June 4, 2016
"This is the life!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed before sipping her drink.
It was a marvelous day outside with the birds serenading and the flowers thriving on the smooth grass. On days like these, both the students of Canterlot High and Crystal Prep would realistically waste the day in their homes. That would range from playing video games to browsing through their computers. But for this special day, they decided it would be nice to actually go out. The park was the perfect choice and was occupied by many of the students relishing the day.
"You said it!" Rainbow Dash added with a silly grin as she sipped her beverage. Sunset and her friends all hanged out at the park, sitting at a table while they enjoyed their boba drinks. Sunset was glad to hang out with her friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. She wondered what was taking her other friends so long, since they were supposed to join them a bit earlier.
"I'll toast to that, Dashie!" Pinkie shouted, lifting up her drink high up in the air which resulted in some of the milk tea splashing on the silly-grinning girl. The other teenagers chuckled mildly at the sight of their pink friend being silly.
Sunset turned and saw other people at the park, taking advantage of their freedom as school was now on summer vacation. Principal Celestia was walking with her sister Luna as the two engaged in a friendly chat. The vice principal's arm no longer needed the cast. A grinning Flash Sentry was playing football with his buddies. He was discharged from the hospital a while ago after making a full recovery, much to Nurse Redheart's delight. Vinyl Scratch, her older brother, and Octavia were laughing as they ate ice cream together. Almost all of the students involved in that Alicorn Nightclub incident were present at the park and enjoying themselves.
"It's amazing that it's been almost half a year since those reports of murders and such like that." Applejack stated in a relieved fashion as she placed her drink down for a bit.
"It's so good to relax without hearing depressing things on the internet." Fluttershy agreed before taking a sip of her milk tea.
Rarity gently raised a slender hand up as she spoke. "Now's not the time to talk about that, darlings." She gently commanded. "I do not really want to talk about that horrible fiasco."
"Yeah, like the Anon-a-Miss inciden-"
Rainbow Dash immediately silenced her mouth at the mention of the one incident the girls had agreed to never mention. At the blink of an eye, they turned to Sunset Shimmer with nervous and apologetic frowns at her. Sunset wasted no time raising her hand at her friends with a friendly smile.
"I told you girls a million times." She said with a beaming smile. "I one hundred percent forgive you and the Crusaders for that mess."
The girls sighed in relief. It was not their proudest moment accusing Sunset of an act she did not commit. The entire school felt a twinge of guilt after the truth had come clear. Some students wondered how Sunset Shimmer could forgive the girls for abandoning their friend cruelly. Rumor has it that Sunset Shimmer had a special friend that helped her during her misery. Alas, it was another story to be told some other day.
"I'll say this though. I sure miss Scorpan." Sunset sulked as she looked down at the ground sadly. The girls followed suit as they timidly showed remorse for the late teenager.
"He really was a great guy." Rainbow Dash added as she looked up in the sky, wondering if Scorpan was watching them from the afterlife.
"To Scorpan." Sunset Shimmer toasted as she lifted up her drink. "May he rest in peace."
The girls raised their drinks up in the air, colliding with the other airborne drinks. They soon lowered their beverages and continued drinking them. After a brief pause, Rainbow Dash killed the silence by turning to Sunset and asking a question that has been bugging the rainbow-haired girl.
"By the way, where did you learn to fight like that?"
Before Sunset could answer, she heard a girl's voice call out to her.
"Hey girls!"
Recognizing the voice as Twilight's, Sunset turned around and smiled wholeheartedly at the sight of the group of girls running towards them. A majority of them were easily identified as Crystal Prep students because of their school uniforms. Standing next to the Crystal Prep girls were two dogs that looked like each other along with two identical-looking purple girls.
"Sorry we took so long." Spike the dog apologized, relieved that only the girls he knew personally had heard him talk and not anyone else at the park.
"Hey Twilight! What took you girls so long?" Sunset asked, tilting her head at her friends.
"Oh, we were just a little busy." Sour Sweet replied, her tone changing from sweet to sour. "Indigo and Lemon had to keep us holding."
"Hey, so I lost my phone. Big whoop." Indigo Zap grunted as she shrugged at her ill-tempered friend.
"If you had listen to me and looked underneath your bed, then we wouldn't be in that predicament." Sugarcoat remarked, causing her friend to cross her arms.
"Indy gets it, Sugar. No need to fret." Lemon Zest responded, only to have Sunny Flare point at her.
"Oh, you're just saying that because you had to fix your headphones." Sunny Flare commented with a film look.
Despite their arguments, the girls knew it was all in good humor. Sunset shook her head, but smiled inside her, at the antics of the five girls. She couldn't help but to giggle a bit at the dumbfounded looks of the pony-universe versions Twilight and Spike.
"They always like this?" Twilight asked her red and yellow haired friend.
"I'm afraid so." Sunset answered with an amused grin.
"Almost as weird as meeting another me." Spike grumbled as he glanced at the human-universe Spike who was busy scratching the back of his ears with his hind foot.
Sunset was glad her two friends from the other universe were able to visit. She remembered how they came a day after the masked killings to help comfort the girls. Shaking her head at the though of the masked killings, she turned to the other three who were wearing the Crystal Prep uniforms.
"So how's Crystal Prep, girls?"
Adagio Dazzle responded with an unsure shrug. "It's alright. Nothing spectacular. Though I hate how we have to wear these clothes. No offense." She turned to the Shadowbolts with a sheepish grin on her face.
Sonata Dusk let out a pouty face. "They don't have Taco Tuesdays! They only have Taco Mondays! Mondays are the worse days for tacos!!!"
Aria Blaze crossed her arms. "Not much to say. Some students don't really mind us. So...that's good enough, I guess."
Sunset smiled at the three girls. Ever since Jacket had left to ensure the safety of the school and girls, the Dazzlings formed a new leaf to leave behind their wrong doings. From what Sunset had heard, Jacket helped them become better girls and tolerate each other. Some students still have their doubts with some giving them stink eyes, but so far nothing as escalated into something seriously. Sunset and her Canterlot High friends occasionally help out the reformed Dazzlings whether it be comfort or simply having fun. The Shadowbolts and Princess Twilight are also there for the Dazzlings. Sunset hoped for a bright future for the trio of girls.
"Now that the girls are here," Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a mischievous grin as she held up a soccer ball, "Let's play some soccer!"
"Seems uncouth, oh but why not?" Rarity responded before picking up the pony-universe Spike and started to snuggle him. "You'll be there to cheer me on, won't you, Spikey-Wikey?"
Spike giggled like a candy-crazed child under Rarity's silky arms as the other Spike could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy and rolled his eyes at his counterpart. The girls quickly finished their refreshments and soon joined their friends at the field. The only ones that stayed behind were the Dazzlings. They did not follow since they simply looked at each other, deep in cautious thought.
"It's amazing." Adagio declared as she looked down at her school uniform. "First we were enemies with these girls. Now we're actually hanging out with them...as friends. It's really strange."
Sonata rubbed her arm, feeling the smooth clothing of her uniform. "We can't do anything evil now that we can't sing forever." She stated with a sad look present on her literal blue face.
Aria let out a sad sigh before she softly spoke. "Yeah..." She looked up at the sky. "You girls ever wonder what Jacket's up to nowadays?"
"I'm sure he's alright, Aria."
"He better be." Aria responded to Adagio's answer with clenched fists. They soon relaxed as looked down sadly. "I hope..."
"Jacket's a tough guy." Sonata reassured as she placed a comforting hand on Aria's shoulder. "He can take care of himself."
Aria nodded at the blue girl and then the yellow girl. She let out a small chuckle as she looked up. "I know he said we'll never meet again...but I have a feeling we'll meet again..."
The three girls let a wave of stillness overcome them as the people at the park continued to do their business. Their reticence was interrupted when they heard Sunset call to them.
"Hey girls!" She hollered to the sirens. "You wanna play? If you don't, Rainbow Dash is going to call you three crybabies!"
Taking that as a challenge, the three girls looked at each other with firm smiles before turning to Sunset.
"Hey, wait up!"
The trio of sirens ran after the other girls who were playing soccer as the sun shined brightly upon the park.
Manehattan
It was chilly, but Jacket never really cared how cold it was in this immense city.
Shivering a bit underneath his letterman jacket, the blonde man sat on the freezing bench along with an elderly lady and middle-aged man reading a newspaper. Manehattan was pretty peaceful for such a giant city. The metropolitan city offered a lot more to do compared to Canterlot City. What was more amusing to Jacket was the city's strong resemblance to Manhattan on Earth. Makes sense given that the city name itself was a rip off of Manhattan. The sight of a horse instead of a woman for the Statue of Liberty was still amusing to the blonde man. Jacket stopped thinking about the city as soon as the bus arrived.
The doors opened and the bus driver gave the outsiders a tired yet friendly smile at them. Jacket was the only one who acknowledged the driver's hospitality, giving him a nod. The middle aged man and elderly lady did not notice the driver at all. After paying the fare, Jacket took a seat in the front as the elderly lady sat next to him. The driver closed the doors and soon drove the bus after the fares had been paid.
It has been about half a year since he had to leave Canterlot City. He can't help but to feel guilty for having to leave so abruptly. He knew it was for the best, but he had thought what happened to the Dazzlings. Jacket crossed his arms, feeling peace once again. The one thing he had wanted when he had come to this world. He now had an apartment with a reasonable rent along with a good job that gives a decent pay. Perhaps his worries are finally over.
The old lady next to Jacket took out her purse and fished her hand inside it. She pulled out a rooster mask and placed it on her head.
Jacket's atmosphere drastically changed with the environment looking different. The passengers were now reduced to dusty skeletons with their clothes almost teared to bits. Graffiti covered the interior besides the destroyed seats and blood stains that shrouded the floor. Despite the fact that the outside of the bus was enough proof that it should be breaking down, the vehicle was still riding on the cracked and ruined road. The view of the devastated city can be seen through the cracked bus windows. The old lady was the only one besides Jacket to remain intact. The rooster mask moved its lips as it spoke to the blonde man.
"I wouldn't blame you." The rooster mask admitted. "You deserve it after what you had done."
Despite paying full attention to what was being told to him, Jacket did not move a muscle or seemed to care that the bus he was in was now in poor quality.
"It really is painful though." The rooster mask explained as it turned to the blonde man. "It seems you're destined to walk this path. The path of violence."
Jacket said nothing nor did anything to depict any emotion.
"Of course you don't really care what path you take, do you?"
Silence was the only answer the rooster masked stranger had received.
"What makes you think this is over?"
At the blink of an eye, the environment changed back to its original state. The passengers were back to being alive, the bus did not look damaged, and the city looked intact. The only thing that did not change was Jacket's detached expression as he seemingly stared into space. The voice of the rooster-masked man still echoed throughout his mind.
"By the way, does November 30, 2015 ring a bell?" The voice asked him cautiously. "If so, have you ever checked if you had actually completed the job correctly?"
The bus continued towards its destination.
November 30, 2015
3:09 PM
"OH MY GOODNESS!" Sunny Flare screeched as she placed her palms on her sweaty hair. Indigo Zap let her go from their hug as she could feel bile preparing to come up her throat. Sugarcoat tried to control her panting and shaking as Twilight Sparkle turned around and saw how horrified Sour Sweet had become. Lemon Zest stopped her crying temporarily as she observed her surroundings.
The Wifi Palace was a complete mess. Blood was spilled all over the wrecked computers and most of the screens were smashed from what the Shadowbolts had just witnessed. A slender man laid on the floor with wide eyes and a grisly hole in his chest. A short yet muscular figure rested on the floor along with his decapitated head. A woman was lying on the floor with her face buried in a big computer screen. The sight of the corpses greatly disturbed the six girls.
"I can't believe it!" Indigo Zap shrieked with fear present in her tone. "The rooster-masked guy was here! It was him!"
"He actually killed those people." Sugarcoat mumbled to herself. "The ones...who were going to kill us..."
"What do we do now?" Lemon Zest whimpered as she could no longer bare to look at the destruction in front of her.
"Contact Sunset and the others." Twilight urgently replied as she turned to her shaken friends. "We're going to need some help."
"Alright, that sounds like a good idea," Sour Sweet responded sweetly before she suddenly turned frantic, "But let's get the heck outta here!"
Immediately, the girls rushed out of the cafe with startled looks on their faces. The cafe was soon left by itself encircled in complete silence. The dead remained dead as the quietness loomed over the interior like a fog shadowed with terror. A slight rumble was heard among the destructed interior as one of the shattered computer screens started to move a bit. The sound grew louder as one of the screens was tossed across the room as a laboriously gasping woman emerged from the ruins.
"OH SHIT!"
Mary grabbed her dragon mask and yanked it out of her head, showing the blood that seeped from the woman's forehead. She started to cough vigorously as she struggled to breathe properly. As soon as her vision lost its blurry vision and her breathing was under control, she looked around to see the cafe in ruins and her companions long gone into death. Mary slid her hand over her blonde ponytail, struck with horror and disbelief. They were the closet things she called her friends. Mary had silently hoped they rested in peace but now she had bigger problems to resolve. She tried to get on her feet only to almost fall down. She held on one of the tables as she struggled to walk properly before letting go of the table. With her Uzi sub machine guns behind her red vest and her dragon mask on her blood-stained hand, Mary walked to the exit with signs of slight struggle.
Falteringly walking out of the cafe, Mary resumed her coughing as she struggled to keep her eyes opened. She hissed a bit at the sunlight from the setting sun which caused her to lift her bruised hand over her pretty blue eyes. She nearly cried as she unsteadily walked into the streets.
The End
Manehatten
June 4, 2016
The girl stretched out her exhausted arms as she remarked the vulgar comment while yawning lazily. After entering her apartment, she waltzed into the living room and collapsed on the red couch. Feeling weary to remove her biker clothes, she simply placed her boots on the table. The boots boasted a dark vertical stripe with a light orange color. Her attire consisted of a black and orange leather suit for bikers. She placed a tired hand on her orange and black helmet that laid next to her on the couch as she grabbed a nearby remote control. She clicked on one of the buttons, resulting in activation of the flat screened television that began to display some slasher films.
Her apartment was pretty spotless, despite her dislike towards cleaning up and a habit to be lazy most of the time. Black carpet covered the floor and a large plasma television screen was placed nicely in the living room. Underneath the TV screen were an ample amount of video games that were the girl's personal favorites. Her kitchen still had some boxes of pizza and cans of cherry soda.
As she continued to watch some of her favorite flicks, the red and yellow haired girl picked up some objects from a nearby table. She used her black-gloved hand to fiddle around with one of them: a rusty yet sharp cleaver with a wooden handle. Her finger ran through the edge of the cleaver carefully, inspecting its sharpness. Her smiling face was enough to confirm her silent satisfaction. She soon picked up the trio of knives that were sitting on the same table. Each had a firm handle painted red and yellow, her personal favorite colors. Each of them were very sharp, just the way she liked it. As she gently poked her thumb on each knife's tip, she continued to stare at the television. She always had a fondness for slasher films, especially the ones back then and not the modern junk today that only relied on CGI and overrated actors.
Feeling her mouth dry, she decided that watching these classic slasher films would not be a complete experience without cheap, tasty beer. Her smile dropped at the realization of the one thing she feared: she didn't have any beer left in her fridge.
"Damn, out of beer already?" She griped as she leaned back with a dismayed groan. "And I was just getting comfortable."
Throwing her knives back into the table, the girl jumped back on her feet with an exhausted expression. This shows how bothered she was when it comes down to doing chores, which she despised. She left her home and headed down downstairs until she arrived outside.
The girl smiled as she felt the cool wind blow against her red and yellow ponytail. She walked to her own personal garage as she reached into one of the pockets of her pants. The garage opened up as she pressed a small remote control she had taken out from her pants. Inside the garage was a reddish dirt bike motorcycle with the decal of a flaring sun with red and yellow colors. The sun image also appeared on the back of the girl's leather suit.
The girl climbed on top of her motorcycle before she fetched out her wallet and keys. She double checked to see if she had her identification card since store clerks always mistake her to be a minor. She whipped out her ID card from the wallet and let out a elated smile as she recited the information on the card.
"Birthday and legal age...check...weight and height, blah blah blah...check..."
She chuckled as she read the last part of her ID card. "Sunset Shimmer...that's my name! I'm all set! Time for some fucking beer!"
After putting away her ID card, she placed the helmet onto her head. She revved up her motorcycle with a devilish smile on her face before giving the motorcycle one last rev. The vehicle started up and the biker girl zipped through the driveway and rode into the road as the sun began to set in Manehatten.