At the fringes of the city, the injured and powerless Sunset Shimmer watched as the city she and her friends protected for two years burn. She grabs her cell phone, wrist shaking as she dialed the number. A few buzzes and she got no response.
“Howdy, I’m not here at the moment, leave me a message.”
“Not here. Playing sports. Leave a message!”
“Shhhh!!!! … Pound and Pumpkin are asleep. Leave a message.”
“I’m sorry, deary. But I’m working on a commission for a client, but I will gladly listen to any messages.”
“Uhm. Hello. This is… I’m not available now.” Fluttershy squeaked before the message ended.
“Hello, this is Twilight Sparkle…”
Sunset’s vision began to blur, the darkening sky and the yellow-red fire mixing as she closed her eyes. Now she could see is darkness. As the seconds go by, the roar of the gigantic saurian and exploding buildings slowly ceased. This is the end of them. This is the day harmony died.
“Don’t ever give up, my daughter.”
The dark void is joined by a blue light, slowly getting larger and more humanoid with each step. Removing the void of darkness revealed to the light Sunset Shimmer wearing her usual clothes. The confused teen watched the light come closer. The light stops at her feet, the familiar blue skin, brown hair, and fuchsia eyes made Sunset stare in awe and further confusion. One last dream before she passes into the afterlife?
“Mother?” Sunset reaches out, expecting to not feel the touch of the spirit. Touching her hands with her mother’s, she felt the tickle sensation. She turns her body to the side, closing her eyes. “I… failed.”
“What makes you say that?” Asks Night Dancer, raising her brow.
“I got them into this mess. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Cosgrove... They’re all gone… Just to keep a secret. ”
Night Dancer places her hand on her daughter’s shoulder.
“Remember the promise you said, ‘That you would make things right?’” Sunset looks up at her encouraging mother, recalling the memory she made when she said those exact words. “You’ve done more than enough to uphold that promise,” - They are joined by several more lights, each displaying a memory from her friends; Applejack promising to keep the family safe to her parents. Rarity making nice clothes to the poor. Fluttershy providing stray animals with food and shelter. Pinkie Pie providing entertainment to lost children. No matter the situation, they all have the same cause. - “and your friends have upheld their promises long ago.”
Sunset continues to look at each memory when she notices Night Dancer’s arms extend towards her.
“And now, let me uphold my promise to you. Let me help you one last time.”
Sunset looks at her mother once more. Night Dancer. Offering her help after all these years? And just a few days away from graduation no less. She tears up, wrapping her arms around Night Dancer as the memories wrapped around them, bringing light to the darkened world around them. Outside, that light is reflected upon Sunset’s body as it glowed a light red.
The gigantic beast continued his rampage, nearing Canterlot High when its small, menacing eyes take notice of a small red stream of light piercing the blackened sky. Spike continued to whine over the loss of Twilight when she too began to glow, shooting out a purple stream. Then came Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Cosgrove, Chelsey, Zipper, Diver, and Dapplewood. For the more active Rainbooms, they knew what this meant as their energies made the sky glow in various colors, combining into one entity: a bright blue alicorn. The monster below bellowed in both awe and confusion; of all beasts he fought over the decades, all the armies he destroyed, every civilization wiped out, the last thing he expected was a horse.
The spectral animal neighs before a stream of rainbow shot out of its horn. The beast watched as the multicolored ribbon wrapped around it. Beneath the amazing spectacle hid a painful experience; now it was the monster's turn to have his energy drained. When the rainbow vanished, the great beast could no longer be seen from far away. Cooling off from the bad experience, he rose up to a staggering six meters. Stil respectable, but a pipsqueak nonetheless. The now repto-mammal lets out an anguishing roar at the celestial equine when he spots another dot in the sky, this time, a golden bird.
The bird took flight around the city. Each flap of its wings releasing several fiery feathers, covering the city like it was winter again. The relatives and loved ones of the fallen watch their one final miracle shower upon them. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity felt stronger as their magic courses through their bodies. Patches of their bodies did have stars complementing their skin tones, as well as wearing garb like the ones they wore in the Battle of the Bands. At Great Valley Drive, this magic had the fallen Maximals glow like catching on fire. Cosgrove lifts his tired head, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes; they are feral, with the pupils in slits, but the sclera didn't turn black this time. He growls, standing up to see the spectacle happen as his brother and friends woke up and looked at the sky. The Predacons recovered as well, though only one remained to look at the general direction of the school.
"Big Mac," - Applejack rises from her chair, a tone of determination in her voice. - "watch over our little sister."
Much as the big lug didn't want to, Mac knew that his hometown needed their guardians for one more day. He steps aside, raising his arm at the door. As Applejack walks out, she takes out her cell phone and dials a number.
"Rainbow Dash, I need a lift."
The horse grew smaller and smaller before becoming human size. In fact, it became human with a stature like that of Principal Luna. Spike looked away from the expired Twilight to the fading miracle, noticing a smaller, yellow light coming towards the larger one. Sunset Shimmer has been revived into her Daydream form. She looks at the apparition, tears streaming beyond the red patch around her eyes. The spectral being smiled before fusing into her, causing yet another change. Her glowing horn became physical, the rays of light from her back became feathered, and her light pink dress became a red suitable for royalty, and armor wrapped around her midsection, forearms, and shins. With this new gift, Sunset closes her eyes.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
She looks down at the ground, seeing the canker that has been unleashed upon her home. She descends, slowing herself with each flap of her mighty wings. The beast curled his lips, hoping to intimidate her with his gnarled, bone-crunching teeth. Sunset's feet touch the ground, keeping her wings spread to make herself look bigger. The monster's thick brows furrowed and pupils narrowed. This was it, the fight to determine the fate of humanity and Equestria. Sunset's horn glows as she brought her fists together. As she pulled her left fist, a beam of light came out the other. Upon full extension, the weapon resembled a rapier; the length of her torso and as thin as a quarter, it made a soft hum as the wielder drew it to her face.
Even in a shrunken form, the monster still had his old tricks. His spiny back started to glow, giving his mouth a blue glow and his eyes a similar aura. He arches back and unleashes his dragon fire. Sunset quickly extends her arms, parting the blue flames. Safe at the cost of two vehicles, Sunset wasted no opportunity and strikes. She makes a downward strike, then an upper left diagonal, repeating the effort five times in a row. The monster staggered and looks to see the multiple cuts on his stomach region. An impressive display he must say if he could, but mere paper cuts to him as the wounds healed on their own. He grabs a car, tears it in half, and roars as he bopped them together like boxing gloves. Sunset ascends a few inches, dodging the beasts melee barrage as she circled around him as if she was in a roller derby. With each circle, she continues to slash at his arms, chest, legs, tail, neck, and head.
A distance away from the two, Spike had his tail between his legs as the violence ensues. One chunk of the makeshift weapon chipped a corner of the school, giving him every right to turn away. When he's at a safe distance, the dog hears a soft hum and turns his head around. His face is shined in a purple light, wagging his tail happily at seeing the familiar sight.
The monster wasn't new fighting fast foes; one of his fallen prey, a violet dragonfly capable of draining his life blood, flew at higher speeds than Sunset can. Timing it just right, he whacks his tail at her armored midriff and sends her flying. Sunset crashes into the HUB, groaning as her body slid down the cratered vehicle. She looks up to see the monster look down at her, baring his teeth as the inside of his gullet glowed.
Then a purple blast hit his left side, getting him to stagger a few feet before dissipating. The monster turns to the point of origin. It was Twilight, now Ponied Up, wings, horn, extended ponytail. Said part of the hair also had yellow, magenta, and regular violet stripes joining her usually dark violet, as are the tips of the primary feathers. The monster roared before charging at the former Crystal Prep student. Twilight took flight using her dark violet skin color and feathers to camouflage her as she soared the blackened sky. Making the assumption that she fled, the monster turned back to Sunset. He took one step before the four-eyed Alicorn anthrope swooped down and conked him with an energy mace. The monster roared, turning back to his assailant faster this time as he grabbed her foot and slammed her down.
He raises his free hand, unsheathing his claws that got blasted by a yellow beam. Before he could react, Twilight unleashed her magic, pushing him away with all her might. Sunset joined in, adding enough force send him crashing down into the house straight across from the school. The two pursed their lips before Twilight patted Sunset on the back.
“I’m glad you’re not dead.”
Sunset raised her finger, about to tell Twilight otherwise, but now isn’t the time. That combined effort won’t keep him down for long. They needed a plan, and they needed it now.
“We can try to tire him out.” Twilight pointed to the school. “I still need to get the device repaired.”
A thought stirs in the fire headed woman, “No, better idea. Remember what Flash went through one time?”
It took Twilight some time, but she got the idea. “We were lucky enough to get him out without consequence. Who knows what will happen this time?”
The rubble began to churn, getting their attention.
“Looks like we don’t have much of a choice.” Sunset made a small gulp.
The beast burst out of the debris with a loud growl. Noticing Twilight slowly levitating The HUB, a feat that felt like placing a Saint Bernard on her head, he growls. The burns on his hand healed as he balls up his hands. His patience is tested, slowly making each step as he saw Sunset bring herself between him and the statue once more. His eyebrows furrowed as he got closer, baring his saliva dripping fangs.
Sunset prepared her energy blade when her pony ears picked up something tearing. She looks to her left, finding such a tear of the space-time continuum. Coming out are Pinkie Pie, now with blue, orange, and yellow stripes on her hair, Rarity, her raven violet hair having blue and yellow stripes, and Fluttershy, now with a triad of Easter blues on her light pink hair. Of course, the monster was confused at to the nature of the pink one’s fourth wall breaking action.
“Sunset!” Pinkie embraces Sunset, her voice a little shaky. “I’m so happy you’re not dead.”
“Yeah, that’s great and all,” - Sunset notices the monster’s mouth turning blue - “But if we don’t move like about now, we will be.”
“Don’t worry.” Pinkie still keeps a happy face as she pats Sunset on the back. “The A-Bomb is about to drop.”
Sunset looked puzzled as the beast prepared its signature move. He stops to a faint sound, looking around slowly. The sound got louder and had more of a southern drawl. He looks up a little too late, getting dropped on by a pair of thick boots. He fell to his knees, adding more to the pain as the person who landed on him jumped off like a springboard. Applejack has come, tilting her stetson forward. Rainbow Dash swooped down soon after, showing off her Super Saiyan style hair and rainbow colored primary feathers.
“How’s that for an awesome comeback?” While hovering, Rainbow and Applejack gave each other a high five.
The monster began to growl, standing up on his aching legs. His teeth baring as the bruises on his shoulder faded quickly. Rainbow Dash closed her fists, generating a pair of sai. Pinkie Pie reached into her hair, pulling out a pair of energy nunchucks. Rarity pulled out a bo staff, holding it straight with both hands. Applejack generated a bull whip, giving the concrete she stood on a burn mark. Fluttershy drew out a long bow, the ends of the arrows having energized tips. Five girls, one monster. He accepts this challenge with a loud roar as the girls rushed at him.
The echo of the roar was loud enough to stir a pair of magenta eyes from their slumber. Scootaloo sat up, holding her head up with her hand.
“Ugh… I feel…” - Scootaloo raises her left arm, noticing her hand covered with a glove - “Weird.”
Looking st her arm, Scootaloo found herself to be draped in chain mail and blue cloth with her Crusader insignia at the center. Her wings were larger; not strong enough to fly easily, but still stronger than her diminutive appendages she had before, and had scythe-like blades tied to the primary feathers. At her side, she found a weapon tied to her side: a great sword with a fanning tip. Her right-hand pinches a little, her fingers feeling the red, white, and blue ribbon. Uncurling her extremities, Scoots' face beamed at the sight of a gold medal, one of Rainbow Dash' many medals. She holds the valuable close to her body before the moment is ruined by a ringtone.
"Scootaloo, you awake!?" Exclaims Sweetie Belle. On the other side of the line, the Crusader wore similar attire to Scootaloo, albeit her clothing over the chain mail is more of a faint gray color. Her horn is now longer, strapped to her side is her weapon: a battle ax.
"No kidding." Apple Bloom joins in the call. At the other side of the line, Apple Bloom’s cloth that draped over the armor was a red-pink like her now absent bow, and her weapon was a war hammer. Because of her hair being much longer than Scootaloo’s buzz cut and just slightly longer than Sweetie', a helmet couldn't fit her head. By some magic, it was braided instead, wrapping around her neck in a series of rings. Fitting for them to have armor like that of the Crusades after being called the Crusaders.
Apple Bloom and her closest friends caught site of a fiery explosion. Whatever monster their sisters both true and practical are fighting had them scowl.
“Care to let the Seniors have all the fun?” Scootaloo spreads her wings, ascending a few feet in the air and flying towards the fire.
Sweetie Belle’s horn glows, wrapping herself in an aura before disappearing. New to this, the younger sister of the famed fashionista could only do this in "leaps."
Apple Bloom turns around, bumping into her brother. It has only been a short while since he was asked to watch over her while Applejack was away. But, mule-headed AJ can be sometimes, it never helps to give a little bit of help. He steps aside once more. However, this time, Apple Bloom rushes to her window and gives a loud whistle. Big Boy, still unsaddled since the siege, galloped to the source of the sound. As he skids to a halt, the Crusader jumps out of the window, landing with a soft thump on the horse' bareback. Apple Bloom digs her heels at his side, getting him to move.
It is hard for Twilight to get the HUB repaired with all the explosions, yelling, and roaring. While magic cannot solve all things, it does serve her technological expertise justice as she repaired the busted computers. Now it was just hooking up the cables to the Sun Stone, a process that will take longer: one cable on the wrong part will overload the systems. She hears another hard thump, getting her to make a sharp turn and aiming a glowing fist at the same time a familiar plasma cannon aimed at her.
“Mind if I help?”
Rainbow Dash and Sunset, the fastest and second fastest flyers of the team, made a series of hit and run maneuvers that left the monster with gashes on his legs and holes in his chest. Applejack wrapped the energy bullwhip around his neck, pulling with all her might to keep him steady. Despite having melee weapons, Pinkie Pie still used her set of tricks; using disappearing acts of sprinkles and confetti to avoid getting stepped on before hitting him hard on his wounded areas. Rarity summoned a white diamond below her, using her levitation to spin herself like a top, rapidly thwacking her bo staff against the monster’s spines, pulling backing and done it again. Despite an uncertain feeling welling inside her, Fluttershy did as she must, and fired her arrows, each one digging into his thick hide.
The monster grew furious as it prepared one hidden trick. His spines sparked a little, then a series of lights pulsed across his charcoal black body. He arches his head and roars in tune to a large surge of energy that sent the Rainbooms flying. He huffed and puffed, his lips twitching as he turned to the leader of this little band, grabbing her by her yellow-orange throat. Staring her down with his red and yellow eyes, he grips her horn with his free hand, hearing her whine as the hardened spike of hair begin to break. Rainbow Dash recovered just a v-shaped shadow soared over her.
A massive flying creature, his body silhouette like a stealth fighter all the way to his small strigiform head, extends his spindly arms and hooks his claws into the monster’s wounds. He drags the beast away from the Rainbooms, each beat of his massive wings generating a strong wind. The monster bit down at the reptavian’s ankle, swinging his head to toss the animal several feet away. The flying animal lands on the roof of Canterlot High and screeches at the grounded reptile. The monster’s face pinched, ready to unleash his dragon fire when he suddenly felt smaller. His foot became lodged in a pothole that grew quickly, causing him to fall into the sewers.
Rarity felt a small tremor underneath her boots and shuffled back. Emerging from the asphalt was another reptilian being. The size of a Malayan tapir and just as heavily built, his body was laced with spikes, his arms squat with spatulate hands, his tail ending with a club. In addition to the crown of horns shooting out behind his skull, the two horns on his snout are longer and curved like a babirusa. The winged animal joined him, looking very slender with his wings folded back. When Rainbow Dash and Rarity shifted to another battle pose, the two should their left shoulders. The Maximal insignia changed once more; now it resembled an Styracosaurus showing off the spikes on its frill.
The peace is short; without warning, the monster erupted from the tiger trap, rushing at them while letting out a loud roar. When he is at point blank range of grabbing the Rainbooms, a yellow blur rushes at his side. This other animal, having a body style like the monster albeit more lightly built with a quilled tail and patches of osteoderms on his shoulders, hips, and back, sank his long teeth into the monster's throat. The beast grasped his opponent, leaving tooth marks as he pulled him away and tossed him towards the others.
As Luna would say, the fun is doubled as the Crusaders, Chelsey (now with a stature like that of Celestia with sloth-like claws underneath a kimono style feather dress), and Diver (her short and armored crocodilian body giving her the appearance of a Viking) joined them. As our heroes circled around him, the monster looks to his right, then to his left, then straight ahead. A league of fourteen against one monster. He curls his lips back and prepared to unleash his blue fire again.
Sunset drew out her sword and rushes at him, dodging a small stream of fire as she deals a slash across his stomach. Rainbow Dash turns her sai backward, running towards him before power sliding under his tail, puncturing his ankles. The monster prepared to retaliate against Pinkie when his left hand was caught by Applejack’s energy whip, stalling him long enough for Pinkie Pie and Rarity to deal a series of blows against his exposed and rapidly healing wounds. He yanks the farmer towards him, preparing to unleash his hot breath upon her when his skull gets punctured by Fluttershy’s energy arrows as she strafed around him.
Down the road, Flash and Tex kept to the corner of a building, getting a closer look at the fight deep within their fair city.
“Take a look, everyone!” Flash brings the microphone close to his mouth. “Look and hear those who fought so damn hard to keep this secret to their graves!” He brings microphone closer to the battle.
Sweetie Belle enchants her battle axe and throws it at the scaly monster, lodging it between his neck and left shoulder. Apple Bloom runs towards a recycling dumpster, vaulting off as she uses her war hammer to dig Sweetie’s ax even further into his flesh. Just as the monster pulled out the axe, Scootaloo launches into the air and digs her sword into the wound. The monster howls in both pain and protest when Cosgrove, Diver, and Dapplewood rammed at his right flank. They push him toward the left parking lot away from the statue before being cast aside with another thermonuclear pulse. Zipper soared the skies for long enough, divebombed the monster, lodging his hooks into his chest. The Sleipnir/Pterosaur hybrid was spun around, losing his grip before the monster dug his teeth into the left shoulder of his wings. Chelsey raised her claws and slaps the beast, leaving a couple of wounds at his side.
At the HUB, Twilight was about to leave when she turns around.
“Wait on my signal, okay?” She asks the person who helped her, Cogsworth.
“Got it.” He answers without looking back.
With a flap of her wings, Twilight ascends over the building, soaring over the rooftop to see the rest of her friends hounding the monster. The beast unleashes another thermonuclear pulse, sending them flying a few feet away. Dapplewood curls up into a ball, steering in a wide enough arc to smash a few houses as he reached the monster. The beast hunches forward, spreading his splayed feet as he waited for the spiked ball come to him. He spins around, thwacking Dapplewood with his thick tail. Scootaloo shuffled away just in time to avoid Dapplewood crashing into another car. The boy dinosaur uncurled himself, shaking his horned noggin as he tried to find which approaching monster is real or a hallucination.
After his third step on the demolished asphalt, his ears swivel to a sharp whistle. He twisted his massive torso and tiny head, shifting a blood red eye at Twilight. She spreads her wings as she curls her index finger several times. With a curl of his lips, the monster turns around, stepping on the grass with his curled toes. The others recover from the blast to see the monster approach their friend from Crystal Prep. Rainbow Dash scratches the ground to prepare for another strike when her magenta eyes spot Sunset showing her hand at her. Several times her height, the monster looks down at Twilight, a blue light shining through his orange teeth as he arches his neck back.
“Now!” Twilight shouts.
“Now!” Spike barks. Cogsworth presses a button, echoing the HUB with a loud hum.
Behind Twilight was a ground bridge portal, illuminating her back in an opal glow. With a flap of her massive wings, Twilight escapes with a gentle burn to her toes from the beasts flames. Where the attack was sent didn’t matter as the beast turned around to prepare another attack. Cogsworth, with his suit synced to the HUB, generates another bridge in front of the monster. Knowing what happened last time, they sought cover, embracing anything in case another shockwave. The monster looks up at Twilight, who gave him a smug look as she gave him a salute.
The monster felt the forces of the two portals pull him like two dogs with a rope. He has his muscular arms stretched, his tail pulled left and right, all the while keeping him still. The portals ever becoming unstable, the monster could only growl, feeling anguish once again. He roars, roaring loud like a child having a tantrum. The energies bounded like muscle tissue, encapsulating him in a large ball as bright as the sun. Our heroes shield their eyes as the ball flared so bright that it still looked like daylight. When the light begins to fade, they open them; nothing is left but a burn mark before the Wondercolt statue.
The battle is over, but yet the city burns. If anything, the costs of repairing the city will make Adagio burst a blood vessel or two. Fluttershy’s eyes catch a drip of rain slapping on the ground. She takes out one last arrow, firing it at the darkened sky. The cool, cleansing rain showered upon them, Pinkie Pie enjoying it by sticking out her tongue to collect the water. Flash Sentry and Tex approached the group of hybrids, the former turning the camera himself.
“This is Flash Sentry, signing off.” Flash ends the recording, giving the screen just static.
One of the televisions viewed is at Governor Thunder Hooves’ office. Like his associates around him, he had a completely dumbfounded look on his face. He sits on his desk, shuffling his fingers. One such associate looks at his boss.
“What do you want us to do?” He asks.
Thunder Hooves leans forward.
“Send for the Red Cross.” - He raises a finger when his secretary is about to ask about what happened - “We tell the news that this was an earthquake. This will be our little secret.”
The rain poured harder, dousing the flames. Our heroes looked at their destroyed environment. It’ll be a long time before they can get their city repaired again. Tex looked up at his anthropomorphic girlfriend. A lot of questions ran through his mind, the most important one being:
“So, how long will it take before you return to normal?”
The Rainbooms, Crusaders, and the Maximals widened their eyes. This was a last minute save courtesy of Night Dancer. They slowly turn their heads to the one person who had a super form like the ones they inhabit. Sunset lowered her shoulders, twirling her fingers.
“It… burns off eventually.” She answers.
Rarity looks at their desolate hometown, “So do we just go home?”
“Whatever home there is…” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings in a huff.
Cosgrove made the first step back to Great Valley Drive. Being animals anyhow, a destroyed home doesn’t make much sense to him. The other maximals joined him, echoing the roads with their heavy footsteps and roars. Cosgrove stops, twisting his upper torso to let out a bellow.
Spike trots over to Twilight, jumping into her arms and licking her face.
“See you guys tomorrow then?” She asks. Seeing the uneasy feeling in her friend’ face before they muttered their acknowledgments. With a shine of her horn, Twilight, and her faithful pet disappeared. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie waved goodbye before they turned around and walked towards home. The Crusaders picked up their weapons, clashed them together, then joined with their closest people as they returned to their homes. Sunset looks at Flash Sentry. In all the rough times they’ve been through, all the screwups that happened, they smiled. Sunset turns around and walks away to her home.
The following days ahead will be tough. A town to repair, citizens to return, secrets to be kept. And above all, a graduation to celebrate.