They thought the war was over. They thought they had restored peace and tranquility into the world and avoided worldwide chaos. They thought it was time to wind down and relax for once and go about their daily lives. But they thought wrong. The news of a rampaging demon monster shocked the city. And even more so to hear that a man was murdered live on TV. It was a lot more horrifying than any horror movie anyone's ever made.
And as if it weren't enough of a slap in the face, the Humane 7 had just fought off a demon war a few days ago. And paid the price with the death of one of their own. But luckily for them, there's a way to bring their friend back to life. It ain't going to be easy, but they're always up to the challenge.
Right now, most of the boys went back home after their girlfriends said they'd get killed since they have no magical abilities or any means of protecting themselves. The only one who could be a big help was Eternal and he was still mentally and physically exhausted. Of course, there was Starlight Glimmer; however, she’s back in Equestria and still grieving over Inferno’s death. That means she won’t be coming over to aid them any time soon.
So as of now, they were on their own. Right now, the girls were all outside Sunset's apartment, getting ready to leave, waiting for their bacon-haired friend to say her goodbye to her boyfriend.
"You're sure you don't need me around for now?" Eternal asked.
"It's for the best. You need your rest in case we need you. If you need anything, I wrote down Flash and Halo's numbers and put a note on the fridge. You be safe now, okay?" Sunset asked, hugging Eternal Flames.
"I will. You just make it home safe, okay?" Eternal asked back. She nods and gives him a goodbye kiss before leaving. Eternal Flames walk back inside the apartment, locking the door and the girls head off.
"Alright girls. Remember, this new threat will kill anyone on sight. We gotta be cautious with this new foe or we'll end up as his first victim," Sunset said.
"I still can't believe he'd rip him apart like that! It's probably more gruesome than being ripped apart by a necromorph from that Dead Space game," Rainbow commented.
"Please… don’t remind me.” Fluttershy replied.
"I agree. I would rather not get sickened by the thought of such a gruesome idea lingering around in my mind, darling," Rarity said.
"Okay then, what about the feller that was trapped in that castle fer so long? Ah'll bet his family's worried sick about him," Applejack said.
"That's true. I bet my sisters and parents would be sad if they found out I went missing. Maud would even go so far as to hire a search party to come and find me," Pinkie said.
“Well, even if it is true. We’re unsure who this new demon is and who he is when he’s human.” Twilight stated. "But what we do know is that he's extremely dangerous when he's running wild as a demon. So, I think it's only best if we watch and observe this… specimen, but keep at a safe distance."
"Good idea. But there's one problem: the island's being closed off. The mayor ordered it to be condemned, we won't even be able to sneak onto the island," Rainbow pointed out.
"Then we'll just have to go when they're not looking," Twilight said. Everyone agreed to the plan, making their way over to the beach. It was a long walk there, but they made it without running into any trouble. But there was an even bigger problem: out at sea where the island of the crumbled castle was surrounded by helicopters and patrol boats. The island was being searched, people were trying to find where this monster would be.
It was hard to tell from their position, but they can see that the fortress’s ruins were now impenetrable. No openings, no cracks in their security for them to sneak their way in.
“Okay fearless leader,” Rainbow spoke towards Sunset. “How do you plan for us to get inside?” she asked.
"Hmm… good question," Sunset said, stroking her chin. lost in thought. Right away, an idea popped into her mind. "Twilight, maybe you can dig up some research on the people working over there. Check and see when their shifts end and when they'll be back on the docs. Afterwards, a few of us will sneak onto the land to uncover whatever we can find. The rest of us will keep a lookout and call if our cover's gonna get compromised."
"O-Okay. But w-who's gonna… sneak out there?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'll do it. I know most of the island like the back of my hand. After all, I did run around this place the last time we were here.” Rainbow stated.
"She's right. Plus, with her speed, she can easily go undetected. But… you're gonna have to keep a low profile if they ask for verification," Twilight said.
"Wait! What if they've memorized their team members by not just their names, but their faces? There's no way we'll make it past security," Pinkie said, realizing in horror.
"Damn! This is gonna be trickier than I thought," Sunset said.
"Darlings, if I may. Why don't we ask Heat Blitz to make some sort of gizmo that'll disguise us for the undercover operation? He was able to make that battle suit, maybe he can whip up a device that can disguise our appearance and our voices," Rarity suggests.
Twilight and the others look at Rarity and put on a satisfied look on each of their faces. "This could be it! Rarity, you're a genius! Let's head out to Heat's house right away!" Sunset said.
Moments later…
The girls had arrived at Celestia's house where her youngest son was. They asked to see him and she took them to his room. There, they said their hellos before getting there. They explained to him about their scouting mission and asked them for the equipment they needed to complete it.
"You want me to invent a device that can disguise some of you?" Heat asked. The girls all nod in response. "I'm not sure if it's possible. I used up most of the equipment to make my battle suit and Infern… our world's Inferno's still out on vacation with his parents. I can give him a call and ask him to send some more draconium, but it's gonna take a little while for it to get shipped here in time."
"We'll take whatever help we can get. If you can do that, we'll be eternally grateful, darling," Rarity replied.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Heat said, getting out his phone. He dialed the number for his friend and then waited for him to pick up. And for a few minutes, the human Inferno finally picked up.
"Hello?" Inferno said.
"Hi, buddy, it's me," Heat replied.
With the phone accidentally set on speaker, the girls could hear his voice; which sounded completely identical to their Inferno’s voice. The voice of their friend who died for them; just hearing it had resurfaced heartbreaking emotions that they thought they had gotten over since after the funeral.
"Hey there, Heat. What's up?" Inferno asked.
"Nothing much, just relaxing after… finishing my project," Heat replied. "Listen, I was wondering if you could do me a favor"
“Anything, Heat. Whatcha need?” Inferno replied.
"Well… do you remember the time when you had to sneak out your mom using a device that could disguise her entire appearance just to keep her away from the paparazzi?" Heat asked.
“You mean the Holo-Mask? Phfft! No problem, I have a bunch of those lying around.” Inferno said. “Of course, I have no idea why you need them?”
"Well… the girls misplaced… some of their geodes in an area of the city and the police are making it tough since they have the whole area blocked off where they lost them. Think you could send in at least 3 or 4 Holo-Masks?"
“How stupid do you think I am…. I'm sending you 7, for all the girls. Can’t hurt to be prepared.” Inferno stated. “Also be sure that none of them gets into trouble… my money’s on Rainbow Dash blowing your mission.”
"Hey! I heard that, you jerk!" Rainbow yelled, offended.
“Anyway, I’ll have them sent to you immediately. I’ll even pay for overnight shipping. So long buddy.” Inferno said, as he hung up on the phone.
"Well, looks like you got what you needed. I couldn't really tell him the actual truth because I knew he'd be completely against the idea of seeing you all get hurt," Heat said.
"You were a big help to us, Heat. Thank you so much," Twilight said, hugging him.
"No problem. You just be careful out there, okay?" Heat asked.
"We will," Twilight reassured him, then kissing him on the lips. The girls all bid their goodbyes to their inventor friend before leaving.
Meanwhile, back in Sunset's apartment, Eternal was on the couch in the living room, alone. He had nothing better to do other than drink some water and watch TV. But while he was watching some television, his vision got all blurry.
"What the hell? I shouldn't be this tired. Maybe I… I'm more exhausted than I thought," Eternal said before falling forward onto the floor, snoring away, out like a light.
Meanwhile, out on the island, the policemen were patrolling the perimeter of the ruins. Searching for any intruders in the area. Just then, one of the policemen noticed some of the debris moving. "FREEZE!!! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" he shouted.
His other team took notice of his shouting and walked up to him, pointing their guns at the spot he was pointing at.
"Don't make us come in there! Show yourself or we'll shoot!" another policeman called out.
The debris continued to move. But soon… a hand poked out in the shape of a fist. Soon, a monstrous beast crawled out, its back hunched over, flames for hair and parts of his body. It had a muscular build and demonic golden yellow eyes with slit pupils. Completely topless. It took in a deep breath and roared loudly, alerting the rest of the teams around the island. Its eyes turn towards the cops aiming their guns at it.
"D-Don't move! Stay where you are or we'll shoot!" one of them warned. But the monster didn't heed the warning and advanced one step. The police fired their weapons at it, but all of their bullets bounced off its body like they were made of bedrock. The monster growled and ran at the policemen, grabbing one of them by the head and held him up in the air.
He flailed and tried to break free from the monster's grasp, but this adversary proved much stronger than an ordinary human. He tightened his grip on the man's head. He screamed in pain and the police kept trying to break him free of the monster's grip, but it was all for naught. Its grip got tighter until his screaming grew silent and his body stopped moving. Blood leaked out of his eyes, mouth and nose.
The monster tossed his corpse aside and swatted the other policemen away from him like they were a bunch of rag dolls. "Code red! Code red! Enemy sighted southwest of the island!" one of the cops shouted. Sure enough, the entire force on the island chased after the monster. What soon followed were screams of agony and horror, along with sounds of gunfire and the roar of a terrifying beast and flesh being torn apart, along with blood splattering. Moments later… there was silence, followed by water splashing.
Meanwhile, in another dimension, the two deities; Harmony and Death, watch the unspeakable horrors that were occurring in the human realm. And like the girls, they were deeply petrified by the new creature’s actions.
"Not good. Those girls are gonna be put through a living hell if they come across that monster. All those lives… lost," Death said. "So many souls trapped in limbo and I can't do anything on my end! Never in all my years have I felt so powerless." he groveled in misery.
"It's not your fault, dear. None of us expected such a problem like this to arise. Our only best bet is to pray and hope the girls will succeed," Harmony said.
"I don't think they'll be enough to stop him or their other obstacle," Death said.
“They’ll have to, or otherwise, their world will perish.” Harmony stated.
"I can only hope they gather the crystals in time… before their other enemies find them," Death said as Harmony hugged him.
“Don’t worry, Grimy. I'm sure they’ll succeed.” Harmony assured. Death felt at ease by her reassurance and soon embraced his lover in return. The two deities remained there, holding each other as they fear, and hope, for the future.
Meanwhile, over at CHS, the portal rippled and three hooded figures stepped out. "So, this is the other world I've heard so much about. Yes… this'll be the perfect place to conquer. Now you're sure the crystals are here somewhere," one of the hooded figures asked.
"Yes. And as soon as we find the crystals, this world will be ours to control. But, first things first, we need to keep those meddlesome brats at bay with that rampaging monster. So search this place and find the creature. And whatever you do, don't let it kill you. And do not allow it to kill Sunset Shimmer. She serves a higher purpose," the leader said.
“Fine. But I just don’t understand why you want her alive?” The second hooded figure asked.
"I have my reasons, but I'd rather not say what," the leader replied. "Now… let's show this world what the Dark Trinity is truly capable of." The leader stated, before letting out a loud, frightening laughter which was heard throughout the night; signaling of the terrible events that may occur.
Later on, while the Dark Trinity was formulating their plans, Sunset walked up to the front door of her home. She unlocked her door with the house key and entered her home. "Eternal, I'm back, is everything okay?" But Sunset got no answer. The only noise she could hear was the sound of the TV in her living room. "Eternal?" she calls out again, no answer.
When she goes to turn off the TV, that's when she finds Eternal… on the ground and twitching. She gasps in panic. "Eternal?! What's wrong?" Sunset asked, running over and leaning down. He kept twitching uncontrollably and his eyes… his eyes looked different. She thought it was her mind playing tricks, but she thought Eternal's eyes were a solid golden yellow color. And for a split second, she could swear his pupils were slit.
But when he finally regained consciousness, his eyes were back to their normal sapphire blue color, but Eternal's head was sweating bullets.
"What? Sunset? You're back early, what's going on?" Eternal asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Eternal, are you alright? You looked like you were having a seizure, and your eyes were glowing all of a sudden..” Sunset said with worry.
"My eyes were… what?" he asked clueless. "I remember watching TV and then for some reason I felt… dizzy, like my whole entire body was shutting down. That's never happened to me before because I sleep plenty every night."
"Are you hurt?" She helps Eternal stand up.
"No, nothing feels out of place," he dusts himself off.
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything if something's bothering you," She replied.
"I'm fine, I promise. But thanks for reassuring me," he assured her before hugging Sunset. Though she was relieved her boyfriend was unharmed, she still had these doubts about all this. It made her feel bad. This was Eternal Flames, the most honest and caring guy she's ever met in her whole life. It pained her to doubt the words of her boyfriend.
“Alright, but if this happens again. We’re having a conversation about this.” Sunset stated.
"Of course," Eternal said. He sat down on the couch, sighing in relief. In that moment, his head started hurting a bit and he saw visions. Gruesome visions. The look of multiple people…all were running away from something. "I guess I must've had some serious nightmare." he said, as he rubbed against his head due to his headache.
So, he changed the channel on the TV and unexpectedly landed on the news. "Good afternoon, folks, I'm Johanna Justice, here to bring you this shocking news bulletin. The policemen who were ordered to search the island for any potential clues to the mystery behind… have all been mercilessly killed. There's no footage of who it was that killed these men, but word has it that the supposed monster that caused this massacre has made its way to the mainland. The mayor of Canterlot City has informed everyone that resides near the coast to evacuate and notified the National Guard to exterminate the monster. We now go live to the mayor about this disaster.”
"What?" Eternal asked himself as the camera switched to the mayor making a speech.
"Everyone, remain calm. I hereby recommend that we order for the people to stay indoors for the time being. Should this pandemic ever get worse, I will order a full city evacuation. We will do everything in our power to stop this menace," the mayor said.
“A full-city evacuation? Are they serious?” Sunset asked in disbelief.
"That's what she just said," Eternal said. "But seriously, what kind of monster is it? And what drove it to cause this much of a panic?”
"I don't know. But I think we should at least be prepared. Because now we have a new threat in our small city.” Sunset suggested.
"Agreed.” Eternal replied. "I'm starting to think evil never sleeps."
"It comes with the job, so we don't have a choice in the matter. No one else can match against these beings like we can," Sunset pointed out.
"I suppose you're right. Maybe I can help out with this. If possible, this demon might be more menacing than Grogar. Nothing but pure, blind rage. Maybe later on tonight I can search the city for this monster," Eternal said, his eyes flashed blood red with slit pupils.
"No, you need to rest," Sunset didn't hesitate with that argument.
"Sunset, I have the means necessary to defend myself. This won't be like the Grogar incident. I'm under full control of my demon powers now. Just give me this one chance and I'll see what I can do to help. If I fail to find anything tonight or if I wind up injured, I'll let you take over," Eternal tried to persuade.
“No means no, Eternal.” Sunset firmly stated. “We have no idea what this creature is, and we’ve already lost a friend days ago… I can’t lose you too.” She said.
"Losing Inferno was the worst thing to ever happen to us, I get it, but if we let fear control us, we won't be able to move forward," Eternal kept trying.
"And did you forget what Daris said about immortals?! They die, too! I'm sorry, but I can't let you wander out there knowing you could be killed!" Sunset argued back. Eternal wanted to argue back, but he didn't know how. She had a point, even a demon king can die, too… especially at the hands of their own kind.
Sighing in defeat, he nods and pats Sunset on the shoulder. "Alright, you win. But that doesn't mean I won't stop worrying about you and your friends. Promise me that, at least."
"I promise," Sunset nods. She comforts her sweetheart in a warm hug. "I'm sorry, Eternal. I'm just worried about you. I'm still a little shaken up from the previous war against the demons… against Grogar… against you. I almost lost you that time, I can’t bear to lose you again… and… hurt you.” She said with a sadden tone, still remembering their conflict not too long ago. Eternal shushed her comfortingly.
"I know… I know," Eternal said. There was no convincing his girlfriend and she was genuinely worried for his safety. 'It looks like I'm gonna have to resort to extreme measures. I'm sorry Sunset… I truly am,' he thought to himself.
Unbeknownst to him, Sunset had activated her powers and just from hugging him, she can hear what he plans on doing. Normally, she would lash at him for not even taking this kind of situation seriously like she is. But instead, she said nothing. Because it would only lead to a more pointless argument.
After their hug Sunset put on a movie for the two of them to watch for a little bit.
Meanwhile, over at Celestia's house, the principal was out in the living room with Heat, watching some TV to spend some quality time with him. She had ordered a pizza and purchased a movie online to help her and her son wind down. But then her moment with Heat was interrupted when she heard the sound of knocking on her front door.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Heat asked.
"No. Stay here, sweetie. I'm gonna go check," Celestia said. She got up from the couch and walked over to the front door, checking who it was. She makes a disgusted look before opening up the door, revealing her ex-husband, Blaze Burn. He has orange skin and red hair with sapphire blue eyes and scar-like birthmarks near his eyes. He was in his black business suit with a red necktie. "You. What are you doing here?"
"Checking to see if he's come home yet," Blaze said.
"After what you said to him that day, why would you think he's ever coming back? Do you even think before opening that big fat mouth of yours?" Celestia replied, glaring daggers at him.
"I was only thinking about the boy's future. How else was this family supposed to survive? Why else do you think I was paying for him to get enrolled into Canterlot Tech? Running two tycoons isn't a cake walk," Blaze argued.
"There you go again! Thinking only about your stupid business instead of your son's happiness or what they want to do when they leave to pursue their own careers!" Celestia scolded.
"WRONG!!! That tycoon is a family business! I was only trying to prepare the boy!"
"And look where that got you? No wife to come home to, no sons to spend quality time like a REAL father should do and worst of all… no love," Celestia whispered in his ear before backing away and really letting him have it. "Ever since you lost your own father, you've never been the same since that day. It's like you… you change! If he could see you right now, he'd be turning in his grave!"
Blaze Burn grabbed Celestia's shirt collar and got in her face. "You do NOT, talk about my father that way, not now, not EVER!!! Do I make myself clear?!" his grip tightened on her collar, but she wasn't gonna take his shit, so she slapped him hard across the face, causing him to let go.
"All you've ever done since his funeral was put Eternal through a living hell. You'll never be a real father if all you do is push your feelings aside and think only about business. You're not the man I once fell in love with and married… you're not my husband… not anymore. Oh and for the record, even if I did see Eternal Flames again, I would NEVER… give him to you," she said in a dark tone.
"We'll see," Blaze Burn retorted before he left and Celestia slammed the door on him, locking it.
After he left, Celestia slumped against the door and sat on the floor, covering her eyes as she cried in sorrow. Heat didn't like seeing his own mother like this. He got up from the couch and went over to his mother, kneeling down and hugging his mom.
"I'm sorry he hurt you. I'm here now," Heat said. "If it helps, I really miss my brother."
"I know… I miss him, too," Celestia weeped on his shoulder. “I just wish that… I was there for him when he was suffering.”
"When he comes back, I'm sure he’ll forgive you, and he knows that it wasn’t your fault.” Heat assured his mother. "How about when he comes home, we throw him a ‘welcome home’ party. Send together like a real family; me, you, and him.”
"That's a wonderful idea, Heat. He's lucky to have such a brave, strong little brother," Celestia said, stroking his hair. "When did you get to be so strong-hearted?"
"I've literally been through hell and back," Heat jokes.
His mother chuckled in reply. After a few minutes, Celestia got up with Heat and went back to the couch, taking their seats. They enjoy the pizza while watching their movie. What was once a happy moment for the two, was now a bittersweet moment. They didn't expect Blaze Burn to come and ruin their quality time and on a day like this. But at least they had each other, to make this moment happy again.
Later that night, back at the apartment at around 10:30 PM, Sunset Shimmer was fast asleep in her bed, her arm wrapped around Eternal, snuggling him. He was laying on his side next to Sunset, looking directly at her peaceful, sleeping face. He felt a sense of guilt that he'd have to sneak out just for a little recon mission. He gave his sleeping beauty a peck on the lips and whispers to her. "I'm sorry Sunset."
Afterwards, he carefully climbed quietly out of bed and headed down to the first floor. He sneaks over to the front door and opens it up, trying not to make it creak. Afterwards, he stepped out and closed the door before running out in the town.
After he left, Sunset then wakes up from her sleep and looks to her side to see that Eternal was not there with her; as expected. She got out her phone and dialed one of her friends' numbers. She waits for the dialing tone to stop.
"Hello?" a male voice said on the other line.
"Flash, it's me," Sunset replied.
"Sunset? *yawn* What's going on? Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"
"I'm sorry, but… could you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Did you see the news about that monster who killed all those policemen? And how it might've snuck onto the mainland?"
"Yeah, it was all over the news, why?"
"I… well… Eternal snuck out to look for him. I'm scared he's gonna get hurt. I want you to go and find him if you can," Sunset said.
"What? At this hour?"
"Please, Flash. I'm asking you as a friend. Find him.” Sunset begged.
"Alright, alright. I'll check where he's at. I still think he's a tough guy who can take care of himself but I'll keep an eye out for him just in case and let him know you're worried about him," Flash assured her.
“Thank you, Flash. I really owe you one. Be careful out there.” Sunset said as she hangs up on the phone and looks out her window with a worried expression on her face.
“Why must you do things that worry me, Eternal?”