"H-he literally chopped off that guy's head off...."
Indigo Zap started to shake as she choked out those words. She and her friends sat near the statue at Canterlot High, which also served as the portal to the pony universe. After the horrifying incident that occurred a while ago, the girls were completely terrified to say the least. Indigo was pacing back and forth as she placed her sweating palms on her head. Lemon Zest started to cry as she leaned against the statue, covering her eyes with her hands with a scared Sunny Flare comforting her. Sour Sweet was at a nearby bush, vomiting with a frightened look on her face. Twilight Sparkle and Sugarcoat sat near the statue with blank, traumatized looks on their faces.
"This is my fault." Twilight sobbed as she covered her face with her shaken hands. "I dragged myself and you girls into this! I messed up just like in Friendship Games."
"Damnit Twilight." Sugarcoat interrupted as she quickly wiped the tears from her face and placed a firm but comforting hand on Twilight's shoulder. "We told you this a million times. It wasn't your fault! We agreed to do this. To help you! Please stop blaming yourself! You didn't do anything wrong!"
"Sugar's right, Twi!" Indigo Zap added as she stopped pacing around. "We're your friends. Though...not the best friends...considering what happened in the Friendship Games....ARGH! What I'm saying is that you have to stop blaming yourself!"
"Considering she led us to the Wifi Pal-" A bitter looking Sour Sweet was unable to finish her sentence as Indigo frowned and punched her shoulder, causing the yellow girl to quickly change her expression to an encouraging one. "The girls are right! You gotta stop with the whole 'It's my fault' thing!"
"You're an awesome girl, Twilight!" Sunny Flare exclaimed, placing a hand on Twilight's back. "Don't think you're otherwise!"
"Yeah! I mean, who else can do math and do all sorts of school stuff everyone can't do!? You're awesome!!!" Lemon Zest exclaimed, hugging Twilight despite both of them being scared.
"Thank you girls." Twilight Sparkle sniffed. "You truly are good friends."
"Look! They're here!"
The rest of the Shadowbolts and Twilight turned to where Sunny Flare was pointing and saw six girls running towards them. Sunset Shimmer ran to the scared girls and panted for breath as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity (with Spike the dog in her arms) arrived near the statue.
"We got your text and came as soon as possible!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she gasped for more air.
"What happened?" Fluttershy asked with a concerned look on her face. "You girls look like you've seen a ghost! Ummm, ghosts are supposed to be fake, right?"
"We saw something worse than ghosts. Don't worry, they're not real." Sour Sweet answered with a shaky smile before it turned to a frantic expression. "WE JUST SAW THE CHICKEN MASKED KILLER!!!"
"Calm down there sugarcube." Applejack said, patting Sour Sweet's back. "Wait, you SAW the killer!?"
"Wait, go back from the beginning." Sunset said as Twilight sniffed a bit before she slowly answered the question.
"Well, I heard that the killings were getting out of hand as they weren't directed towards Tirek's gang, so I did some research..."
"Wait, you did research on this?" Sunset said in dismay as she let out a firm look on her face. "Twilight, this is dangerous, you shouldn't get involved in this!"
"I know...but I couldn't just sit by and watch it from the sidelines!"
Twilight sniffed a bit before she shook her head and continued.
"We went to the Wifi Palace since the research I had said something about that place having any information on Tirek's gang. I found nothing there and we were gonna get out of there until..."
"Two men and a woman came into the cafe." Sugarcoat continued, knowing Twilight was no mood to talk at the moment. "They were about to kill us, but then...the chicken-masked killer appeared."
"H-h-he just killed them like THAT." Lemon Zest said, snapping her fingers when she said the last word of her sentence. "Afterwards, he just left."
"What did these three people look like?" Rainbow Dash asked the Shadowbolts.
"Well, they were wearing masks." Sunny Flare answered. "An eagle, warthog, and dragon mask if I am correct."
"Wait, eagle, warthog, and dragon?" Sunset asked as she raised an eyebrow. After seeing the girls nodded their heads, she continued, "Was one of them a skinny one, the other a burly one, and the last one a girl?"
"Yeah..." Sour Sweet answered until her face turned to confusion. "Wait, how did you know?"
Sunset did not answer as she turned around with a look of realization on her face. "They must be the ones Scorpan talked about..." She said to herself, yet her words did not fell on deaf ears.
"Scorpan? Ya mean that guy who leads that gang?" Applejack asked as the girls looked at each other.
"Sunset, what are you talking about?" Fluttershy asked.
Sunset broke out of her thoughts and turned to the girls. They were giving her mixed looks of confusion and suspicion. Realizing what she had just said out loud, she decided to tell the girls the truth.
"Well, looks like I have no choice but to tell you girls." Sunset Shimmer explained as she leaned against the statue with folded arms across her chest. "It happened a while ago today..."
3:13 PM
Two gangsters leaned against the concrete wall, spectating Svengallop's bar. One of them pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, igniting it before offering one to his companion. He declined as he crossed his arms and continued to watch the bar.
"What do ya think the boss is gonna do to Svengallop?" One of the gangsters asked.
"The boss likes listening to Coloratura." The other gangster responded. "Svengallop is fucked. I mean, he made Coloratura into THAT."
The other gangster laughed as he continued to spectate the bar. After a couple more minutes or so, they spotted Scorpan walking out of the bar with a bored look on his face along with his clothes being torn up a bit. Before the gangsters could ask, Scorpan quickly spoke up.
"Let's go."
The thugs shrugged as they quietly followed their stoic leader. Eventually, after more walking, one of the gangsters spoke up.
"Is Svengallop...dead?"
Scorpan did not slow down his walking nor did he look at the gangster. Regardless, he nonchalantly answered the man's question.
"He's not dead. He wishes he was dead though. No way I'm giving him that privilege."
"So...what now?" The other gangster asked as he flicked off his cigarette.
"We have a lead." Scorpan replied as he cracked his knuckles and growled. "I'm going to pay a nice visit to my brother..."
"Scorpan!"
The gangsters and Scorpan turned around when they heard the sound of a teenage girl calling to them.
"Oh great. It's her." The brown teenager grumbled at the sight of Sunset Shimmer running towards him. As soon as she caught up with him, she stopped for a brief moment to catch her breath as Scorpan folded his arms and glared at the girl.
"Sunset Shimmer. What a surprise. I'm guessing you're not here to say hello."
"You're right." Sunset Shimmer said as she took a deep breath. "More reports about your gang being attacked are popping up. I know you didn't just sit around and do nothing. You got to have at least some lead or information about this! I know this is a bad time, but please, you have to tell me something!"
"Sunset, I thought I told you at the arcade last time." Scorpan hissed at Sunset. "Don't get involved in this mess. You're gonna yourself killed."
"I don't care!" Sunset angrily spat out. "A teacher was injured and a student was hospitalized during this mess! I can't just let it happen and not try at least something!"
Sunset calmed herself down as she continued. "Please. You're the only one I know who must have something to tell me about this."
"This is suicide, Sunset." Scorpan bluntly answered as he turned around. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do about it."
He began to walk away with his eyes closed, only to stop walking and have his eyes slowly open when he saw Sunset Shimmer in his way with her arms out and a determined and persistent frown on her face.
"I don't want my school to suffer anymore. Please, I know you have at least something useful. I'm not leaving unless you tell me something."
The two gangsters growled at the teenage girl and charged at her. Sunset grabbed one of them and punched him in the stomach as she kicked the other thug in the shins before shoving them against each other, causing them to fall to the ground in pain. She looked down at the gangsters momentarily before she looked up to see an indifferent Scorpan who continued to stare at her without changing any emotion.
"You REALLY want to protect your school?" He said after a short silence between the boy and girl.
Sunset nodded.
"How willing are you to protect it?"
"I'm willing to put my own life to protect my school."
Scorpan's eyes narrowed at the girl. Sunset Shimmer continued to stand up and frown at the teenage boy, despite feeling a twinge of fear and nervousness inside her. Scorpan continued to stare at the girl as he lifted up his hand and gave a loud snap with his fingers.
"...Prove it to me."
Immediately, three more gangsters came out from an alley that was from Scorpan's left. The gangsters stared at Sunset Shimmer as they casually headed for her, cracking their knuckles and spitting on the ground as they walked towards her. Before they could reach her, Scorpan calmly gave them one order:
After saying that, Scorpan immediately ran into the alleyway. Sunset wanted to follow him but was blocked by the three thugs who smirked at her. Growling, she threw an uppercut at one of them, knocking them out instantly and leaving the other thugs open jawed at this. They closed their mouths as one of them pulled out his pocket knife and charged at the girl. She grabbed one of their wrists and twisted it, causing the thug to scream and drop the knife. The other tried to punch Sunset, only to punch his companion by accident when she dodged the punch. As his friend fell to the ground, Sunset kicked the thug on the stomach before pushing him to the floor.
She proceeded to head to the alleyway where she spotted another gangster, smiling at her while chewing bubble gum and placing his wooden baseball bat on his palms. Using the end of his bat, he shoved it towards Sunset's stomach before she could react. He laughed, unaware of the girl quickly kicking his legs, bring him down to the ground with her. Sunset jumped on top of the gangster and banged his head on the ground until he lost unconscious. She snatched his baseball bat as she got up and brushed herself.
"Hey! Bacon girl!"
Sunset Shimmer turned around to see a group of gangsters walking towards her. She blinked when she recognized one of them as that guy from the arcade. The guy at the entrance whose nose got smashed by the girl. She can tell he was not happy to meet her judging from his bandaged nose.
"The boss said not to kill you." He hissed as he cracked his knuckles. "So I'm just going to hurt you REAL bad."
The five gangsters surrounded her with desire to beat up the girl. One of them shoved Sunset to another thug who used his elbow to smack the girl's nose. Grunting with an irrated look on her face, the girl grabbed the guy who shoved her and threw him at the guy who smacked her nose. With two gangsters out, she used her baseball bat to bash the two other gangsters with just one swing. On instinct, she quickly threw a punch into the last standing gangster at his bandaged nose. She continued to the alleyway with an angry look on her face, though she paused to turn to the gangster.
"I'm sorry."
"AAARRRRGH! I JUST HAD THIS FIXED, YOU FUCKING WHORE!"
Sunset left the thug to himself with his bleeding nose as she walked further into the alleyway.
One skinny thug along with his overweighted friend were leaning against the wall, only to snap their heads towards the girl. The skinny thug pulled out a shovel and tried to bang Sunset's head with it. Luckily, the girl was able to dodge the first attack only to have her body grabbed by the overweight thug. Just as the thug was about to swing his shovel again, Sunset twisted around with the overweight gangster still gripping her, causing the shovel to hit not Sunset's face but rather the back of the fat thug's head. Instantly being knocked out, the unconscious fat thug was suddenly pushed by Sunset and landed on top of the skinny thug. The gangster grunted and yelled as he tried to push his overweight companion off of him as Sunset walked past them.
As she walked forward, she found herself at an alleyway intersection with gangsters to her left and right. To her left were a couple of thugs with chainlink whips, twirling around with them lazily as they slowly stepped forward. To her right were more men equipped with silenced pistols and had vicious dogs at their disposal. Sunset immediately retreated backwards, avoiding some of the gunfire that was intended for her feet. One of the chainlink thugs followed her as she took a right. As soon as he reached the corner, he felt Sunset's hands pulled him up as the teenage girl began to beat up face before snagging his whip and pushing him to the wall. The other chainlink thugs followed up to Sunset who began to twirl around her whip and proceeded to attack the teens. One by one, they were smacked in the face or had their stomaches struck, resulting in them rolling on the floor with bruises and groans.
She walked forward, narrowing her eyes at the pistol equipped gangsters with their dogs. Ignoring the pain and aches on her body, Sunset rolled to a garbage bin where she can hear the bullets ricochet from the bin. She was surprised by a dog with drool dripping from its jaw. Just as the dog was about to lunge at her, she smacked it with the whip. She looked up and saw a thug pointing his pistol at her. Before he can fire, Sunset wrapped the whip around his legs and pulled, causing him to fall. She quickly discharged the magazine in the pistol before grabbing him behind.With the gangster as a hostage, she stepped out of the garbage bin.
"Unload your guns or your friend here gets it!" Sunset shouted at the two gunmen and the other dog, feeling absolutely no desire to kill her hostage. Much to her relief, the gangsters did what she said and threw away their pistol magazines. Immediately, the dog barked as it ran to the side and jumped at Sunset as a side attack. She placed the hostage in front of her, causing the dog to bite the gangster's crotch.
"AARRGH! STUPID FUCKING MUTT!" The hostage yelped as he kicked away the dog, knocking it into a state of unconsciousness. Sunset took advantage of this distraction as she punched him in the face and tossed him aside. She ran to the two other thugs and jumped with her leg out. Without even thinking, Sunset air-kicked the two thugs to the ground in absolute pain. She couldn't help but to look around, amazed at how well she could fight. "Looks like all that training with Applejack and Rainbow Dash really helped out!" She admitted as she was about to walk away before turning around to see the same skinny teen from before. With his overweight friend off of him, he charged at Sunset with a garbage can above his head. Luckily for Sunset Shimmer, all it took was one hard punch to send him rolling on the floor.
Feeling her feet growing sore, she continued until she came across a dead end. Good news for her is that Scorpan was against the wall with his hands on his pocket. Bad news for her was that standing between Sunset and Scorpan was another gangster holding a lead pipe on his gloved hands. He snarled at Sunset, though his gas mask on his face did not let anyone see his aggressive face expression. Sunset responded by throwing her whip at him. To her surprise, he simply stepped aside, letting the whip stumble on the ground. Sunset grabbed a nearby garbage can and threw it at him, only to gasp when he did a cartwheel while evading the garbage attack.
"They don't call 'em dodgers for nothing." Scorpan commented to Sunset as the dodger sprinted towards the girl and dragged her to the ground. He proceeded to punch her face, causing the girl to struggle with getting him off of her. She tried to throw a punch only for her fist to be grabbed by him. She used her other fist only to have it grabbed by the dodger's other hand. Smirking, Sunset used her grabbed hands to repeatedly strike his gas mask with his own fists, causing it to fall out after a couple more strikes. With his face fully exposed, she pulled her hands towards her, causing the dodger to be pulled forward. With gritted teeth and clenched eyes, she collided her head towards his head, knocking him out from the head butt. She tossed him to the side as she got up with more aches than she could imagine.
Scorpan was amazed, shown by his blinking eyes and surprised look plastered on his face.
"Wow, where did you learn to fight?" Scorpan exclaimed with a look of disbelief in his face.
"I don't want to fight you Scorpan." Sunset Shimmer softly said as she walked towards the teen. "I just want to make sure my school doesn't get into a bigger mess."
Scorpan narrowed his eyes at Sunset Shimmer. With almost all of the gangsters unconscious and not making a peep, it leaved just the girl and the boy standing still, looking at each other without moving a muscle. Afterwards, Scorpan's gaze unto the teenage girl remained unbroken as he quietly took off his red-brown jacket and threw it on the ground. Sunset Shimmer let out a determined breath of fresh air as she quickly removed her jacket and threw it aside.
"You honestly think you can make a difference?" Scorpan asked with no care in his tone as he picked up a nearby lead pipe.
Spotting another lead pipe near her, Sunset slowly grabbed it and tightened her grip on it as she suddenly exploded at Scorpan. "I CAN'T JUST DO NOTHING! The vice principal got her hand slit! The students had to have therapy! One of the students got shot in the chest! Please! Up to this point, anything will help!"
Scorpan spat on the ground as he glared at the angry teenage girl.
"Then show me all you got."
Scorpan charged at Sunset with the lead pipe ready to swing. Sunset dodged his attack and tried to punch him in the face. She gasped as Scorpan quickly grabbed it and threw her aside to the ground. The girl scattered on the ground as she quickly got up and swung the lead pipe at the boy. He quickly blocked it with his lead pipe and swung it at her legs, causing her to collapse on the floor. She quickly kicked his feet, causing the boy to tumble on the floor, giving the chance to get back up immediately. With an angry look on his face, he jumped back up with his lead pipe on his hand and turned to Sunset, only to have a lead pipe strike him in the face. He stumbled a bit in surprise and suddenly got smacked in the chest, dropping him to the floor. Growling, the boy suddenly charged back up and threw his away the lead pipe. Sunset was then met with several punches to her face, chest, and stomach, causing the red and yellow haired girl to bleed. Luckily for her, Scorpan stopped so that he would not do critical damage to her. He would be lying to himself if he didn't drop his jaw. Despite bleeding and covered in aches and bruises, Sunset did not fall down and instead stayed on her feet, looking at Scorpan. Her black eye and other good eye narrowed as she stared at the boy. Her growl showed some of her teeth being covered in red from the gums bleeding. She wiped the blood from her cheeks as she let out a yell and charge at the dumbfounded teen. He could feel a tooth yank out of his mouth as he crashed on the floor. Coughing a bit, he looked up to the aggressive Sunset Shimmer. Her aggression was gone, yet Sunset continued to glare at Scorpan. The teenage boy continued to glare at the girl before he let out another cough and began to speak.
"Damn..." Scorpan grumbled to himself as he wiped the blood from his mouth and face. "For a persistent little girl, you sure are strong..."
"No more Scorpan." Sunset gritted her teeth as she walked up to the downed boy. "Tell me now what you know."
Scorpan did not answer immediately. He chose to stare at Sunset Shimmer, who glared back at him with fury in her eyes. Scorpan finally said something, though it was not in the form of an answer. "Why?"
Sunset tilted her head.
"Why are you so fixated on trying to help your school?" Scorpan asked as he lifted himself up in the ground. He looked down before his head lifted up the second he figured out the answer to his own question. "Unless...you still haven't forgave yourself about being a demon girl. Heh, that was a long ass time ago, you're still complaining about that?"
Sunset's angry was put aside as she let out a sad sigh before looking at the gangster. "It isn't just that. It's just...after what I'd done to the school, I vowed to protect it...as a way to compensate all the terrible things I did back then..."
"You're an interesting girl, Sunset. Ever since that Fall Formal incident, you've been doing whatever you can to make up for the bad things you did. Around that time the Sirens attacked, people still treated you like trash, yet you didn't let that stop you from making a difference. Even after that Anon-a-Miss thing, you STILL want to help out the school. I'm not going to lie, if that shit happened to me, I woulda told them to go to Tartarus and then leave the school forever. But you FORGAVE them. You forgave the three girls who made the school hate you and treat you like a leper. You forgave your five friends who deserted and distrusted you even after supposedly promising this...princess that they would always be at your side. Your life was made a living torture session and you actually said 'You're forgiven' to the ones who ruined you and ostracized you? That's what I admire you, Sunset Shimmer." Scorpan warmly said with a grin on his face. His smile quickly died out and Sunset saw him replace it with a sad frown on his battered face. "You know, I never wanted to be a gangster in the first place."
Confused, Sunset wondered what he meant before he continued. "I was kinda like you. I had an alright life, not counting being with my bastard brother, but all was well. I had a lot of good friends and people I enjoyed hanging out with. Some of the people I've befriended back then was from Canterlot High, a school I never went to. Before you came to the school, almost everyone, even the teachers, were like best buds with me."
He let out a smile as the memories came flooding in his mind.
"I was even best friends with that popular bearded teacher before his untimely death..."
Sunset heard about this particular bearded teacher. He was dead before she came to this world, but his reputation made him known to even the freshmen of the school.
"Star-Swirled the Bearded?" She guessed, resulting in Scorpan's smile growing wider.
"Heh, yeah. Not his actual name, but he did enjoy that nickname. He and I got together like two peas in a pod and like flies in dog poo. Heh. He believed that I had a good future ahead of me and that I would prosper. After his death, I swore to make sure he didn't waste his breath saying that prediction."
Scorpan looked away with an angry look on his face.
"Of course, I broke that swear."
Sunset already knew the reason why this swear was broken.
"Tirek?" She guessed. She was proven right by Scorpan's slow nod.
"That slimeball started his own gang and began messing up the town. I couldn't just let thing by. I did what you did. I took action." Scorpan's hand rolled up to a tightened fist. "It amazes me that I managed to gather up some people to start a gang. My men and I made sure Tirek's reign didn't get out of control. Regardless, I still ended up becoming what my brother is: a dirty crook."
Shaking his head, he decided to change the subject, not wanting to bore Sunset with his sob story.
"I suppose I owe you the truth." Scorpan grumbled as he took out a cigarette and lit it after placing it on his mouth. "I was on my way to talk to...someone about the attacks on my men. I got some information about them from that guy. All I know was that they were animal masks, kinda like the rooster-masked killer. A skinny one, a burly one, and a girl. They were working for these two guys. I don't know who they are or what they even looked like because they wore these trench coats. The guy I visited said they kinda looked like they were around your age. He also told me that those two guys wanted the three killers to work for Tirek. So whoever these two trench coat bastards are, they're the ones screwing with me. I don't get why though..."
He took out his cigarette to let out a puff of smoke from his lips. "I 'pressured' him for some more details and apparently there's this rumor that this rooster-masked killer isn't really a super crazy killer and is just some hired muscle paid to destroy Tirek's gang. I have no clue who hired him. Considering that he only killed people who belong to Tirek's gang, I wouldn't doubt that he's really just a low mercenary."
Sighing, Scorpan flicked the cigarette away as he turned to Sunset. "That's all I know."
"Scorpan," Sunset said, looking at Scorpan. "Thank you and sorry to hear about what happened to you."
Quietly, Sunset picked up her jacket and was about to leave before a reserved Scorpan gave the girl one last warning.
"Sunset, remember to be careful what you're getting yourself into. I mean, I know I'm dead either way because of my decision to continue being a petty crook. The best friends and students I hanged out with forgot about me...and I forgot about them. They don't see the Scorpan who would play video games with or play sports or go out for shakes. They see the gangster. The guy who leads these savages throughout the street."
He rubbed his forehead in irritation.
"I can still hear Star Swirl's prediction go down the toilet. Me prosper? Me have a good future? It's too late for that."
His gums began to hurt from gritting his teeth too hard.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up in a body bag today..."
Letting out a sigh, he turned to Sunset Shimmer with a determined look on his face.
"Sunset, good luck."
He turned around, hoping Sunset would leave. He blinked when he felt arms around him. Scorpan was surprised to see Sunset Shimmer hugging him. Letting out a smile, he hugged her back. Sunset let go of him and looked him in the eyes.
"Thank you. And Scorpan, good luck and may Celestia watch over you."
"May that principal watch over me?" Scorpan asked, unsure what that meant. "Um, okay?"
Sunset Shimmer giggled. "That wasn't what I meant. Well, you get the idea. Thanks again Scorpan. And by the way, people at school, including the teachers, are talking about you. Good things. All of them are hoping you're alright and safe."
The girl quietly left, leaving Scorpan alone. The brown teenager let out another sigh as he looked up to the sky.
"I'm sorry, Star-Swirled."
After looking up at the sky for a bit longer, he took out his phone and dialed someone. He placed the phone in his ear as he began to talk.
"Have Tirek come over for a meeting down at that red apartment. You know which apartment I'm talking about. It's about time I have a little chat with Tirek..."
Present
The girls were speechless as Sunset finished her story. Each of them were not sure what to say. Some wanted to rebuke the girl for being involved in this mess, risking great injuries and even death. Some were astonished at her loyalty to her school and her undying desire to protect the school. Some even pitied Scorpan over his own problems and his reluctantly chosen lifestyle. However, most of them thought what Indigo Zap had just blurted out:
"Man, I didn't know you can fight!"
Sunset let out a sheepish look on her face as Twilight put a hand to her chin. "Two guys our age? Those are the ones responsible for this whole mess? Unbelievable...but we still don't know who these guys are! Without a clear description or any lead, we do not know what to do!"
"Hey girls, look over there!"
The girls turned to Rainbow Dash who was narrowing her eyes at something. The girls turned and saw a car heading for the curb slowly with smoke coming out of the trunk. The engine made a loud sputtering sound which was a sign that the car had probably ran out of gas. What caught the girl's attention was the four people inside the car, who quickly exited of the car. Much to the surprise of the Canterlot High students, they recognized three of the people as Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk.
"Isn't that...the Dazzlings!? I thought they had left town!?" Rarity exclaimed in disbelief.
"The Dazzlings? Who are they?" Sour Sweet wondered as Sugarcoat narrowed her eyes at the car.
"Wait...who's that with the girls?"
The girls looked to where Sugarcoat was pointing at. They saw a blonde man wearing a letterman jacket, jeans, and a stoic expression on his face. The Shadowbolts and Twilight took note of the jacket and the plastic rooster mask he was holding and soon felt themselves go pale and stricken with total fear.
"...the rooster-masked killer..."