//------------------------------// // Prologue 3: The Regretful Sun // Story: Heroes of Harmony // by Nova Arc //------------------------------// She wanted power. She wanted control. She wanted to prove a point. She wanted it all. She went overboard. Then, she made it up to everyone she may have hurt. At first, she could've gone home anytime she wanted, but she decided to rectify her mistakes here first. After the Battle of the Bands, she had opted for a monitoring project Principal Celestia had suggested for another metahuman they were "containing". Now, she didn't know if she was an immigrant or a prisoner. She lived in a fairly comfortable room. 15-by-20-by-15 feet in dimension, furnished with a comfortable bed, desk and chair, an LCD TV with cable, and a shelves of books, since she really loved reading, and got three square meals a day, not counting snacks she got or the ones in the fridge in the corner of the room. There was a slight hitch, though: she was several thousand feet in the air. She was surrounded by thick everything-proof walls made out of who-knows-what with only one entrance. But at least she wasn't given a bucket for a bathroom. She got up from her bed and walked over to the shelf. She was done with the current batch. They brought her new books whenever she finished the old ones. She could ask for anything, the could talk to visitors; she just couldn't leave. Sure, it was comfy, but the last person that was in there, the first friend she had outside the other five, now six, girls, made a good point: "A gilded cage is still a cage." She sighed, picking up a book she was done with, but liked. Before she could lay down on her bed, she heard a voice on the speaker hovering above her door. "Sunset Shimmer." Sunset looked up, awaiting the announcement. "You have some visitors," said the voice as the door clicked open. She changed from her pajamas to a pink shirt, orange khaki shorts, and orang flip-flops and walked out to the meeting room. She was glad to have visitors, but the only person that ever really came down to see her was... "Twilight!" Sunset hugged the girl. At least they didn't have to talk through a glass barrier, but they couldn't leave the spacious monochrome room they were in. It was weird at first, since this wasn't the Twilight from her dimension, but the one from the dimension she was in now. But after getting to know her and an info dump spell from the Princess, this Twilight soon grew close to Sunset. "How have you been?" "Not bad," replied Twilight. "Do I need to ask?" "If you did, I'd say bored." They laughed. "So, anything new?" she asked as they walked around the room. "Well, we stopped a monster attack yesterday. This time it was a giant crocodile with rock-hard skin and jaw strength that could give a hippo-hyena hybrid a run for it's money." "Hehe. Sounds like it was fun." "Well, Rarity got mad when it ate her and messed up her hair and punched it so hard she cracked it's jaw, then threatened to make a purse and boots out of it before it dissipated, so there's that." Sunset giggled. "But I also have two more pieces of good news. First off, we just recruited a new metahuman." They turned to face the entrance to the meeting room and in walked a boy with white hair with blue highlights on the right side and pink on the left. He wore a bright blue sweat shirt under a sleeveless gray hoodie, black khakis, and blue sneakers. "Hey," said the boy, waving. "Sparks!" Sunset said, excitedly. "You agreed?" "Well, beats the alternative. Don't worry. She hasn't seen all my tricks yet," he added, gesturing to Twilight. "But I know them," said Twilight. "Not all of 'em," he replied. Sunset turned to Twilight. "So, what's the other good news." Twilight smiled. "You're getting out." The words hit Sunset like a cannonball. "Huh?" Twilight only smiled and nodded. Sunset barely managed to contain her joy. After three months that felt like three years, she was finally getting out. After switching her flip-flops for a pair of sneakers, Sunset followed the other two outside. They now stood on top of the Alicorn, one of MLP's carrier airships, which had descended and was now floating on the ocean. It had been a while since she felt the warmth of the sun and the cool of the breeze. It felt amazing. "So," Twilight said as they walked over to the garage, "What do you want to do first?" "Where do I start?" asked Sunset, just before her stomach growled. "Hehe. I, um, kinda skipped on breakfast today," she said blushing. "Then let's take care of that first." Twilight swiped her ID over a scanner and the garage door opened, revealing a fleet of vehicles. But the one that caught Sunset was a black and orange motorcycle with a burning sun motif on the wheels and grinning flames on the side. "I don't believe it," she said, running to the machine. "They actually kept it?" "And made a few improvements," Twilight added. "How about you take it for a test run?" "What about you?" "I thought I'd just... ride on the back?" Twilight asked nervously. "Sure. And you?" she asked looking at Sparks. "I dunno," he replied walking over to another bike with thicker wheels. This one was blue and yellow with hot pink accents. "Maybe this one. It has been a while." He got on and started it. It roared as he revved the engine. "Ready?" "Wait a minute," said Sunset, "We're on water." "Which is why they tricked out the bikes... and I did some tweaking myself," Sparks replied. They rolled over to the edge of the carrier, but Sparks didn't stop. He rode right into the ocean below. As it did, the wheels turned 90° and a the bottom glowed as ripples formed beneath him. "Working in a auto shop really give you time to learn a lot about tweaking bikes." "Sweet," said Sunset as she rode into the water, her bike transforming in a similar manner. Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were in San Franciscolt, specifically at a bayside eatery, each of them enjoying a bowl of clam chowder and calamari. "O. M. G," said Sunset as she finished, "It has been ages since I had anything that good." "Well, they weren't feeding you sludge," said Twilight. "No, but it wasn't exactly an all-you-can-eat buffet." "But, you could've asked for just about anything, right?" Twilight asked, confused. "Yeah, well, under those circumstances, you're usually either too scared or too cautious to ask for anything more than a pizza or Chineighese take-out." "True that," Sparks said, tossing his last calamari into his mouth. "Well, not sure what else to do. Not a lot has happened in two months." "Why don't we go to the auto shop?" asked Sunset. "Meh. I have a better idea," Sparks said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "How about we go on a patrol?" The girls looked at him like he was insane. "Are you insane?" Twilight asked quietly, so as to not draw attention to them. "We're unsanctioned. Director Celestia will kill us. We've never seen her angry, and I personally don't want to." "We're bored and taking initiative and she won't kill us," he replied. "Beside," he turned to Sunset, "Some of us could us the opportunity to practice using our powers and fixing up our image... secretly." Sunset shifted in her seat. "Come on. If I'm getting back this quickly after what I did, what's your excuse?" "I..." She had none. "... Think it's a good idea." Twilight stared at her in disbelief. "Well, I'm not getting involved in this insanity. You can drop me off at the carrier." A few moments later... "This is not the way to the carrier." Soon, they were driving down the streets of San Franciscolt. "We are so dead." "Come on," said Sparks. "Where's your sense of adventure?" As he finished, there was an alert on the bike's built-in radio. "We have an Everfreed situation in progress in sector eight. Class 5. MLP units in the area, please respond." Sparks picked up his radio. "Command, we are en route." Immediately came the response. "Confirmed. Sending backup and clean-up crew." Twilight stared at him in disbelief. "Well, can't do anything about that now." "Yes we can," said Twilight. "We can turn back and say we can't make it." They soon arrived at a park, which had been emptied of people. MLP agents were armed and ready, but there was no sign of the Everfreed. "So," Sunset said as she got off her bike and walked over, "Where's the big, bad Class 5?" Sparks got off his bike and froze. He had felt it. "It's... beneath us..." Suddenly, the creature burst from the ground and crashed in front of them. They stared up at the 15-foot-tall being. It's gray skin was brightened by a variety of gems which covered its lower arms and legs, spiked around it's neck, and two large ones on its back. "Great. A golem." As the golem roared, Sparks took the first shot, firing a bolt of dark pink energy at it, causing it to topple back and a glowing burn mark to appear on it's chest. Sunset didn't give it the chance to get off it's knee. She put her hands by her side and golden energy spiraled around her. She flung the energy at the creature, followed by a barrage of solar energy blasts. As she did, Twilight prepared to cast a spell, her hands glowing and sparking with energy. "NOW!" She shouted, signaling for Sunset to back away. As Sunset jumped back, Twilight fired a glowing, purple chain from her hands and wrapped it round the golem, who roared and struggled to break free. "Gah! It's too strong," she said as the rock monster broke the chains, sending Twilight flying back. "Twilight!" Sunset ran over to catch her and was knocked to the floor in the process. They rolled to dodge a barrage of gems it fired at them. As it approached, Sunset continued firing solar blasts at it, which it deflected by turning the gems on it's arm into a shield. "Great," said Sunset, "This one is sentient." She and Twilight retreated and fired, trying to get to safety, wherever that was. The golem hammered the ground, causing massive cracks and fissures. As it got up, it was hit by a powerful uppercut. It stumbled back and it finally regained it's balance and saw Sparks. This time, his hands were covered in silver energy. It roared and attacked, flinging rocks and gems at him, all of which Sparks dodge or smashed, leaving only a trail of blue, silver, and pink streaks. "Anytime now, girls," he said as he ran and dodged the attacks. "Sometime this year would be nice." As the golem raised it's arms for another hammer attack, a golden-yellow chain and a purple chain caught it's arms and pulled them to it's side. The girls ran around the creature, dodging the rock pillars it created in their path and using them to their advantage. Once it was tied up, they pinned the chains down. Agents approached as they prepared to finish it off. "Sunset," said Sparks, "If you please." Sunset charged and solar bolt in one hand and magic in another, combing the yellow and teal energies together before firing at the Evefreed, causing a massive explosion. As it struggled to maintain its balance, Sparks walked over to it and touched its leg. An odd ripple appeared round his hand and the creature's leg cracked, followed by the groan and fall of the mighty creature. "How the mighty fall," said Sunset. "Are all creatures in Equestria this... savage?" asked Twilight, as they got back on their bikes. "Besides the, well, Equestrians I mean." "Nah," she replied. "Actually, golems are pretty peaceful there. But manticores, chimera, hydras, cragodiles, and most dragons are something to worry about." "Most?" "You've met the other Twilight's Spike, haven't you?" "Good point." Back on the Alicorn... "This was supposed to be an outing, not a patrol session. You were supposed to have fun and relax, not "test your abilities". Do you realize how many regulations you went against in the course of the hour you were out? Not to mention that it was a Class 5 Everfreed you went up against?" Director Celestia was calm, but the three knew she was upset. They hung their heads, waiting to receive the penalty for their "initiative". "Did you have fun?" The three looked up at Celestia in confusion. "Well?" "Um, yeah. Kinda," said Sunset. Celestia smiled. "Them I'm glad." Now they were even more confused. "So, you didn't exactly disobey my order to have fun. Plus, you handled yourself well against a Class 5." Sunset smiled. It was pretty much what her Celestia would do, make them worry over nothing with her crazy logic. "As for your... initiative..." They froze. "... Good work." Sunset grinned as they walked out. "Classic Celestia," she said. "I guess even across dimensions, some things are just constant."