was easier to clean up the stairway directing to the aqueduct. “I’m searching for an old sword. It belonged to an old knight of Astora so you may say that it is a relic in its own way. So, what do you say? Shall we tackle the Undead Burg together?” Her smile was infectious as both women went into the aqueduct ready for the strange events surrounding the land of Lordran. Meanwhile, back in the human world, Rarity had spent the last few minutes searching for the last member of their group and finally found her sitting down outside, accompanied by her animal friends and hugging her knees. Even from where Rarity was standing she could see the way Fluttershy was shivering. The fashionista sighed knowing that something had affected Fluttershy. “Darling, what is going on? You simply disappeared from the table.” The appropriately named girl jumped at the sound of Rarity’s voice and focused her eyes on her friend; they were red and tears were still visible. “I’m sorry Rarity, is just… it was too much. I know Sunset was a bully but, just seeing her suffer like that, how could I even forgive myself? It’s our fault that she has to fight. She is dying in that world and we can do nothing to help her!” The girl had always had such a huge heart and Rarity knew that a kind soul like hers would suffer greatly at having to see Sunset’s tribulations. “Fluttershy, you cannot blame yourself. We didn’t know what would happen.” “And what if she never comes back? What if she gets trapped in that horrible world forever?!” At those words Rarity’s eyes widened. The idea of something like that happening was not nice. How ironic; not a week ago Rarity would have danced at the news of Sunset leaving Canterlot High. Now, it just filled her with dread and guilt.