//------------------------------//
// Chapter 56: The Phantom Menace 
// Story: Equestria Girls - The Tale of Two Sunsets 
// by HumanSunset63 
//------------------------------//

All three of the girls continued to stand there in utter fear, seeing the one girl they attempted to take on together earlier, but regretted it heavily. She had now returned, either to give them an even further thrashing, or tattle on them to the police, making it so their arrest was imminent. As Human Sunset realized that these girls clearly lacked the guts to even say a single word in her presence, she simply smirked and began to continue the conversation left off from Gilda, after the gang leader had only toyed with the idea on getting revenge toward her a second time.

"Not much of the talkative type, is that right?" Human Sunset asked, rhetorically. "It makes sense, given how I've now proven I'm way tougher than any of you bananas combined."

"Alright, fine!" The beanie girl blurted out. "You've proved your point, but why do you have to talk about food to torment us!? We're starving!"

"We ain't eating nothing tonight, ever since Gilda foolishly decided to hand you that money she took!" The curly haired girl added.

"Oh, you mean..." Human Sunset reached into her jacket's pocket, pulling out the same wad of cash Gilda had given her earlier out of cowardice. "THIS money?"

All of the gang girls' eyes widened, not understanding what Human Sunset was trying to do. Was she attempting to make them feel a world of despair, now that she was rich, while they were all practically homeless and starving? Or... could this possibly be a sign that she'll give the money back, but expect something in return for doing so?

"Alright, spit it out, already!" Gilda groaned in frustration. "You clearly want something from us by coming back, so just get to the point!"

"Yeah, agreed, since I wouldn't want to spend time listening on an empty stomach!" The beanie girl said in mutual agreement.

"I need you all... to help me get revenge on a few people." Human Sunset began setting up her proposition. "I've realized that there's been certain people who were responsible for ruining my life, and I decided it's time to repay the favor! But to do that, I could use you girls to assist me, in order to make that happen."

"You're out of your mind if you think we'd be willing to team up with you, never mind during the time we could really crave a cheeseburger!" The curly haired girl protested.

"And even if we DID have the strength to help you out, why should we?" The beanie girl added.

"Yeah, it's not like you did anything nice for us that would entice us to do so!" Gilda spoke on her gang's behalf. "We should be beating you uhhh... I mean..."

Gilda realized she let her frustration get the better of her again, but realized she was practically digging her own grave now. She knew the girl standing before her was able to take on all three of them at the same time, never mind coming out on top without so much as a scratch on her face.

"Go on." Human Sunset glared at Gilda. "Finish that sentence. I dare you."

Gilda just continued to show a nervous expression, not wanting to practically sign her death warrant by acting out of line.

"And this is why Lightning and I have decided Gilda's no longer the leader of our group!" The curly haired girl said out of the blue. "I mean, if she can't even protect us, nor bring back some cash so we can eat tonight, what good of a leader is she!?"

"You raise a good point there." Human Sunset replied, before taking a $20 bill from her stack of cash, and flung it at the girls. "This is what you want... right?"

Seeing the cash that was the key to their survival, Gilda just instinctively grabbed it, having mixed feelings. On one hand, she could at least afford some form of nourishment for herself and her underlings, but on the other, it'd most likely mean they would have no choice but to join forces with the one girl who fought them all.

"Yeah, this is what we want." Gilda replied. "But now I'm guessing, you want something yourself in exchange for this?"

"Well, now you have a reason to assist me in my paths for revenge, don't you?" Human Sunset smirked.

"Darn it, Gilda!" Lightning Dust spat in frustration. "Why'd you have to give her that cash!? Now we have to work for her for practically nothing!"

"Yeah, if you had just given her the key, she wouldn't be holding our very own cash as a ransom for our stomachs!" The curly haired girl agreed. "We should just take it from her!"

"And let me make myself... very clear." Human Sunset said with an aggressive tone. "If you even attempt to snatch this cash back, or try to take it without my knowledge... rest assured. You will never walk again for the rest of your lives. Have I made myself clear?"

The gang girls shuttered in fear upon hearing this threat, but still frowned in resentment at the fact that they'd basically have no choice now but to become Human Sunset's pawns in her own little game. After all, without vital nourishment after going through days without eating anything, they realized they'd be too weak to even attempt mugging people again the very next day. Feeling like this was the only way they could continue on, they only bit their lips out of frustration before speaking up, trying to understand what Human Sunset wanted from them.

"Alright, so if you're serious about all this, then... who are we helping you get revenge on?" Gilda questioned.

"Glad you asked, since it looks like we've got a lot of work to do in order to ensure victory." Human Sunset sat down at a nearby table before she began explaining her plans, as well as the people she wanted to target.

As the gang girls approached the same table and took a seat, they listened on, before seeing Human Sunset taking out the journals she had stolen from Equestria earlier. She began explaining the logistics of her plans, assigned roles to each of the girls, and listed who she was planning on targeting. Using everything she had already learned after awaking from her eternal slumber, Human Sunset showed these girls an old photo of her father, Sunspot, a photo of Pony Sunset, and vaguely described Indigo Zap to them. This went on for a while, before one the girls spoke up.

"Wait a second, now." The curly hair girl noted. "The way you've described this Indigo Zap girl... it just sounds like good ol' Lightning Dust here."

"What do you mean, Thunder!?" Lightning Dust spat. "I don't know this girl at all, don't you be throwing me under the bus, given how she wants revenge on this Indigo person!"

"Relax now, we've already had a good fight earlier here, so I don't feel the need to get violent again." Human Sunset teased. "Besides, that might've been a reason as to why I put up such a fight, since as far as looks, the two of you did somewhat remind me of my old bullies at Crystal Prep Academy, Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap, respectively."

"All right, so you want us to take care of a few school punks at Crystal Prep Academy, I can get behind that." Gilda said. "After all, it's always satisfying for me to make life miserable for any dumb school kids who somehow got a better education than me!"

"That's the spirit, see now?" Human Sunset replied. "We can be friends and make everyone who's ever wronged us pay. It's just the matter of us joining forces and putting our brute strength to good use. Only difference is, I'm in charge here. I'm the new self-proclaimed leader of the group, while you three are my lackeys. But at the end of the day, they'll pay, oh yes. They'll all pay. The schools, the people who wronged us, everyone. I'm sure you all can relate to that?"

"I got kicked out of my school for running an illegal casino on campus." Lightning Dust admitted. "It was a lot of work trying to sneak a slot machine into the main building, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, after getting expelled, I still lost that money trying to bet on horse races."

"I was just a slacker to the extreme." Rolling Thunder added. "It's not my fault I have no interest in what in blazes a cosine is. For that matter, why should I have to keep up with homework or study for tests when I could just be out having a smoke or watching TV?"

"What I did wasn't really worthy of expulsion though, was it?" Gilda asked, rhetorically. "All I did was bully that Fluttershy girl into giving me her lunch money and homework answers. Big whoop."

"Fluttershy..." Human Sunset recalled that name when Pony Sunset mentioned it earlier in that video. "So I presume this was at that Canterlot High place?"

"Yeah, it was." Gilda replied. "What's it to you?"

"Well, it's funny to think that this Indigo Zap person I'm wanting you girls to target, bullied me to the point of dropping out, similar to what you did to that girl, Gilda." Human Sunset narrowed her eyes. "And considering how CHS actually expelled you for doing that, it just makes me even more mad that I chose to sacrifice everything I believed in at that dump of a school, Crystal Prep Academy. Long story short, I may or may not have it out for you in particular now, Gilda. At least, now that I know what you ended up doing before you got expelled yourself."

"Oooooooh." Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder said, mutually.

"Well, guess what, shrimp?" Gilda said. "I'm helping you out now, aren't I? So what are you trying to say, you don't want my help anymore, is that it?"

"You're still going to assist me, whether you like it or not." Human Sunset said, sternly. "It's just internally satisfying for me to know that after being bullied and humiliated for so long, I was even capable of taking down a bully like yourself. At least it sounds like your lackeys here didn't intentionally do anything to hurt quiet and shy students like myself back then. Point being, I got my eye on you, Gilda. You'd better sleep with one eye open from now on, if you think you're going to try overtaking me as group leader once again."

"Fine, fine!" Gilda shook the table in frustration. "Can we just get on further with your plan!? I just want to head over to the bakery to pick up some doughnuts or something, since it's been literal days since we've eaten anything!"

"That's right, we all broke out of juvey, and have been on the run from the cops for quite some time." Lightning Dust added. "Doesn't really give us a whole lot of good opportunities to get food."

"At this point, I'm just getting a further idea from looking at these photos you've given us." Rolling Thunder continued looking over her assigned targets. "So you want us to get revenge on your father, I can respect that. Especially since my own dad gave me quite a thrashing after I got straight F's on my report card."

"Yeah, and from what I can gather, dad's now working for some company known as Tartarus Industries." Human Sunset elaborated. "Any of you know where that is?"

"It's on the other side of town, so we'd have to use our stolen car to get that far." Lightning Dust explained. "Is he your priority out of these people?"

"Not really as much as Crystal Prep Academy and... this girl." Human Sunset pointed at the photo of Pony Sunset.

"I don't quite get it, that's just a picture of you!" Lightning Dust said. "I'm confused, you want to get revenge against yourself too?"

"Something like that." Human Sunset replied, based on technicalities of that last statement. "Bottom line is, you all know that girl who apparently stopped Gilda from stealing money from that girl a few nights ago? That girl wasn't me, it was this girl. I found this picture of her when I was at her apartment earlier. In other words, the Sunset Shimmer you actually want revenge on."

"Hey, wait a minute... it looks like my suspicion was correct!" Rolling Thunder spoke up. "So that girl who looks just like you lacked heavy eyeshadow, which you clearly have right now. At least it makes sense now why this girl we kidnapped earlier didn't seem to have any idea what we were talking about, Gilda."

"Well give me a break, Thunder!" Gilda spat. "Can you really blame me, given how they both look pretty alike? And you both sound alike too, so what's up with that?"

"You might think I'm already a crazy girl at this point, but here's where it gets even crazier, now that you're all actually listening to me for the first time." Human Sunset continued. "That Sunset Shimmer... is the one native to some other world called Equestria, and I've read that due to magic and some kind of inbalance effect, it was actually her presence in the world that manifested with the world's magic, causing me to fade out of existence for several years. She's the one who supposedly got into a fight with Gilda several nights ago, and the same girl we're all targeting, now that we have a common enemy. Does that make sense, now?"

The gang girls looked to each other with mixed emotions, before one of them spoke up.

"We already knew you were crazy, but we didn't think you were this crazy." Lightning Dust began.

"Like, we can understand you wanting to get revenge against some school, or a bad parent, but magic and alternate dimensions?" Rolling Thunder added. "Are you sure you haven't been watching too many movies or something, and becoming delusional now?"

"I get that feeling, considering I thought the same about myself when I read certain clues pointing me toward this." Human Sunset said. "All right, if you find this idea too farfetched, how about this then? Let's just say she's my twin sister, who stole my life and identity while I was in a coma for many years. There, does that work better for you?"

"Well, I'm leaning more toward believing that the first idea could be plausible." Gilda began. "For one thing, even during my time in juvey, I've been hearing all kinds of rumors and stories of strange occurrences at CHS, and how there have been claims about one student turning into a literal demon. A lot of these people all over town who've been sharing such a story seemed pretty genuine in the idea that the story was no myth. Considering all the other strange things that happen in this dump of a town, I'm willing to at least consider that a possibility, the idea of magic being involved somewhere."

"If you're curious about where I got these ideas from, here's my evidence." Human Sunset said, before pointing at the two journals she had taken from Equestria. "This journal on the left was written by some Equestrian being named Clover the Clever, and his experiences pretty much confirmed my fears about the other Sunset being here. Now, although I have a reason to exact vengeance toward her for making me lose several years of my life, I'm mostly just wanting to ensure she never comes back, since supposedly, her coming back for another 72 hours will create something far more irreversible. I don't know what it is, and what effect it will have, but from what I can gather, it's connected to magic that found its way into our world."

"Are you being serious right now, or is all this just an amazing pitch for an awesome movie?" Lightning Dust asked.

"I know it's hard to imagine this, but I am being serious." Human Sunset stated firmly. "I just can't risk taking any chances in letting her come back, and I couldn't imagine she'd easily just agree to never return by simply asking her, given how much more popular, rich, and successful her life was compared to mine. That's why I've decided, the best thing we could possibly do is... sabotage the graduation at CHS, and blame it all on her. After which, her standing with everyone would plummet, and she'd have no reason to ever come back again. I'd imagine this would be easy, given how random girls like you three somehow confused me for that heroic Sunset Shimmer girl."

"You want to commit crimes in her name to get her in trouble and make it so she never comes back?" Rolling Thunder understood. "Sounds pretty clever for a kid like you who dropped out of school."

"I'm smarter than you know, it's just that life became unfortunate to where I couldn't ever put my knowledge to good use." Human Sunset said. "But at least now, I'm proving how valuable my brains are, combined with your brute strength. With us joining forces, we'll make everybody pay. The schools, the graduates, and even that Sunset Shimmer girl. That's what you all want too, isn't it?"

"Darn right, it is!" Gilda smirked. "But just to make sure we're on the same page here, if that's Sunset Shimmer, who are you supposed to be?"

"Ironically, I'm also Sunset Shimmer." Human Sunset confessed. "Hence why I've been trying to explain there are two Sunsets, and the one you'll want to target is the same girl who interfered with Gilda's mugging spree. But for simplicity's sake, how about this? From now on, just call me... Sunny."

Human Sunset believed that reusing her previous identity's nickname was an excellent way in differentiating her from the other Sunset, while omitting the 'S.' for the sake of it sounding cooler. She no longer wanted to be reminded of once being that weak and helpless nerd girl at Crystal Prep Academy.

"Alright, nice to officially meet you, Sunny." Rolling Thunder said. "You can call me Thunder, and that's Gilda and Lightning. But you probably already know that by this point?"

"Well of course, she's got ears too, genius!" Lightning Dust said snarkily. "By the way, out of curiosity, what's that other journal there on the right?"

"Oh, this?" Human Sunset pointed at Princess Celestia's old journal, which was previously used to power up the mirror. "It's just some journal I took from Equestria, which was the main reason the portal to Equestria was open indefinitely. It's like... there's normally a time limit of three days and something about waiting every 30 moons... kind of hard to explain. I mostly just took it as a way of preventing some bugs from following me back into this world, but it doesn't seem like it'll be enough to keep Sunset Shimmer out."

"Well alright then." Gilda said, before putting her hand out to Human Sunset. "By this point, do we have a deal, Sunny? You'll be leading our gang now, and feeding us, but we'll all be working together to get revenge against a common enemy? For us, it'll mostly be against Sunset Shimmer and CHS."

"We do." Human Sunset shook Gilda's hand. "Just make sure you don't step out of line, cause if you do, I won't hesitate at teaching you a proper lesson again."

"Trust me, girl." Gilda rolled her eyes. "I've already seen what you're capable of, I mostly just want to get vengeance on Sunset and CHS, considering... if what you've said is true, I got no real beef with you."

"That's what I thought." Human Sunset folded her arms, proudly. "But as your new leader, I'll be a reasonable one, at least. We're probably going to need some energy to pull everything off that I've already planned out. So how about we get some shut-eye and food?"

Human Sunset took another $20 bill, and handed it to the gang girls, just to make sure they'd be well fed with at least $40.

"Well, I guess I could go pick up some doughnuts or tacos." Lightning Dust volunteered. "But just for the record, I still don't really believe this magic and sorcery nonsense."

"Yeah, I'm pretty skeptical of your claims as well." Rolling Thunder said. "You're going to need some more solid proof if we're going to believe this."

"I already believe her, since I've just had this feeling on the existence of magic for a while." Gilda said. "Besides, we gotta listen to our leader who'll eventually lead us to some satisfying revenge. It's just that... if you're going to be our leader from now on, you'll need something that truly shows that, something that sets you apart from the rest of us."

"This dark eyeshadow and these punk clothes aren't enough to convince you?" Human Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"They're good, but... what you really need is a tattoo." Gilda suggested. "The rest of us have tattoos somewhere on our body, what about you?"

"Never really considered getting tattoos, are they worth it?" Human Sunset asked.

"Trust me, girl." Rolling Thunder chimed in. "Tattoos are one way you'll get legitimate respect, and a sign that you're not somebody to be messed with. Besides, I did actually take a temporary job as a tattoo artist before I quit and left, so I can certainly give you some new ink, if you're feeling inclined."

"Look at this, we all got tattoos, yet she doesn't?" Lightning Dust added. "C'mon, you're going to need some tattoos if we're going to take you seriously."

"Alright, fine." Human Sunset agreed. "But you punks aren't gonna order me around, you hear? I'll get a tattoo only because I want to."

"Sure, sure, whatever works for you." Rolling Thunder put her hands up. "Now look, I'll sneak you back to that tattoo parlor I used to work at, while Lightning's going to get some food to hold us all over for the night."

"You girls eat up on your own, I already know where to get my own food." Human Sunset insisted. "Alright, Lightning's getting food, Thunder's going to help me get a tattoo, what are you going to do, Gilda?"

"I'm just thinking about these journals you took from Equestria, and how they explain things relating to magic, it fascinates me." Gilda said. "Have you even read this second journal yet?"

"Nothing other than Clover's old journal, no." Human Sunset replied, before taking a brief glimpse on the inside of the journal she still had yet to read, but was interrupted thanks to those red beetles earlier.

Remembering this, Human Sunset opened Celestia's old journal and took a quick peak, only to mostly find journal entries logged by Princess Celestia, as well as old messages Pony Sunset had written to Princess Twilight, which was able to connect the two worlds. However, since most of these entries didn't really seem to hold much importance, now that Human Sunset felt she already knew everything she needed to know, she simply shrugged it off.

"Even then, it doesn't look like anything in here catches my interest, now that I've learned everything essential to carry these plans out." Human Sunset believed.

"Well then... how about this?" Gilda proposed. "While you three go out and run your errands, I'll stay behind for a while and try learning more about this magic you claim happens to exists in this other world? You never know, I might end up finding something else that could really help us all."

"Whatever works for you, I guess." Human Sunset rolled her eyes. "Make sure you let me know if you find anything yourself, but in the meantime, I need to go get that tattoo."

"Right you do, Sunny." Rolling Thunder said, before escorting Human Sunset out of the basement.

While Rolling Thunder and Human Sunset went off to the old tattoo parlor, Lightning Dust went on her way to pick up food for everyone. As mentioned before, Gilda began digging into Clover's journal to get some insight on this portal and Equestria place, which definitely sounded intriguing to her, based on the various rumors that had been circulating all over town. After all, with a student turning into a literal she-demon, along with the former #1 student at Crystal Prep Academy opening voids that were prominent to destroy both worlds, these occurrences sounded both astonishing and farfetched at the same time. But with how many witnesses were present during these incidents, the staff and students from both CHS and Crystal Prep respectively, there seemed to be much more of a reason to believe it all happened. A few students spreading such a rumor around might've come across as something that could be brushed off, but it really grinded Gilda's gears as to how two whole schools stood by their beliefs that it was all real.

While Gilda and Lightning Dust were carrying on with their motives, Rolling Thunder brought Human Sunset into what looked like a dirty and run-down alleyway. This appeared to be shady at first, so Human Sunset was on her guard, in case Rolling Thunder were to pull a fast one. They began walking down the alleyway, but it almost felt as if something bad was about to happen at any moment.

"This is a weird place to put a tattoo shop, don't you think?" Human Sunset said. "You're not thinking of trying to get somebody to jump me in this dark alley, are you?"

"Pfft, come now." Rolling Thunder rolled her eyes. "You really think me, the girl who dropped out of school because she just couldn't be bothered with the schoolwork anymore, would think to plan something like that? My whole deal is, I'm mostly just lazy to the point of wanting to do nothing except sitting around watching TV all day. I only got a job at this tattoo place because my dad forced me to get one."

"So, does that mean you're going to do a shoddy job at giving me my tattoo?" Human Sunset raised her eyebrow.

"Not at all." Rolling Thunder assured. "Although I had passion in this craft and liked drawing tattoos on people's skin, I didn't like my job's expectations. Having to get up early and only get paid so little in the end? Wasn't happy with my working conditions, so I ended up quitting. But I'm definitely a good tattoo artist, if that's what you're asking. I actually did both Gilda's and Lightning's tattoos, as well as this beauty on my own arm."

Rolling Thunder showed Human Sunset her own tattoo under her sleeve, which admittedly looked impressive, given how she implied she had done it all on her own. It was a flaming thunder bolt with a large scar running down the middle, which seemed to reflect the scars under her left eye, much like her pony counterpart, who was part of the Washouts.

"If you actually did that on your own, I have to say, I'm impressed." Human Sunset did a fist bump with Rolling Thunder.

"Thanks, kid." Rolling Thunder smirked. "And by the way, on the subject of the parlor, we're finally here."

"It's closed, and the door's locked, it seems." Human Sunset tugged on the parlor door's handle. "What are we doing here exactly, if you're capable of doing tattoos on your own?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rolling Thunder asked, rhetorically. "We're here to steal ink and a needle so I can give you that tattoo. I mean, come on. If we're sitting at our hideout starving and on the run from the police, you really think I can afford this special ink?"

"You might now, if you kept that job." Human Sunset said, snarkily. "And hey, you should feel lucky that you even got a job. After I dropped out of school, no place would end up hiring me."

"Yeah, I kinda regret quitting now, especially after my parents kicked me out of their home when I flunked out." Rolling Thunder reflected. "Can't get a good job now that I also got a criminal record, but regardless, I'm on your payroll now, isn't that right, Sunny?"

"You bet, but I'll pay you based on how well I like my tattoo." Human Sunset said. "So for real, don't you think about doing a trash job on this tattoo. If I don't like what I see, let's just say the only thing you'll be going home with is a knuckle sandwich."

"You'll get exactly as you wish, trust me." Rolling Thunder said with a serious expression. "Even though I quit this job, I never returned my key, and my dumb boss never even bothered changing the lock, so..."

Rolling Thunder reached into her pocket to grab the shop's key, unlocked it, and entered back into her old workplace. Human Sunset followed behind, before approaching one of the rooms obstructed by a curtain. Rolling Thunder turned on a light switch, before showing Human Sunset to her chair. Given how the shop seemed like a reasonably normal place, with nothing out of the ordinary, Human Sunset decided it was all right to lower her guard, at least for now. 

"All right, I got the needle and ink ready." Rolling Thunder said with confidence. "I always steal a little ink, so my boss doesn't notice. She doesn't even bother installing security cameras here either, what a joker. But moving past this, have you decided what you wanted yet?"

"Yeah, I think I know now." Human Sunset said, after having a few moments to think it over, before also taking off her jacket. "I want a skull in front of a large flame. Let's just say... it's for a more sentimental reason. And I want it here on my right shoulder."

"Right then, whatever the boss wants!" Rolling Thunder replied, before getting her needle ready.

Internally, Human Sunset wanted this tattoo to symbolize her late mother, Solstice. To her, the skull would symbolize her mother's head, and the flames would represent the tragedies of everything she had to endure before falling ill and passing away. Learning of her only daughter being bullied to the point of dropping out of school, divorcing her husband, and not to mention overworking herself after she unfortunately got laid off from her job. In some ways, the skull also represented Solstice's abrupt death, following everything that happened during that period of Human Sunset's life where everything changed, shortly after she left Crystal Prep Academy. Having this tattoo on her shoulder, represented to Human Sunset that her mother's legacy would forever live on in the strength of her arm, and that everything she had once sacrificed for her daughter's sake would not be in vain.

The tattooing process took several hours, but in the end, the final product from Rolling Thunder's work proved to be promising. The former tattoo artist, despite being out of work for so long, and also exhausted from hunger, somehow managed to deliver exactly what Human Sunset had requested, a flaming skull that not only looked rebellious, but also true to what she was hoping it would symbolize internally for her. As such, Human Sunset smiled upon seeing Rolling Thunder's work, before getting off the chair, and occasionally still wincing at the pain the needle had inflicted during the tattooing process.

"Pretty nice work, girl." Human Sunset said to Rolling Thunder before putting her jacket back on.

"Pretty nice?" Rolling Thunder asked with a little offense. "Oh, boo-hoo. I feel so insulted."

"Fine, you did an amazing job, the best I've seen, actually." Human Sunset rolled her eyes, before taking a $50 bill out of her jacket and handed it to Rolling Thunder. "Here, you've really earned this."

"Thanks, boss!" Rolling Thunder happily accepted her reward. "To be honest, this is actually a lot more than my boss paid me in a single day. Needless to say, I might hate working, but I'll never hate anything more than stingy bosses."

"Well, good thing you're working for me now!" Human Sunset said proudly to the former tattoo artist. "Pretty satisfied with what you can do, you definitely deserve a good pay with this kind of talent."

"Alright, now that this is done, I guess we should head back to our hideout-" Rolling Thunder began, but her eyes widened when she heard the front door to the parlor somehow open.

The owner of the tattoo parlor had kicked her front door open and entered with an enraged expression on her face. She had a mohawk, leather jacket, and also a sledgehammer in her grip. It was actually unknown to Rolling Thunder at the time, but her former boss was actually one step ahead of her this time around, after realizing that supplies from her shop were in fact, mysteriously vanishing. Due to this oddity, the owner had secretly set up a motion detector at her parlor's entrance, which had alerted her while Human Sunset was getting her tattoo. The owner then made her presence known by shouting toward the one room she noticed had a light on.

"There you thieves are!" The owner shouted, before pointing toward the lit room. "Whoever's in there, you must be the ones responsible for depleting my shop's ink supply! And even if you aren't, get ready to eat a sledgehammer for trespassing! Good thing I installed some motion detectors around here lately!"

Human Sunset and Rolling Thunder began to panic, but mostly out of fear that the owner had brought a sledgehammer. They knew that as tough as they both were, neither of them were capable of blocking a sledgehammer's blow, especially to their skulls. There was also no window in the room either, making it so escaping would definitely be problematic. Before long, the owner ripped down the curtain obstructing the tattooing room and took notice of the two girls.



"Well well well... if it isn't my old employee." The owner said to Rolling Thunder. "I wasn't kidding when I said you'd need to pay for those exotic inks, but since you can't pay with money, looks like you'll both pay with your lives instead!"

"W-Wait a second!" Rolling Thunder said out of desperation for her life. "My friend here has $500 cash on hand! Would you be willing to forgive us if we pay you that much?"

"That's a start, but to cover all the foreign inks you've depleted, I expect at least $1,000!" The owner demanded.

This was problematic, as by this point, Human Sunset only had a little over $600 on hand, meaning that bargaining for their lives was certainly out of the question. As a result, Rolling Thunder mostly did a subtle wink to Human Sunset, before turning back to the owner.

"O-Okay, how about as a down payment, we'll give you $500 now, and pay the other half tomorrow?" Rolling Thunder proposed. "We promise!"

"If this is a lie, so help me..." The owner's eye twitched. "I'm betting you punks don't even have $500 cash on hand right now either!"

"No, we do!" Human Sunset said, as she took the $500 from her jacket and handed it to the owner.

"Hmph, all right, fine." The owner huffed. "You punks are lucky I'm not calling the cops on you, but you'd better make sure you pay me the other half within 24 hours! Also, you're both banned from my parlor from now on, so don't think of coming back again even after you've repaid your debt! Now, let me count this up and make sure these bills aren't counterfeit."

As the owner set her sledgehammer down temporarily to count the cash, Rolling Thunder then did another subtle wink at Human Sunset, letting her know that everything was going according to plan. With the owner too focused on the cash in her hand, she was unable to anticipate Rolling Thunder's next move, in which she quickly grabbed a nearby tattooing tool and whacked it over the owner's head, stunning her temporarily, and dropping the cash that was in her grip.

"Remember, if you're going to be our leader, we need that cash!" Rolling Thunder pointed at the bills scattered along the floor. "Quickly, before she gets back up!"

Human Sunset quickly grabbed all the bills off of the floor before preparing to make a run for it. If their escape was successful, Human Sunset would've gotten a sweet new tattoo at the excellent, bargain price of free. Thankfully, Rolling Thunder's sudden attack to the owner was just enough to keep her down after the money had been taken back. The owner then got up, before barely catching a glimpse of the two girls finally exiting her parlor.

"You dirty little punks!" The owner roared whilst waving her fist in anger at being played for a fool. "If I ever see either of you again, oh ho ho... you'll wish for something more pleasant than a concussion once I'm through with you!"

The two girls ran far away, desperate to evade the owner by any means necessary. Once they've fled far enough, confident that they were out of harm's way for now, they breathed a sigh of relief and also looked at each other in satisfaction at their teamwork to make it out of that situation unscaved, especially since they didn't actually have $1,000. By this point, Human Sunset had a nice feeling in her gut from how well she seemed to be getting along with Rolling Thunder. Was this what having a friend was like, the very things she foolishly decided to never make when she was an actual student in school? 

As a result of these sudden emotions, it only seemed like a silly feeling that this gang girl could be her friend, given how Human Sunset primarily got these girls to stick by her side out of pure force, not because they actually liked her. For that matter, had they not shared the common enemy in the form of Sunset Shimmer, or if Human Sunset wasn't paying them for their services in her quest to get revenge, would things be very different? Regardless, for the very first time in her life, it still felt nice being acknowledged and accepted as a friend, something that she never had, other than her mother. Whether or not these gang girls would be genuine in that respect, it didn't matter now. Human Sunset was at least happy she finally began to embrace a friendship with somebody else, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

"Good work back there, kid." Rolling Thunder said with approval. "I guess you could say, high risk with high reward can still be worth it in the end."

"I guess so." Human Sunset agreed, although she was mostly just relieved her skull wasn't cracked open. "Well, it was a lot of trouble to get this tattoo, but we have to plan out our next moves when it comes to getting revenge on those people I mentioned. I'm going to head home for now, so you should go on ahead back to your hideout, get some food from Lightning, and call it a night. You're going to need your strength for when we got actual work to do. And of course, you'll get rewarded nicely for your efforts."

"As you say, boss!" Rolling Thunder nodded her head in approval, as both girls began making their ways back to their respective destinations.





Back at the Street Gang's hideout, Gilda was continuing to do research on her own time, as she had already skimmed through Clover's old journal, reading up on nearly everything Human Sunset had read earlier while she was in the Canterlot library's restricted section. For the most part, although it all sounded fascinating, and helped her understand where such magic had come from, it didn't really seem interesting to her. The inbalance effect seemed inconsequential on her end, given how Gilda didn't have to worry about fading out of existence, let alone dealing with the irreversible effect that Clover inevitably ended up going through himself. That said, assuming that everything written in this journal was legitimate, it gave a lot of answers to questions she had been pondering for a while, as well as the confirmation that Human Sunset most likely wasn't crazy with her ambition to keep Pony Sunset out. At least, Gilda began to surmise that Sunset Shimmer was the Pony Sunset, based on the other entries she had already read so far.

While reading all the way through, Gilda eventually came across the entry that touched upon Clover defeating the sorceress, and trapping her in this world. This didn't seem important at first, given how Gilda was primarily focusing on learning any further crucial details regarding magic, and how it all worked. However, one thing that stood out in this particular entry, was the fact that Clover specifically mentioned he had hid the coffin in an abandoned old mine within a wooded area. Gilda definitely recalled that during the days in which she was a graverobber, she distinctly remembered finding something that matched this exact description. She always noticed this unusual cave near Camp Everfree, which almost looked like it had an entrance at the front. For one reason or another, that entrance was unfortunately caved in, making it so nobody would realistically be able to get inside. But the fact that Gilda actually managed to find what looked like a mine in an empty wooded area, it was entirely possible that this was where Clover buried the coffin, given how his entries never hinted at him traveling far.

Feeling as if she had read enough, Gilda set Clover's old journal aside, primarily to then put her focus on the other journal that once belonged to Princess Celestia, and was used by Princess Twilight to open the portal indefinitely, without needing to wait every 30 moons. Gilda was skimming through most of the entries written by Princess Celestia, which mostly documented events and daily logs for when she just started out ruling Equestria with her sister. Gilda mostly felt uninterested in reading these entries, since it mostly appeared to be irrelevant to anything regarding the magic she wanted to understand. That was until, she came across one particular entry, written by Princess Celestia herself.

Princess's Log, Day 15
It's been a few days since I've begun trying to figure out the mystery behind why specifically I should prohibit anypony from entering this mirror, which I've only recently discovered appears to be a portal into another world. I genuinely feel like I should know it has something to do with upsetting the balance between the two worlds, but I've somehow forgotten. While doing some research, I decided to ask Clover the Clever if he knew anything, and he only mentioned it might have something to do with that sorceress he trapped. It would make sense, given how cunning I remember that sorceress truly was. I specifically remember how she awoke, as it was due to an excavator pony discovering this ancient coffin. When they awoke her, she mentioned that although the coffin was now open, she was not able to leave until she granted one wish to the pony. As such, she promised the pony she'd grant one wish for absolutely anything in Equestria without any limitations.


This was all that was written on this particular journal log, and for unknown reasons, the bottom half of the page was ripped out of the journal. Regardless, this new knowledge had planted a seed of evil within Gilda's brain, as she realized a potential plot that would benefit her, and her only. She already knew of this abandoned mine's location, given it was the only place around here that remotely matched Clover's vague description at where he had hidden the coffin. Potential doom to the city by helping the sorceress escape was not of her concern, especially since she had no real care for what happened to the outside world. Instead, Gilda believed that any damage done by the sorceress by letting her escape would be the ultimate form of payback toward everybody, especially with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pony Sunset, and even Human Sunset too.

Gilda definitely still wanted definitive personal revenge toward Human Sunset, especially after she had beaten her gang up and took her stolen cash, even if she gave it up voluntarily. Although Gilda already knew she was certainly outmatched by Human Sunset as far as physical strength, that didn't seem to matter at all anymore. If Gilda were to reawaken this sorceress, who would then grant her a limitless wish as a sign of her gratitude, Gilda could potentially wish for herself to become omnipotent, even being able to eventually surpass her. By this point, Gilda decided that even if she were to join forces with Human Sunset, she'd do so mostly for the sake of helping her get revenge on CHS, primarily because she had a personal vendetta against Pony Sunset, as well as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. But after the masquerade was over, she could then backstab Human Sunset at the last minute, awaken the sorceress, and get one free wish that could theoretically let her get revenge on any living being she wanted.

Gilda then heard the basement's door open, which was Lightning Dust returning with food, accompanied by Rolling Thunder, after escaping that tattoo parlor owner with Human Sunset. Given how Gilda wanted this potential wish from the sorceress all to herself, she mostly kept this knowledge to herself, as she ripped the page out of the old journal and tucked it into her jeans, much like she did with Lily Pad's phone. She then set the journal down and rubbed her hands together evilly, thinking that she'd eventually get anything she wanted after awaking this supposed phantom menace...