//------------------------------// // Mortal Kombat: Throne of Harmony 01 // Story: The Many Destinies of Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// “Alright, run that by me again?” The long haired man said still not quite believing what had been said to him; and considering that this was a man that had constantly encountered crazy stuff most of his life, that was saying something. In front of him, the man wearing a bamboo hat simply looked upwards in search of help. He was probably asking someone up there personal help considering who the man was. “We need to get her prepared for what will happen soon.” “No, I did understand that, but why her? She is just a teenage girl; every student we’ve got in the monastery arrived as an infant.” The long haired man could only look in surprise at what his ally and, well, sometimes friend wanted him to do. Liu Kang had seen things that other people in the world will consider impossible; among them the truth about Earth being only one among dozens or maybe hundreds of realms. He also knew that the gods sometimes walked among normal human beings and in the case of one god, he just loved to meddle with human lives. “Because she is not a normal teenager.” “Okay then, considering the times we’ve had similar conversations that means she is either a girl with superhuman abilities or a girl from another dimension?” the way the two men were talking about her without finding weird the whole conversation was truly eye opening to Sunset Shimmer who continue to look at everyone around the place with apprehension. It had been a couple of days since she had found herself in a dilemma; mainly it had something to do with the way her classroom had begun to burn unexpectedly. Thank goodness Principal Celestia had renewed the school’s insurance, although it didn’t help Sunset’s nerves very much. “Both,” the long haired man, who had introduced himself as Raiden the day before, spoke calmly as he enjoyed the atmosphere of the temple. The inside of the place hadn’t changed with the years and still felt as inviting and calm as always. The hard wood floors and banners in the walls made it perfectly clear that this was a place to learn the old ways of the warrior. “Wait, really? We usually just get one or the other in this realm,” Liu Kang said visibly surprised about the information; no wonder why Raiden brought the girl to him “what, is she also a princess?” “I could never quite become one, not that I want to,” those were the first words she had said the whole day since they had made an unexpected trip to the other side of the Pacific ocean and into a hidden Buddhist temple. “According to my wife, being a princess is not exactly a picnic.” “Oh please, tell me your wife is not Twilight Sparkle!” “Wait, what? No, her name is Kitana; so I take it this isn't just a visit just so you could introduce us.” “And that’s why I brought her here; she is untrained in the arts, but she holds great powers inside of her, powers that could be tempting for others or even for her if she doesn’t learn how to control them. We don’t know what could happen.” “Excuse me; I don’t think we need to do a hypothesis about what could happen.” “And why would you say that my dear.” “I turn into a she-demon with pyrokinetic powers that can fly and will more than likely try to destroy the world,” for a second the two men stood rooted to the floor simply looking at the teenager for several seconds. “Well, I think we can scratch one unknown in the list; at least we don’t have to wonder what the worst case scenario will be, right?” “Great, so we have a probable world destroyer in the making if things go wrong; look, I can help her get control of her emotions and to gain the soul of a warrior, that at least will help her to get her feelings under control, but I cannot teach her how to control the flames.” “Wait, what? Mister Pajamas here said you were the one that could help me with this,” Sunset finally had enough; it was one thing to know that your powers could get out of control, but it was another to be standing at the sidelines with people talking about you as if you weren’t there. For his part, Liu Kang had to control his laughter at the way in which Sunset talked about Raiden’s traditional robes while the god simply eye rolled at the blatant disrespect. What was wrong with his clothes? They were comfy. “Look, Sunset right?” at the nod from the teenager he continued “have you always had that kind of power within you? The power to control the flames?” “Well, it was easier when I was living on Equestria, that’s my original world by the way.” “And that is the problem; my flame is especial in that I gained control over it due to my training and I don’t know if yours have anything to do with the dragon flame,” Sunset sighed knowing full well what he was talking about. Although she had gained once more the ability of the flame, this was a fire that had been born with her. Instead of gaining the power by training, she was losing control of the power she already had “Lord Raiden, look, I could try, but I don’t think this is the way in which she will learn to fight; why are you so insistent on this? I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t like to see someone be consumed by their own power, but you seem more pushy than usual.” “Because, my friend, I have a fear that other realms have become interested in Sunset’s realm.” “Whoa there, that’s news to me too, what do you mean by that?” “It means that other realms will soon start trying to invade your world Sunset; yours is a world with raw energy and magic power the likes this world doesn’t have. Alongside that and the multitude of resources present in your world, well, you can see why I am so nervous.” “Okay, when you put it like that, yes, things sound bad, so what are we going to do? If Liu Kang here cannot help me, who can?” “Don’t worry my dear, after talking with our friend here I decided that there is only one man that can help you get control of your flame, you see, I have a theory. Your flame seems to be fed by the raw emotions coming from your heart, so the logical step is to teach you how to be as cold as ice, pardon the pun.” “What are you…?” Liu Kang stood gawking at the plan of the God of Lightning and had to be sure of what he had just heard “wait, you are taking her to him?!” “You have to admit that things have calmed down since the two men made peace.” “Oh, I do not doubt that, but are you sure this is the only route?” “Come on boy, trust me on this.” “Time out, what are you guys planning? Is this whole thing dangerous?” “Well, maybe; anyway, come on Sunset, I think I found the perfect way for you to gain control of your power and become the protector of your realm. Let’s visit an old friend from the Lin Kuei clan.”