30. Sunny Shimmy is a hero! (part 1)
Despite her best wishes and all the gathered negative karma, the miracle she deserved wasn't coming. She was alone and exhausted, barely standing on her own legs while Sombra had so much darkness in him that it was literally steaming out. With his teeth exposed, he was about to strike with a giant claw made out of shadows, when the doors to the office flew off the hinges inside.
Sunset's heart almost escaped through her throat and she couldn't stop her smile.
"INDIGO!" She shouted at the girl who called her name, with the other Shadowbolts right behind her.
They needed no prompt for action; Indigo was the first to jump forward, her fists clenched tightly. Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat moved right after her, flanking Sombra from both sides, while Sour Sweet shot three arrows at once. Even Lemon Zest joined in, throwing some handmade explosives (whatever it was) in his general direction.
For a moment everything looked like it would work out.
The arrows bounced off his suddenly darkened skin. Lemon's projectile didn't get far, as a small shadowcat jumped out of Sombra's claw arm, swallowed it whole and was gone immediately after! Two shadow tentacles emerged out of Sombra's shoulders and went towards Sugarcoat and Sunny Flare, grabbing them by their necks, forcing them to throw away their weapons to try to free themselves. Sombra slashed in Indigo's direction, shooting several dart-like projectiles. None of them hit her directly, but a few grazed her arms, one even left a small cut on her cheek, but she didn't stop! She reached the desk, sprung from it and jumped into the air, her fist aimed straight at Sombra's face... but she was caught by another shadow tendril! It wrapped itself around her entire body and kept her suspended in mid-air.
As much as she wanted to scream and insult her opponent, the squeeze was so tight she couldn't catch a breath, let alone talk. She struggled for a moment, erratically moving her body in every direction to shake him off, when suddenly...
CRACK!
There was a loud crack coming from inside her body. She let out a single gasp and stopped moving altogether, eyes and mouth wide open, staring blankly in front of her before her head limped down. The remaining Shadowbolts ceased their movement altogether, unable to believe what had just happened before their eyes. Sombra wasn't showing any emotions.
"Lucky girl, she didn't suffer at all. Unlike you... Sunny!"
Sunny let out a huge gasp and opened her eyes!
She wasn't in the office at all! She was lying face-down, hands outstretched before her. She knew she was still alive because everything hurt. A... a dream? She thought to herself, breathing heavily for a moment. No, a nightmare! Despite the migraine, she braced through and raised her head to look around. A few schooldesks were gathered around the walls, the pitch black sky was still present outside the windows and the blackboard was heavily dented.
Hold on...
She peeked slightly behind the teacher’s desk – the guy she recently knocked was still there, still tied up. This was the classroom where she saved Sally, which happened to be the room right below Dean's office, though she didn't realize it back then. Everything started coming back to her and she remembered what 'actually' happened.
Nobody came to her rescue, she was alone until the very end. He struck his claw at her, which is when she lost her composure and shielded her face, shrieking in the most humiliating way... and then she teleported! What little fumes she had left weren't enough for a proper spell, even a half-assed one, but apparently her survival instinct didn't get the memo and still teleported her somewhere else, if only a few feet below, where she fell face first into the ground, which made her pass out! It explained why her nose hurt too!
She looked at the clock on the wall. Only four minutes... She sighed with relief. Figures. Any longer and he would've found me!
She was still lying on her belly, too tired to move. This is fine. The floor is way more comfortable than I gave it credit. So I'll just lie here... for a moment... She closed her eyes for a few seconds, but quickly forced herself to open them again. No, I can't fall asleep! Come on Shimmy, get up! She took a few deep breaths and attempted to rise from the ground, when she met another snag.
She was used to any sort of pain at this point and yet she was still caught off-guard by the sudden burst reaching her brain and she barely withheld her scream, as her face fell on the floor again. Her right hand managed to lift her up a little bit. Her left hand, however...
Why isn't it moving?
She swallowed, once again trying to move her left hand. It didn't register.
Why can't I feel it? Why can't I feel my left hand?!
It wasn't moving! She tried touching it, but was only met with pain. The closer she looked at it, the more wrong the angle of her arm seemed. She groaned and smacked her head on the floor. In comparison to what she's been through, it felt almost pleasant.
No magic. No energy. No dignity. No friends. And now- no arm. Can this day get any worse?
...Sombra could find and torture me for the rest of my life! Which, silver lining, won't be too long anyway. She sighed heavily. At least Coco's safe. One life goal accomplished. Good job, Shimmy. Gold star!
She sighed and laid there for some time. Her arm wasn't hurting when it remained stationary and she wasn't visibly bleeding. Her chances of survival were close to none, unless Sombra left the school, but she knew it was false and he was searching for her. It was only a matter of time before he stumbled on her, defenseless and harmless. She didn't want to give up, but she couldn't put up any resistance at this point, so there was no point in trying. With Coco saved and placed in a room she won't be able to escape and get in any more danger and other hostages being in the safe hands of Shadowbolts, there was nothing else she had to achieve no matter what.
And as soon as I'm gone, he will have no reason to hang around. He won't benefit from hurting anyone else.
Her eyes slowly closed down.
...I'm okay with this.
As she closed her eyes, memories started pouring in, beginning from the day she transferred to Crystal Prep, where she met Coco for the first time. From the moment their eyes met, she knew this girl was special. Just being around her made her life more colorful and vibrant. After all those years being mostly alone, with no one to truly call a friend, to trust wholly, Coco was the one to break the vicious cycle and she was grateful that she could see and touch her one last time. She wished they could talk, but words seemed like an unnecessary thing back then.
And speaking of not being alone, she couldn't help but crack a smile when she remembered the embarrassment that was her duel with Sunset; a terrible idea in hindsight, but it made for quite the unique memory. And with memories came Pinkie 'Diane' Pie, her oldest childhood not-imaginary-after-all-friend. And other Wonderbolts too. And Princess Twilight, even if she never met her in person/pony. They were with her during her worst and didn't abandon her, no matter how much she tried to push them away.
And speaking of pushing away (I am KILLING with the segues at my deathbed!): the Shadowbolts. When it came to them, it was almost all regrets on her part. She rejected them on just about every occasion and only accepted them when her desperation reached its peak. If only I had opened up to them earlier... She cracked a smile, imagining how it would've gone if they became friends sooner. She would've found out about Other Shimmer in a more controlled environment. As cool as the story of fighting your own doppelganger was, it would've been much safer to her health, with all the benefits it came with (like the slumber party, magic lessons etc.), but with five more people to share the good moments with.
It was a nice mental image. If my last wish is to stay a little longer, then I can't be that mad at my life, can I? She couldn't tell if it was sleep or death approaching, but her mind was finally at peace as her eyes were shutting down.
What if they're still looking for me?
Her eyes shot open, cold sweat appearing as the thought crossed her mind. I was so caught up in the moment with Coco that I completely forgot to report to the others! She reached inside her pocket (accidentally moving her broken hand, but suppressing the cry of anguish) to fish out the walkie-talkie, or what was left of it. It was cracked and the little light wasn't working anymore. She tried pressing it a few times, but there was no signal.
DAMNIT! She threw it at the floor and took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. Okay, think, what would they do if we lost contact? If that happened then... then... Lemon Zest! She has eyes everywhere, she can probably see me right now!
Unless...
She looked up at the camera in the upper corner of the room. It was flashing the red light, meaning it wasn't functioning at the moment. Either Lemon put it on the 'broken' mode to tell me to improvise... or the security system is broken after the Zestboom. So basically I have no idea. She sighed. Okay, don't panic! They probably think that I'm still fighting, don't want to be distrubed and they would only get in the way and provide an easy hostage...
...who am I kidding?
She looked around the classroom for something that would help. The few desks that were tripped over spilled their contents around, which she didn't pay attention to before. Pencil cases, textbooks, a few tablets, as well as some miscellaneous stuff, including a small pocket mirror, a case of make-up accessories and a long, purple scarf, just lying around.
That's where I found Sally, so it's probably hers.
She took a deep breath and crawled toward it, gritting her teeth with every movement she made, hoping the arm would either stop hurting or just fall off already and stop getting in the way (Or better not, cause I would pass out from both pain AND blood loss!) She reached the scarf and clumsily, using only her right hand and teeth, managed to stabilize her left hand under the blazer, so it wasn't dangling around her. Her make-shift cast was a B- at best, realistically C+, but it allowed her to stand up from the ground without cursing every two seconds.
I'll thankapologize to Suri later!
Her legs were wobbly and she stumbled her first few steps, but all it took was grabbing the nearest table for support to keep her going. She swallowed and made the first few steps towards the doors. She wasn't quite ready to move away from the tables just yet, but her legs were slowly getting used to carrying her again, with any luck she was going to walk by herself in a moment. She was in a rush, but not so much to risk falling again, as there was no guarantee that she would stand up again after another fall. Once at the doors, she took a deep breath and carefully opened the door to peek outside.
The hallway was deserted, no live or dead soul as far as she could see. Despite the giant dome of darkness outside, the bright halogen lights gave her a perfect view in every direction, which was about the only thing that made the school look like it hasn't been deserted for decades, with all the broken glass displays, cracked frames, toppled trophies and random trash lying all over the place. The only thing missing to make it look like a zombie movie was, well, corpses. And she hoped to never find any.
She left the classroom on her own, without support, walking a few steps into the corridor... until she stumbled and almost fell at the nearest lockers, barely keeping her balance. Her breathing was heavier every second, her legs tried but failed to be of much use and only through sheer stubborness and her only healthy hand holding onto the wall was she able to keep on walking. She made her way towards the gym, hoping to run into other Shadowbolts on the way, or at least find a working security camera to give Lemon Zest a signal. So far all were broken, some had their lens cracked and not a single one had green lights shining. Lemon's room was in the opposite direction and on a different floor altogether and Sunny didn't trust her legs enough to try vertical movement in this condition.
The one highlight of her journey was a water sprinkler. She almost choked on the tasty, energizing ice cold water, splashing it all around her clothes and on the floor. She was very close to being relaxed for a second, when she heard loud sounds echoing around. She jumped and frantically watched her surroundings, afraid to see his face right in front of her any second, but she was alone. The sounds repeated but she confirmed that it was just a loud echo. It sounded like a door being smashed, or somebody beating up the lockers. For a moment she was afraid that he got to her friends, but there were no screams.
He's probably taking it out on the surroundings... that's what I would've done.
She couldn't tell where the sounds were coming from, so she wiped her face and continued her sluggish pace towards the gym, marginally faster.
Knowing my luck he'll catch up any moment and it was all for naught... She stopped for a moment and took a few breaths, trying to think over the situation. If he finds me first then... well... She let out a huge sigh. At least the others will lose their value as hostages? Yeah, silver lining! Gotta stay positive!
She pushed herself forward, fully aware that at some point she could collapse again. Scratch that- she was definitely going to collapse soon! She just wanted to do it after finding the Shadowbolts and telling them to get away as far as humanly possible!
Will they even listen to me? They were very adamant about staying by my side. She stopped, with the 'friendly chivalry' joining the long list of her worries. What if I beg them to get away?
Being lost in her thoughts, along with her overall exhaustion, dulled her senses, so she didn't hear the footsteps coming from around the corner behind her until it was too late. She considered turning her tail and running away, even if she wasn't going to get very far. Instead she stood where she was, watching wide eyed as someone walked out at her, hoping to gods it was one or more of the Shadowbolts.
...it wasn't.
"WHERE IS SHE!"
SMASH!
The desk flew straight at the wall, breaking on contact. Sombra didn't need to do that and it was the least sensible thing a pursuer could do at the moment. If anyone was nearby, they could hear him and run away. But he wasn't in the clearest of minds at the moment and challenged anyone to tell him to calm down right now. The nosebleed stopped a while ago, but the unpleasant tingling sensation was still there and he could taste his own blood whenever he cleared his throat. He didn't want to admit it, even if he had to: he was played out by a bunch of teenagers, even if they were his seniors by two years. What a group of professional assassins across five years couldn't accomplish was achieved by six girls, in particular the one he thought he had under control all this time.
I swear, if I find her, I will rip all her limbs, one by one!
He smashed open into another classroom and looked inside. It was one of the arenas, with desks and chairs stacked around the walls, with a bunch of trash everywhere. One of his henchman was lying on the ground, still unconscious and tied up. Sombra groaned and immediately left, not bothering to free his own ally, who was useless before and was going to be useless going forward. He wasn't angry at him at all, as he had served his purpose. He couldn't tell where, but she was hiding somewhere in the school, possibly on the move trying to avoid confrontation, but he was going to catch her eventually and only then he was going to relax. He knew full well that she had been running on fumes for a while and was approaching her limit. Unlike him, who still had a lot more to offer.
Unfortunately for him, Sunny knew this school well and probably had hiding spots he would never think of. For all he knew, he had already passed by a locker where she locked herself in, but he wasn't concerned by that. He didn't need to find Sunny, as any other person would do. Coco Pommel was the most effective hostage he could hope for, but even a random kid would suffice. A finger or two, three max, broken would be more than enough to lure her out of any hiding spot. That said, walking around the corridor, with his shadows always on and ready to protect him from any ambush, while not tiring or dangerous, was getting annoying and boring.
"Where the hell is she?!" He grumbled under his nose, slowly walking and looking around the messy hallways. He stopped when he noticed a nearby water sprinkler, with puddles of water still fresh around it.
Someone was here recently! He smiled and increased his speed, hoping to find someone to use as bait.
He crossed the corner and realized that he no longer had to. There she was – same Magical Girl, in a damaged borrowed uniform. The same one who had recently broken his nose, composure and mood.
"Found you..." He said, as multiple tendrils arose from his back and his grin increased tenfold. "SUNNY!"
As expected, she turned tail and started running away at a sluggish pace, but she was too slow. It took no time before the tentacles entangled Sunny by the torso and both arms and slammed her onto the wall, creating an echoing sound of smashing lockers and high pitched female screams.
Watching her futile efforts to struggle away was the greatest cure for his stressed mind. Just looking at her, nailed to the wall with legs dangling brought back his earlier confidence. She stopped struggling only when he went closer to her and their eyes met: one angry, desperate but not ready to admit defeat just yet, the other one confident and smug.
"You are many things, Sunny, but predictable isn't one of them," he laughed as he got closer to his defiant victim "and here I thought you were hiding in a locker, waiting for me to-UGH!"
He stopped when she kicked him right in the forehead with a hard, leather boot! He stepped away from her range and massaged the spot she hit. It was surprising, but once the shock was over all that was left was a minor bruise. He blinked a few times, then chuckled.
"Defiant to the very end, eh?" He watched with amusement as she threw her legs about, hoping another one would graze him. "Like a true hero, straight out of a saturday morning cartoon."
"You'll never get away with this!" She screamed at him.
"HA! You even talk like one!" He laughed, then sighed. "I would've been afraid of those words about... back when I still considered you a credible threat. But now? Not so much anymore. Unless you have another secret weapon..." The shadow holding her torso extended downward and now entangled her legs as well. With that done, he walked closer without the danger of getting kicked and looked her deep in the eyes. "I think it's about time you use it!"
Sunny swallowed and looked away. The shadows got even tighter, now crushing her arms and legs and making her scream. He watched with mild amusement.
"Nothing? Heh, shame!"
Sombra sighed and with one flick of a finger made the shadow grip even tighter. He didn't need to do it, but hearing the muffled screams was more than enough of a reason for him. He only did it for a few seconds, before the shadows loosened up a bit and let her breathe again.
"Or..." Sombra spoke as he started walking around her "you were running away to buy yourself some time. Or rather, to buy someone else the time...
Sunny immediately perked up at that and looked at Sombra with eyes wide open.
"Oh, that struck a nerve, huh? Do you really think I'm that dumb, miss Shimmer?"
Sunset swallowed and started sweating.
"You really believe that they will save you, huh? The Shadowbolts!"
Sunny blinked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times without making a single sound, until...
"L-LEAVE THEM OUT OF THIS!" She screamed and started struggling again. "I'm the only one you're after!"
"Relax, Sunny, I'm not going to hurt them. I might rough them up a bit depending on how big of a nuisance they become, but I won't kill them. It's not like they can do anything. I admit, the supersonic thing was clever and caught me off-guard, but I doubt they can do it again and even if, you barely made a scratch, what can they do? They could beat up my henchmen, get their guns (which by the way are mostly anti-riot rounds because I don't need civilian casualties) and maybe, juuuust maybe, with those they might be able to get a drop on me. Except..."
He leaned in and pulled away his bangs, revealing an old, red bruise on his forehead.
"...someone already tried that! A few times, in fact. You see, my powers have way more utility than you think. For example, I have a small, but very hard, shadow layer right under my skin. I call it Shadow Armor. I still feel pain, I might bleed a little, but most of the blows bounce right off me, like the one you surprised me with – if not for the armor, I wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. The downside is that it takes time to prepare it and parts of my body are less protected than others. One of them being my nose!" He cringed as he touched his nose.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked in a kinder, more curious way, no longer acting like her previous aggressive self. "What have I done to you? I don't even know you!"
Sombra rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Honestly? It's because you'd get in my way."
"In your way of what? Robbing a bank? Taking over the world?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. Whatever the hell I decide. All that matters is that there won't be anyone who will stand up to me in the end!"
"Or with you!"
Sombra's eyebrow twitched. "What was tha–?"
"Because you will be lonely at the top of the world, without a single friend! Only those who fear and hate you for the villain you really are!"
Sombra opened his mouth, but didn't say anything at first. He watched the newly lit fire in her eyes and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He shook his head and continued his smugness.
"Fine by me! They only get in the way. Just look at yourself: all the friends in the world helping you and you still couldn't beat me! In fact, your 'friendship' with Miss Pommel is what gave me more ammo to use against you! That's what getting attached to others does to you!" He paused and looked away. His hand went towards his chest area, where he tried to grab his necklace, only to realize that it wasn't there anymore. He ignored it and continued. "It makes you weak and gives you more weak points for others to exploit..."
"YOU'RE WRONG!"
Sombra almost jumped when he heard her scream. The echo bounced a few more times as he looked at her confident, serious face.
"I thought like that once, too! That all I needed was my power, that it would solve all the problems... but I was wrong," she smiled weakly "I denied it for so long and pushed people away. But eventually, after a lot of poor choices, when I gave in and accepted everyone... that's when I found the true power. The power of..."
"Friendship?" Sombra asked mockingly.
Sunset nodded, not showing a single sign of offense or irony. "As cliché as it sounds, yes. It's never too late to accept it. Even for someone like you!"
That made Sombra pause and raise an eyebrow. He carefully examined her face, looking for body language that implied trickery. He found none.
"After everything I've done... you're offering me friendship?"
Sunset nodded, but Sombra only chuckled in response.
"Do you actually expect me to believe that all I need to do is let you go, apologize and everything will be fine?"
"It would be a start," she said "you'd still need to pay for all the crimes, but with enough work and help from friends, nothing is impossi–"
"Okay, we're done!" Sombra said, waving his hand at her. "Last time I tried this whole "friendship" thing I almost got stabbed!" His right hand formed a fist and the grip around Sunset tightened again. "It was pleasant talking to you Sunny, but our relationship ends here!"
"Ugh... I... tried..." Sunny grunted in between attempted breathing, but even despite the pain she was once again forced to endure, her smile didn't disappear. In fact, it grew a little, which made Sombra curious enough to loosen her one more time. Once he did, she started laughing loudly.
"What's so funny? Lack of oxygen is already messing your head?"
"No... I'm just laughing because..." She paused.
Sombra rolled his eyes. "Because what?"
"Because..."
"...because..."
She raised her head to look him deep in the eyes as she uttered her next sentence.
"...you got the wrong girl!"
At first he thought she was just messing with him, but for some reason he felt uneasy about the loud laughter she kept even now. Suddenly, he felt some presence right behind him, one he couldn't hear coming because of the noise she was making. He immediately turned around, but before he made any action, someone grabbed his right hand, squeezing the ring tightly. That someone was staring at him with a familiar pair of teal eyes.
That someone was... Sunny?
Magical Girl Sunny expected to stumble upon any number of people. She hoped it would be the Shadowbolts, but she wouldn't mind seeing any other student or teacher, so they could either give her a hand and pass on the message to her friends. It could've been one of the terrorists, who either woke up and freed himself or was never accounted for – in that case she was more or less screwed. And then there was Sombra, who would end her right here and now.
It turned out to be none of those people.
"S-sunset?" Sunny uttered in disbelief. She watched as her doppelganger and friend who she got her powers from appeared, leather jacket over skirt and all. A little sweaty and hard breathing, but her nonetheless.
Sunset ran up to her. "We got the message from the Police, I got here as fast as I cou–" she gasped when she got closer and could see what was left of the Magical Girl. "Sweet Celestia, what happened!? Y-your arm! And, and, oh my god, Sunny, are you okay?"
The temptation to answer with a sassy been better or feeling great, how about you was there, buried under a ton of other emotions. Happiness to see a friendly face in a time like this was one of them... but also fear. Until now, she, Sunset "Sunny Shimmy" Shimmer, was the only one in real danger.
"I heard about this world's Sombra and rushed here on my bike as fast as I could! The others are on their way too, they will be here any minu–"
"You-you have to run!"
"Huh? What do you...?"
"He's after ME and only ME! If he finds you, then he will... he will..." she started trembling, almost collapsing under her legs, with other Sunset catching her in time. "You can't fight him, he's too strong!"
"Sunny, what...?" Sunset tried to interject, but was stopped when Shimmy put her right hand at her shoulder. As long as they knew each other, she hasn't seen her this terrified before. Even when they fought each other and was about to be hit by a major blow she was never this shaken, though the time she thought Coco was hurt came in at a close second.
Sunset wasn't deterred, however, as she put both of her hands on Sunny, careful not to hurt her right shoulder.
"No, nobody is leaving anyone! I came here to help you save everybody, you included, and I'm not leaving until then!"
Sunny tried to reject her. The hope she brought with her wasn't stronger than despair over losing one more friend in a hopeless battle. Not yet, at least. "B-but..."
"You'd do the same for me!"
That was all it took. Sunny opened her mouth and looked at her friend wide-eyed. Tiredness, tears gathering up and a slowly drying throat couldn't' let her speak her mind, so she just nodded. The answer pleased Sunset.
"Okay, tell me what happened..."
And she did. Sunny summoned enough energy to describe her trials, if briefly. She told her about Coco becoming hostage until she was rescued, about the Shadowbolts and Cadence, but mostly about Sombra, what he was capable of, how much he endured and what he could do to them if he found them.
"It's no use. I don't have anything else to give and unless you somehow get friendship lasers or go all Daydream, then there's nothing we can do."
Sunset hummed, confirming that her phone didn't have any signal inside. "I might be able to, but not without everyone else here. But there's one more thing we can try!"
She reached to one of her jacket pockets and pulled out something that both Sunsets were familiar with.
"Is that...?"
"Yep! How else would I get inside?"
It was a fingerless orange glove with a blue crystal embedded in the palm. The "Magical Sucker" (working name), a magic sucking device that also detected it, repurposed from a magical detector that was able to suck magic, the effect of a collaboration between the two Twilights (Twillaboration?). This one was slightly different than the last one, though.
"Wasn't it the left glove before?"
"It's a second unit, Twilight keeps the original. Doesn't matter how much magic power he has, all it takes is one touch and he'll lose it all... probably."
Sunny hummed, looking at the magical artifact that had almost been her undoing last time. She managed to get by with her skills alone until she got her powers back. Sombra didn't seem like someone who posed a threat without his powers, and that helped the hope inside her heart grow stronger.
"His powers come from a ring," Sunny said, "but if he suspects something, he won't let us near. We need to–" she stopped mid-sentence, as the glove, in particular the blue crystal in the palm, started shining.
"He's close!" Sunset announced, frantically looking around herself.
"I'll distract him," Sunny suddenly announced "you hide somewhere and wait for a chance to... to..." she couldn't finish, as she stumbled on her knees, Sunset once again catching her barely in time. "We'll only have... one... shot..."
Sunset helped Sunny stand back and leaned her over the wall. She hummed, looked at her carefully, then proceed to take off her jacket.
"Good plan, except you are in no shape to be bait. Take off the sweater!" She said to her twin. Sunny was about to refuse, but Sunset beat her to it. "You'd do the same to me and you know it!"
Sunny paused, but eventually sighed deeply. "You can't keep using this excuse forever!" She cracked a smile and nodded. "I'll need some help with, you know..." she looked at her broken arm. Sunset nodded and the two prepared themselves for the last encounter.
Currently it was Sunny Shimmy wearing the leather jacket and the magic sucking glove, holding Sombra's right hand firmly in hers. The boy paused for a moment, looking confused between the two Sunset Shimmers, not realizing that something was off until it was too late. He watched the dark smoke-like energy get vacuumed out of the ring, then from his body, starting with his right hand, going to his shoulder then the rest of his body. At first he tried ordering his tendrils to come out and stab the Jacket Sunny, but as soon as a tiny bit of magic came out of his skin it went straight to the glove. He tried the same thing a few times with no success, until he tried pulling his hand with his own strength, but she held him firmly and wasn't letting go, despite her state.
"L-let me go!"
He punched her straight in the face once with his other hand. Her head turned slightly to the left, but quickly went back and looked at him, nonverbally implying to dare try it again. The new bruise on the cheek only made her look more intimidating and stopped any other attempts other than trying to shake his hand away.
Suddenly, the crystal on the glove started glowing so bright the light escaped through the grip. It was getting brighter and hotter by the second, until...
BOOOOM!
...it exploded, and a bluish-black shockwaved sent both teens flying away from each other! Sunny collided with the lockers while Sombra landed further on his back, both cringing from their respective falls. Sombra sat up, massaging the back of his head, realizing something horrible at the time.
It shouldn't hurt THIS much!
He looked at his ring, trying to conjure some magic. Nothing. Not even the smallest ember of dark energies appeared. His heart started beating faster as he examined his arms – he couldn't feel the shadows under his skin. Th-the armor! In panic he raised his right hand and kept pushing his will into any spell, but nothing worked. As if there was nothing there anymore.
Meanwhile, Sunny groaned from the pain, as she fought the temptation to pass out. The long list of her pains now included back head trauma, her back probably opening a few of previous wounds and her healthy hand feeling burnt as if she just touched a hot stove. She looked at the hand and glove- the crystal shattered in the explosion, the remnants spilling around the hallway (and maybe a few even went inside her skin) and the fabric was burnt to crisp. Her cheek was burning, but that was from before the explosion. She was going to curse the world for the misery she went through but one look at Sombra, at his panicked, futile attempts to summon his powers, made it all worth it.
Sunset Shimmer, the baiting unicorn, was the one who suffered the least. The shadows binding her to the wall were the last ones to get sucked by the glove, so she was let go just before the explosion, otherwise she would've helped Sunny in some way. As everything settled down, she rushed to her to see if she was okay, sighing with relief to see that she was alive and well-ish enough.
"What... what did you do?!"
Sombra stood back, his legs shaking, watching the two Sunnies, one next to the other. The one wearing the Crystal Prep sweater, the one he held just a minute ago, was wearing the wrong pair of boots and a teal skirt that covered her thighs. The one she was supporting, the one with the broken arm, fried magical glove and a bunch of visible and implied scars, had a black leather jacket, but also the long white shoes and gray spats that he recognized. While he had no doubts on who was the one he fought all this time, the wide, slasher smile of one of them was a dead give-away. Even if she had to be carried by the other one.
"Who-who the hell are you? And what did you do to my powers!? Give them back, now!"
'Shimmy' chuckled menacingly. "What, not so tough without them, huh?" She put her foot forward, but it was mostly the other Sunset who moved them forward.
Despite the critical state of his opponent, Sombra stepped away, watching the two with wide open eyes.
'Shimmy' raised her right fist, covered by a still smoking, burnt glove. "I got one hand still functioning, more than enough to smash your face! What do you have... shadow boy?"
Sombra kept backpedalling until he stumbled on the lockers behind him. "D-don't come any closer!"
"Just you and I..." She wiggled out of other Sunset's embrace and walked a few steps by herself, shaking with every step like a zombie. "...just like I've been telling you from the start!"
Sombra didn't answer, not with any intelligible words at least, but he did mumble something under his nose as he covered his face. It didn't stop the shambling almost corpse of a magical girl from slowly advancing.
"Let's end this!"
"N-NO!"
Then he suddenly turned to his right and dashed away through the hallways. Sunny looked after him and tried to give chase.
"HEY, GET BACK HERE, YOU COWA-ugh!" She suddenly cringed and fell on her knee.
"SUNNY!" Other Sunset quickly rushed to her and caught her in time, but Shimmy wasn't happy about it.
"I'm fine, go after him! We can't let him get away!"
Sunset didn't leave her. She gently took her hand and put it over her shoulder, slowly raising her up.
"It's okay," she showed her friend her smartphone, displaying a text message: "he won't get far!"
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Damn, bait & switch was so risky, but it paid off so well and so convincing I did not expect that at all and neither did Sombra!
Eh, why even Switch? Pony Sunset could have still stolen the guy magic herself.
Give it a moment.
Oh. Did, did he just snap her neck? Oh shit.´
Oh thank God.
I do not like the sound of that.
Probably the latter,
Sucks, doesn't it?
It's amazing how sometimes the solution to a problem is just "hit the other guy really hard".
Really? You're kinda proving his point about being a Saturday morning cartoon hero.
Huh, that's useful.
You, have not thought this through.
Perhaps. But the magic of friendship was able to heal the mind of a mad demigoddess, and was able to not just turn a reality warper magnitudes more powerful than you to stone, but undo all his reality warping. So, don't knock it.
Wrong girl? Oh. OOOOH. Oh you clever bitch!
She's terrified.
This is going to be interesting... Also I like Twillaboration.
You're out of magic, buddy. So pick a God and pray.
How's it feel to be the scared one, asshole?
THAT was satisfying.
Also...