“Why doesn't it surprise me that what called me to this place, will end up being another redhead?” he said with the same kind of grin as he put all his attention to the crystal golem in front of them who, while it didn’t have any kind of face whatsoever, was clear it was annoyed from having another creature to battle with. Meanwhile, the giant butterfly in the sky had taken some time off from attacking, more concerned in having a bite of moss that grew on top of a tower not too far from them. “What does surprise me is that I am clearly not where I was previously. Is this… Lordran?”
“Well, at least what remains of it if what others tell me is correct.” At this point, the fact that people simply appeared at random all around her had become second nature. That truly did put things into perspective, and as the creatures she was battling were currently laying off their assault, she took stock of the current situation.
Fighting fascinating, dangerous and, truthfully, terrifying creatures, seemed to be the only way to survive in the abandoned and cursed land that she had become prisoner of, thanks to the element of harmony and their desire to see her punished for her deeds. At least that was her hypothesis, so more monsters on her path was nothing new now, but what was different was the situation and company.
She hasn’t found the catalyst for the mist storm affecting time and space around her. One moment someone of the far future or the past could simply gallivant into her presence without any warning. From what the young man in front of her had said, it seemed that’s exactly what happened, but for now she was without the presence of her close Astora companions and instead, the only one that was apparently going to help her was someone that seemed so… out of place.
On the other side of the mirror, the girls watching the action sat down on a sofa, on the floor, in whatever place they could as they gathered for a confrontation that made them nervous and excited in similar quantities. It was strange, how these reunions had become the moment they all waited, to see the struggles, and hopefully, the day to see Sunset’s victory and return. But until then, they gathered, they watched, and they hoped for the best.
“Oh, this is truly horrendous!”
“I don’t know Rarity. I think the butterfly is really pretty.”
“My exclamation had nothing to do with that giant butterfly, although I do admit that its wings are truly gorgeous, but it is the situation in which Sunset finds herself right now! Being separated from her companions at this moment! Oh, cruel fate!”
“At this moment I would have said something about the irony of losing her friends when she needed them, but that would be in poor taste.” The athletic girl sitting down on one of the armrests of the sofa was not known for containing herself, which made the pink haired girl on the floor to basically teleport herself in front of her.
“You? Rainbow Dash finding a joke in poor taste? Okay buckaroo, who are you and what have you done with Dashie!” In response, the pinkette was pushed away as the owner of the hand simply sighed at the sheer Pinkieness on display.
“Yes Pinkie, even I know the limits. I’ve tasted my shoe enough after putting my foot on my mouth like a hundred times, especially the last few months.” They all had learned valuable lessons since the dance and like hell she was going to forget that lesson. “But there is something about that guy that just rubs me the wrong way. You know what I’m talking about, right AJ?”
“I sure do. That ain’t any old patch that he has on his back, that much Ah can tell ya.” The stetson wearing gal sitting on the loveseat at their left had seen that image before, so seeing it present on another world was, to say the least, bizarre.
“Yeah, it reminds me of the logo Shining used after going to college.”
“That was Shining’s college letter, but I don’t know Spike, that looks a little too militaristic instead of academic.”
“That’s because it is from the military Twilah. It is the insignia of the 82nd Airborne. Ah sure know the tales from Grampapy Winesap back in Tennessee, there ain’t no doubt about it. You also know them, don’tcha Rainbow?”
“Sure do. The whole family is full of Air Force members, so whoever he is, he doesn’t belong to that world.” So with more questions than answers, they returned to the action as the fight had started anew, but as the girls talked, Sunset also had time to meet her new partner.
There was no armour on him, but he didn’t look like a magic user. His clothes didn’t seem like something that would be found on a battlefield. In fact, it seemed almost mundane compared to what she had witnessed in Lordran.
Undead warriors may be wearing rotten and broken pieces of armour, but they still had their use. They were now more or less relics that remained after long years of disuse and tearing, but they offered some kind of protection against the weather and insane visitors to this cursed land. He had nothing like that on him.
Only his hands showed something beyond the ordinary, besides how ordinary his clothes were. There was a glint of light and then, a small spark flying across the studded knuckles of his gloves. So no armour and no visible weapons beyond his fists. This land never ceased to amaze her.
“Is that… a butterfly?” And just as he said those words, the both of them once more went into defence as new green javelins were shot in their direction, forcing Sunset to hold tight as her shield was once more used to withstand the force of the magical attack. For his part, Architect jumped backwards quickly dodging the piercing attacks, moving quickly to avoid damage. “Any idea of what’s going on?”
“None whatsoever, but however this thing got its powers, it must have only ranged attacks. Those wings do not look sturdy enough to withstand much damage.” As she was in full defence, the golem apparently decided that if something was able to withstand its attack it must be something that was too dangerous to allow wandering through the kingdom. Golems had a simple mind, or what could pass as one beyond the interconnecting and incredibly complex matrix of enchantments that passed as its brain. So at the end, they followed simple orders, and right now, it followed one, just one rule: destroy all invaders.
“Good to know, because rockhead here is definitely not waiting for the bell!” Quickly dashing underneath its mace-like arm, feeling the air that had been generated by such incredible force in his face, he quickly got back into his feet, striking with own left fist the place where the leg joined with the torso of the magical golem; with the impact, not only pieces of enchanted crystal were sent flying into the air, but the sudden burst of light coming from the knuckles of his gauntlet and the small burst of lighting released from such an attack were unmistakable for someone versed on the arcane arts like Sunset and Twilight.
“You have an enchanted weapon?!” Just as she said that aloud, the golem was clearly not hurt enough, so this time his arm did connect with Architect. He crossed his arms in front of him, absorbing some of the damage but still sending him flying across the clearing, using his momentum to roll once before quickly getting back into his feet.
“First let’s get rid of the business at hand and then I can give you the sales pitch, deal? Now, let’s deal with these two roadblocks!” If this had been a video game, it would have been this moment where the life bars would appear in the scene in Rainbow’s opinion, just as they watched the man fight in a way so dissimilar to every single opponent and ally Sunset has had to that point.
Instead of powerful strikes with a massive weapon, or elegant thrusts of a lance in the case of Madeleine, this new man, the so called Architect moved unlike anyone else, dashing from side to side as he got right in the path of the golem’s strike, before suddenly ducking as if he had been waiting for the move. The golem’s right arm had passed inoffensively above Architect’s head allowing him the opportunity to once more strike the same spot as last time, sending even more splinters of golden hue into the air, creating a web of cracks across the area making the magical construct reel back.
Ditching her helmet and letting her hair flow free, Sunset wanted to have a bigger field of view, unobstructed by her headgear. It meant less protection, but when she had to take care of two enemies of different ranges and attacks, she needed to pay attention to everything around her.
Stabbing her claymore into the ground, Sunset once more took her battle axe, knowing that pure strength would be needed, so she had to give it her all, and what better way than using the acceleration and force of an axe into the face, so taking her shield and dashing into the fray, she took her axe with both hands striking the chest of the golem as Architect dashed to the side, leaving the road clear for the redhead.
The axe blade struck truly as it embedded itself deep into the abdomen of the golden golem, and as she felt the impact on her hands, she was quickly targeted by the recovering golem as it swatted at her with his left arm, striking her shield and sending her backwards, her axe being left behind, embedded deep into the golem’s side.
The creature was powerful. She could feel the damage from that swing on her arms, with Sunset knowing that bruises were already forming. But she was no stranger to pain and battle, so once more she got up, ready to continue the fight just as Architect dealt with the latest barrage from the butterfly as this time, instead of lances of pure magical energy, there were blasts following his movements.
He put both of his hands in front of his mouth, like a boxer ready to face his opponent, planting his feet on the ground, ready to meet the volley head on. It would have been suicidal, but instead of withstanding the attack, he simply weaved his way across the barrage, ducking underneath one before leaning back and letting another strike fly by, with the only damage being one of the blasts getting too close to his face, burning his cheek. Ignoring the light, the energy and the burn, the bolts striking the earth with shattering power, making the dirt and the grass fly into the air, pelting him with rocks and debris, his focus remained.
As he received the attention of the Moonlight Butterfly, Sunset had to get out of the way of the incoming crystal golem, as it, despite the size and weight of such an automaton, took a huge leap into the air, clearly wanting to smash Sunset with all of its weight behind it. She quickly rolled out of the way, her own battle senses having been developed across the multiple fights she had been a part of.
Just as the golem got up, Architect retook the fight with the golem, hitting the hilt of the embedded axe from behind by kicking it, making the weapon fly right into Sunset’s waiting hands who didn’t lose a moment before striking the injured golem with all of her strength, using her axe more like a golf club, hitting in an arc just as she had seen Madeleine and Solaire do to the drake, and just like in that occasion, what passed as the head of the golem was sent backwards clearly stunned by the attack.
The cracks travelling across the damaged torso of the creature showed how close they were to breaking it, but it was still a dangerous and powerful creature, designed to withstand the passage of time, but this was the moment that would change.
Even as the golem tried to regain its footing and with the multitude of cracks appearing, it was clear that it had been solidly constructed, capable of withstanding enormous magical and physical damage, so it was still not defeated, still ready to fight, but just as it raised its arm once more, ready to strike down its enemies, the man in front of it had other ideas.
The gloves on his hands began to shine brighter and brighter, the power of lightning travelling across his body, striking the earth. It was a display of magical energy that surprised Sunset Shimmer, never expecting a display of raw energy like that. To be able to not only withstand that kind of power, but to keep it under control thanks to the gloves he was wearing were a clear sign of the level of mastery needed to enchant them.
As the power grew to a crescendo, a fist hit the golem’s torso, and then another, and another. It was a torrent of hits, faster and faster, never stopping, it seemed as if dozens of punches were being delivered at his opponent, a blur of hits releasing the energy until with a mighty roar he delivered one last hit, making the golem skid backwards out of control as it began to crumble into pieces, falling away, sending pieces of it flying into the air, creating a cascade effect, making the cracks travel everywhere until, as if a puppeteer had cut down the strings keeping the marionette standing, the golem stopped moving. His body began crumbling, all its luster gone as the spike growing from his shoulder was the only thing remaining , falling into the ground with a loud thunk.
The only sounds left were that of moving wings, the golden pollen brightly floating around the glowing butterfly and Architect trying to regain his breath after using such an attack and as one, the two warriors put their eyes on the only one remaining and without words, just looking at each other they decided to finish the fight.
Standing side by side they were ready to put an end to the battle. The creature was majestic, like a work of art, designed to be beautiful and deadly, and it almost seemed wrong to destroy it, but regardless of whoever its creator had been or if it had evolved naturally into this, there was only one way this could end.
The redheaded warrior raised one hand, feeling the embers of magic growing inside of her, a feeling that she had thought lost, either by being in a world with no power like it, or maybe because in her road for revenge she had forgotten who she truly was, not a bully, or a tyrant. She was simply Sunset Shimmer, a girl that simply loved magic, that loved to learn. What irony, she had relearned how to feel alive once she was dead, and as the fireball in her hands grew in power she was ready to let that part of her, the tiny little filly who loved every new lesson and every colour that a spell released, free once more.
At her side, Sunset could feel the energy in the air. It made the hair on the back of her head rise up. She could almost smell the power suddenly gathering all around her, but this one wasn’t her own magic. It was her new partner. Then she saw it, sparks of pure raw energy gathering around his body as if they were fireflies and as the butterfly released another volley of magical bolts, Sunset knew that it was useless.
As they grew closer to both of them, the girls in Canterlot held their breath, watching the attack grow closer to her friend and then… they stood gawking as those same bolts moved out of the way, as if swatted by an unseen force.
“They created a magical current, there is no way a weaker magical force could hurt them now.” Looking at her friends’ curious eyes, Twilight was more than happy to explain. “It’s a phenomenon that occurs when one unicorn creates a strong magical field around them. It’s so powerful in fact that any attack thrown at them will simply miss its mark. It’s like a river, so anything weaker than the river will never hurt them.” To see Sunset Shimmer grow this fast, or maybe she was simply returning to who she truly was, it was beautiful.
“I think I know what to name this attack now.” The smile on Sunset Shimmer’s face was free of fear, one that was replicated by her companion at her side.
“What a coincidence, I think so too. Oh well, let’s finish this Sunset.” And as he said those words, he raised his leg before striking the earth, making the energy coalesce into his hands and with a mighty cry, the two let loose.
“SUNSHINE!” The ball of fire and the blue energy fused into one, travelling the distance, burning the air and the pollen, igniting everything on its path. “ROYAL!” And just like that, the butterfly blew into flames, torn apart by a power never before seen in Lordran. And as it turned into dust, sparks seemed to gather in front of them, a little shining spark of a soul.