A few months after graduation; Sunset was going to be attending a Gears of War e-sports tournament. The top eight players would battle each other to determine the overall greatest player in Canterlot.
“This should be fun. You defending the title against seven others,” Discord mused
“I've been looking forward to this ever since I received that notice months ago! I just hope they don't take the thrashing too harshly.”
“Cockiness may be your downfall. Remember the tale of Icarus,” Chrysalis warned
“I know. Despite warnings from his father; Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax holding his wings together melted. Sorry; I'm just really excited about this.”
“It's fine to be excited; but remember, this is only a game. Don't fret or complain if you lose,” he said simply
“I'll try. This is just a major competition and I want to give everything I can. Who knows; maybe I could become a professional gamer?”
“That certainly is an ambitious goal you've set. But; let's just limit the focus on today,” Chrysalis mused
“On another topic; wasn't Flash supposed to be going with us,” He asked
“I completely forgot about asking him to go! Hopefully Flash isn't too mad.”
“Well; we're all ready, so let's get going. There's still some time before the start,” Chrysalis suggested
A few minutes later; Discord had driven the family to Canterlot High School, which had been the agreed meeting place. Leaning against the statue was Flash, himself. Sunset helped him inside before climbing in next.
“You forgot about picking me up; didn't you,” Flash asked as Sunset nodded “It's alright. I'm excited myself for this.”
“Same here. I play a lot and I'm looking forward to seeing one of the biggest rivalries play out. I forget the name; but it was something with two ‘L’ words and DarknessRisin666. Both have been battling each other to the top of the leaderboard.”
As they reached the event; Sunset was surprised at the venue. A casino arena would hold the competition with a crowd of tens of thousands of in-person spectators; along with the potentially millions watching the livestream.
“About time you two got here,” Dash commented “Not doing anything bad; I hope?”
“I was running late as I forgot to pick up Flash. Shit happens.”
“This is so awesome! We're actually in a casino,” Dash mused, changing the subject
“It's not that interesting. Besides; we're not here to gamble. The event just happened to draw a big enough audience,” Discord stated
“I never would have thought a video game tournament could draw this big of a crowd,” Chrysalis mused
“E-sports is certainly growing. It's actually a good time to be a gamer.”
“This certainly is a surprise. I didn't take Fluttershy as a gamer,” Flash said
“I got into it when Dash asked me to help her. It's actually a nice stress reliever,” Fluttershy replied
“I concur. Whenever I get into a creationist block with my outfits; I kill some grubs,” Rarity added
“I watched Big Mac playing and wanted to try my hand. It wasn't too bad a game,” Applejack commented
“I just play whatever I want. My parents really don't care,” Pinkie chimed in
“Let's head inside and get some seats. I'd like be have a decent view of the action.”
“Sounds good. Well; we're just in time. The doors are opening,” Discord pointed out, as the girls started running
“Please do not run. We'd rather not see any accidents,” a security guard warned
After being warned; each of the group slowed their pace from a run to just walking slightly faster than normal as they headed inside. They stopped at the first row before the barricade and sat down.
“Looks like ten feet below us. Why'd they do that,” Dash asked
“We can see the stage from here and it gives the players a little privacy.”
“Looking slightly down on them might feel a little easier than someone staring in your face,” Applejack suggested
“I guess so. I'd wish good luck to the players; but I don't know who they are,” Pinkie said
“I'm going to have ask the seven of you to follow me,” a man in a suit said
“Who are you; and why the hell should we follow you,” Dash demanded
“I'm afraid I must insist. Let's go. No names or questions,” the suit ordered
“Bye dad. I'll see you later.”
Flash reluctantly led the girls up the stairs behind their guide and into the hallway. Awaiting their arrival were six more suits which stopped in front of the group, before leading them away individually. Each of them was led to rooms far enough away from one another for privacy. Sunset was sitting in a room when another man in a suit walked in to talk to her.
“I'm sure you've probably got a lot of questions and I'll try to answer what I can,” the suit said
“Two questions to be precise. Why'd you take us? And where are my friends!?”
“You're one of the top Gears of War players. We didn't want you to sit in the audience; but call you from the back and give you a proper entrance. We didn't want to spoil anything,” came the reply
“So what happens now?”
“The event starts in ten minutes and we'll call everyone out. You'll be led out by one of the guards,” he explained
With that; the suit departed, leaving Sunset alone in the room. Wanting to calm down; she sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. Sunset never really knew about meditation; but tried to focus on the task in front of her and not the temporary isolation from her friends.
● MAIN EVENT INTRODUCTION ●
“Ladies and gentlemen; welcome to Canterlot’s Gears of War tournament,” the MC said, as the audience cheered
“Where's Sunset? I haven't seen her since we entered,” Chrysalis whispered
“Dunno. Some suit led the group out,” Discord whispered back
“Lulu’s gone missing as well,” Celestia added quietly
“Let's introduce the players vying for the title. In eighth place is the player known as ‘Bunnyluv’,” the DJ introduced
A scared and reluctant Fluttershy made her way onstage before taking a seat by one of the monitors.
“Seventh place is the so-called ‘Party Animal’; ‘PartyCannon’,” came the introduction
Pinkie ran onstage before taking a bow as confetti came out of nowhere. She took a seat across from Fluttershy; separated by a screen.
“Sixth place is AppleBucker!”
Applejack followed her friend's lead and headed onstage taking the next available spots. Lightning Dash#1 and #1Fashionista were next to enter; revealed as being Rainbow Dash and Rarity, respectively.
“Now we come to the top three. I give you ‘PainSlayr’,” the DJ said excitedly
A black hooded figure entered the stage, before revealing itself to be Luna.
“Luna,” Celestia muttered “I knew she spent time playing; but never knew she was top three.”
“Oh shit,” Dash muttered
“Relax, girls. I'll try to go easy on you,” Luna joked
“Next up; the one and only ‘LightningLegion’.”
Flash entered and quickly took one of the two remaining seats as the others waited for the final entrant.
● SUNSET ●
“You're up next; young lady. Please follow me,” the security guard said “We're going to the Gorilla Position.”
“The what?”
“You'll see,” came the reply
Sunset was led back to the front of the arena, before stopping just shy of the doors leading onstage. The anticipation was starting to get to her as she wanted to just head out and get this over with.
“And now; here's the final entrant and the number one player in Canterlot; ‘DarknessRisin666’,” the DJ announced
“You're up,” the guard said, gesturing forward
Sunset took a breath to steady herself before pushing open the door and heading out. Once in sight; one of the other players stood up in shock.
“What the hell,” Dash yelled “You've got to be kidding me!”
“Please calm down. Let the game settle things,” the DJ commented
Dash reluctantly sat down as Sunset took the final spot on stage. In the meantime; Sunset calmly retrieved the MareBox One controller.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the rules for this tournament are simple. Each game will be five minutes long and single elimination. Whomever is in last place will be eliminated as the next game starts after. Characters will be the same throughout the game,” the DJ explained “We'll use ‘Gears of War 3’.”
Sunset was trying to find her favorite character, Myrra; only for it to be taken. Luna raced to select the character first; leaving Sunset to choose Anya instead. The others randomly picked theirs as the game started with the Thrashball arena map.
Everyone darted around the outskirts of the level; trying to avoid the scoreboard in the center. Fluttershy dove behind a barricade only to be kicked out as Pinkie jumped over, knocking her out of the way and killing her character with a shotgun blast.
“Oh darn. At least I made it this far,” Fluttershy mused
“Sorry, Flutters,” Pinkie said sadly
“It's okay,” Fluttershy answered
Rarity proceeded to kill Pinkie from behind before walking into a grenade trap from Luna and dying instantly.
“Come on; I want to win,” Dash muttered quietly
A smoke grenade was thrown into the area as Flash proceeded to eliminate Rarity and Dash; before getting cut down by Pinkie.
“Just two more this round. I just can't believe Pinkie is holding her own,” Sunset thought
Without warning; Sunset found her character being shot at by Luna before grabbed and tagged with a grenade. Both Pinkie and Sunset were killed simultaneously in the blast.
“Game one winner is PainSlayr. Eliminated first is Bunnyluv,” the DJ commented
Fluttershy calmly headed offstage and into the stands in the first row. Sitting near her were Chrysalis, Discord and Celestia.
“You did a good job,” Celestia said
“Thank you; but not good enough to win,” Fluttershy muttered quietly
“You win some; you lose some. Besides; this wasn't an easy battle,” Discord added
“Thank you sir; for that,” Fluttershy replied
Game two proceeded on a map known as ‘Checkout’; a dilapidated supermarket. Everyone seemed to be running blindly into one another which posed problems due to the cramped design. Pinkie was the first eliminated by unknowingly walking into a trap. Just behind her was Rarity who managed to take out Flash and Dash with a grenade as she died.
“Ha! Take that you ruffians,” Rarity said cheerfully
Applejack managed to successfully eliminate Luna as she took the time to reload her empty rifle. Sunset used the moment to eliminate her opponent; granting her the win.
“Winner; DarknessRisin666. Eliminated next is PartyCannon,” the DJ stated
Round three saw Applejack winning with Rarity being eliminated, much to her surprise. The following rounds saw Applejack and Dash leaving.
“Damn. So friggin’ close,” Dash muttered
“With our top three players; gameplay will be different. These games will be played in ‘Gears of War Judgment’ and victory must come from winning two games,” the DJ explained
The playing field was actually leveled with an entirely new game map and control layouts. Sunset did manage to select Myrra as her character while Luna decided on Sophia and Flash chose Garron Padduk for himself.
All three were playing strategically on finding one another. Sunset was using a sniper rifle to track Flash’s moments before watching him get taken out by Luna. In response; Sunset proceeded to eliminate Luna; scoring the first victory. The next two games saw Luna and Flash winning; respectively. At that point, they knew there would be no holding back or mercy given.
“Damn they're good,” Dash muttered
“They're the top three for a reason. None of you have anything to hang your heads about; each you did hold your own pretty well,” Discord said cheerfully
“You're right. We might not have won; but we're the top eight in all of Canterlot,” Rarity added proudly
“Let's not forget; Sunset and Flash are our friends. Luna was our high school vice-principal. No matter which of them wins, we support them just the same,” Fluttershy said
For the final round; each decided to go all out in their strategies. Sunset found an area that was good for sniping and set a grenade trap nearby to spot incoming enemies.
“I know that plan,” Flash thought to himself “Time to wreck it.”
“I've always prided myself on being such a prolific gamer. I can't let two former students show me up,” Luna thought
“First plan: stick the grenade in the wall and hope unexpected player misses it. Secondly: prepared for secondary combat with second frag and shotgun,” Sunset thought
Luna looked around the area and spotted Flash’s character running. Deciding it wasn't worth wasting ammo, followed along a side path before disappearing.
“Where are you? I had two spotted; but one left the area,” Sunset thought
Not taking any chances; Sunset switched to her shotgun and moved from direct line of visibility. The sound of an explosion signaled her trap was noticed and diffused. An incoming smoke grenade blinded her screen as Flash rushed in. A few blind shots hit their mark as he found himself eliminated.
After switching the sniper rifle for the machine gun from Flash; Sunset readied herself as Luna made her way inside the passage. A smoke grenade disoriented her as she walked by Sunset’s other grenade trap, killing her instantly. Sunset calmly set the controller down as she leaned backwards to catch her breath.
“Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the tournament; DarknessRisin666 aka miss Sunset Shimmer,” the DJ announced cheerfully
“Congratulations on beating me; Sunset. You were a worthy opponent,” Luna said, sticking out a hand
“That was an awesome game. Congrats to both of you,” Flash commented
“Thank you both for everything. No one made this easy; and both of you certainly didn't hold back.”
“Pardon me for a moment. My phone just went off,” Luna said
Looking at the message; Luna noticed it was from Celestia and had a simple message on it.
You let her win…didn't you?
Yes. Don't tell her
“Sorry about that,” Luna commented
“It's fine,” Sunset replied, before lowering her voice to a whisper “Thank you for letting me win.”
“You knew? How,” Luna asked in shock
“Perhaps we discuss this later?”
Just as Sunset said that; the rest of her friends ran onstage from the audience to embrace her. After they let go; her parents came up to join them.
“Congrats; Sunset. You worked hard for this moment,” Chrysalis said, hugging her
“Congratulations miss Shimmer. As reward for winning the tournament; we have a check for $50,000 for you,” a suit commented
“Wow. I don't think I'd see that much money before.”
“This calls for a party,” Pinkie said excitedly
“I'll help you with the details,” Discord suggested, as the others left
“Now that the others aren't around; tell me why.”
“You deserve to win. Besides; I've won multiple videogame tournaments and didn't care to win another one. You put in quite a lot of time playing to reach first place,” Luna answered
“Thank you. I was surprised when you let me kill you in the end.”
“How was I supposed to know you'd plant a frag grenade in the wall and use smoke for disorienting me,” Luna joked
“Are you going to join us at home?”
“We'll be there. It's been a while since we came over,” Celestia decided
As the group parted ways; Pinkie headed to the store to buy a simple chocolate cake for everyone to enjoy. While Pinkie was notorious for spontaneous parties; the competition took a lot of energy out of her. A few hours later; everyone was sitting in the dining room at Sunset’s house to celebrate.
“First of all; let's have a toast to everyone. Everyone won; regardless of their place,” Discord said, raising a cider bottle
“To victory,” the group added
“I can't believe you were the one I fought against,” Dash joked
“I figured out everyone's gamertags; but I'm surprised none of you girls decoded mine.”
“I've been trying since it was said; but I still don't get it,” Fluttershy answered
“If you don't figure Sunset’s out; mine's going to be just as difficult,” Flash mused
“Oh; I got it! ‘DarknessRisin’ is related to Sunset as it gets dark as the sun sets. As for the numbers, I'm lost,” Pinkie answered “LightningLegion is just as easy. Lightning flashes and military legions in ancient times had soldiers known as sentries.”
“Exactly. The 666 was something I found that was supposed to be evil.”
“What are you going to do with the money,” Luna inquired
“All I'm going to do is cash the check. The money will go to the six of you for whatever you want.”
“Why don't you want it,” Rarity questioned
“I've decided to return to Equestria. Each of you have a future planned out: go to college, get a job and later get married. I entered this world five years ago as a lost and spoiled teenager that truly didn't belong and I feel it's time to go back home. Keep the book so you can keep me informed about what's going on.”
“Than this is more than just a celebration for the tournament, and now a going away party,” Pinkie decided
“We may only be your adopted parents; but we'll gladly welcome you back whenever you decide to return,” Chrysalis said
“Thank you for everything these past months. I was in a dark place when I attempted suicide; but it was the two of you that helped me make up my mind.”
“We know everything was forgiven; but it's not going to go away. Our sisters drove us apart more than you ever did,” Applejack said “Sorry to bring that up. They seem to have broken up their friendship in penance for their actions.”
“Scootaloo may be my little sister; but she could have just asked for a moment of time,” Dash added sadly
“Sweetie Belle was informed of by our parents that she was to assist in any way I need around the boutique, without question,” Rarity said
“A slave; without calling her such? That does feel a little harsh,” Celestia mused
“They wanted to bring her back home; but she wanted to stay with me. I guess that was their way of making sure her room and board was taken care of,” Rarity added
“Well; hopefully they have learned their lesson as to how much damage cyberbullying can cause. None of those posts can truly be removed from the internet and could be found again. I'm just happy not to have prosecuted them under cyberbullying laws. They would have served a sentence in juvenile hall until they were eighteen years old,” Chrysalis stated
“I'm going to be heading home tomorrow if any of you would like to see me off.”
The next morning, Discord made his daughter sausage and bacon as part of the family breakfast knowing Sunset wouldn't have a chance to eat meat. After enjoying her final meal; they headed back to Canterlot High where the girls were waiting, along with Luna and Celestia.
“Principal Celestia; could you take a picture of us please,” Fluttershy asked, handing over her phone
“Of course. Gather around,” Celestia said
A few pictures were taken while Fluttershy sent everyone a copy; even one to Sunset’s phone. After receiving one final hug from everyone; Sunset calmly walked through the portal to a place she'd spent years away from and longed to see again; Equestria.