Sunset Shimmer, a student of CHS, former unicorn from the magical land of Equestria, former she-demon slash villainess, current vocalist slash guitarist of the relatively famous band 'Rainbooms', sighed deeply, massaging her temples. Not only were they, along with Twilight Sparkle (the non-alicorn/unicorn one, because she lived in times where that had to be specified to avoid confusion) not getting anywhere in their investigation.
"Oh, and before you go," the jewelry store owner stopped two teen girls, as he produced a tiny box from under his desk "I never had the time to properly thank you for everything you've done."
Sunset raised her hands in defense. "Woah, woah, woah, that's what I'm trying to tell you, It wasn't... ooooh!" She cooed, as the store owner opened the mystery box to reveal a pair of two golden earrings, that just so happened to be shaped exactly like her cutie mark, though instead of yellow and red, it were two shades of gold, which would've gone perfectly with-- "NO! I-I can't take it! I'm not her!" She averted her eyes, with difficulty.
The man blinked and paused for a while, before gasping in realization. "Ooooh, of course, I understand," he coughed, closing the box, packing it into a small bag and all but shoving it at Sunset's hands "in that case, how about you give (wink, wink) it to Magical Girl Sunny. Once you eventually find her, that is!" He ended with a wink, then whispered. "Your secret is safe with me. Keep it, it's the least I could do." Before Sunset could make a single sound to object, the front doors opened and the owner immediately greeted new costumers, leaving two girls with the prize they did not earn. Sunset Shimmer slumped her shoulders in defeat and hid the box in her jacket pocket and the two left the store.
"At least we have the camera recordings," Twilight Sparkle said, holding a flash drive firmly in her hands "there could be some clues on them."
Sunset Shimmer was tired of sighing, but what other reaction would represent her mood right now? "I wouldn't get my hopes too high. Most of it is already on the internet."
Twilight opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but decided against stretching this topic. "So, what now?"
Sunset Shimmer sat on her motorbike and donned a helmet, throwing the other one to her friend. "We go to the only place where a vigilante would go."
Catching the helmet, Twilight raised an eyebrow. "And where's that?"
***
Twilight Sparkle, the full human, non-Princess one (in case you STILL need to be specific) had a lot of regrets. Not just lifelong ones, like never getting any friends before turning into a she-demon herself, but a recent one. If she knew Sunset Shimmer would bring her to the dark back alleys of Canterlot, the ones that adults in suits would rather avoid like fire in fear of getting stabbed, mugged, murdered or kidnapped (in any order), she would've, well, avoided that decision like fire. And yet here she was, trembling in fear behind her fiery-haired former unicorn friend, who wasn't the least bit bothered by four street punks in ripped jeans, differently colored hoodies and golden chains that would've made a great business with the previously met Jewelry store owner, if she wasn't almost certain they weren't all stolen or bought with stolen cash or by cash made by selling stolen goods... you get the idea.
Twilight wasn't sure what was scarier: the big, scary looking hoodlums; the fact that Sunset Shimmer wasn't afraid of them in the slightest; or the fact that she found them after asking a few of her old "buddies". She realized Sunset Shimmer was a little bit evil back in the day, but she thought it was just the mind controlling, dark powered demoness, not a common street thug! What kind of priorities have I developed?!
"I'll ask this once," Sunset said to the thugs "which one of you is Splint? I have a few questions."
If one of them was the person she was looking for, he didn't say, as all of them burst into laughter and started walking around the two girls. Twilight's hands clung to Sunset's jacket harder every time she noticed a gangster looking at her, while Sunset was not impressed at all, patting Twilight's hand while remaining poker faced.
"What'ya want with him, babe?" The thug in a red hoodie asked, closing his hand towards Sunset's face, only to get it slapped away before it got too close. "You a cop or somethin?"
"I just want to talk, then we'll be out."
"Woah, just talk and bye?" Oragne hooded thug asked. "That's cold, woman!"
"Yeah, why don'tcha hang out with us for a while?" The third, purple hooded one, asked.
Sunset groaned. "Look, is Splint here or not? We have places to be."
"I have a place I want to be..." the blue hood joined in "that place is inside yo--"
"Yo guys, what's up?" The sentence was interrupted by a voice of another thug (no hoodie) entering the back alley. He was a seven foot tall, dark skinned thug in skull bandana, cargo pants and leather jacket, not unlike the one Sunset Shimmer was wearing over her teal dress.
"Yo Splint, they're lookin' for ya! I didn't know yer ex was a redhead!"
Splint raised an eyebrow and looked at the two girls. "The hell do ya--AH!" He stopped and recoiled backwards once Sunset turned to him and their eyes met. "Ah shit, not you again!"
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "So you DID meet me?"
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" The giant thug made a few steps back, covering his face as if about to be pummeled with iron pipes. "I didn't do anything! I promise I was nice, just don't... don't..."
"Woah, calm down, I'm not going to..."
"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALOOOOOOOONE!" And then he turned back and ran away, screaming and crying. Sunset Shimmer paused for a second, before giving him a chase.
All the other thugs scratched their heads and looked around each other, looking for any answers. Right in the middle of them was one particular purple girl, who stood perfectly still, paralyzed, eye twitching, sweating bullets and really, really wishing she was anywhere else in the world. All the eyes suddenly shifted down at her in silence. She started regretting befriending Sunset Shimmer for the first time ever. And most likely last time as well.
The chase went on for at least a few minutes. Splint was a giant, strong man, but he wasn't as fast as Sunset Shimmer, neither did he have enough stamina to keep on running for too long. Even despite the head start and toppling several obstacles after him (which she easily jumped over), she caught up to him as he was trying to climb over a fence. She snatched him by the back of his shirt and tossed him on the ground, where he curled up in fetal position, guarding his face, trembling.
"Not the face, not the face!"
Sunset groaned and leaned over the thug. "Relax, I'm not going to hu--"
"If it's about that lady's purse, I swear it's the last time and I'm totally turning myself to the police!"
She blinked. "That's... nice and progressive, but..."
"I don't want any trouble! Just let me go back to jail!"
She blinked again. What the heck did my doppelganger do to this poor gangster? She massaged her temples and tried a new approach. "Okay then, I'll leave you, just answer me a few things, okay?" His trembling silence wasn't much of an answer, but it was close enough to nodding that she was going to work with it. "When was the last time we met?"
"F-friday night! I've been clean since! I mean, aside from that purse... and that candy bar from a kid, I will totally get him a new one! Two bars! And by 'get' I mean buy! With honestly earned cash not the stolen one! I swear!"
Sunset hummed, touching her chin. Friday... two whole days before the Jewelry Store. She did mention it was her first PUBLIC debut. She looked at the trembling, now crying, thug. He's not faking it. I doubt I can get anything away from him at this point. "Okay then, Splint. Go to the police as soon as possible. And do behave next time. Or I will be back!" Getting the similar kinda-nodding-or-shaking-from-fear-or-both reaction again, Sunset walked a few steps away and groaned.
"Darn, another dead end. I thought I was onto something..." she shrugged "well, I'm out of ideas for the time being. I'm open to suggestions now." She paused for a while. There were no suggestions. Sunset raised an eyebrow and looked around her. "Twilight?"
Few seconds passed. Then a realization opened her eyes.
"TWILIGHT!"
She dashed with a speed of (not quite, but almost) a bullet, cursing at herself for leaving her helpless, newest friend in a dangerous neighborhood, with half a dozen (actually four) nasty thugs she swore to protect her from, begging the heavens for enough time to come to her rescue. Few minutes of running later, as she was getting closer, she started hearing things from afar.
"I'll show ya how it's done, Sparky!"
"No, please, don't...!"
"No escaping now, girlie!"
Sunset doubled her speed and clenched her fists as she approached the last corner. "HANG IN THERE, TWILIGHT! I'M COMING TO THE RESCUE!" She yelled just as she appeared back in their alley and saw...
"I attack with all my monsters!"
"Not so fast, I cast a reaction spell!"
Sunset Shimmer tripped and fell on her face. The sudden smack attracted the attention of all the thugs and Twilight, who turned to her for a moment.
"Sunset, you okay? I'll be done in a minute, just bear with it."
"More like I'll be done with you!" The red hooded thug laughed, his comrades joining him as well.
Sunset Shimmer raised her head slightly, only to notice the small, portable table, where Twilight and one of the thugs sat on foldable chairs, both holding a handful of cards, while others gathered behind their buddy. She wiped the dirt from her face and stood up, noticing a lot of colorful cards already nested on the table. Though what was curious was a stack of golden necklaces near her deck. The same ones she swore she saw on their necks not too long ago.
Twilight coughed and put a card on the table, while flipping several others on her side. "I use all my mana to cast 'Grand Sacrifice' and kill all my minions, except 'Dark Ritualist'," she gathered several cards from her side of the table and put them at a discard pile next to her deck "and for each two I destroy that way I get to destroy one of yours..."
"What? Bullcrap!!" He yanked the spell card from Twilight and carefully read it, his friends joining him, their jaws dropping as heir inner light bulbs lightened. "This card is bullcrap! I lost all my monsters!"
"And since Dark Ritualist is still alive, you take one damage for every monster killed on any side. And since among my destroyed monsters were two Exploding Zombies..."
"You take four more! You're on 2 life left!"
"Sick synergy!"
"And since you have no mana or monsters to block," Twilight continued, flipping her Dark Ritualist into attack position "I attack with Dark Ritualist for 3 damage, so... I won!" She beamed.
There was a lot of cheering. The loser threw his cards on the table and reluctantly threw one of his necklaces at the table, pouting. "Lucky shot..."
"Don't worry too much," Twilight took the necklace with one hand and patted his muscled arm with the other "your dragons really worked well together with your blessings. You took me down to 10 life. That's pretty good!"
"Yeah, yeah, don't patronize me..." Then they shared a laugh, which the rest of the group also joined in. Except a really confused Sunset Shimmer, who'se eyebrow twitched nervously, as she approached her friend.
"Twilight... what the actual heck?"
Twilight didn't look at her friend, too busy with collecting her cards into a separate card box. "You see, after you left me alone (no hard feelings, btw) I tried to sneak away, but I tripped and some of my stuff fell out of my backpack, including my 'Sorcery: The Collecting' deck and it turns out they're all playing it too, so we started playing to pass the time," she glanced over to the pile of golden necklaces "oh, and they didn't want to play just for fun and had me bet something and, well... I didn't lose." She smiled sheepishly.
Sunset blinked. Multiple nods confirmed the story. Then she blinked once more. Her imagination just went past the 'too much information' phase. "Okay, we're leaving."
Twilight nodded, apologized to her opponents for the early leave and promised that she'd be back for rematches, and they left the alley, waving goodbye to their new... friends?
"Wait a second," Sunset turned to Twilight as they were about to board the motorbike "you don't wear jewelry! What did you ante?"
Twilight's face got covered in blush. "Uhm... let's just say that I'm glad I took my competitive deck."
"...right."
They wore their helmets in silence, until Twilight broke it again.
"Sunset, can I ask you for a favor?"
"Shoot."
"Could I keep all of this in your apartment, for the time being?" She asked, looking at the few kilograms of gold she was carrying in her hands. "I really don't want to explain that to my parents."
Sunset snorted. "Sure thing, Sparky."
***
"'A hero we get, but do we deserve?' 'Some wear spandex, but our hero is way more fabulous!', heh, gotta give you props for that one... 'Evil Beware, Magical Girl Sunny is here', I could turn this one into a catchphrase," Sunset Shimmer (sometimes known as 'Magical Girl Sunny') turned away from the laptop to its owner. Coco didn't answer, she was lying on her bed in fetal position. Just like the last time she looked at her. She would've started to worry, if she wasn't certain while her tickle torture she didn't accidentally cop a feel, much less on purpose. "Oh will you stop that already? I wasn't that thorough!"
"I can't be a bride anymore..."
Sunset rolled her eyes and was really glad nobody heard this conversation without context. "And they say I'm the dramatic one!" She would've loved if her assistant grew a little thicker skin (both metaphorically and literally!), but then she wouldn't be nearly as fun to be around. Sigh, first world problems.
Ignoring her for the time being, Sunset Shimmer went back to one of her latest favorite past time entertainment, which was exploring internet by researching herself and finding what people thought about her magical alter ego. Most articles and comments she read were either positive and encouraging, or so overblown and trollingly (that a word?) that she couldn't take any negatives seriously. There were even first fan arts, though they left some to be desired (except one amazing piece she used as her new wallpaper... or rather Coco's wallpaper, not that she'd mind probably), a crude erotic fanfiction of herself and Maneiac (which she bookmarked for later) and of course, crowning jewel of her career, the MyStable fanpage, which grew so big in such short time that it was now a hub of everything Sunny related. Nobody is using 'Sun'ya' anywhere. Gotta market it better! Also, I could make some better speeches in the future... witness the power of The Great and Powerful Sunny! ...yeah, maybe not! She rolled her eyes and kept scrolling on the comments, just as a new post appeared on the front page.
Wonder if she appears. Looks dangerous.
Under it was a link to the local news site, which she clicked. Her eyes grew wide, with both terror and excitement. And more terror, because she wasn't sure which emotion was stronger.
"Enough fooling around, Coco" she said to her roommate, leaving the chair and flicking her fingers, instantly teleporting Coco at her chair. The girl yelped as she fell safely on it and looked around in panic, while Sunset continued. "This looks like a job for Magical Girl Sunny!"
Coco opened her mouth to say something, but the screen of her laptop caught her attention. It was open on a live-feed from the local news station, with an emergency broadcast on. Her eyes went to the summary information at the side.
Armed assailant took a child hostage. Local police forces attempt to negotiate with the criminal.
"Oh no!" Coco cried, turning around to her friend. "We need to do something!"
"Way ahead of you!" She nodded, turning at her newest crime fighting uniform. "Is this ready to go?"
"W-well, there are a few decors missing, but..."
"Will it break if I move too suddenly? Will it tangle my arms mid-combat?"
"No, it's just..."
"Good enough!" She nodded, then took one last good look at her newest dress, her heart beating stronger each second.
"Sunset, please be extra careful! I know you can take care of yourself, but there's a little girl taken hostage. And it's not a fake gun this time!"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" She went towards the door, grabbed the door-handle, but turned around one last time. "You know the drill, right? Comms?"
"Check!" She nodded, raising her cellphone and headset.
"And for the love of all that's sparkly, DO NOT touch the dress! Coco, if--"
"I know, I know," Coco answered, rolling her eyes "one inch in the wrong direction and you won't be able to teleport-swap it, and end up naked on the street. I know how your powers work."
Sunset nodded, smiling. "Good girl! And you know that if you want to see me naked, there's an onsen pla-"
"JUST GET GOING ALREADY!" She yelled through her blush.
Sunset snorted, finally opening the door and crossing it. "Sun'ya!"
As the door closed, Coco recovered from her blush and shook her head. "This will never catch on." She muttered under her mouth. She went back to the screen, trying her best to scout as much information from the live-feed as possible, really wishing she was a hacker instead of a dressmaker, or both. Maybe I could take some basic programming classes?
Barely few seconds into her inner monologue, the door opened again. "I shouldn't walk around in my uniform," said Sunset Shimmer, taking off her Crystal Prep blazer in a hurry, prompting a nervous yelp from her roommate "where did you put some 'incognito' clothes?"
"B-bottom left!"
"Sweet, thanks! What would I do without you?"
Coco didn't dare to turn around, knowing full well from the sounds that at this point her roommate was in her underwear, or even... No, bad Coco! No peeking!
"Okay, I'm going there! Sun'ya... again!"
Coco sighed deeply, calming her loud heart. Each and every morning... I need to do more cardio!