//------------------------------// // The Sun Is Setting // Story: Sunset's Gone // by sapphirebluez //------------------------------// “S-Sunset...” “Oh Twilight, shut up! Not now!” snarled the fiery-headed girl. Twilight held her breath, she couldn't believe it! Just months ago, everything was going on fine. But now, even without any magical threats going about, she, the Rainbooms and Sunset Shimmer were going through a battle that may threaten to severe their friendship permanently. She felt horrible as her heart wrenched and ached with guilt. How could she have made an excuse for not being there for Sunset during her time of need? Was is that her royal duties meant so much to her that she couldn't make time for a friend? What if, instead, Sunset had choose to harm herself or even kill herself. Twilight let out a soft whimper. She couldn't bear the thought. Her mind was a blur and she felt nauseous as the sheer hard truth hit her. She had placed her work before a friend. Her duties before a life. “Oi Sparkle, don't zone out on me! Did you get what I asked you to get?” Sunset asked rather rudely, for a moment completely forgetting about the Rainbooms and student body standing below the stage. Twilight said nothing. As if sleepwalking, she slowly made her way up the stage and, with trembling hands, brought out an object that she kept beneath her dark cloak. Everyone was silent. Not a sound. Not a cough. It was Sunset's journal. “Thank you, Miss Sparkle.” Sunset grinned. Finally, she was going to show them WHO the real jerk was this time. Twilight flinched at Sunset's cold attitude. She had never seen Sunset so cold and harsh, even before the Fall Formal Sunset wasn't that bad, she just had a rather Mean-Girl streak. But this, this was…hatred. As if another being, meaner and crueler was speaking through her friend. Hatred for the Rainbooms. Hatred for the students, for the student body. Hatred. Pure Undying hatred. When she and Applebloom had mended their relationship that day, Sunset promised that there was no be no hard feelings towards her or the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Now, she felt otherwise. “Heh, to think that this entire drama was caused by three little pathetic brats. Hah! Sunny, you should teach them a lesson! Never. EVER. Mess with THE Sunset Shimmer. Go. Give them their punishment, make them cry and beg for how they should have done to you a long time ago. So, they may never bother you or anyone one ever again!!! "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!" Sunset’s hand rushed to her mouth, realizing that she had been laughing manically out loud. The Rainbooms, and the student body, however, were completely terrified by her laughter. Even Princess Twilight was intimidated by it, which sent ripples of shivers coursing through her body. She had fought one too many of Equestria's most dangerous villains to guess that now, Sunset had gone from friend to foe. Whatever Sunset, or whoever that is that had her in its grasp now, was plotting something malicious and it didn't take a professional to guess it. “Whoops! Sorry for scaring you there dearies! I just had a funny little thought in my mind! Would you like to know what it is? Come on ask! Don't be such a wussy! Oh wait, you all are already one!! Ahahaha!” “Sunset! Whoever who is controlling you now! Please! Break free! Don't be the monster that everyone fears you are!” Twilight begged. She turned to the Rainbooms a look of plea written on her face to help her, no, their friend. Unfortunately, the Rainbooms were too broken to even listen to their friend's pleas and cries. Their skin and hair had dimmed to a dull gray…they had given up. “Oh puh-lease. There is no one controlling me now! It's just me, myself and I! No demon. Nothing!” “T-Then why-“ “Act like this? Well, because I can and I want to! Nobody appreciated when I was a goody two shoes, in fact, everyone treated me like some dirt on the ground! So what's the point? When I was trying to be nice to everyone I was treated like an evil witch so, might as well become one then, that way, at least, you all will have something to complain about! If it's a jerk you want so badly, then you all will get it!” Sunset inhaled sharply, a black fire had grown in her heart and was roaring with ultimate fury. She gritted her teeth and her eyes saw red. She grabbed the journal with both hands, holding it sideways at both ends, and with inhuman strength…. tore it in half. Twilight felt as if she had just been kicked in the gut over and over again. Her heart shredded like those torn pages that flew out of the broken journal and fluttered about before landing on the floor. Her body and mind were numb. She couldn't even feel her fresh warm tears slide down smoothly and quietly on her face as if they knew now that the situation was bad and they didn't want to make it worse. Oh God. Why was this happening? Her body quivered and she felt like collapsing. This entire scenario was cascading like a waterfall into a terrible nightmare. Sunset grinned with extreme triumph. She puffed out her chest like a winning animal in a duel. She had claimed her pride that she had deserved. Oh, how pleasurable it felt as if she had just erased everything from her life and start anew. She felt...blissful...hot. Wait, hot? Sunset looked at where the heat was coming from and apparently she saw a dark reddish glow emitting from within her chest. It was growing brighter with every passing second. Oh, and how it began to burn and hurt more. Sunset felt herself being lifted slowly into the air. As she increased in height, so did the pain. In fact, she could no longer contain it anymore and began to scream agonizingly as she thrashed about, trying to escape it. Now despite having given up, the Rainbooms couldn’t bear to see their former friend suffering, perhaps despite all, they still cared and they instinctively ran up the stage along with Twilight, who recovered and joined them. The red glow had grown so bright now that many of the students and Rainbooms included had begun to shield their eyes. “Sunset! Take my hand!” Rainbow cried stretching her right arm forward while using her left one to shield her eyes as she inched forward closer to Sunset. “Girls! Help me, please! Don’t leave me! Please….please” was all Sunset could wail before finally, the pain had reached its maximum and all Sunset could do was let out a final agonizing shriek before a powerful wave extended and pulsated through the entire auditorium sending those near her flying back a few feet. Some of the other students screamed. Others started to weep. The wave was followed soon by a large column made out of pure fire which enveloped itself tightly like a cocoon around her, growing larger and brighter intensively before shrinking just as quickly, with Sunset inside it and within moments it dispersed leaving nothing in its wake, except tiny little fireballs, remains of what that terrifying event had taken place and where Sunset once was. Now, the only sound was of the heavy breaths and gasps of The Rainbooms, Twilight, and the student body. Though they wanted to scream and cry they couldn’t. Heck, they couldn’t produce even the tiniest of squeaks now. Trying to absorb what had happened. Why was there such a sudden burst of magic at a time like this? Had Sunset been incinerated completely? They didn’t want to fear the worse. There was only silence now, nobody said anything. After all, there was nothing left to say.