//------------------------------// // Armour of Ahuizotl 01 // Story: The Many Destinies of Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// She was supposed to be one of the most powerful unicorns in the history of Equestria, well, that was before she ascended to alicornhood, but still, looking at the magical properties of a series of crystalized magical artifacts shouldn’t be a problem to somepony of her abilities. Well, it seems that there were mysteries in the world because she had no idea where to start or even how to get a stable reading on the seven amulets that had the power of the elements. Princess Twilight Sparkle was quickly gaining a headache after the sheer insanity that was trying to study on the magical artifacts her friends had got in what was the Everfree Forest on the human side of the mirror. Now she understood how Sunset felt back when she tried to investigate the magical transformation she and her friends had went through after the battle against the sirens, because if what she was feeling was only a fraction of what Sunset went through since she moved to the human world, then Twilight had a lot of respect for the redhead. “I’m sorry girls, but… I’m not sure where they came from or how exactly these crystals power you, it doesn’t even make sense.” The princess said all but giving up and placing her head on top of the school desk. It had been some time since she had visited Canterlot High, but it still felt comforting in a way to be in one of its classrooms; maybe it was the scholar part of Twilight that made her feel at ease at places of learning. Around her, the seven owners of the amulets gave her a reassuring look. “Oh, is alright Twilight… eh, that is, Princess Twilight, heavens, no wonder you didn’t want to visit again, this could get tiring quickly,” Rarity exclaimed looking between the two girls that all but looked like twins if it weren’t for the differences in hairstyle and glasses. “At least it is better than calling Twilight here Sci-Twi like Pinkie wanted,” The blonde of the group said making Pinkie nod in confirmation while the girl they were talking about simply grimaced at the sound of her once possible nickname. “And I for one am grateful; to have a nicknamed based solely on my love for academics is not something I wanted to hear,” Twilight said adjusting her glasses as she took on her hands her own. As one the rest of her friends also took hold of their own crystal while Princess Twilight massaged her temples. “I guess since I cannot study the magical properties of these pendants on this side of the portal,” Twilight started making Sunset start to sweat about what could her friend be planning “and is obvious that Sunset is in no way ready to step into Equestria.” “Thank you Twilight, I swear, I’ll get things cleared out soon, just… not right now if I can,” Sunset said visibly embarrassed about her own fears and doubts about going into Equestria, thankfully Fluttershy and Pinkie noticed her feelings and quietly hugged her. The action of hugging worked its wonders because Sunset quickly left behind the dark feelings while Princess Twilight went on with her explanation. “I suppose the only thing I could do is to record some samples of what your new abilities can do, maybe we could start with the physical properties of what your pendants can do,” She said as the full group started to walk until they reached the gymnasium; thankfully no one was using it and they would be able to some test. Princess Twilight was a little surprised when Sunset was joining Rainbow and Applejack on the middle of the mats. “Uh, Sunset, aren’t your powers supposed to be able to see into other people’s minds?” “Technically it lets me do a lot more if I touch someone else, but yeah, something like that,” the redhead said starting to stretch. After a couple of repetitions Sunset took off her jacket while Applejack and Rainbow had less than enthusiastic looks on their faces and knew very well what was going to happen in the demonstration. Since they found the amulets in the cavern, the girls had been almost flaunting their special abilities, all of them except Sunset. Everyone had something of a physical ability or at least with some use in everyday life, like Rarity making crystals as accessories or even Pinkie using the sprinkles as made up firecrackers in parties, but Sunset…her ability was not something she wanted to use; just the idea of getting into someone else’s head and steal the information seemed too much of a private breach. Soon though, another usage of her ability was found, one that not even Sunset knew she could have. “So, how are we going to do this?” Twilight asked not quite sure of what the other girls were going to do or what they were preparing for. From among them, it was Applejack who started the discussion. “Ah suppose we could do a small little spar to show you Princess, after all, is not like if we could find some rocks for me to show you how strong I am.” “We definitely need to go to a quarry or something similar to measure the amount of weight you can lift.” “As if I need more test to see my strength; now Granny Smith basically uses me as a work horse every time she is cleaning the house,” at her words, both Sunset and Princess Twilight tried not to laugh considering the way a ‘horse’ worked back in Equestria. “Don’t worry, I won’t, so… whenever you are ready.” Sunset said as just as she finished that sentence a fist was thrown directly at her face and with the same speed it was dodged. Princess Twilight gasped in fright at the sudden attack form her blonde friend, but looking at her side the rest of her friends were as calm as they were before the other two began to fight. All with the exception of Pinkie Pie who was right now eating popcorn with one hand as the other had some kind of goofy huge foam hand with one finger pointing up and a sun printed on it. With the same speed that she had been showing Sunset kept on dodging and weaving between fists and kicks, moving her head from one side to another and stepping away from the danger. Just from looking at the dim light coming from Applejack’s amulet it was clear that she was using some of her new powers which made this even more nerve-wracking than it was before; then it happened, the balance tipped on Sunset favor as she ducked under a high kick from Applejack. The redhead did a spin and getting almost parallel to the floor she did a sweep kick sending Applejack right into the mats. The blonde sighed and stood up, simply nodding at Sunset signaling the end of their impromptu spar. “How… what just happened?” To say that Princess Twilight was confused would be an understatement, but Applejack simply sat down at the bleachers as Rainbow took a look at her mail before starting her own spar with Sunset. “Ah think it is partly mah fault; Ah’ve been learning martial arts for a while now, something that mah mom was proud when Ah was younger,” Applejack stopped as she took a long gulp from a water bottle that Pinkie gave her; no one wondered where it came from, but probably from the inside of Pinkie’s hair “Last week Ah was showing the girls some moves.” “That’s when she showed me how to block a punch, next thing I know I did a complete kata,” Sunset said with a shrug as she waited for Rainbow who was now reading something in her phone “apparently I used my powers without noticing and I, well, you could say I copied what she had learned.” “And that wasn’t just with things like fighting, two days ago I was busy stitching some new clothes when Sunset tried to call my attention, apparently she now can judge how well a stitch is done.” “Not an ability I will get much usage from, but every bit of info is good.” “Well, this info is going to be good.” “What do you mean Rainbow?” Princess Twilight asked as Rainbow showed them the article she had been watching on her phone. It wasn’t a surprise for Princess twilight to discover that A.K. Yearling was real on the human world, but apparently she was more open about her adventures than the one in Equestria; that Rainbow was a huge fan was no surprise either, so when she saw the familiar visage of the adventures in the small screen. The eight girls looked astonished as a black version of their pendants was shown with the photo of the ‘Daring Do’ book author posing with it. “It says here that Yearling is in the search of information about the amulet, it is apparently linked to something called The Armor of Ahuizotl, it is said to be a very ancient artifact and the pendant is a hint to its location.” Rainbow said barely containing her excitement. For her part Sunset felt as if the pendant and her new abilities were linked, but in what way? Only time would tell.