Hostile History

by Jest


Chapter 2

Sunset might’ve enjoyed the brief, cramped ride in Timber’s rusty pickup—if Timber himself hadn’t been there. But at least Twilight seemed as intent on their destination as Sunset Shimmer herself was. The former pony watched her screen as social media exploded with video clips and photos of the rampage at the mall.

They slid into the parking lot just ahead of the blaring sirens of the Canterlot municipal police, skidding to a stop on the curb.

“D-do you want my help, Twilight?” Timber asked, wincing as glass shattered from inside the building, and a fresh wave of screams echoed out towards them. “If there’s… s-something for me to do.”

“That’s sweet of you, Timber. But… you’re probably safer out here,” Twilight replied in a placating manner.

Sunset was already rising, slipping out through the door and holding it open for Twilight. While she waited, Sunset briefly wondered what manner of creature it would be and if she could actually help. Her own powers didn’t seem terribly useful in combat, but at least she knew Equestrian magic and lore, which may prove pivotal. 

Canterlot City had yet to be bothered by anything that wasn’t from or powered by the magic of her world after all.

“Yeah,” Sunset said, trying not to sound too eager about it. “The girls are already in there, Timber. We’ll keep an eye on each other.”

“Right,” Timber repeated. “If you need a quick getaway, I’ll be out here. Hoping… not to get arrested.”

They ran. 

As they got closer to the doors, Sunset realized that something was wrong—a thick crowd of people was gathered just on the other side of the glass, banging and smashing their fists against them. Without any apparent effect.

Sunset Shimmer hesitated, staring for a few seconds and trying to understand what she was seeing. The mall had just been renovated, with inch thick glass and metal barring the exit. But the steel rims were glowing , fused together like someone had used a welder on them.

Twilight hadn’t looked, just ran right up and yanked on the other side. She let go quickly, squeaking in surprise and pulling her hand back a second before she would have grabbed it.

“Why is it so hot?” Twilight exclaimed, taking another second to see what Sunset had already. “Oh.”

“Please, help us!” screamed a voice from inside. The people inside were still pounding on the doors, desperation clearly evident on their faces.

“Looks like we’ll have to…you know,” Sunset offered her hand to the beautiful woman.

“Pony up? Yeah.” Twilight took it, and the two of them were swallowed in a wave of light. 

The transformation was minimal—almost nothing compared to the time it seemed to take. Twilight got wings, which didn’t seem fair but here they were. Sunset just got the ears and strange ponytail that several of the others usually got.

At least the outfits were cool this time. 

Sunset couldn’t say where they came from, or why they looked different from one day to the next however. Today she came out looking like a punk rocker, all leather and studs, while Twilight looked like she might be performing as a sugarplum fairy in a local ballet production.

“I think you’ll have to get us in,” Sunset whispered. “I don’t know if I can read how the melted door is feeling.”

“Right, stand back,” Twilight exclaimed.

There was a crack, like stepping unexpectedly onto too-thin ice, and one of the doors suddenly shattered. Plate glass went flying out in a cone from where Twilight gestured, and bright yellow metal curved outward.

Twilight slumped a little, falling right into Sunset’s offered grip and holding her up for a second while she caught her breath.

It was only one of the three doors, but already there was a scream of relief as people stampeded out, practically tripping over one another in their rush to escape the ruined mall.

Sunset caught a few “It’s the Rainbooms, they saved us!” as well as similar cries, but she wasn’t really listening for that. Most of the people were probably still trapped inside, along with their friends. 

I hope those smoothies were worth it. Sunset Shimmer thought to herself.

But so long as no one had gotten hurt before they could all get together, it wouldn’t be the worst.
Maybe by being here they could keep more of the helpless humans safe. Sunset Shimmer ruminated.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Twilight announced before standing once more and brushing a few chips of glass from her shoulder. “Let’s see how bad things are in there.”

They were very bad.

Sunset half expected to find some terrible scene out of ancient Equestrian history, with fallen humans everywhere—but no. Despite being trapped with a monster in a relatively small space, the only dead things appeared to be mall carts and plastic mascots.

The building itself was set up roughly like a “T,” with a central courtyard at the junction of all three wings. At the center, Sunset could see why no one was hurt, namely that her friends were fighting the creature.

Phone cameras hadn’t properly captured the monster, that much was readily apparent. As it looked like solid smoke had somehow congealed into a gigantic wild boar, maybe ten feet tall and just as long. Its eyes were glowing red pits, its horns glittered in the overhead lights that still worked.

As they ran, Sunset watched as it charged straight at Rarity, who seemed completely unprotected. At least until one of her shields appeared, catching the blow and deflecting what had almost been a lethal blow. She was still sent flying, spiraling end-over-end through the air however.

Seeing this, Twilight started flapping desperately, but there was no way she’d reach her in time.

It was a good thing she didn’t have to reach the girl however. Rainbow caught her right out of the air, settling her on the balcony of the second floor with a flash and a smile. There was another flash of light in front of Sunset, and suddenly Rainbow Dash was in front of her, grinning toothily. 

“Hey Sunset. Though you’d join the party? Not like we weren’t handling things pretty well on our own,” announced the confident young woman.

“I can see that,” Sunset said, looking at the broken storefront and overturned carts. 

Where the bull charged Applejack this time, shattering a ceramic fountain and spraying water everywhere as it went.

“Did the monster get the sushi shop?” Sunset Shimmer hesitantly asked.

Immediately she glanced up towards the second floor, and—yes, it was as bad as she feared. The storefront was ripped apart, and the tables and chairs inside had been crushed to little more than firewood.

A sudden flurry of motion made Sunset Shimmer turn to where the creature was fighting Applejack. Were Sunset’s eyes deceiving her, or was the monster momentarily fuzzing away where it got wet? She couldn’t tell, because soon enough it was out, and the effect faded.

“Don’t you up ‘an discourage ‘em!” Applejack called, spinning her rope through the air and tossing it. “We can still win this thing!”

Her technique was flawless, and it ended up squarely around the boar’s neck, tightening around the smokey creature. 

“Keepin’ it distracted ain’t the same thing as winning!” Rainbow Dash shouted back.

“I, um… tried to convince him,” Fluttershy murmured, emerging from behind a fallen cart of cell phone cases, where she’d apparently been hiding. “But I don’t think he’s a real animal. He didn’t want to stop.”

“Of course I didn’t,” called a voice, so low it seemed to reverberate through the floor and right into Sunset’s chest. 

She watched as Applejack was flung through the air, her now useless rope still trailing from around the monster’s neck.

Unlike Rarity, Applejack didn’t need a rescue, and caught right onto the railing of the second floor, pulling herself up with one arm.

“My task is not complete,” bellowed the monster, turning its eyes on Sunset. “I was waiting for you and now you are all finally here.”

It strode forward slowly, scattering the hard plastic food court tables like they weren’t even there.
Sunset found herself backing away, reaching in vain for Twilight’s hand. But Twilight was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it she didn't know where Pinkie Pie was either, and Sunset Shimmer hoped they were both okay.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sunset retorted, standing up as straight as she could.

This monster was a predator, and she’d learned plenty about predators from living as a human. You always faced them, always watched, never presented weakness. It was about not giving an opportunity, or else they would certainly use it.

“This is Canterlot, our city! If you thought you could come here and hurt whoever you wanted—you wouldn't be the first to learn you’re wrong!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.

“Yeah!” Rainbow called from beside her. “If you think some oversized pig is gonna scare us, you’re wrong! We beat her, and she was a demon with a whole army of teenage zombies!”

“Yeah,” Sunset added, unenthusiastically. 

But she couldn’t muster the venom to be upset about it and Sunset just sighed. “They beat me. And soon we’ll beat you too.”

“They did not defeat you,” replied the monster, baring its ghostly tusks. “They neutered you. They twisted and erased the real you. Equestrian magic turned something great into a shadowed parody of itself—but don’t be afraid, Sunset Shimmer. I’m here to set you free!”

Apparently it planned on setting her free by murdering her, because it charged again the second it had finished speaking. Sunset rolled to one side, hoping that the monster would miss the cart Fluttershy was hiding behind—and it did, but it kept its eyes on Sunset as she scrambled desperately backward.

Unlike the others, the former pony couldn’t fly, or use any other kind of magic to escape from the monster’s attack. Her and Fluttershy were probably the weakest members of their group, in terms of raw power. An uncomfortable thought made only more uncomfortable when she realized that the only person close enough to help was Fluttershy herself.

The beast might’ve trampled her, if it wasn’t for Pinkie Pie and Twilight arriving from the upper floor. Twilight was carrying their earth pony friend around the waist as they flew overhead.

“Heads down, girls!” Pinkie yelled, clutching a box of brightly frosted doughnuts. “You’ve got incoming!”

Sunset dove desperately for the half-open metal grate in front of the Diamond Dog Jewelers, sheltering her face with both arms as the mall rumbled and shook.

The monster roared in pain, shattering tiles as its hooves stomped. But there wasn’t just one
explosion—there were a dozen. A baker’s dozen, to be exact. Which rained down on the beast from above, Pinkie Pie’s magically charged sugar blowing apart its strange body.

Sunset waited for the last of the rubble to settle to the floor before she finally dared to look.
A layer of thick black tar covered every surface, caked onto the walls and railings and filling the small crater Pinkie Pie’s little bombing raid had created.

Sunset winced as she stared, but she couldn’t see any sign of bones or flesh in any of the remains. Had it been summoned? Or maybe a spell which had been tied to an object perhaps.

Sunset clambered out from the jewelry store, sinking down in tarry slime three inches deep. Fortunately she had boots, but Fluttershy’s little slippers were lost in the black gunk, and the girl was visibly shivering as she struggled up onto the overturned cart, clutching it like it was her life-raft after a shipwreck.

“Why is it these things always try to mess with us when were havin’ fun?” Applejack asked, shoving through the sludge from the escalator.

“I just wish it could’ve chosen its targets a little better,” Rarity remarked, standing firmly on one of her summoned diamonds, like it was raft atop the slime. “How about a nice… lumberyard, or perhaps a mine. Somewhere… far from where I do my shopping.”

Rarity looked out on the broken mall like she was seeing a dead pet. “How long do you think, before it opens up again?” She asked.

“Hopefully soon,” Sunset said, voice wistful. “I work here and it's not like I can pay rent with a closed shop.”

But she didn’t get to wallow in pity for very long however. As from the other end of the mall she could hear glass shatter and boots began pounding against the ground. It didn’t sound like police so much as the SWAT team, running as fast as human legs could carry them.

“Come on, let's get out of here!” Twilight shouted.

Sunset Shimmer ran ahead, pointing to one of many recessed beige doors. “Employee exit. Come on!” yelled the former pony.

Twilight hurried over, holding it open for her friends as they all rushed through. If they were even a tiny bit too slow, and the police saw them in here it would be bad—but no. The door clicked closed without Sunset ever getting a glimpse of anyone.

“Follow me,” she mouthed, creeping forward through the dimly lit hallway. 

Even Pinkie Pie seemed to realize the need for stealth, though her smile grew wider by the second until she looked like a grenade about to explode. 

With a little concentration, they dismissed their magical transformations, before they reached one of many identical steel doors leading out into the parking lot.

Sunset braced herself for another army of police—but as the door swung open, she could see only a crowd of beleaguered survivors, spread out around the parking lot and apparently waiting for permission to leave. With heads down, Sunset and her friends slipped out of the building, each one doing their best not to attract attention.