Life Fiber Harmonize

by Crystalis McCloud

... I Burn Myself to Ash...

Celestia let out a long sigh, levitating a scroll before her as she paced her throne room. Ponies around her moved tirelessly, cleaning up shattered pieces of flooring, splinters of wood, and shattered glass. Others entered the hall carrying new floor tiles, a new carpet, stained glass windows, and finally a set of huge double doors.

It was nice to finally get around to fixing the throne room after the mess Tirek had caused. Between repairing the damage done to the rest of Equestria, and still having to hold major events like the Grand Galloping Gala, it had taken a while to get to this. Plus getting all of the stained glass windows recreated, and getting the door wood from a particularly rare and strong Everfree tree had taken longer than expected. With so much done to return things to normal everywhere else, finishing it all here felt like the perfect punctuation at end of the road.

"Princess," a pegasus guard cleared his throat as he approached her through the empty doorway, "is there something ahoof in Ponyville?"

Celestia turned a curious eye to the stallion, "Why do you ask?"

The stallion trotted over to one of the empty spaces for the windows and pointed out to the sky. "Our sentries on the wall just reported that they saw Philomena flying in that direction. It seems quite urgent, considering how easy it is to spot."

Celestia felt a gnawing uneasiness as she approached the window to see. How had Philomena gotten out? She knew she'd left the bird in the cage in her bed chambers while she was seeing to the repairs. She'd even left a silence bubble around the room so the sounds of construction would not disturb Philomena, as she wasn't overly fond of loud noises.

What Celestia saw as she looked to the sky was quite a shock. A trail of flames, burning almost as bright as the sun, stretched from the upper heights of the castle and out beyond sight. With such intense fire she must have melted the bars of her cage to escape, but what could prompt such an unusual outburst? She was a bit of a troublemaker and prankster for a bird, to be sure, but the guard had been quite right to say that her flight seemed very urgent.

"I fear that it's not Ponyville we have to worry about," Celestia said calmly, keeping herself collected so as not to alarm those around that had started to stare. She looked to the guard again, giving him the scroll she'd been holding on to for overseeing the repairs. "I want you to keep things running for me. I need to take a moment to get in touch with Princess Twilight."

Before the guard could even answer her command, she turned to leave the throne room, summoning up a blank scroll and quill to scrawl down a letter. There was only one reason she could think of for Philomena to go to Ponyville on her own. The portal to the human world was there, in Twilight's castle, and beyond that portal was the one whom Philomena cared most for, Sunset Shimmer. The bond between the two had always been as mysterious as it was powerful. When Philomena had entered her rebirth cycle many decades earlier than she should have, shortly after Sunset had fled through the portal, Celestia had believed it was in response to a change in the mare's heart. Their lives were undeniably entwined, and for Philomena to choose to act like this now, even after all the other dangers that Sunset had encountered in the other world, had to mean that a far more terrible danger was looming.

She just hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The dark song of the sirens came to an end as they reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the school's destroyed doors. Adagio stood at the front of the trio, with Aria and Sonata flanking her on either side. She placed a hand on her hip and smirked up at the girls watching them.

"I thought we were done with you," Sunset called down to them, stepping forward from the group. "How did you even get your magic back?”

Adagio's malicious smirk only grew wider as she replied, "You'll have to thank your cute little ex-boyfriend, and that green sneak, Sunset. Those idiots took us in and thanks to Emerald we're stronger than ever now." She held up a fist and clenched it tight. The force of that simple gesture was so strong that it made an audible thump. "Thanks to the Life Fibers woven into our outfits, we don't just have our magic back; we have power beyond anything you could imagine."

"Life Fibers?" Sunset echoed. If the name was any indication... A living fabric? Did that have something to do with Emerald's talking jacket? And just what were he and Flash thinking, helping the sirens?

"You Rainbooms aren't going to be able to sing your way out of this," Adagio cackled.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with, Adagio," Aria grumbled grouchily. "Once we kill them we can trick Twilight into opening the portal and take over Equestria."

"Horseapples," Sunset whispered. They were after her journal. How did they know that it could be used to contact Twilight?

Adagio turned a fierce glare back to Aria, who just huffed indifferently. She was about to speak again when Sonata leaped between the two, wearing an oblivious smile.

"Aw come on, do we have to kill them? They aren't so bad," she laughed.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Sunset saw her friends grow more tense at every mention of the word kill. Fluttershy hugged tight to the arm of Pinkie, who if at all possible was looking just as uncomfortable as the meek girl. Unsurprisingly, Rainbow Dash looked primed and ready to leap at the trio, and Applejack was squeezing her shoulder to hold her back. Rarity somehow looked even more pale, as though ready to fall back onto an absent fainting couch at a moment's notice.

"Zip it, both of you!" Adagio barked. "We went through Hades because of them, and I'll be damned if we don't do this exactly as planned. I will have my moment!"

The two recoiled at the outburst and nodded reluctantly.

Adagio turned back to face Sunset and the girls and crossed her arms over her chest. A pale blue aura, completely different from the sinister red they once had, silhouetted her body. In response to the surge, a pair of pony ears appeared atop her head, and piscene fins grew from her back like wings.

"Well, Rainbooms? Any last words?" Adagio asked, her voice low and laced with hatred. The danger became very much apparent as multiple spots of magic started to appear around her. These points began to expand, and water in the air began to condense into razor thin disks swirling at high speed. It wasn't hard to imagine this spell's purpose.

It was very clear to Sunset that their situation was beyond just bad. Whatever these Life Fiber things were, they had put the sirens on a completely different level than before. She and her friends couldn't use musical magic to counter this. There was no matching the physical strength they'd gained either. She'd never felt so completely and utterly helpless.

"Emmy! Oh no, Emmy!" a sudden shout turned all attention to the side as Coco Pommel came running out of the school entryway, past the girls, headed right for the pile of rubble Emerald lay in.

"No you don't," Aria said, her expression flat and unchanging. She aimed a hand at Coco, glowing with the same blue light as she transformed, and shot a gout of steam from her palm. The hot stream struck Coco full on, scalding her and flinging her limp body against the brick wall.

"Coco! Oh, the poor dear. What did she ever do to you, you ruffians?!" Rarity shouted, stepping forward in a sudden swell of bravery.

"Ah ah ah," Sonata said with a smile, "don't get any funny ideas." She raised her hand and followed the other's lead, transforming and unleashing her magic. For her, a chilly beam shot forward and struck Rarity's feet, encasing them in ice and rooting her where she stood.

"Eek!" Rarity shrieked in panic. "Do you have any idea how hard these boots were to make? The materials were very expensive! I expect you to pay for these if you ruined them! And as for what you did to poor Coco, you should be asha-- mmph!" A smaller beam shot out, and a band of ice wrapped over her lips, silencing her.

Rainbow and Applejack snorted in a futile attempt to not laugh.

Sunset's eyes flicked back and forth between the sirens, taking in information. It seemed like they not only had musical magic, but were each capable of controlling one of the three stages of water. That made sense. Sirens were aquatic creatures. What use was this information though? Her panic was getting the better of her, making her scrutinize details that weren't even useful to her. She had to get it together and think of a way to save herself and her friends.

"Can't say I think those were very good last words," Adagio commented. "Now, time to die, Rainbooms."

Tseeeeeeer!

That sound. Could it be?

Adagio's arms whipped forward, and the water disks shot at them. In the same instant, a bright light flew out of the statue in the center of the courtyard, moving through the air with a wake of searing flame as it intercepted the attack.

A loud hiss and a cloud of steam filled the air, the disks burning away under a wave of intense heat. The steam billowed out, enveloping the whole courtyard, the white fog masking everything but a golden light that shined brilliantly before Sunset.

"... Philomena?" she asked hesitantly. As the steam began to clear, the familiar form of her old friend started to come into focus. The sight had her on the verge of tears. "Philomena! You saved us!"

"She's beautiful," Fluttershy commented in awe of the radiant bird.

"So shiny!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Sunset's elation was short lived, as she felt a terrible dread suddenly flood into her heart unbidden. A moment later, the light from Philomena started to fade fast, and with a dull, wet thud, she fell to the floor.

"Philomena!" Sunset cried. She rushed over to her fallen friend's side, seeing a small puddle of blood starting to form under her, matting her beautiful feathers. She gingerly, ever so carefully pulled Philomena's wing aside, and broke into sobs. There was a deep gash across the bird's stomach. It probably didn't seem too bad, but a phoenix was a very slender bird; even a seemingly shallow cut only an inch deep could slice into vital organs or arteries.

Philomena was dying. Worst of all was the fact that Sunset could feel every little bit of life leaving, like pieces of her own heart crumbling away.

"This is horrible," Fluttershy gasped, tears welling in her eyes. She knelt down beside Sunset and gently stroked the creature’s head. "Won't she be reborn when she dies? Isn't that what a phoenix does?"

Sunset shook her head, lifting her wounded friend and holding her tight to her chest. "No, a phoenix can only revive itself when it reaches the end of its lifespan and enters a natural cycle," she explained, fighting the tears even as they streamed down her face. "If they die from injury, they never come back." The warm blood covering her hands and staining her clothes was the least of her worries. All she cared about right now was holding Philomena tight. She would show her that the one that loved her most was here for her.

As the steam completely cleared, the sirens got to see their handiwork. Adagio looked strangely taken aback, and Sonata was beyond alarmed. She grabbed Adagio by her arm and shook her furiously.

"Adagio, this wasn't part of the--"

"Zip it!" Adagio cut her off in a panic. She closed her eyes for a second and looked back to Sunset with a fierce glare. "Your little bird shouldn't have gotten in the way. Now things are going to get very ugly for you."

"How..." Sunset's body shook as an entirely different feeling flooded her being. They'd attacked this school. They'd hurt her fellow students and her friends. Because of them, her best friend she'd had since fillyhood was about to die. They didn't care. They were evil. All of these thoughts swirled inside her, stirring a part of her that she'd tried to get away from for months now. A black aura started to lift off of her, growing larger and larger.

She wanted to make them pay.

"How--"

"How dare you!"

Sunset's head snapped over to see Flash Sentry stepping up next to her, the black aura vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. His eyes were lit with an intensity that she hadn't seen since she last saw pony Flash. In his hand he tossed and caught what looked like a small spool wrapped in glowing red thread.

"Oh? The pretty boy steps forward? Don't you have a guitar to go tune, hun?" Adagio scoffed, waving a hand dismissively at him.

"Adagio, why are you doing this?" he shouted. "I didn't save your lives so that you could come back and hurt all my friends! Do you see what you've done?!"

"So what?" she snapped back. "It's because of the Rainbooms that we almost died in the first place. I'm going to return the favor."

Flash started down the steps, clasping the spool of thread tight in his hand. "I'm not going to let this continue."

What did he think he could do? It didn't seem like he had those Life Fiber things in his own clothes, and Emerald had been defeated easily by Adagio single-handedly.

"And what are you going to do?" Adagio asked, echoing Sunset's concerns. "You can't beat our Goku Uniforms." Flash twirled the spool in his fingers then opened it on a hinge to reveal blinking lights and circuitry hidden within. "I can if I have a Goku Uniform of my own," he explained. When he held the device over his jacket sleeve, red threads shot out, latched themselves to the garment and wove the device on tight. "Fiber Interweave Terminal, activate."

Bright light shined from the device, and the red threads started to spiderweb throughout his clothes. They lit up brilliantly, pinpoints of light flashing along their length as energy flowed into them. Eventually his entire outfit was covered with those glowing red lines, like a second network of blood vessels. The threads around his jacket sleeves started to twist and stitch together, forming a pair of crimson four point stars on each arm. Lastly, the threads flowed out of the cuffs of his jacket and condensed into silver bracelets on his wrists.

Flash took a ready posture, holding his fists up and widening his stance, just as he had taught Sunset to do. "Lightning Spec, Augmentation Enhancing Two Star Goku Uniform! Guardian Flash Sentry, ready to fight!" he shouted, the change completed. His clothes didn't look any different than they had before, aside from the red stars on his jacket and the bracelets, but a feeling of strength came off of him as he stood his ground.

"Heh, interesting. I didn't know that the organization had toys like that," Adagio looked him over with smug confidence. "So what is lightning spec, augmentation enhancing supposed to mean? You think just because we use water that you'll have the advantage with lightning?

Flash didn't answer, but Sunset had a feeling she knew what was coming. If these Goku Uniforms were able to unleash the magic buried deep in a person, then she knew exactly what that meant for Flash. His pony self had a talent unlike any pegasus she had ever known. A talent that the sirens would never see coming.

Flash lifted one of his arms over his head, and the bracelets on his wrists started to expand, wrapping up and down his arms until they took shape as a pair of gleaming gauntlets. The weapons were so much like the ones his pony self used, with a particularly thick, heavy plate covering the back of his forearm and hand, and the rounded end wrapping around his knuckles, almost hiding his hands. A gauntlet weapon as thick and durable as a shield, capable of delivering fast, powerful strikes while also providing incredible defense if used correctly; the Barrier Cestus.

With his arm raised high, Flash called out, "Thunder set." A soft orange glow spread across his body, pony ears replaced his human ones, and the feathered wings of a pegasus pony sprouted from his back just as several bolts of electricity arced out and struck the cestus, sending their current coursing through his body. Looking up, Sunset could see that the "lightning" came from power lines that ran from the street to the school. Electrical energy danced through the air between his wings and crept along his skin as that power was drawn into and contained within his body.

"Impressive light show," Adagio smirked. She pointed a hand at Flash, calling forth more water disks around her. "Since you saved our lives, just this once I'll do you the favor of sparing you and only shredding your Goku Uniform."

With a snap of his wings and a deafening crack of thunder, Flash was behind Adagio, his body coursing with power and his arm pulled back to strike. The sirens started to turn, stunned at the sudden burst of speed.

"What the--"

Before Adagio could finish, Flash's fist struck her jaw with another thunderous snap of power. A moment later, a secondary shockwave cracked from his gauntlets, sending Adagio flying into the stairs. Electricity danced painfully across her body as the wave rocked through her, and Aria and Sonata immediately leaped back to distance themselves from Flash.

"It's just like in Equestria," Sunset said in awe. She'd forgotten how incredible this ability was. It had been so long since she'd seen it. A weak call from Philomena returned her attention to the bird, and she tenderly stroked her head.

"Whatever he's doing, it's totally awesome! What do you mean it's just like in Equestria?" Rainbow asked, her eyes riveted on Flash and an excited grin plastered on her face. In her excitement, she was instinctively shadowboxing, bobbing back and forth with her fists raised to fight.

"The Flash Sentry from Equestria had this unique ability too. He was able to take the power of lightning and electricity into his body like a battery," Sunset explained, watching on as Flash readied himself to fight. "Then, he directs the electricity, along with the mana inside it, to different parts of his body. From there, he can release a pulse of force or use it to reinforce himself. When he does, his speed and reflexes are enhanced, as well as the strength of his body to withstand the strain. The attribute that gets the biggest boost, however, is his acceleration. He isn't the fastest, but he can hit top speed and stop again in less than half a second without any negative effects from the g-force."

"Wow, that really is something right there," Applejack commented. "I guess that magic stuff has even more uses than what we've seen before."

Flash approached Adagio's fallen form, glaring down at her as he said, "You can't win, Adagio. You're wearing a One Star Uniform, and mine is a Two Star. You three should leave right now, while you still can."

Adagio just laughed, pushing herself back to her feet as the last bits of electricity lanced along her body. Surprisingly, she didn't look worse for wear after the hit she'd taken. There was barely even a scuff on her cheek. Faster than Sunset could follow, she leaped forward and threw a punch at Flash, who blocked with one arm. The sound of metal ringing from the impact was deafening, and the force of the blow made Flash's feet sink into the concrete beneath him as it crumbled away.

"You've got it backwards, Flash," Adagio said smugly. "Our Goku Uniforms are special. They are linked together, and because of that they have all the power of a Three Star Uniform!"

"What?!" Flash gasped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sonata charge him, and barely lifted his other arm in time to block her fist.

Both arms now occupied, Aria moved in next, leaping up and spinning in the air to deliver a brutal kick right to Flash's exposed shoulder. Adagio and Sonata moved aside as Flash was sent tumbling across the courtyard, and the three sirens charged him once more.

Flash recovered quickly, righting himself mid-tumble and flinging an arm out to call, "Thunder set!" Another bolt of electricity was called to strike his cestus, filling him with power. With a supercharged flap of his wings he shot forward to meet the trio.

Shockwaves rocked through the air as the fight moved at sonic speed. The lightning streak of Flash and the blue glows of the sirens took to the skies in a flurry of clashes that were almost too fast to follow. Flash ducked, jabbed, swerved, and blocked, but every strike he managed to land was shrugged off, even with his secondary impact waves hitting them full on. Meanwhile, he had to contend with blasts of steam, ice, and water that threatened to knock him right out of the sky on top of the coordinated strikes of the sirens. For every two blows he managed to land, the sirens dealt a much more painful one in return.

He was holding his own, but Sunset could see that he was wearing down fast. It couldn't be easy for him to keep the currents in his body under control while fighting, and he was still new to using the technique. The pony Flash had even said it took him years to master containing lightning without it hurting his body. It had to be agony just using this ability, and yet he wasn't letting a bit of it show. That was just like him.

Suddenly, yet another new voice spoke up from off to her side, "This is bad. His ability is allowing him to keep up with the speed of all three of them, but his offensive and defensive power isn't enough. He's going to lose."

Sunset looked beside her, and if she hadn't already seen enough shocking things today, what she saw might have actually surprised her. Standing at her side, staring up at the battle in the sky, was a black and red school sailor uniform with a pair of eyes under its scarf. It may not have had much of in the way of a face, but she could tell that it was very worried.

The rest of the group recoiled in surprise at his sudden appearance, but Pinkie waved excitedly at the garment. "Oh look, it's Sam Ketchup!" Pinkie said. "Why aren't you on Emerald? Looked like he got hurt pretty bad."

The uniform violently shuddered and replied, "Please don't call me that. My name is Senketsu, and Emerald told me to leave him to come and get help from you.”

Help? How could they help? Even though they wanted to, there was no way they could match the power the sirens had. Sunset could feel that not even the magic of friendship could stop the trio.

"It's hopeless," Sunset said bluntly, cradling Philomena in her arms and stroking her head. "The sirens have won. We're no match for them now."

"What are you talking about, Sunset?!" Rainbow shouted. "You can't just give up now. If we had those Geki Uniforms too, we could totally whup their butts and send them packing!"

"They're called Goku Uniforms," Senketsu corrected her, "and that's exactly why I'm here. Sunset, I have something for you." He reached into his chest pocket and held out a spool of glowing red thread to her just like the one Flash had used, only this one had Sunset's mark on top, the crimson and gold sun. "Unfortunately, we don't have the ones that we made for the rest of you, but this FIT is designed just for you. With the Three Star configuration programmed into it, you will be able to match or even beat Adagio and the others."

Sunset's face went pale. He wanted her to wear one of those things? Yet another source of awesome power? Her mind flashed back to when she had placed the Element of Magic on her head, and the darkness in her heart transformed her into a terrible demon. That darkness wasn't gone. She felt it bubbling beneath the surface as she wrestled with her fury that she was about to lose her oldest friend.

"No, I don't want a power like that ever again," Sunset hissed through clenched teeth. "I won't let myself become a monster!"

Uuuwoh.

Sunset looked down to Philomena, who was staring at her with a tender gaze. A smile crept unbidden to Sunset's lips, and she leaned in to nuzzle nose to beak. "You idiot. You're the one that's hurt. Why are you the one cheering me up?" she muttered.

Senketsu hopped closer and placed a sleeve on her shoulder. "I know this is a lot to take in. Still, I'm begging you to believe me when I say that I know you can do this. We wouldn't have prepared a uniform for you if we thought you were still the demon we saw when we first started watching over you all. You've changed."

Senketsu's attempted kindness lit a fuse in Sunset, and she smacked the spool of thread out of his sleeve before turning a smoldering glare on him. "So let me get this straight; you and that Emerald guy have been spying on me and my friends ever since the Fall Formal," she barked, her voice rising as she kept going. "You came into our school and started working in the shadows, not even talking to us about this Life Fiber business. You just sat and watched on the sidelines as the sirens almost succeeded in tearing our school apart, and then decided for whatever reason to make these dangerous clothes for them to give them their powers back and then some. Then last but not least, you started making these clothes for us too, and are expecting us to start fighting for you now that the shit has hit the fan. Where the hell do you guys get off pulling this crap?"

“Uh, Sunset, normally I’d agree with ya, but I reckon we’ve got bigger problems right now,” Applejack pointed out, still watching the thunderous fight in the skies.

Senketsu's eyes shifted away and clenched shut as he answered, "We didn't have a choice. One of our most dangerous enemies already knows we are, and we couldn't risk letting Crystal Prep find us before we were ready."

"Crystal Prep?" Rainbow Dash butted in. "They're involved in this whole mess?"

Senketsu nodded. "There's no time to explain though. Sunset, I know you're mad, but--"

Before he could finish, Flash was sent crashing into the stairway with a loud crash. The force of the impact shattered the concrete and sent debris flying in every direction. When the dust cleared, he could be seen trying to get up on his feet, only to fall forward with a painful groan.

"Flash!" all of them shouted. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack even started to step out to help him.

"Stay back!" he shouted as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata landed in front of his beaten form. His body was completely devoid of strength and hung limp as Adagio lifted him by his collar.

A dark smile spread across the girl's face as she held Flash up like some sort of trophy. "You put up a good fight, pretty boy. Better than Emerald did, anyway. Congrats on getting a few clean hits in," she commended him.

"Yeah, I was, like totally surprised," Sonata giggled. "Wouldn't it have been scary if he'd had a Three Star? He would have totally kicked our butts!"

Aria rolled her eyes and groaned, "Could you shut your big mouth for once? Talking about us losing isn't exactly going to make them terrified of us."

Sonata turned her nose up and huffed, "Meanie. If you're going to be like that, I won't share any of my candy with you when we get back."

In an unusual display of emotion, Aria's cold indifference suddenly melted into surprising concern. "Whoa now, let's not go saying things we'll regret later," she said cautiously.

Pretending she hadn't heard, Sonata tapped her chin and wondered aloud, "I think I'll start with the Nerds."

Concern turned to panic and anger as Aria shouted, "You know those are my favorite!"

"Oh for the love of Sleipnir, would the two of you stop?" Adagio groaned in disgust. She looked at Flash's ragdoll body in her hand and just threw him aside. "Great, now because of you idiots, I don't even feel like dealing with him anymore." She looked up to Sunset and swept her arm out, summoning her water discs again. "I'm far from finished with you, though."

"Damn, this isn't good," Senketsu grimaced. "You knocked the FIT too far away for me to get to. She'll kill you before you have the chance to use it."

"I already told you, I don't want that kind of power," Sunset said, her gaze fixed on Adagio. It was tough talk, though. She didn't want to trust this creepy talking outfit, but at the same time she was starting to wish she hadn't smacked that device away. Her pride and regret are the last things she wanted to get her and her friends killed. Philomena was dying, and they were next. If she had just taken the stupid device from Senketsu in the first place she would be able to protect her friends.

Philomena's head lunged to the side, pecking at Senketsu's sleeve out of nowhere, making him jump back. "Ow! What was that for? Wait... What?"

Sunset looked down to see that Philomena was holding a blood red glove in her beak, and the bird's eyes slowly started to close as a fresh flow of blood stained her hands. Her breath caught in her throat. "Philomena! No, please don't die! Don't leave me after I just got you back!" she screamed. "Why did you do that? You're just going to die faster!"

Senketsu watched Philomena in a frustrated mix of curiosity and concern. When she lunged at him like that she had irritated her wound. Surely she understood that? Why would she hasten her own death just to get ahold of the Seki Tekko? He had a feeling he was about to find out.

Philomena's weak, half-lidded gaze met Sunset's and she let out a soft coo.

I'm never leaving your side again, Mom.

The words Sunset felt in that instant were like a knife through her heart, and Philomena burst into flame in her arms. The soft orange and gold tongues consumed the bird's body, as well as all the blood that soaked Sunset's skin, clothes, and even the Seki Tekko. The dreadful, yet beautiful, funeral pyre wreathed around Sunset and completely enveloped her as she let out a heart-wrenching scream. Brilliant light radiated from the center of the flame, bathing all around in a tender warmth as Sunset's sobs sent chills through their spines. Even the sirens gave a noticeable shudder at the sound.

"Whoa, look what's happening to Senketsu!" Pinkie shouted, pointing to him on the other side of the flames. Just as she spoke up, Senketsu felt a rush through every last one of his fibers. Two bursts of immense magic flooded him to the point that he felt he would overflow, and the black of his fabric began to shift to a shimmering gold color, starting from the hem of his skirt and traveling all the way up to his collar. Whatever Philomena was doing to the Seki Tekko, it was affecting him too; he could feel it. He was evolving in response to this overwhelming power.

From within the roaring flames, Sunset felt the warmth of Philomena's soul enveloping her and melting away each tear before it could even fall. She felt a push, as though a hand were upon her back, urging her to her feet, and she followed it. She stood in the inferno with only the red, fingerless glove clutched tightly in her hand, and her shoulders shaking as her grief pressed down on her.

Philomena was dead. Her first and oldest friend was gone in an instant, and as that cruel fact continued to churn inside her, Sunset could also feel the blackness in her heart screaming and clawing its way to the forefront. A sinister aura started to pulse off of her body, only to be driven away as the flames leaped upon the shadows in an instant, purging it and filling her heart with a consoling warmth. Beneath that warmth, however, she discovered a burning wrath that made the darkness seem tame in comparison.

It was Philomena's heart speaking to her, and she understood what was being said.

I don't have to be afraid of myself. It's okay to have feel rage and fury. I don't have to let it control me. I can control it .That is the burning star that is our hearts, right, Philomena?

The world around her seemed to fade as clarity filled her, giving way to endless whiteness. In that moment, all that existed was Sunset, the warm flames of Philomena, and…

The hand on her back that suddenly shoved her forward.

Sunset failed desperately to keep her balance, barely managing to keep herself upright. She whipped around, immediately ready to blame Rainbow Dash, but her voice caught in her throat when she laid eyes on someone entirely different. It was a punkish looking girl with messy, medium length black hair accentuated by a single locke that was a bright crimson. She stared back at Sunset with feisty dark grey eyes that had a strange pattern inside them, somewhere between a flower and a clockwork gear. She was also wearing what looked like Senketsu, but the sailor uniform's distinct eyes were nowhere to be seen.

"Who are you?" Sunset asked cautiously.

The girl just put on a fierce smile, her form becoming translucent as she started to fade. "Good luck out there," she said. "This fight isn't going to be an easy one."

Sunset had the distinct, foreboding feeling that the girl wasn't just talking about the sirens, but she slowly nodded. "Thanks."

The girl's smile softened, and she held out a hand, asking, "And please take good care of Senketsu, would ya? That blubbering rag can be such a crybaby, and he's totally hopeless without me."

Sunset hesitated for a moment, staring at the girl's hand. Why did this feel so... right? She didn't even know this girl, but she felt a strong kinship with her at first sight. Before she even realized it, she was clasping the girl's in her own, giving a firm shake.

The girl's smile broke into a huge grin, and she faded away completely with one last cheer.

"Thanks, Sunset. Now go give those bitches hell!"

The parting words got an amused chuckle out of Sunset, and the world snapped back into focus. The glove she held writhed with life and wrapping itself around her hand before another whole glove split off from it and put itself on her other hand. At the same time, the inferno that enveloped her body started to recede, all of the flames converging on a single point at her right hand. When the last tongue was pulled away, what remained on her finger was a golden ring in the shape of a phoenix, with its wings cradled around a glowing, perfectly round ruby.

The girls watched in wonder as Sunset raised her hand, amber flames erupting around the ring. This was her anger and hatred, freed from the fear and darkness she'd held in her heart and turned into a pure righteousness. It was a harmonious flame, the fury of which was fueled by her love for her friends and this world she called home. This was their power; hers and Philomena's.

The sirens all took a considerable step back in the face of such intensity. A nervous grimace even shadowed Adagio's face for just a moment, but she held firm, raising a hand over her head to summon more deadly discs.

"You're going to pay for what you've done!" Sunset shouted at the trio. Light and flame poured out of her ring and encircled her in a burning spiral. She poured every last bit of her heart into the ring, just like that day so many years ago when she hatched Philomena.

"As if I'd just stand and watch!" Adagio shouted back. She swung her hand down and the water discs shot at Sunset all at once.

"Shippu Senjin!"

In a burst of fire, Senketsu rocketed into the path of the discs. His body hardened like steel, and scorching hot razor spines sprouted along his body. The jets that formed from his skirt sent him into a dizzying spin to slice right through the discs, which fell to harmless puddles on the ground, and he arced through the air before landing squarely in front of the tornado of flame.

The blaze dispersed, revealing Sunset in her pony transformation, but with her once green eyes now glowed with the same amber hue as the flaming aura that lit upon her forehead. She stood ready to fight, her hands raised to brandish her weapons. "Phoenix Gloves," she called their name, flourishing the transformed Seki Tekkos. The once fingerless gloves now covered her hands entirely, with amber colored metal plates wrapping over the knuckles and finger joints, and a razor metal nail extending from each fingertip like talons. The backs of each glove were embedded with identical hemispheres of a ruby sphere like on the ring, and both were wreathed by the image of Sunset's sun mark. Golden pinions decorated the cuffs of the gloves to finish the motif, making the weaponized gloves look truly avian in nature.

"Whoa! That is so awesome!" Rainbow cheered.

"Looks like we'll make it through this afterall," Applejack agreed.

"Yeah! Kick some butt, Sunset!" Pinkie whooped.

"Be careful," Fluttershy whispered softly.

"Hmph," Rarity huffed, pouting through the ice still keeping her silent.

With her friends supporting her, Sunset's full attention zeroed in on the sirens. Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched tight.

"Let's go, Philomena."

Comments

[Luna_gamer]

OMG EPIC. I loved the chpater can't wait for the next and I loved what happened with Sunset.

[Crystalis McCloud]

6722553 Thank you very much. I put a lot of thought and effort into this chapter, starting multiple ideas in the previous chapter just so that they could come together perfectly in this one. I hope that what happened with Philomena got an emotional reaction, as I was really aiming for a gut-wrenching feeling, but as the writer I find it hard to judge whether my work can get that feeling out of my readers since I know so much more about my own story in minutia and that affects my perception.

[Luna_gamer]

6722559 For me it was a really sad moment and you could feel for sunset. Again I just can not wait till tou give us the next chapter.

[Crystalis McCloud]

6722621 Good. I'm glad I got the reaction I was aiming for.

I look forward to showing you and all my other readers just what the Phoenix Gloves can do.

[HB_DS2013]

Sunset hatched Philomena and has met Ryuko? Niiiice~

[Crystalis McCloud]

6722665 A part of Ryuko, at least. The way I'm interpreting it, Ryuko and Senketsu each left a little piece of themselves in the other, which is my way of explaining how Senketsu's image appeared to Ryuko in the OVA episode. I don't know if Ryuko would have a normal human life span or not, but if she did, then she'd be long dead by the time this story starts. Senketsu and Koketsu were traveling through space for a long time.

[HB_DS2013]

6722694 But Ryuko's half-Life Fiber!

[Crystalis McCloud]

6722700 Exactly, which is why I say that I don't know if she has a normal life span or not. Her human cells could very well age normally and pass away, and the life fibers in her would die with her, but at the same time they could very well extend her life and keep her young. There's no way of knowing for absolute sure given what's in the show.

[ViktornovaMk2]

Suddenly the Friendship Games just got a whole lot more interesting.
And I'm kinda interested in how the CMC getting their Cutie Marks would work out for human Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in this universe.
So many images are running through my head right now.
Please, do continue to impress upon my imagination

[Daxen123]

So sunset is this ridiculous with just philomena, Imagine when she'll also have senketsu on.

[Crystalis McCloud]

6723554
Philomena's ring and part of Senketsu, really. And do remember that according to the information I've provided more subtly, the sirens have only had a week of training with Goku Uniforms, so they aren't even quite at the level of the first time Ryuko fought any of the Elite Four.

Still, I hope you enjoy how this all turns out.

[blazikenking]

Geki Uniforms

I immediately thought of these characters
img12.deviantart.net/27a4/i/2011/289/6/5/jyuken_sentai_gekiranger_by_blakehunter-d4d1e9q.jpg