What an irony.
Sunset Shimmer had to smile at the thought that just went through her head as she impaled her sword on the soft ground and inspected the results of her last battle. As she tried to recover her breathing, the redhead took off the helmet of her armor set, letting her hair flow free as the breeze of the underground forest helped her cool down. It was easier this time thanks to the sweat that had been accumulated on her face after moving around with heavy gear.
It was a complete irony that right now, as she moved thanks to a curse that left her body legally dead, she felt more alive than when she was the queen bee back on Earth. Heck, even when she was studying with Celestia she had felt as if days went by with no change, with no real drive, just learning whatever the Princess wanted her to, just like a little china doll that she could present to the court. Sunset snorted at the memories of those so-called ‘parties’ in which Celestia paraded her as her latest accomplishment, as if helping such a young girl and taking her from an orphanage was enough.
Sighing once, she took a hold of her claymore’s handle realizing that she hasn’t really thought much of the life before the portal, what with most of her mind being occupied by her promise and the years she had lived as a human. It felt like a lifetime ago as she thought back on her days as a pony. It felt odd to think back on those memories now, but truthfully, it was better than thinking about the corpses surrounding them and how they had been mutilated.
She was alive… in a way, but the idea of ending up like those creatures, it made Sunset want to think about her life, both the bad and the good. At least that way, she won’t lose herself. She won’t succumb to the darkness that was this land, not while she could still bring back memories to the front of her mind.
As the enemy was put out of their misery - because seriously, bodies as mutated and broken apart as those can only be helped into the grave - Sunset took the time to see the other human being in the field, a woman that had appeared as mysteriously as could be, only throwing knives and taking down monsters, without a word and moving like a whirlwind.
The skintight suit underneath the red armor and the mask on her face brought an image into Sunset’s mind. It was the image of a shinobi, the warriors of old Japan that everyone seemed to be obsessed with in her school, well, at least the nerdiest members of the school.
Just as they cleaned their weapons of blood and rotten meat, the woman in red armor leaned against the remnants of a stone wall, close to what used to be one of the bonfires dotting the land. The woman looked so calm and collected, so it was no question from her part that both Madeleine and her were sisters.
“Well, I didn’t plan on meeting you in this form, but there’s nothing like a nice little fight to reinforce sibling bonds, right Madeleine?” Her voice made Sunset stop and think about someone, probably the main reason she was in this dilemma. No, Twilight Sparkle was not the problem, she had only stopped her from turning into a monster, although she had probably only slowed the process right now.
“Hello Ashi, seems you’ve been waiting in here for some time.” Madeleine, who was always calm, even a little playful was right now arching an eyebrow at her sister. It wasn’t as if Madeleine was being cold to her sister, she was just showing how curious the encounter was.
“What can I say? I was bored and, between you and me, I’ve been following someone into this place.”
“Being a bounty hunter now? In these days is there someone that will pay for hunting another one?” If Sunset had understood correctly, there was no real money since governments had fallen or simply stopped working since there was no work force, so she could see the logic behind Madeleine’s question.
“Oh, I’m not being paid, at least not in precious metals. What I am after is a unique little thing. In a way it’s similar to what you are looking for dear sister, except that it is not a weapon, but information, something that could be as useful, or even more so than a sword these days.” As playful as Madeleine was, this woman right now made Sunset think of the book she had read for Miss Cheerilee’s class and the redhead could imagine the woman with a huge Cheshire Cat grin in her face right now.
“What is it that you are looking for? This realm is big and even though you have a job, that does not mean we cannot help you a little bit.” Underneath his helmet, Solaire did what Sunset thought he will always do, offer his help to anyone in need of it. From all of them, he was truly the perfect image of a knight.
“Oh, you do have a great warrior among your companions my dear sister, but don’t worry, this hunt is mine alone. I just want to give you a fair warning, be careful of the woman with brilliant blue eyes, she is more than what she seems, like everything else in this land ironically.” And with that, as the world around them began to shift and change, the woman disappeared.
“Did the dimensions shift once again Madeleine?”
“That, or time uncoiled itself and separated the ages. One can never be truly sure in Lordran, much to my consternation. Still, at least now I know that she is alive and well and still as annoying as always. Well, what can you do about family?” Sunset wanted to ask more information about the woman in red armor, but a sound took everyone by surprise. It was a combination of fluttering wings and bells, By itself nothing to worry about, but the size of the creature that made that sound, well, that was the terrifying part.
“What on Earth is that thing?!” was the only words Sunset could utter as a blinding light left her stunned for a second, just enough time for a lance of energy to strike the earth in front of Sunset, sending her flying backwards. As the stars in her eyes began to dissipate and the ringing on her ears lessened, she watched her two friends take their shields out and roll away from more spears of light.
“Great, a giant killer butterfly. What’s next? Spiders?”