//------------------------------// // Sunset Society: The Princess and the Bat // Story: The Many Destinies of Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// Although for many having to wait at an airport, either for the time to board a plane, or to wait for someone, was quite the headache, there were a lot of different things to do to make the wait less painful. Just take Sunset Shimmer for example who was right now enjoying a delightful coffee from one of the new shops that had opened when the expansions to the airport finished, all thanks due to the investment and labor provided by Shimmer Industries. Since the relatively new corporation had ascended from the ashes of several bankruptcy-filled small groups, the city of Canterlot had bloomed into the city many had envisioned from its inception. Yes, there were some madmen around, but with the help of the police -and the city’s mysterious protector- peace was maintained constantly. Right now, the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world these days was quietly sitting down at a table, while the visibly nervous barista eyes her up and down. The girl was not new to serving clients, but it was one thing to serve the average Joe wanting their regular cup of joe –I’m quite proud of that pun myself-, it was another thing completely different to have to serve the best coffee you could possible make to the one responsible for your new job. Apparently the young woman had become the hottest thing in terms of business and looks by the way she filled that business skirt, white shirt and tailored jacket combo. The girl tried to keep her hormones in check. Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer took the final sips to her coffee, enjoying the hazelnut flavor lingering on her mouth. Seeing that her client had finished her beverage, the barista was quick to her feet. “Another coffee Miss Shimmer?” The aforementioned woman simply raised her eyes to meet the girl behind the counter and smiled. The barista for a moment thought she was about to swoon, which was a new experience for her. “Is okay, I was just wasting time for a bit, not that this coffee was a waste of time, I truly need to get more of this later on,” Sunset said making the young barista blush even harder. “Thank you for that Miss Shimmer.” “No, thank you, tell your boss I might call him later on, this place needs more advertisement with this quality,” she said before getting off from her chair, leaving behind the shell shocked barista and the coffee shop behind. She haven’t been lying, the place was well worth a second look, maybe she could ask some of her investors to see if the place needed help or if they were interested on talking with her for a bit. The sound of her expensive stilettos was lost among the different people walking back and forth on the immense transit station that was known as Canterlot International Airport. A beautiful and modern piece of engineering that never failed to make Sunset smile. There were very few things that could do that these days and most of them were related to her job. It had started so simple, just helping some of Shining Armor school friends with a problem he had with one of his machines. Five years later, Poindexter and Sunset were joined by Canterlot High student Micro Chips and from nothing, Shimmer Industries had appeared, quickly buying out companies in danger of going belly up due to bad decisions or horrible organization. The trio was still working together to this day, with the two being some of the few people knowing her secret identity and most of the time helping her with new gadgets. She loved those two idiots, so much that they had become something of her brothers in a way. Sadly work was quickly piling up as the company began to get some steam thanks to new products and fine investments, that’s why Micro Chips was head of the Research Department while Poindexter had found his inner executive shark and took control of the board for her; it was so nice to know someone she could trust had her back protected from idiots that should know better. Who would have thought that Sunset Shimmer could become such a powerful being? Maybe her younger self, but maybe it was just luck and being at the right place at the right time, but she was grateful for the opportunity. Maybe it had something to do with feeding her pride and arrogance a bit, but mostly because she loved the fact that with money and power, she could make everyone’s lives better, a decision that made her five closest friends smile with pride. Thinking about those five girls made Sunset smile remembering those long lost days of high School where they could spend all the time they wanted together, before adult responsibilities took them into different roads. Now at least she could meet a friend that had also found her way into the most interesting path possible. “Ah must say, the whole corporate shark look really fits ya,” the blonde woman in front of her said as the two had similar grins in their faces, only a second after that both women embraced each other. The long time that they spend apart made the hug even sweeter in their opinion, but all good things must end and both girls were busy people. “Hey AJ, how’s Themyscira,” the redhead said noticing the way Applejack filled the shirt she was using. It wasn’t that tight the last time she saw the blonde, but now she was seriously stretching the fabric with the way her abs, biceps and chest filled it. It wasn’t as noticeable as whenever Pinkie Pie used a tight shirt -the girl had been the cause of more than one car crash as she skipped around- but to the trained eye of Sunset she saw the difference. “Same old, same old, Ah swear, those gals love to bicker so much that Ah want to smash their heads together, it is so damn annoying sometimes girl, Ah’ll tell ya, this whole business of being their princess is more annoyin’ than anything!” The ambassador of Themyscira said as Sunset simply chuckled. “Yeah, never understood why I wanted to be one back when I lived in Equestria, come on, have you eaten anything?” “Yeah, damn good food that they had on the plane, but still, a gal needs to eat well if she wants to keep being the best, so, lead on sugarcube,” but as the girls kept on walking they found other two people walking inside the airport. By the looks of their tired eyes and several bags, it was clear that the couple had arrived too at Canterlot City. “Sunset?” the woman said, but the redhead simply nodded at both keeping a complete poker face. “Hello Twilight, Timber,” she said and kept on walking. Meanwhile, Applejack nodded at the pair as she too kept on walking. Twilight Sparkle sighed, knowing that the mistake she have made several years ago will continue to haunt her. Behind her, she felt Timber’s hand on her back, instead of helping her relax or make the tension go away like before they married, now only helped to reinforce the guilt, making the decisions she took hurt even more.