//------------------------------// // War! Sunsetta Vs. He of Pure Disdain! // Story: Maho-Shojo Sunsetta!!! // by Vocal Chord //------------------------------// It's Monday, and after a long weekend of interesting events, Sunset Shimmer returns to school feeling like a million bits. Little does she realize her biggest battle yet is about to begin... Good luck, Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! You're going to need it. Sunset walked to school on the most perfect Monday imaginable. Not that that's saying much, but it truly was a Monday so glorious that it felt like the first day of summer vacation. The sun was shining down, yet somehow not shining directly into anyone's eye sockets. The light shower the day before had washed the dust away, and everything was brighter and clearer. The morning mist was low enough that a refreshing cool blanketed everything without an annoying breeze messing up peoples' hair, and it was so quiet that Sunset almost fell asleep walking. Basically, it was a really good day. At the moment... Mikah-Hakim Control Bridge "I believe we are ready for Sunsetta. We have enough information to generate a plausible attack plan." "And I've personally made sure our avatar is actually competent this time." "Then we are ready. Send down the airship. It's time we laid siege to Sunsetta." "You can't lay siege to a person, moron." "Sorry, boss." Back on Earth Sunset walked into the school with a smile on her face. "I feel good about today," she said. "It just feels like it's gonna be a great day." "I know, right?" Rainbow walked up to her. "Just this morning, I was out getting breakfast, and the machine gave me two bags of chips instead of one! How cool is that?" "You get breakfast from a vending machine?" asked Sunset. Rainbow blinked. "What? No. I got my breakfast from Stewey's All-You-Can-Eat Utopia in the mall. The chips were on a whim." "So you eat breakfast in a mall?" "It's close to my house, and we're out of food that doesn't require preparation." A blanket of storm clouds drifted over the sky, which Sunset noticed as she sat down for lunch. "Doesn't it look like rain?" she asked. "I didn't bring an umbrella." "Hopefully it's not," agreed Rarity. "Rain does horrors to my hairstyle." "Ah don't care," said Applejack. "Ah could use a bath. It's just lucky Ah get it on the way home from school." Thunder cracked. "Now that's just ominous," said Sunset. "And it was so nice out earlier." "Hopefully this is just a storm and has nothing to do with *ahem* Maho-Shojo Sunsetta," said Rarity. "The saving-the-world part is nice, but one day, somebody's going to come after you. Harshly." "If it's that games director lady, Harshwhinny, I wouldn't be surprised," said Pinkie. "She must've bought a bed with two wrong sides, 'cause that's where she always wakes up." "I highly doubt Mrs. Harshwhinny is going to try to kill--" Sunset was interrupted as a blast of lightning blew out the cafeteria windows. "Ow! My ears! What--" "Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! Show yourself!" "Just...great..." Sunset stood up. "What now?" A black storm cloud entered the room and wrapped around Sunset, trapping her in place and drenching her. "Surrender to us, and we'll go easy on you," said a snobbish voice. "Or, at least try to," added another, female voice. "No guarantees." "Could you at least tell me who you are?" asked Sunset. "Talking to the ceiling is getting old." "Of course," said the first voice, and two figures stepped in through the broken window. "I believe introductions aren't in order." "Jet Set!" gasped Sunset. "And...someone else!" "My name's Lightning Dust and you know it!" "Is this about the beans?" asked Sunset. "'Cause I'm totally not sorry about that." "It isn't about the *shiver* beans..." Jet Set sneered. "It's about the Shimmering Sapphire! I and Dust are the final two members of the Green Pentagon! We're here to claim the Sapphire for the glory of Space and all its empires!" "And I'm helping!" said Lightning Dust. Sunset rolled her eyes. "And I should be scared of you because?" Lightning Dust held up her hands. A bolt of lightning flashed between them. "Three hundred thousand kilovolts," she said, "plus human spine. Do the math." "Yeah, but Jet Set?" asked Sunset. "What's he do, move clouds?" "Move..." Jet Set floated up on a cloud. "Manipulate...absorb...all kinds of weather. I could freeze you in a blizzard, drown you in a flash flood, dissolve you with acid rain! Together, we are..." They did a pose. Not unlike Team Sprocket from Ponymon, noted Sunset. "Team Natural Disaster!" "That pose is a natural disaster..." muttered Sunset. "Well, let's get this over with. Maho-Shojo! Transform!" Fire and lightning burst into existence, shrouding Sunset in chaos. Out from the bubble of fiery power stepped Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, Sword in hand and ready for mortal combat. "Fear me, villains! I am Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, and I'm considering posting a suggestions box online, 'cause I have yet to say anything even remotely catch-phrase-ey when I transform!" "That 'I-don't-have-a-catchphrase' was too long," said Jet Set. "Prepare to die of natural causes!" "If that's the best you can do, you won't even need to use your powers to kill me," replied Sunset. "Let's see...what haven't I used..." She closed her eyes. "Welcome back to the Shimmering Sapphire User's Guide! Today only, get two for the price of one on all Shimmering Sapphire merchandise, such as this handy Shimmering Sapphire coffee maker and donut slicer combo! Current active abilities: [Fire Ball]--Active [Firewall]--Active [Sword of One Thousand Swords]--Active [Firewing Flight]--Active [Micro Sun Blast]--Active [Press 'B' to return to the main menu] "Firewing Flight? Sounds hot." Sunset concentrated. With a blast of light and fire, a pair of blazing wings erupted from her back. "Firewing Flight wears off after fifteen minutes. Firewing Flight is not right for everyone. Consult your doctor before using Firewing Flight or while using Firewing Flight while nursing or pregnant. Do not use Firewing Flight while taking Azurath, Trifectorate, Chlorophobin, or Methylethyltrinitride. If you or a loved one has suffered blisters, burns, blood clots, or death after using Firewing Flight, please call 1-800-515-4404." Sunset flew up and out of the school window, preparing the Sword for a blast of fire. Jet Set and Lightning Dust followed after her, only to be stopped short as Sunset blowtorched the ground in front of them. "Too hot for you?" asked Sunset. "Not at all!" replied Jet Set. "In fact, I think you need to cool down!" A torrential downpour appeared out of nowhere, causing Sunset's Firewing to burst into steam. "I'm not gonna be airborne much longer," she said. "Think, think...got it!" She blasted a fireball into the air, where it burst into steam, raising an excellent smokescreen. "I can't see a thing!" shouted Lightning Dust. "Jet, clear this crud away so I can get a clear shot!" Jet Set summoned a mighty wind, but by the time the smoke was gone, Sunset was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she--" Jet Set was cut off as a Micro Sun Blast hit him square in the back, knocking him clear into the faculty parking lot, where his head had an unfriendly meeting with Celestia's car's windshield. One broke. It wasn't the windshield. "Gotcha!" Lightning Dust turned around. Sunset was unable to do anything when a blast of electricity coursed through her, knocking her unconscious. A victorious Lightning Dust stood above Sunset's de-transformed body, grinning evilly. "I win," she said to the smoldering girl below her boot. "Consequently, you lose, Sunsetta." She lobbed Sunset over her shoulder and walked out into the street. "Take me up!" she shouted to the sky. "I've got her!" A bean of deep purple light blasted between the thunderclouds and lifted the Dust and her prey into the sky, lightning flashing behind them in a way that would be perfect for a dramatic cliff hanger. Far below, on the ground, most of the student body stared up in horror at the defeat of Maho-Shojo Sunsetta. Principal Celestia walked out into the field. She lifted a hand to her heart. "Sunset Shimmer, may Faust be with you, wherever you are. You're going to need it." Maho-Shojo Sunsetta defeated?! CHS thrust into disarray?! Will the Mikah-Hakim finally conquer Earth? Will Sunset Shimmer emerge victorious? Will Jet Set ever recover from that concussion? Find out in the next thrilling installment of... Maho-Shojo Sunsetta!