//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Alone 
// Story: Eye of the Storm 
// by Doodle Note 
//------------------------------//

Two years. It has been only two years since Sunset Shimmer left Equestria with the Order of the Stone. She could remember every single detail of those times. She remembered the time when she, Starlight Glimmer and Coloratura left their homeland for the first time to find the five humans who fought the humongous Wither Storm that attempted to eat the entire world. She remembered running from EnderCon to escape a swarm of Changelings and entering the Nether. After leaving the fiery realm and its monsters, they took the Order back to Equestria, where they were tasked to reunite the missing Guardians of Equestria. When they came back with them, they were sent to the castle of the Alliance of Darkness, who put the land at risk. Over there, they were caught by the Alliance and its leaders: Changeling queen Chrysalis, Master of Dark Crystals Sombra and the destructive Lord Tirek. The Alliance awoke the Supernova and it went wild, following the orders of the ones who awoken it. But with enough strength and trust within their hearts, they were all able to destroy the Supernova and save the land.

But that was only two years ago. Things have changed ever since that day. The rest of the Order of the Stone was given new and big responsibilities, forcing them to disband. For Sunset Shimmer, she was left alone. She had no one around her, having only herself to rely on. The loneliness was boring, she would admit that. Her only source of comfort was the memories she had with the Order. She remembered every adventure she had with them, her personal favorite is the one jumping into different worlds with Jesse, Petra, Lukas, and Ivor. Those adventures she went through kept her company and reminded her of all of the good things those humans have given her.

Right now, Sunset was in the middle of a dream. A memory, however. She was sitting on the roof of the fortress at night, watching as every light of the town she lived in was turned off. Her legs bent and her arms wrapped around them, she let out a sigh and looked up at the sky that was painted dark blue and decorated with sparkling stars and the full moon. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching her and the source of them sat down. When she turned her head to the left, she was looking at Jesse.

"Are you okay?" The brunette asked.

"I'm just thinking," Sunset said in response before she looked back at the sky.

"Thinking of Equestria, huh?"

"Yeah." The tone in her voice was somber.

"Feeling homesick?" Jesse gave her a sad look.

"Maybe. Leaving Equestria was the biggest jump I had to take after all of that."

"I can tell it wasn't easy for someone like you. Leaving your friends and everyone else you knew back at home. Not to mention all of your favorite things."

"No, it wasn't." Sunset looked at Jesse. "Is this the same feeling you felt when you lost Reuben? Sadness?"

"Yeah." Jesse nodded. "To be honest with you, I still miss him. Nothing else in this world can replace him."

"Not even me?" The flame-haired girl smirked.

He chuckled. "Not even you. But that doesn't stop me from considering you as a friend."

"I feel touched."

Jesse chuckled again before he stood up and stretched out an arm for his fire-haired friend. "Come on. Let's go to bed. We had a long day."

With that, Sunset grabbed his hand and she was pulled up to her feet. Then, they made their way into the fortress. That was the end of that dream, for Sunset's bright teal eyes were beginning to open. Once she was wide awake, she let out a groan and pushed herself into a sitting position. Then, she looked around at her surroundings. For the rest of last night, she had taken refuge in a cave after it began to rain. The grass inside the cave was somehow comfortable for her to sleep on. When she looked outside, she sighed with relief when she found that it was breezy but bright. Standing up from the grass, she hastily gathered her belongings and stepped out of the cave to begin the new day ahead of her.

As soon as she walked out of the cave, she heard a loud neigh and turned to find a brown and white horse approaching her. She let out a chuckle once she was nuzzled by her steed, but she placed a hand on her muzzle for her to stop.

"At least I have you," Sunset said before she began to approach her horse's back.

Soon, her horse began to make her way down a path of dirt that was drawn in the forest. From her satchel, Sunset pulled out an apple to eat and a map, opening it to take a look at the path she was going down. For months after the Order parted ways, she was traveling around the Human Island, as the Equestrians called her current location, to protect those who can't protect themselves. She had made stops in villages, some of them being raided by bandits. Whenever she found a village in danger at night, she always had to fight the bandits herself. She would admit that fighting a horde of bandits was frustrating when she did it alone. She had scars from every fight she stumbled upon, each of them was hidden by the red cloak that she wore.

As her horse moved, she slipped the map back into her satchel and began to eat her apple. Then, she looked around at her surroundings to make sure that no one else was around. She sighed with relief and turned back to the road of dirt that her horse was walking down. After she finished eating her apple, Sunset reached for her pockets and pulled out a silver pocket watch, which was given from Olivia as a birthday gift. On the clock, it said 8:25. Nodding, she slipped the pocket watch back into her pocket and turned back to the dirt road.

After a long trip that lasted for at least three hours, Sunset found herself entering another quiet village. Over there, she stopped at a saloon, for she was parched from the moment she arrived. Jumping off her horse and tying a rope that was connected to its saddle around a nearby fence, she began to approach the set of double doors that blocked her way into the saloon. With a deep breath, she hastily pushed the doors open to gain access inside. When she stepped in, she suddenly got attention from everyone inside, those being the customers, the dancer, the pianist, and the bartender. Despite the eyes that were on her, she made her way to the bartender and sat down once she arrived. Then, everyone else got back to what they were doing before.

"Hello." The bartender said, putting an empty glass aside. "What can I get ya?"

"One glass of water." Sunset quietly said.

With a nod, the bartender pulled out another empty glass and a pitcher full of water from beneath his workspace. Pouring water into the cup until it was full, he put the pitcher down and slid the glass to Sunset, who grabbed it and began to drink the water from it.

"So," The bartender crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing here all alone?"

"I'm just wandering," Sunset said, putting the glass down.

"By yourself?"

"Unfortunately."

The bartender chuckled. "And you didn't consider bringing a friend?"

"I had friends." Sunset looked down at the glass and placed a finger on the rim. "They had to go their separate ways because they were given bigger duties."

"What about you?"

"I had nothing better to do. So, I decided to be a lone traveler."

"I see." The bartender nodded. "How long will you keep doing this?"

That was when she paused. Then, she let out a sigh and said, "I don't know."

"So, these friends of yours..." He leaned on the table. "What were they like?"

"They were all great friends, from my point of view." Sunset grinned. "They were always looking out for each other, staying by their side no matter what. They were all supportive, even to me. We went on so many adventures in the past. I remember every one of them like they were all yesterday. I wish I could just turn back time to relive those moments."

"You know you can't do that, right?"

"Yeah." Her grin turned back into a frown. "But, I do wonder how they are doing now. They probably miss each other."

"Don't worry, little lady." The bartender said, getting her attention. "I'm sure you will see them again one day. Being alone sure is boring, isn't it?"

"I can admit that." Sunset nodded.

As she began to guzzle down the rest of the water inside of her glass, she suddenly felt another presence approach her. After putting the empty glass down, she turned to her right. Beside her was a middle-aged man with a short beard and a tan trench coat over a black buttoned-up shirt, black slacks and boots, and a brown cowboy hat.

"Well, lookie here!" The man put on a smug grin. "A peculiar lass has entered this very saloon."

Sunset didn't say anything in response whilst the bartender crossed his arms and shook his head with both disappointment and annoyance.

"Not the talkative type, I see." The man chuckled. "That's okay. I bump into pretty ladies who don't talk much too. I somehow find it amusing."

Once again, the flame-haired girl said nothing. All she did was look away and stood up from her seat. Before she could leave, however, the man grabbed her by the left arm.

"Wait, where are you going all alone?"

Finally, it was the last straw. Sunset looked at the man with a death glare and his smug grin turned into a look fused with confusion and fear. Then, her right hand glowed a bright red and she put it to his chest. A pulse of magic sent the man flying through the saloon until his back pushed the pianist on his seat. The dancer let out a shriek of surprise and the whole saloon fell into silence. Everyone inside the saloon, including the bartender, gave wide-eyed expressions to Sunset as they watched her make her way out of the building. From the moment she stepped outside, she let out a sigh and turned to her horse, who was patiently waiting for her return. Grinning, she walked up to her steed and tied the rope off the fence so she can move freely again.

"Don't worry about me," Sunset whispered to her horse. "I'm fine. Let's get going, hmm?"

In response, the horse snorted. With the rope in her grasp, she began to guide her steed away from the saloon. That is until the man stepped out and looked at her.

"Hey!" He shouted, getting her attention. "How'd you do that?! Are you some kind of mutant or something?!"

Sunset rolled her eyes and blasted the man away with a red ball of magic that pushed him back into the saloon while screaming. "Don't call me a mutant. That's offensive." She said before she and her horse walked away from the saloon completely.