Sitting at her desk, Sunset looked over her available evidence. The license plate was an obvious avenue to pursue, that would get her a name at least. Going to the DMV website, she punched in the plate number.
“Let’s see who pays your bills,” she muttered to herself, leaning back in her seat. “Mr. Anguis.” With his name found, she typed in the name of the business. Much to her surprise, it wasn’t a mediation firm or anything involving legal matters. Instead, she found that it was a pharmaceutical sales firm.
That put a wrench in her thought processes. Why would a pharmaceutical company involve themselves in the life of a meteorologist? A quick search of Sugarcoat’s mother revealed that the woman worked for an automotive company.
“So he’s not an incompany lawyer doing an employee a solid...” Drumming her fingers on her desk, Sunset cleared her mind to sort out the problem. There was one other avenue to explore, social media. If Anguis was online, things he said might give hints to his motivation, or at least unveil a connection that she hadn’t found yet.
Only for her search to turn up... really banal things. Sure, a part of her wanted the intrigue of getting nothing, but the reality was, Mr. Anguis was a rather boring person. He mostly posted about upcoming medicine or how amazing a hospital was. He didn’t even post pictures of his food, the number one crime of the basic internet user. It was almost suspicious in and of itself that his social media was so toothless. Something else stuck out to her, a lack of posts about a pet reptile. No pictures, no complaints about mess, nothing.
The guy was a mystery in his mundanity. Intriguing in an uninteresting way. What was she supposed to do with this information? The only hope she had was the skin flakes Sugarcoat found. That had to lead to something.
Pulling out her phone, she bit her lip. There was one potential option. She knew someone on the police force that she could ask to scope out Anguis's apartment. She immediately tossed that idea away; there was no way she'd get his help.
“I just have to hope Sugar gets something good,” she muttered, lightly tossing her phone onto the desk.
Not knowing how long the analysis could take, Sunset decided to grab a drink and take off her jacket. Kicking her feet up, she casually surfed the net and decompressed a bit after firing her mind on all cylinders for several hours straight.
Almost on instinct, a hand made its way up to her necklaces. She took the second one, holding it up into her line of sight. It was an odd little feather, so unassuming but capable of so much. Sugar might not have approved of her lack of using it, but she was resolute. Something like this couldn't be used to solve mundane crimes. A part of her knew that when the time came to awaken its power, she'd act.
A frown wormed its way onto her face, a thought wriggling into the center of her mind. She suddenly had the feeling that once she truly woke the power up, it would be like the myth of Pandora's box.
"But is it hope or despair that sits at the bottom of this box?" she wondered aloud, taking her hand off the feather. Logically she knew who she could ask for advice on the matter. Hell, her newest journal still had pages but…
It didn't feel right to ask Princess Twilight for that. Not to mention all the wounds the exchange would open. Once her thoughts turned to Princess Twilight, Sunset couldn't help but flash back to the night she had received her feather pendant.
The world was falling apart at the seams. Like a broken pane of glass, the world she had left behind was plainly visible underneath. Twilight’s human counterpart had transformed into what would only be called a psuedo-alicorn and she was deadset on ushering in armageddon.
"Twilight!" Sunset called out, rushing towards the out of control teen. "You can't do this! If you don't stop, both worlds will be destroyed!"
“So what!?” Twilight snapped, her manic eyes locking onto Sunset. “This world never did anything for me! Always bringing me down, treating me like dirt! But now, I can clean the slate.” Twin streams of magic jumped from her palms, cutting away another chunk of reality. “I’ll simply dissect both worlds and when I know everything there is to know, I’ll make something better out of what's left!”
"That's not the answer!" Sunset declared, rushing over to the portal statue and starting to climb it. "I've been where you are right now, corrupted in the same way! I can help you, as a friend!"
Twilight sneered, exploding the statue with a bolt of magic. “Do you think I’m a child? That your juvenile placations will deter me? I will be constrained no longer by simple minds like yours!”
Sunset hit the pavement hard, her vision blurring for a moment. "Friendship isn't a constraint," she croaked out, rolling over and slowly standing on shaky limbs. Pain lanced through her leg, a piece of the statue jutting out her calf. That didn't matter, there was still time to stop this.
“It’s just another way weak minds shackle those above them.” Flying high, Twilight might as well have been a vulture, waiting to feast on the world's corpse. “I’d be lying if I said it was a shame you couldn’t understand. You’ll just have to accept you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
"I do understand," Sunset stated, looking out amongst her friends. "Feeling like I was better than everyone else. Like the world owed me what I wanted and Faust help who was in my way. I've been exactly where you are Twilight, but my friends pulled me through. Made me better."
Another streak of magic and Sunset found herself staring at Canterlot Castle. A dull throb of homesickness coursed through her. It would have been a picturesque view, if it wasn’t for the purple factures framing it. She needed to do something, Twilight wasn't in her right mind. Looking around, she spotted the device Twilight had used to steal magic on the ground near a crack in reality.
Diving for it, Sunset nearly screamed as the shard in her leg scraped against the ground. Her mouth tasted blood, teeth biting down on her lip. Ignoring the hot, irony liquid, she pushed herself back onto her feet.
Looking up at Twilight, she found the clasp on the device. "Twilight, there's one magic you still know nothing about. And it's the most powerful kind of all."
“Oh?” Twilight asked, her black wings seeming onto a dark angel. “Please, enlighten me. You are supposed to be the expert after all.”
Pulling the device close to her chest, she opened it, prismatic light pouring out. "Friendship." The light poured over Sunset, obscuring her from view.
Magic. It burned through her clothes, through her skin, into her very bones. So much. Too Much. Much like when she put on Princess Twilight’s crown, she felt it begin to twist and warp. Something formed over her head, forcing her to stare out at the crumbling world through lenses. The rest of her body followed suit, the magic solidifying into armor.
An eagle like shriek echoed across the broken school yard. The excess magic flowed off her hovering body, forming into the shape of a bird. It lasted a few fleeting moments before the magic faded away. Sunset slowly lowered to the ground, nary a sound.
Examining herself, she found that her chest had a "V" of red and yellow feathers that went down to a point at her waist. Along the underside of her arms were more and gave her the appearance of having wings. She was now wearing a belt, the buckle in the shape of a yellow sun with a red bird at its center. Her boots now had a flame pattern on them and a heel in the shape of a bird's talon. Hands scrambling to her face, she felt out the helmet. The mouth area was shaped like a beak, though it pointed downward and barely rose away from the helmet. Finally, at the forehead, twin feathers swept backwards and almost formed a crown of her own.
Gathering the flowing magic, she pushed herself off the ground and up towards Twilight.
"Please stop this, Twilight, I don't want to hurt you," Sunset pressed, holding out a hand.
It took a moment for Twilight to recover from her shock. Her manic features danced a line between anger and curiosity. "Neat trick, Shimmer. I'll enjoy picking it clean!" Collecting her magic in her hands, her midnight wings propelled her forward with murderous intent.
Sunset swore she still had aches from that fight. When it was over, the armor had disappeared and in its place was her feather necklace. She couldn't even count the number of times she'd apologized to Twilight for hitting her.
"Sunset!"
Sunset flailed in her chair, her frantic movements succeeding in her to the floor. Hissing through her teeth, she peered over the edge of her desk to see the silent judgement in Sugarcoat's eyes.
"You could have knocked," she complained as she pulled herself back into her seat. "Or even just said hello."
"I did, but you were so out of it that you didn't hear me." Dropping a paper bag on the desk, Sugarcoat took her seat. "The lab results came back."
Sunset perked up, grabbing the paper bag. "Great, what did your friend have to say about that skin?"
Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses, staring through the bag. "It didn't match any reptile on record. He made a point to state that it had a third helix."
"That's impossible," Sunset balked, pouring over the findings. "All life has a double helix structure to its DNA. The only exception is the murky talks about early cells being mostly RNA based, but that's a single strand."
"That's what Division said," Sugarcoat elaborated, reaching into the bag. "Almost threw me out of the lab." Hoisting a small, clear jar into view she stared at the discarded skin inside. "The only conclusion is that it isn't normal."
Sunset caught the insulation before Sugarcoat finished speaking. "It's not from Equestria. While magic can influence genetics and vice versa, it doesn't just give things a tri-helix." She thought over all her findings, drumming her fingers on her desk. "Sugar, we need to go talk to your dad. I'm pretty sure he's making a deal with the source of that skin."
"That much is obvious." Sugarcoat set the jar down, sliding it closer to Sunset. "What I want now, Shimmer, is an assurance. You're not normal, and neither is the person bothering my father. I want to know you'll do what you have to to keep him safe."
"If this guy tries something, I'll protect your dad, I promise," Sunset stated, getting up to grab her things. "Would your dad be home yet?"
Sugarcoat nodded in affirmation. "He'll be home. He had nowhere else to go."
“Then I’m gonna need you to give me directions as we go, come on.” Pulling on her jacket, Sunset walked out the door.
Once the pair were on the bike, Sunset remained silent while Sugar fed her directions. They exited the city proper and drove towards a suburb that had some small, but still nice homes. A stray thought fluttered before Sunset, would said suburb be analogous to Ponyville? That would be something she’d have to investigate later, other matters took precedence.
Turning onto the final street, one ominously labeled 'Shades of Death', Mr. Anguis's car pulled into the driveway of a middle house. Two men got out with him, almost certainly bodyguards. Mr. Drops greeted him at the door, ushering the bizarre man inside.
"Let's hurry," Sunset pressed pulling into the driveway and jumping off her bike. Removing her helmet as she walked, she went to ring the doorbell.
Sugarcoat slide in front of Sunset, holding up a key. "I have a key." Her back to Sunset, she opened the door and strode inside. "Dad?" She called hesitantly, gaze shifting back and forth.
Sunset’s senses went on edge and she pushed herself in front of Sugar. “Does this place have a basement, or attic? Anywhere secluded?"
“Yeah, there’s a door to the basement right by the kitchen, follow me.” Sugar led the way, making sure to keep quiet as she walked through the rooms with practiced ease. "Here." She stood by the door, hand on the doorknob.
Sunset let her hand go to her feather, and nodded at Sugar to continue. Squeezing through the opening door, Sunset sank low, tensing her body. There was no way of knowing how old the steps were, which meant she had to plan each step perfectly. Luckily, she’d had plenty of experience in taking steps quietly, one of the perks of being a seasoned PI. As she stepped down, she kept her ears open for conversation.”
"-elieve those are excellent terms, Mr. Drops. They were approved by your wife, after all." As before, Anguis's honeyed words drifted into Sunset's ears.
Even if she wasn't being addressed, they almost made her stop and consider. Resisting the temptation, Sunset continued down the stairs. Near the bottom, she caught sight of one of the bodyguards, standing off in a corner. There was nothing she could use to distract the bodyguard, the steps were clear of anything and the basement was mostly unfinished. The only real attempt at furnishing it was a ping pong table off to one corner.
"Yes, I think I can agree to these terms," Mr. Drops voice came over the sound of rustling paper. He sounded dazed, his words long and drawn out.
It was do or die time, jumping the rest of the steps, Sunset burst in on the scene. "Don't sign anything, Mr. Drops!" Standing in front of the stairs, she found the two men sitting across each other at a small table, a thick tome of papers in Drops’s hands. “I’m a private investigator and friend of your daughter. Whoever this man is, he’s not a mediator. He works for a pharmaceutical sales firm.”
Mr. Anguis tittered, rising from his chair. "Ah, Ms. Sugarcoat. Is she here with you? I can understand her hesitation. Parental separation always impacts the child the most. Perhaps she would like to look over the contract herself?"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Sunset focused on the pain. Every word from his lips sounded like a promise, urging her to comply. "I don't know who or what you are, Mr. Anguis, but there won't be any contract signing today. My client would be very happy if you stopped bothering her father."
“That’s not something I can do,” Anguis said, his calm tone shifting slightly. “Please Miss Investigator, let’s just talk this out like adults. My employer could use someone of your occupation on call." A predatory smile cut his face. "Why, I just so happen to have such a contract." Reaching into his coat, he produced another thick tome. "Why don't you look it over while I finalize things with Mr. Drops?"ok
There was that urge again. The one that made her want to forget what she was doing and listen to him. She had to push it down and glare at him. “I’m not working for anyone you’d associate with. Tell me, does he have three helices in his DNA too?”
"Ah, you've been snooping." Anguis tsked, placing the tome on the table. "Some things aren't for anyone to know, Miss. Questions like that often lead to someone going missing."
Sunset smirked, the man's honeyed words were gone and irritation had fully shown itself. "Why Mr. Anguis, was that a threat?"
Stepping closer, Anguis's skin began to harden in patches. "You're a smart woman, Ms. Investigator. At least you seem to be. If faced with a premature end, what would you want your last words to be?"
Pulling the feather off her necklace, Sunset flourished it like a skilled fencer. "I dunno, I'll tell you if I feel like I'm about to face that." Putting the feather to her forehead, she once again felt the rush of magic. Fire cloaked her body, forcing Anguis to back away. The sound of an eagle screeching filled the room as the flames died and Sunset was left in her armor.
Anguis hissed, his body trembling. Jerking his head, a lump began to travel up his throat. Much too large for his mouth, his lower jaw fell away. The majority of a snakehead slid from his jawless mouth, hissing in fury. His right hand twisted and convulsed, the fingers elongating. They lengthened into snake tails which coiled around each other in a spiral. As the tips touched, they united into a massive rattlesnake rattle.
Inky black flames sprouted from his hand and a wickedly curved sword sprang into existence. Brandishing it with a slice of the air, he lurched closer. "You will die, Miss! I will enjoy crushing the life out of you."
"Seriously creepy," Sunset commented, taking in Anguis's new appearance. Dropping into a stance she narrowly dodged a slice from the blade.
Anguis lashed out with ferocious speed, his changed right hand moving to wrap around her wrists. Jumping back, she narrowly avoided the tip of the rattle. Sunset’s mind raced, weighing her options. It was obvious that Anguis had her on reach and possibly speed, a dangerous set of advantages to have in an enclosed space like they were.
Movement to her left reminded her that they weren’t alone in the room. One of the bodyguards charged her, throwing a punch at her helmet. Sunset threw her arm in a sweeping motion and sidestepped, deflecting the punch with ease and taking her out of the way of the blind charge. If the bodyguards were normal humans, then Sunset could spend all day avoiding attacks. They did however make her predicament more annoying. Glancing around the room, she spotted a window that looked out over the yard.
With the idea of paying Sugarcoat back, Sunset ran for the window and leapt through the portal. Tucking into a roll, she turned back towards the house. “Come on, you ugly bastard, come get me!”
Anguis didn’t need to be told twice, slithering out of the window with unnatural flexibility. Striking forward, he opened his mouth wide to show off two massive fangs. Fangs too long to fit in his mouth normally. Sunset rolled out of the way of the attack, hopping back to her feet and pivoting to keep the snake-man in sight.
Sunset was in trouble, she couldn’t keep dodging Anguis forever and she doubted she’d be able to punch her way out of the situation between his sword, fangs, and his bizarre tail arm. She needed a weapon of some kind, anything would do. As another swing of the sword and Sunset threw her hands up in an attempt to catch it.
Before it reached her, balls of flame sprang into her hands. The flames grew, and from them twin swords with blades ending in a hook solidified. The guard consisted of two short parallel bars, connected by a small crescent blade and instead of a pommel there was a spike at the end.
Kicking Anguis away, Sunset found that she instinctively knew how to wield such weapons. Brandishing them, she stared Anguis down. "Isn't this the part where you tell me your plans, Snek?"
“What do you think this is, a Saturday morning cartoon? I’ll tell you nothing.” Anguis’s neck extended, lashing out towards her neck, his fangs glistening with venom.
Spinning on her heel, she hooked the snake-man in the neck and sent him charging through a fence. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re like something out of a horror manga. Maybe you should let them trace you?”
A loud hiss rumbled out of Anguis's mouth and he bit down on his sword. Once venom coated its surface, he started swinging with abandon at her and sent sprays of it towards her.
Rolling to the side, Sunset glanced at the spot she had been. The grass browned, withering in moments and crumbling into dust. She could only roll and dodge while the envenomed onslaught continued and large patches of grass suffered a similar fate. Once she saw the lack of liquid on the blade, she charged at him and spun on one heel to kick Anguis in the stomach.
Anguis whipped his tail arm into her chest, the large rattle acting as a mace. The sound of the rattle buzzed in the air, a droning racket that burrowed into her ears.
She rolled along the ground, destroying a flower bed along the way. The rattle came down again and she was forced to roll to narrowly avoid it slamming into her head. Swinging her sword outward, she caught his ankle with the hook and yanked hard to send him face first into a pile of mulch.
A hulking form slammed into her, bringing her to the ground. One of Anguis’s bodyguards straddled her body, an expression of pain etched onto his features. With a sickening sound akin to tearing paper, his body ripped through his skin. A plainative ‘baa’ passed his lps, his form expanding and growing until it had become a goat-like monstrosity.
Sideways pupils stared down at her, malformed fangs jutting from its mouth. Acting on her brief moment of shock, it brought a fist down on her chest, black nails scraping her armor. Yellow bile poured from its maw, radiating a sickness Sunset couldn’t place.
Grunting in pain, Sunset gripped her swords tightly. Before the goat could take another swing, she stabbed both spikes on her weapons into the sides of his neck. More of the bile flew along the ground and her body and Sunset was forced to give a mighty heave to force his slackening body off her. She blanched as it began to stir, raising up even as it choked on its own bile.
If stabbing it in the neck did nothing, Sunset wasn't sure how she'd put the thing down. Crossing her swords, she took a defensive stance. The goat-man charged at her, throwing a punch at her face. Thrusting her fist forward, she met the attack with the blade on her crossguard.
Something hard impacted her in the side, sending Sunset tumbling along the ground. Groggily, she turned her head to find the other bodyguard had become a goat-man like his companion.
Anguis stepped forward, his blackish blade glinting in the sunlight. “Mortals are always so overconfident. If you had taken my offer, you could have kept your life.”
Using her swords, Sunset pushed herself to her feet. "I've got a bad habit of not selling my soul to strangers." She took in the trio, weighing her options. “Especially ones as ugly as you.”
"Still with the quips." Shaking his head, Anguis brought his sword up above his head.
A small object sailed through the air, colliding with Anguis’s face. It shattered on impact, covering his face in liquid and glass. The beast snarled, tongue darting in and out of his mouth madly. In an instant, anger morphed into a mask of pain and Anguis's hand went up in a wild attempt to wipe away the liquid. Sunset caught a whiff, it was obviously men’s cologne that had been thrown.
Seeing her chance, Sunset pressed her hand down on her belt on instinct. Flames engulfed her swords and she brought them up in front of her. In a fluid movement, she sliced both horizontally and the flames rushed off their surface to take the form of a phoenix.
Anguis’s shrieks became screams of agony. The scent of cooking flesh wafted through the air, pieces of Anguis’s skin charing off. Snake coils tumbled out as the human body burned away, almost as if he had been disemboweled.
The first goat creature gagged, more of the yellow bile dribbling from its muzzle. Seizing and sputtering, the bile poured from the wounds on its neck. Gurgling in agony, it grabbed at its throat as the disgusting fluid began to eat away at its body.
Its twin bleated, the sound distorting into a hollow mockery of natural sound. Fur began to wilt away, revealing bubbling skin. Stinking of decay, the creature’s muscles began to drizzle off its bones. With a final bleat, its legs gave out, ending in the creature liquifying on contact with the ground.
Flames spread out from Anguis’s body, burning a pattern into the grass around him. His movements slowed, the sounds of his agony falling silent. The fire burning around him flared as the symbol completed, dying away before Sunset could blink. Anguis’s body remained upright, a charred black statue surrounded by a circle of ash.
Sugarcoat rushed over, examining the markings on the ground and the circle of ash. “I think I recognize this.” Pulling out her phone, she took a picture. “I’ll need to look at this later, for now, I’m gonna go check on my dad. You might wanna get gone before the cops inevitably show up and ask questions.”
“Yeah...” Looking from Anguis’s body, she glanced at the two puddles that had once been the goats. “That... wasn’t what I was expecting...”
“Agreed.” Sugar went back into the house, but before she crossed the threshold she turned back to Sunset and said, “Thank you.”
“Y-yeah...” Sunset gave her a thumbs up, already walking to her motorcycle. She didn’t dare remove her armor, not until she was away from prying eyes. And if the flashes from various windows were anything to go by, she’d probably be on the web before she got home.
When she sat on her bike, flames covered it and caused her to panic for a moment. When they died down, her bike had undergone its own transformation. Folded in wings went along the side of her bike and when she revved the engine she could hear far more power behind it. The kicker was the new orange windshield and the headlight area was now in the shape of a stylized bird head.
Peeling out of the driveway, Sunset had to resist the urge to get her bike up to full throttle. It didn’t take her long to return to the street her office was on, pulling into an alley to undo her transformation. When she was safely in her office, she let out a mighty sigh and flopped face first into her couch.
She didn’t know how long it took her to fall asleep, the weight of the days events crashing down on her mind. When she came back to the world of the waking, she was dragged there by the sound of pounding on her door.
The landlord was the usual suspect, but she’d paid her for the month. Creeping towards her door, she picked up the bat she kept hidden in her umbrella holder and opened it a crack. “Hell-” she stopped and made an effort to close it when she saw the bit of unmistakable blue hair.
“We need to talk.” Pushing into the room, Shining Armor paid no heed to the person in his way. “Shut the door.”
Sunset closed her door and put the bat away. She had to fight to keep a grimace off her face. “Please, make yourself at home,” she deadpanned. “There’s some beer and greek yogurt in the fridge. I’d have more to offer, but I didn’t expect a social visit today.”
“It isn’t one,” Shining correted, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Care to explain? He asked, showing her a picture of herself in armor.
“Looks like someone really likes birds,” she said, giving a noncommittal shrug.
“Don’t play stupid with me, Shimmer,” Shining growled, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I saw the videos from back then. Canterlot’s been magic free for five years. Five. Years. And I get a call about magic.”
Sunset crossed her arms over her chest, meeting his glare with a flat look. “Well, looks like you’re just as good a detective as always. Did you even think to investigate why I suddenly put on that armor? There was a monster attack, one that didn’t rear its ugly head from my old neck of-”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Shining Armor snapped, grabbing her by the front of her shirt. “I don’t want you bringing more of that goddamn magic here! Are we clear?”
“How about you let me go or I bring my security footage to Canterlot’s IA office,” Sunset warned, placing a hand over his.
Holding her gaze, he released his hold on her. “Keep your nose clean, Shimmer. I don’t want to have this conversation again.” Opening the door, Shining Armor departed as quickly as he arrived, slamming the door behind him.
Sunset winced for a moment, waiting to see if the door would hold. When no horrible sounds came, she allowed herself to relax. “Great, now I need a beer… or five.” Turning around, she went for the fridge.