//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Sunset Shimmer and the Castle of Everfree 
// by HAKDurbin 
//------------------------------//

Five days have passed since Sunset and Starlight robbed the casino. The two of them have been staying off the main roads, knowing that the police would be looking for them. Halfway through their journey, they found an abandoned gas station and used it to paint their car from yellow to red and change their license plates so no one could recognize it. 
On the fifth day, they stopped in the middle of the road to disguise themselves as old men before driving to the border of Everfree. They stopped in front of the security gate, and Sunset lowered her window as a female guard walked over to them.
"Bonjour," Sunset greeted in a french accent
"Passports, please," the guard said, bluntly.
"Oui, madame," Sunset replied.
She reached into her pocket, took out fake passports, and handed them to the guard. The guard looked at the pictures of Sunset and Starlight in their disguises and then looked at the two women closely to make sure they look the same. Convinced that they were real men, she handed back the passports and said, "Enjoy your stay in Everfree, gentlemen."
"Merci," Sunset replied while the guards lifted the gate, allowing Sunset to drive into the country. 
As they took off their disguises, Starlight looked out her window to get a look at the farmland and tall mountains that could be seen for miles. After an hour of driving, the purple woman was confused by how she didn't see any towns or stops nearby while Sunset entered a road at the side of a mountain.
"Hey, boss, are you sure this is a country?" She asked. "There's barely anyone here."
"Yeah, it's a country," Sunset confirmed. "It's the smallest country in the world. The population is only thirty-five hundred."
"You're kidding," Starlight said. "How did it become a country with so little people?"
"Everfree used to be a large forest until two princesses from the Canterlot royal family decided to create their own kingdom a thousand years ago," Sunset explained. 
"So, why would the counterfeit money be coming from here?" Starlight asked. 
"Because no one would suspect it," Sunset answered. "Think about it. When you hear of counterfeit operations, you'd think it would be in a place in a major city or country like Canterlot, or Manehattan, or maybe the Crystal Empire. Who would suspect that a small country that is secluded from the rest of the world is printing fake money?"
"Good point," Starlight said. "So, do you have any idea where the Horse bills are coming from?"
"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," Sunset said.
"What makes you say that?" Starlight asked.
"Call it intuition," Sunset replied.
Starlight raised her eyebrow, suspicious of Sunset's answer. It was clear that she knew exactly where to go, but she didn't want to share the information with her friend. At that rate, the purple woman was waiting for the right moment to ask Sunset to tell her what she knows, and if she didn't answer, then she would force her to say it.
Suddenly, as Sunset was making a turn around the hill, a green car turned from the other side and was heading directly toward her car. Sunset and Starlight panicked, and the amber woman moved away so that the other car would move right past them, almost hitting the railing on the edge of the cliff. But as the car was passing by, Sunset got a brief look at the driver. It was a purple man wearing an expensive suit and a silver crown on his head, driving with a look of fear in his eyes. Sunset stopped the car and looked behind her to watch the man drive away, swaying back and forth on the two-lane road.
"What's up with that guy?" Starlight asked. "Doesn't he know how to stay in his lane?"
Before Sunset could answer, a black car passed by them, heading in the same direction as the green car. This car had four tall, muscular men in black coats, hats, and sunglasses. Some of them were carrying guns. Whoever they were, it was clear to Sunset that they were after the purple man, and he needed help. With a mischievous grin, Sunset suddenly turned the car around and slammed on the gas pedal with her foot, startling Starlight as they headed to the other cars.
"Sunset, what are you doing?" Starlight asked. 
"Rescuing," Sunset replied. 
Starlight looked at Sunset dumbfounded and said, "I thought we're going after the counterfeit money."
"We still got time to do that," Sunset said. "Besides, I got a good look at that guy's tuxedo and crown. More than likely, he's someone high-class and would reward us for saving his rich butt." 
Starlight hesitated before she shrugged and said, "You're the boss, boss."
Sunset and Starlight caught up with the two other cars just as the black car was turning to the left lane and driving ahead until it was next to the man's car. Sunset and Starlight watched in shock as the black car forced the green car to the railing and slowly began to crush it.
"Good grief, these guys must really want this man dead," Starlight said. 
"We gotta stop them quickly," Sunset said. "Get your gun and go for the tires."
"Right," Starlight said.
Starlight opened the glove compartment and took out a magnum gun and some ammo. She put the ammo in and cocked her gun before opening the sunroof and standing up from her seat. Sunset kept the car steady while Starlight took a shot at one of the tires. But instead of destroying the tire, the bullet bounced back. 
"Crap. They have armored tires," Sunset said.
"Armored tires? Who are these people?" Starlight asked. 
But despite failing to hit the tire, Starlight's effort caught the attention of the men in the black car. They moved away from their target, allowing the purple man to drive ahead, and the two men in the back took out grenades and threw it at Sunset and Starlight. The two women screamed, and Sunset moved the car away before the first grenade exploded from where they were. Starlight held on for dear life while Sunset turned the wheel back and forth to avoid more grenades. Finally, one of the men threw their last grenade, and it exploded right in front of the red car. Sunset and Starlight covered their faces as the impact damaged the front of the car and shattered the front window into pieces. 
"That's it. No more Ms. Nice Lady," Sunset growled as she took a pistol from her pocket.
The two women started firing at the black car, hoping to hit the men who were throwing the grenades. Unfortunately, the two men fought back by firing their machine guns at them. Sunset and Starlight were forced to keep their heads down as countless bullets hit their car mercilessly. While down, Starlight opened the glove compartment again and took out a bigger bullet. She stared at it with a sad look as if she were saying goodbye to a friend. 
"You're my last armor-piercing bullet. Make your mama proud," she said. 
With that, Starlight kissed the bullet, put it in her gun, and waited. After a few seconds, the men ran out of ammo and went back inside their car to reload, while Starlight stood back up on her seat, and aimed at the black car's left-back wheel from the sunroof. Sunset kept her car steady again while her partner waited for the right moment to shoot.
"Gotcha," Starlight said with a grin. 
She fired her pistol, and the bullet burst through the tire. The men in the black car held on for dear life as the car swayed out of control. Sunset took the opening to pass by them just before the car crashed into the rocky wall.
"Haha! How do you like that?!" Starlight boasted before biting her thumb at her fallen enemies. "Ladies: one, boys: zero."
"Nice job, Starlight," Sunset said. "Now, let's catch up with our helpless rich boy and get ourselves a nice reward."
Starlight's grin grew as she sat back down on her seat. Sunset pressed on the gas pedal further, and the car drove ahead until they were just behind the green car. The amber woman started honking her horn while she turned to the left lane so that the two cars were next to each other.
"Hey there, handsome. Your beautiful rescuers have arrived," she called out. "No need to thank us right away, we're just -"
"Uh, Sunset, he's unconscious," Starlight said.
Sunset looked at her friend, confused before she looked closely and found the man lay his head against the wheel with his eyes closed. Sunset then looked at the road ahead and gasped to see that they were heading to a sharp turn on the road with no railing on the edge of the cliff.
"Starlight, take the wheel," she commanded.
"What? But, Sunset..." Starlight protested.
But before the purple woman could say anything else, Sunset was already standing up and climbing up from the sunroof. Starlight quickly moved to the driver's seat and kept the car steady before it swirled away. Sunset took a moment to prepare herself before she jumped onto the top of the green car and opened the driver's door. She got inside, undid the man's seatbelts, and pushed him away from the driver's seat before grabbing the wheel and putting her foot on the brake. But instead of slowing down, the pedal just hit the floor, disconnected from the brakes.
"Oh, come on!" Sunset growled.
She desperately hit the pedal again and again, but nothing happened. She thought about grabbing the man and jumping back into her car, but there was no way she could bring herself and the grown man to safety in time. Left with no other choice, she took out her grappling gun from her belt, wrapped her arm around the man's side, and kicked the car door open. She waited until the car ran off the cliff before she jumped off while carrying the man. As the two of them fell, Sunset looked around until she found a large branch sticking out in the middle of the cliff and fired her gun at it. The hook spun around the branch before it attached itself to it, stopping Sunset and the man's fall.
Sunset sighed in relief and watched the man's car crash into the river below. She looked around and saw that she was just below a rocky surface and pressed a button on her gun. The rope extended, slowly bringing her and the man down to the bottom. But as they went down, the purple man slowly came to and opened his eyes to see the cliff. He screamed and moved his arms around in panic, not noticing that Sunset was holding on to him.
"Hey, cut it out!" Sunset shouted. "You're gonna make me let go of my gun!"
The man realized that Sunset was there holding him and her grappling gun and slowly calmed down.
"What am I doing in the middle of a cliff?" He asked. 
"You fainted and drove your car off the cliff," Sunset answered. 
"Are her men still after me?" He asked.
"No, my partner and I took them down," Sunset answered. "Who exactly is after you, though?"
The purple man looked up to answer, but as soon as his eyes met Sunset's, the two of them stared at each other. Sunset looked at the man in disbelief while he looked at her as though she were an angel. The man's emerald eyes studied Sunset's face before he spoke again.
"Sunset?" he asked. "Sunshine, is that you?"
Sunset felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of him calling her, 'Sunshine.' Her look of shock melted into a heartfelt smile, and she tightened her hold on the man.
"Hi, babe," she replied. 
Suddenly, a loud snap was heard, and Sunset and the man looked up to find that the branch was beginning to break. Sunset gasped and pressed the button on her gun again, desperate to reach the bottom safely. Unfortunately, the branch broke, and Sunset and the purple man screamed as they fell several feet, landing hard on their backsides against the rocky ground. They groaned in agony, and Sunset turned to the man to speak before the branch landed right on her head. 
The last thing she saw was the purple man calling out her name before she blacked out.

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"Sunset? Sunset? Come on, boss, wake up!"
Sunset felt someone patting her cheek as she slowly came to. She groaned before she slowly sat up, rubbing her head. She felt something damp on her forehead and picked it up to find it to be a wet handkerchief. She looked around to find Starlight kneeling in front of her, but the purple man was nowhere to be seen. 
"Where...where is he? Where did he go?" She asked.
"The purple guy? He left," Starlight answered. "I saw him taking out his handkerchief and putting it on your head while I was climbing down, then more of those guys in black were coming in a steamboat, so he kissed your cheek and ran away."
"What?!" Sunset shouted, springing back up. "We gotta save him!"
"Uh, Sunset, it's already too late," Starlight said while pointing at the lake.
Sunset turned to where Starlight was pointing, and her eyes widened. A large steamboat was sailing away, and on the boat were the men in black holding the purple man at gunpoint. Sunset helplessly watched them sail away beyond her eyesight in defeat. She clenched her teeth and glared at where the boat was while squeezing the handkerchief. Starlight looked at her friend worryingly, having never seen Sunset so angry before. 
But as she tightened her grip on the handkerchief, she felt a lump inside. Her anger turned into confusion as she looked down and unfolded the cloth. Inside was a silver ring with a blue moon inscribed on the top. Sunset held the ring close to her face, surprised while Starlight tilted her head in confusion.
"What's up with that ring?" She asked. "Did that somehow slip out of that guy's finger or something?"
Sunset frowned and turned to where she last saw the steamboat again while holding the ring close to her heart.
"No. He left it here on purpose," she said.
"What? Why would he do that?" Starlight asked.
"I'll explain later," Sunset said as she took out her grappling gun and aimed it at the top of the cliff. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Starlight asked.
"To the Castle of Luna."