//------------------------------//
// Interlude: Interesting Discovery 
// Story: Sunset Shimmer: Path of the Damned 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Following the downfall of Deathwing, and the crushing defeat that his forces suffered before being raised as members of the Scourge, Sunset stared out at the rest of Azeroth as she considered her options now that most of the Old Gods were dead, the Elemental Lords were hers, and several powerful figures were under her command.

"With the world saved from the Cataclysm, I suspect that the Alliance and the Horde will make their move," Sunset said, as while she knew that several of the heroes had claimed a black egg before fleeing, due to Ragnaros appearing nearby to clash with Deathwing, meaning it had to be important in some manner, though other than that she had no information on what the living were doing, "Chromie should be making her report on their movements soon... until then, let us resume our quest to take over this world by returning to the other provinces."

That was the benefit of having a massive army at this point, as part of them stayed on Northrend to protect it, part was sent to the Eastern Kingdoms to resume their march down from Tirisfal Glades, and part of it was sent over to Kalimdor to start conquering the western continent. Sunset didn't have to do much while her forces spread over each province, as they were spreading death and decay to the rest of the world while the val'kyr raised anyone that was encountered and slain by her soldiers, meaning she could rest and prepare for the future. Deathwing himself refrained from using his dragon form, rather he used his visage form, that of a buff male human who wore metallic armor that resembled his molten body, and he held a two handed mace that made him look like a dark lord of some kind. Such a thing allowed him to smash through the satyrs and other hostile races his force encountered, just like all of the other forces that were spreading around the world, yet the heroes of the two main forces, the living ones anyway, remained hidden.

She honestly expected more out of the Alliance and the Horde, as she had been planning on them coming in as soon as she took care of Deathwing, and yet, as hours started to turn into days, nothing seemed to change, where Sunset sighed for a moment as she sat on Orgrimmar's throne, as the Horde's main city had been empty and she conquered it in seconds.

"This is starting to become boring... where are the heroes?" Sunset asked, as she knew that none of her Council members, or those who had taken the city before quickly reporting their instant success to her, had an answer and kept their heads down as she picked herself off the wooden throne, which was covered by animal pelts and spikes, and walked down to the center of the circular building, "I know my overwhelming might, and the might of my army, might have scared them, but they were willing to face down Illidan Stormrage, Arthas Menethil, and would have faced Deathwing if I didn't intervene... so why are they being cowards, when the fate of their world is at stake?"

"I do not know, my Queen." a voice replied, where Sunset found that Chromie, at long last, returned to her side, meaning it must have taken her a long time to find an opening to slip through so she could deliver whatever information she had found out, something that interested Sunset greatly, since it would allow her to destroy the two factions, "What I do know is that a pandaren appeared in Stormwind some time ago and has revealed the existence of a new continent to the surviving leaders, a land called Pandaria, which they are planning on using as a safe haven until they form a more concrete plan to survive the war you've started with them."

"A new race, a new continent, and, presumably, new powers to be claimed." Sunset remarked, because while she had no idea as to what a 'pandaren' was, other than a race that resembled a panda bear, just like she had no information on the new continent, she knew that it had to have some sort of power for her to steal before she resumed her assault on the rest of the living, "When are they planning on heading for the continent?"

"Right now the continent is shrouded by mist, but it will dissipate in no time, so the living will leave soon." Chromie stated, a fact that told Sunset all she needed to know right now, that it was due to Nozdormu that the the living knew about the continent's position, because if it was shrouded by mist the pandaren in question likely didn't know where to find it, but, if her thoughts were right, it would be to the south of the Maelstrom, "From what I have been able to gather the parting of the mists will be an aftereffect of the Cataclysm, but had you stayed your hand and kept to the shadows both factions of this world would have continued their fighting for some time, ignoring the emergence of a new continent... however, now that you have beaten Deathwing, it seems that they're planning on heading to Pandaria to either hide from us, figuring we would never go there, or to make new allies."

"No, they're looking for a power that can destroy the Scourge, and, of course, myself." Sunset said, as while she knew that allies would be a good thing for the living, especially ones who possessed powers they knew nothing about, some of them were likely searching for something, anything really, that could cripple her ever evolving powers and her army, to which she turned towards her Council for a moment, "Bring me General Nazgrim and Admiral Taylor."

Chromie nodded her head and departed for a time, allowing Sunset to go over the plan that was forming in her head, as it seemed that they had some time before the Alliance and the Horde made their move on Pandaria, so she was planning on making the first move, hence why she needed loyal commanders to fulfill her dark orders, and it wasn't long before they arrived and knelt as they bowed their heads.

"Nazgrim, Taylor, I want the two of you to gather your forces, board one of the airships from your original faction, and make your way to the continent of Pandaria," Sunset stated, where she found that Chromie returned and used a bit of her magic to create an image of the landmass in question, one that had untouched forests, vast valleys, places shrouded by all sorts of darkness, and who knew what else, and she found both figures raising their heads to observe the image so they understood her orders, "I know my standing orders for the Scourge are to eliminate the living, and we will do so after we learn more about this province, but for right now I want you two and your teams to travel to this new continent, find some of the locals, and 'befriend' them... once we have a better understanding of Pandaria, and the people that call it home, I'll give the command to claim it in the name of the Scourge. Everyone else, your orders are to claim the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, along with killing and raising anyone who dares to stand in our way... Chromie, return to your post and see if you can learn anything else about what the survivors are planning."

As her soldiers and Council members voiced their understanding, meaning they understood her orders, Sunset removed herself from the building and stepped out into the canyon city that was Orgrimmar, as while it was an interesting place it was nothing compared to Icecrown Citadel, or even Stormwind for that matter. Upon overtaking this place she ordered all of the engineers and workers from the slain Horde members to get to work on all of the vehicles that had been left behind after her assault on Northrend, granting her more airships to use to transport her forces. Of course, with engineers from the Scourge and the Alliance, her version of the Horde's vessels were faster and would be far more deadly, while some of her forces made additional changes to the vessels they had stolen from the Alliance, boosting the power of her air forces further than before. That was what Orgrimmar was being used for right now, a workspace for her forces to prepare for the next stages of her dark plan, which Stormwind would experience once her forces conquered it in the near future, hence why she was focused on seeing what this new continent had to offer.

Once more she was silently glad that the Scourge didn't need to sleep or rest at all, as the two commanders got their small groups ready while the engineers ensured that everything was ready for their upcoming departure, and it didn't take the pair long to fly out of Orgrimmar, with the blue dragons opening two portals so the ships could arrive in different parts of the area Chromie had pointed out earlier.

Sunset, of course, joined them and stood on the head piece of Taylor's ship, allowing her to stare at the sight before her, a pristine and majestic landscape that didn't seem like anyone had harmed it over the years, like how both the Alliance and the Horde had damaged their continents over the years. Within a matter of seconds she found all sorts of structures, both small and large, that were ornate and dotted the landscape, as she opened her wings and too to the skies as soon as her chosen vessel was through the portal, before raising her eyebrow as she noticed the residents. True to the land's name she found a number of bipedal bear creatures that resembled panda bears, where she found the males were large and all of the females were slightly thinner, yet they seemed to be wearing some sort of silk or leather attire that fit them, while also working in harmony with nature. Some of the males seemed to be in the middle of making cider, or maybe it was ale since this world did enjoy beer, as they were tending to a nearby orchard and a granary while they worked, though as she watched them she noticed something interesting, there were statues of large imposing figures that weren't pandaren, just another race they would be discovering.

As she did that, however, she felt something beneath the ground of this beautiful land, something dark and dangerous, as in the presence of an Old God's power, causing her to grin as she realized that she had another reason to invade this land, all while making her look forward to seeing what might happen once her forces made landfall.





"This is most troubling... Sunset has invaded Pandaria." Nozdormu, the one sitting near Anduin and the other leaders that survived the initial purge, remarked, though while he knew that a single life hadn't been lost yet he also knew that it was only a matter of time until that changed for the worst, as Sunset Shimmer, the self-proclaimed Lich Queen, was one of the worst monsters in the entire world, in fact she was putting the others to shame with her actions.

"That was the plan, was it not?" a stern voice asked, which belonged to Varian Wrynn, the King of Stormwind and the High King of the Alliance, the leader who stood opposed to the Warchief of the Horde, though he was referring to the change of plans that all of them had agreed on not that long ago, including Nozdormu carefully using his time magic in combination with the other Aspects to hatch a very special egg.

"Indeed. Let her invade Pandaria, seeking the darkness that lurks below the ground... a darkness that will destroy both her and her army." another voice stated, where Varian turned his head for a moment and stared at the figure that spoke, who was a young adult male human that wore some sort of white attire that, if one looked close enough, resembled the scales of a dragon, all while looking like a desert prince's attire, and came complete with a white turban, "Of course there's also the chance that she'll conquer the darkness in question... but it will, in the end, open a gaping hole in her defenses, one we have to exploit to save our world."

This was Wrathion, the very dragon that Rhea and the chosen heroes risked their lives to obtain the egg of before one of their foes, Deathwing, found them and torched them to death, who the Aspects had carefully worked their magic on so he could hatch sooner than he was supposed to, safely they said, and while he was only a whelp, in the world of dragons, his wisdom and power were far beyond that of a whelp. He was the only who ultimately convinced them not to flee to most of their hideouts, like the Wandering Isle, rather most of their people fled to Netherlight Temple, a place far from Azeroth that only chosen priests had the power to access, as it was possible Sunset had no idea it even existed. Of course Varian had sent his son and a few others to the Wandering Isle, to welcome the pandaren there into the survivors and get them away from any potential danger, once more something Wrathion had recommended, just to ensure Sunset was focused on the formerly hidden continent. He wasn't too sure he trusted the black dragon in question, since he had informed all of them that he was the 'Black Prince', indicating that, despite not being Deathwing's immediate son, he was taking the title for himself, and if his power matched his intelligence they needed him on their side, so Varian kept his mouth shut as the remaining leaders thought about his statement.

He honestly couldn't believe that this was the black dragon's plan, give Sunset access to a brand new continent and, if the information was accurate, hope that the slumbering darkness resting beneath the ground, likely an Old God, tore her and her dark army to pieces.

"How are you so sure that it will open a hole in her defenses?" Varian asked, as that was the piece that didn't make sense to him, especially if they were right about an Old God or it's power being buried beneath parts of Pandaria, as Sunset had taken the essences of two of them and this would empower her even further.

"Because someone is watching us, and I intend on investigating... I have a feeling this observer might hold the key we need to save our world." Wrathion answered, where the other dragons nodded their heads for a moment, once more telling the King that they knew something that he didn't know, though right now he was more interested in bringing down Sunset, so he was going to let this slide for the time being.

Varian nodded for a moment as he silently walked out to join the citizens that were fleeing right now, heading to the new safe zone they had decided on to ensure they were safe from Sunset and her dark army, as for the time being his strength was useless and this was the best use of his time, even though he hoped that the dragons were right and they weren't about to bring about the apocalypse with their odd plans.