• Published 11th Feb 2016
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Flame of Disparity - Cinders of War



Sunset Shimmer awakens in a cold and distant land, with no recollection of how she got there. With ravenous beasts and blood-thirsty mobs after the flame that she carries, Sunset will need all her wits to survive this deadly night.

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Chapter 3: Thieves' Passage

Sunset Shimmer had given herself ten minutes to cool down and rest up, cutting off another piece of her dress to bandage her leg up. This time, she had no choice but to shear off a portion of the blue fabric, exposing a little of her abdomen in the process, but it didn’t matter her. For all she cared, she could run around naked. She just wanted to get away from this dreadful place. Sunset had found a little tunnel at the end of the waterway path, leading under the city. Remembering what the man had told her, Sunset made her way in, going back into the darkness.

It was only now did she realize what the people of this world saw in her; it was the reason why she could see the through the darkness right in front of her feet. Sunset had a small yellowish glow emanating from her, allowing her to at least see where she was going. That was how she could see a little down the dark hallway from before. It seems there was more to this flame than she had first thought.

The tunnel was a simple earthen structure, unevenly made, but seeing as it had survived with a city over it, it must be well supported. The tunnel soon led out into a huge open space, taken up with two platforms on the left and right, along with the rush of water directly under her. The walls past the tunnel dripped with slime and water, while stringy plants hung down from the ceiling, looking like they were ready to choke the life out of someone.

“How am I supposed to get there?” Sunset asked out loud as she pondered. There was no way she was going to be able to jump to either platform and there was no chance she would be swimming either, even if her leg wasn’t injured. “Great…”

Looking for anything she could use, Sunset found a few broken planks on the floor, just to the left of her position. Seeing no other alternative, she picked one up to see if she could use it to cross to the other side.

Unexpectedly, the plank was attached to the ground by a thin rope, only moving slightly. Then there was a loud click that echoed through the cavern as a metallic board began extending from the floor under her. The sound of metal scraping against metal was hair raising, but Sunset Shimmer continued to endure it, glad when it finally stopped, allowing her to walk out above the water.

She had remembered the name was of this dank place was Thieves’ Passage, but she’d never expected the entrance to be something like that. Unfortunately, there was still no direct path to either platforms. Sunset would have to jump to either side if she wanted to continue.

“Really?” she groaned. Seeing as one leg was injured, it wasn’t going to be an easy jump.

With no other alternative, Sunset took a deep breath and steadied herself. Throwing her sword to the left platform, the fiery haired girl took one step back before leaping across, landing on her right shoulder as she fell on the wooden platform.

“Agh!” Sunset yelled as she rubbed at her shoulder. Luckily, it didn’t feel broken, only bruised. It just hurt to land on it. “Who would build an entrance like that, seriously?”

Picking up her sword, Sunset Shimmer made her way across the platform, following it around the curve against the wall, leading down the sewers. The smell of the water was getting to her nose, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. The water seemed to reek of rats and pollution.

Oh, why did it have to be sewers?

Around the next corner, Sunset came face to face with another giant rat, feasting on a pile of bones. The girl shuddered at the sight of it, but did what she had to do when the rat turned to her, squeaking hungrily as its eyes met hers.

Sunset slashed out at it as the rodent crawled to her, cutting it across the left eye. The rat squirmed and squeaked as it clawed at its face, unable to stop itself from falling off the platform and into the raging waters below. Soon, it was out of sight, disappearing down a pit, following the current.

“No wonder it smells of rats…” Sunset grabbed at her wounded arm.

The next passage led into a rocky cavern, filled with wooden crates and empty bottles, along with a man, watching her from atop one of the crates.

“Aye… A flame. It’s been a while.” He picked up a rapier and pushed himself up, slowly shambling towards Sunset. “Give it to me…”

Sunset stepped back and held her sword in both hands. “No, please. I don’t want a fight.”

The man bent back in laughter. He had a shaggy beard, along with long disheveled grey hair; he had on some kind of coat with stripes on the front. “Then you’re easy pickings, lass.”

He stabbed forward with his rapier, barely missing Sunset, who hopped out of the way, landing on her weakened leg. She crumpled to the ground, allowing the man to advance on her. The fiery haired girl pushed up, but slashed with her blade to parry the man’s next strike.

Sunset swiped low, catching the man in the left foot. With a sickening crunch, he fell over his leg and smashed his face on the ground.

The girl almost threw up when she saw his stump spewing blood across the rocks.

“You little wretch…” the man grunted as he crawled towards her, sword still in hand. “Your flame will be mine!”

Sunset deflected his stab and jumped up and away a few steps. “Why? What so important about my flame?”

The man feinted his blade to the right and thrust his blade forward. “You foolish girl! A flame is everything here!”

Sunset raised her arm and tilted her body; the blade missed her chest and lodged into the rock wall behind her. Closing her eyes, Sunset cut out, slashing the man across the chest, spraying blood across her body and face.

The man flailed his arms and fell back, shuddering once more before going still. Sunset Shimmer breathed in and out lifted herself up using the wall and crates. She stepped around the now dead man and limped away to the doorway on the other side where an open wooden door stood.

Through the door, Sunset found another rocky cavern, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, along with a small circle of rocks and a sword in the middle.

What’s this now?

Sunset Shimmer shuffled forward to examine the object. On closer inspection, it looked kind of like a campfire. Figuring she should take the sword, Sunset reached a hand forward, but as soon as she held her palm out, the sword ignited and engulfed the entire set-up in flames, the sparks instantly forming into a steady fire.

“Wah!” Sunset cried out involuntarily, but soon stepped closer. The fire before her gave her a strange sense of safety and calmness.

Unable to resist its call, Sunset placed her sword beside her and sat herself down, feeling all her pain and worry fade away. In fact, Sunset decided to check on her wounds, noticing they were gone. She bent forward and peeled the blue cloth tied around her leg. The cloth was stained with blood, but underneath, there was no wound to be found, nor could she feel it anymore.

“Whoa…” she gasped and touched at the skin where the cut had been. Clean, as though she had never been injured at all. “What is this fire…?”

Sunset continued to inspect it, but after another twenty minutes of enjoying the warmth of the bonfire, she moved on, pressing ahead with renewed strength.

The rocky cavern she was in led out into a vast cave network, filled with wooden houses, walkways, and the rushing sewer water underneath her. It was like a whole new world down here. The girl would never have thought such an extensive underground passage had been built just under the city. It was truly fascinating.

Sunset sighed and breathed through her mouth, not glad that the smelly water had returned. Without further delay, the girl went on, keeping her eyes out for anything that could be trouble. This was a thieves’ passage after all. Judging from the name, she wouldn’t find anyone friendly down here.

“Arrr…” a voice sounded from behind a boulder. “A flame…”

Three men in coats walked out from a row of rocks and advanced on Sunset, swords drawn. The fiery haired girl readied her sword for the coming fight. She stood her ground as the three men scraped towards her. The one on the left swung his blade at her head, but Sunset dodged under the sharpened steel and cut out with her own. The second man ran in and blocked her blade, pushing Sunset back towards the cave entrance.

The girl spun around and came in fast, catching the second man by surprise. Soon, his sword was on the floor by his feet, and so was his arm. Sunset took the opportunity to step to the side, getting away from the tight space, but also around the thieves. She butted the third man in the head with her sword hilt, making him lose his balance and falling into the dark waters below.

The first one zeroed in on her, swinging from side to side, forcing her to the edge. Sweat dripped from Sunset’s head as she struggled to keep herself from falling. Soon, the second thief joined in, using his feet to try and kick the schoolgirl off.

Gritting her teeth, Sunset stepped away at the last second and pushed the second man forward, sending him down into the current, while stabbing forward with her sword, impaling the first thief in the chest. The man cried out in pain, but soon went limp, dropping to the ground in front of Sunset.

The girl caught her breath and carried on, looking for the way out. She had to follow natural rock paths, along with wooden rope bridges that were almost deviously shaky. Another group of thieves ambushed her up ahead on the next level, but Sunset kept up her swordsmanship, taking them down like the first few thieves she had fought.

She was getting used to the swordfighting, but scarily, she was also getting used to the killing. Sunset Shimmer hoped it wasn’t going to be permanent, but it had to be done if she wanted to escape with her life. She’d already lost track of how much time she’d spent in this strange new world, but it couldn’t have been more than a few hours.

Right? Only a few hours… Right?

The path ahead grew darker, with the occasional sconce lighting small portions of the place, but Sunset managed to find a rocky staircase, carved into the side of the rocky cavern walls, leading up to a higher floor. Just as she reached the top of the staircase, a large dark shape barreled into her, sending her tumbling back down to the planks below.

“Oomph!” Sunset gasped as he back hit the boards straight on, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She pushed up on her palms, groggily trying to get her eyes to look straight. Up at the top of the steps and on its way down, was another odd creature, one with long lanky arms and a strangely oversized head with many eyes. It hissed at Sunset once before stalking down the steps at a faster pace, hoping to get her while she had yet to recover.

Sunset still couldn’t quite focus her vision on the creature, but she managed to get up on wobbly feet. She held her trusty sword in one hand, keeping the tip pointed in front of her, while her other hand was held to her side, helping her keep her balance.

Why is this world so deadly? What’s up with that?

Sunset skipped to the left as the creature thrust an arm forward, reaching from the center of the staircase all the way to where the girl was standing just a second ago. It’s fingers were almost as long as Sunset’s entire arm, which was frightening enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

The girl danced away from another thrust, falling back down on her bottom as she scrambled away from a pounce. One of her hands found a piece of wood on the ground, which kind of resembled a torch. She stood up and swung the wood at the creature as it hopped to her, crashing it into its arm, bouncing it away.

The creature rubbed at its arm, but showed no signs that it was in pain. Sunset took her chance and dashed past it, cutting it along the side with her sword as she passed. Black blood splatted out on her coat, but now wasn’t the time to worry about getting dirty. She found one torch sconce and placed her piece of wood in it. The clothed tip immediately caught fire, sending flames snaking up to the air.

Sunset turned back to face the strange monkey-like creature, which had gained the attention of two more thieves, who walked out from a nearby wooden shack; each man held two daggers, swinging them from side to side to intimidate the schoolgirl. The creature, on the other hand, seemed to shrink back from the fire, covering its face with its huge hands.

Understanding, Sunset kept herself close to the sconce; the more light the better. The two men approached her quickly, almost running towards her, their daggers glinting menacingly in the light. Sunset thrust her torch into the first man’s chest, setting his clothes on fire, while she slashed at the second, who blocked with both short blades.

The first one pushed past her arm and threw himself over her, the flames searing Sunset’s own clothes and skin.

“Ah!” she yelled in pain, but managed to knock the man off, lifting herself up with a quick slash, cutting a long line across the man’s face. He fell to his knees as half his head slid off, his body following shortly after.

Sunset scrambled back and patted at herself while the second man advanced. Her jacket and dress had been slightly charred, but so was her face and right arm. It stung when the damp air clung to her skin, but she had more important things to worry about. The other man stabbed both daggers forward, trying to catch Sunset in the chest.

The fiery haired girl rolled under his attack, barreling into his legs, sending the thief rolling into the sconce. It fell over and dropped coals on the man’s back.

He screamed with rage and pain and turned to Sunset. “Flame… Mine… Give it…”

Sunset walked back, knowing there was no way he was going to survive. She quickly made her way back up the rocky staircase, keeping her torch ahead of herself, scaring the monkey demon away. The next area was a cliff at the top of the passage, containing several more monkey creatures. Sunset shuddered again. One had already given her so much trouble; she didn’t want to find out what a group of them could do.

The girl quickly sped past them, not wanting to be even five feet within one. One, more inquisitive than the others, approached her with a hand raised to cover its eyes. Sunset swung her torch at it, chasing it away with a whack to the hand. It ignited a small patch of fire on it, sending it scurrying away into the darkness, which soon illuminated in a fiery glow.

Sunset looked ahead, noticing the cliffside spanned almost halfway across the cavern.

How much further must I go?

Her question was answered after another seven minutes. Down the side of the cliff, there was a stone staircase, leading to a wooden building with a steel gate guarding the entry way.

Sunset went down and grabbed at the gate, giving it a small tug.

Oh, good. Unlocked…

Using most of her strength, Sunset hauled the gate open, pulling it out as far as it would go, up against a small grey boulder.

“Who’s there?” a voice came from the side, startling her.

Sunset turned and raised her sword when a familiar figure walked out into her torchlight.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“How’d you know my name?” she narrowed her eyes. Her long rainbow hair had been cut to shoulder length, and she wore a set of brown leather armor. A pair of short swords hung by her sides. “You don’t like any of the others I’ve seen.”

“Rainbow it’s me, Sunset,” the fiery haired girl pointed to herself. “You… You don’t recognize me?”

“Not in the slightest,” she shook her head. “Look, I’m just here looking for something, so don’t mind me. I’ll be on my way.”

“Then why’d you stop me?” Sunset asked. Rainbow was, in every way, Rainbow Dash. Yet, there wasn’t the sense of calmness or friendship that Sunset would feel when she was around her or the others.

“Just checking if you were alive or not,” the rainbow haired girl shrugged.

“Are… Are you like me too?” Sunset decided to ask. It didn’t feel like her friend was like the people she had encountered so far. “Do you have a flame too?”

“Flame? Not a chance,” she shook her head. One hand went down to a sword hilt and toyed with it. “Flames are rare. Like yours. You’re special, uh… what’s your name again?”

“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.”

The fiery haired girl figured that this world was like Equestria and the one she called home. It was a mirror of sorts with this dark world. If Rainbow Dash was here, not knowing who Sunset was, she could guess that here other friends must be around as well. Princess Twilight was likely in this world as well.

Sunset didn’t know for sure, but what she did know, was that she needed a way out. “Look, Rainbow. I’m looking for safety. I heard from a man that I can find it through this passage?”

“You bet,” she laughed. “Just through this door. Follow the path, and you’re home free.”

Sunset sighed with relief. “Finally… Are you from that place out there?”

“Not originally,” Rainbow shook her head. “That’s where all of us go. All that are still living, to be exact. You know, you’re a nice enough girl. Perhaps you’d like an escort?”

“Oh, really?” Sunset beamed. “You would help me?”

“Why not?” Rainbow picked up a rock and examined it. “It’s not everyday I find a living person out here, looking for a safe haven. Even more rare to find someone with a flame.”

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Sunset raised a hand for the rainbow haired girl to shake. Rainbow smiled and tossed the rock away, reaching forward to shake her hand.

Rainbow ushered Sunset forward towards the opened gate. She had just enough room to walk through sideways. Sunset quickly followed behind, not wanted to be left alone again.

Why do none of these doors open all the way…? she complained in her head. This was just silly. I shouldn’t trouble her with such petty questions. Not yet anyway...

The next area was a simple one. It consisted of a rocky squarish tunnel, leading straight ahead; torches in small alcoves lit the path forward. At the end stood a wall of fog, so dense, that Sunset couldn’t see what was on the other side.

The two girls edged along, Sunset keeping her torch raised, checking all the dark corners for monsters or greedy thieves. In two minutes, the girls were standing before the fog wall, trying to peer through it. Sunset could vaguely make out a squarish room, most likely man made, along with what looked like treasure chests surrounding the room. She examined the white wall, unsure of why there was something like that here. It made no sense that the fog was only contained to this entryway.

Even Rainbow Dash seemed perturbed by this strange fog.

“Now what’s this…?” she asked. Reaching a hand through the fog, they noticed it didn’t block them or anything. It was really just a layer of fog. “Well, here goes nothing…”

Rainbow pushed past with both hands before stepping through with Sunset immediately doing the same, looking up when she entered the other side. It really was just an empty room, with another fog wall on the opposite side where an exit lay.

Perfect. I just walk to it, and I’m out of here!

She waved a hand forward. “Come on, Rainbow. We’re almost there, right?”

As Sunset walked to the center of the room, she felt something odd. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing, almost as though someone was watching her.

“Wait,” was all the blue-skinned girl said, drawing both her short swords.

She turned around just in time as a man, hidden in the rafters above, flung himself down, two short blades held in front of him like a bee stinger. Rainbow Dash rolled backwards and hopped back a step, just dodging the attack by a few inches.

He spun in a circle and stopped, holding one blade above his head and the other below his waist. Now that he had stopped moving, Sunset could catch a glimpse of him in the dim light. He wore a brown dusty coat with a black cape over a darker outfit and black leather boots. His head was masked by a bandana, which covered his scalp, and a scarf, which covered everything under his eyes, which shone with ferocity; even in the dark, Sunset could see them almost clearly. Another thing that surprised her was his height. The man stood at least a head taller than Rainbow Dash and herself.

“It’s the King of Thieves,” her companion warned, slowly walking back to Sunset’s spot. “He’s a dangerous one. I thought I’d already dealt with him, but… I guess not.”

The King of Thieves’ shoulders lifted up and down as he breathed in and out; it looked like he was doing so very heavily. He clashed his blades together, shooting sparks across the floor before lowering his stance, ready for a fight.

“I’ll go around,” Rainbow was quick on her feet, dashing straight for the corner of the room where a few crates were stacked. “Distract him for me.”

“What?” Sunset bent back in shock, then looked to the King of Thieves, who was steadily approaching her, one slow step at a time.

The fiery haired girl gulped and readied her sword and torch in front of her, waiting for the man to get closer.

Sunset Shimmer was the first to strike, stabbing forward as fast as she could, her blade tip aimed for the man’s chest. The King of Thieves simply parried her strike with both daggers, spinning Sunset to the left before he moved in, slashing first with one dagger. She parried it with her sword and swung her torch at his face. The King lifted an arm and knocked the torch away from himself; a little spark of flame had appeared on his sleeve, but he simply patted it out with a finger.

He took two steps forward and slashed again, forcing Sunset on the defensive. She blocked strike after strike, trying to get him to stop, even if it was for a second, so that she could get a clear strike at his chest.

Her chance never came.

C’mon, Dash… Where are you? Sunset didn’t have time to look around for her.

The King pressed on, spinning in circles like a dancer, slashing away with his daggers, nicking Sunset in the upper right arm. The girl dodged right and cut at him with her sword, finally getting a hit in on his arm. The King didn’t seem to notice it. Instead, he turned to her and dashed forward so fast, that Sunset had almost no time to react.

The girl gasped as she kicked back, flinging herself to the ground. The dagger missed her chest, but cut into her leg, in the middle of her shin.

“Ah!” she gasped, looking behind the man for her new friend. Blood began to drip from her wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it still hurt to put strength on her leg.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash was already moving. She shook off the shadows around her and took a running jump, landing on the King’s back, lodging both her silver blades into it.

The King of Thieves let out a low growl as he swung his daggers behind himself, trying to remove the blue-skinned girl from his back.

“Get him, Sunset!” Rainbow yelled as she fought to stay on, ducking left and right to avoid the man’s attacks. “Quickly!”

The King focused his attention on Sunset as she ran for him. He swung a dagger her way, but Rainbow pulled back on one of hers, twisting the man’s aim astray as Sunset thrust her sword to his center.

The fiery haired girl closed her eyes as the cold steel in her hand slid through the man’s garb, stopping somewhere inside him. He roared at her, but dropped both weapons and sank to his knees. The King of Thieves reached one hand towards Sunset’s face like he was trying to hold it, when he began fading; it was as if the man was turning to ash. His coat and cape began flaking off and soon, the whole man was gone, nothing more than a waft of smoke and billowing ash.

“That was fantastic!” Rainbow clapped Sunset on the back. “Could’ve done it better myself, but I was holding him for ya.”

Yup. Same old Rainbow Dash…

Sunset smiled and grabbed for her wounded leg. “Thanks for the help, Rainbow. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Well, I am pretty awesome,” she looked at her fingers and blew on the nails.

Rainbow Dash walked over and nudged Sunset toward the exit; the fog that had covered both doorways had lifted. Sunset hadn’t realized when, but they weren't there anymore.

“I wonder what that fog was about…” she mumbled.

Rainbow spun a short sword in a hand as they headed to the exit. “Meh, who knows? At least you’re home free.”

I wish I was…

Sunset followed the Rainbow haired girl through the tunnel, hoping it would all end soon.

Author's Note:

Achievement Unlocked: King of Thieves - Defeated the King of Thieves.