My Most Faithful Mortifer

by hamishwarfare

Chapter. 14 – Preliminary Field Analysis

Chapter. 14 – Preliminary Field Analysis

A.N – This is a chapter that contains moderate violence

It was the end of all things; it just had to be. None of her training was helping; how could it, her whole world was turning into some sort of pony like goo. Sunset Shimmer was melting, but that was ok. The world was ending, but in its place was nirvana. The afterlife wasn’t so bad; she even let out an agreeable sigh.

“Chuckle, I see you’re enjoying yourself darling. Is this really the first time you have ever experienced this?” The voice belonged to a purple maned angel, for nirvana could only have been found by an angelic being. What little there was of Sunset’s head nodded in confirmation to the question.

“Well we’ll simply have to bring you along again, won’t we Fluttershy.” Sunset couldn’t see the pink maned Pegasus, but the happy and agreeable sigh spoke more on the matter than actual words.

“Miss Shimmer, if you visit us again I would recommend a sports massage, possibly even a deep tissue massage; you have an awful lot of knotted muscles, especially on your back. Honestly I would think you were a pegasus if it wasn’t for the lack of wings.” The pink earth pony with the sky blue mane –that was currently turning Sunset Shimmer into some form of pony paste– suggested over her head as she worked on her back.

“It’ll be all the books she carries I’d imagine Aloe. Not many unicorns can carry large quantities with just their magic. But that confirms it Sunset, I’m inviting you to join Fluttershy and myself here for our weekly spa day.”

Proving the might of her iron will, Sunset managed to reform her brain into registering what Rarity had just said. With a lot more mental effort than one would expect, she responded in what could only be the appropriate response. “As long as it’s ok with Fluttershy. I wouldn’t want to impose on the two of you.”

“Oh no, I don’t mind Sunset; having another pony here has been nice actually.”

“Indeed it has Fluttershy. Sigh, I’ve tried asking Applejack to join us on numerous occasions but she refuses each time. Honestly I think she needs a massage just about as badly as you, Sunset.”

“And Rainbow Dash, or Pinkie Pie?”

“Giggle, Oh that was a fun one. I honestly think Rainbow Dash was really enjoying her time too, right up until she started getting a pedicure. Apparently she really does not like ponies touching her hooves.

"Pinkie on the other hoof just cannot act mature enough to fully appreciate a spa trip. One time she decided to take all the mud masks and turn them into one big mud mound; which she then promptly jumped on top of. Sigh, no as much as I do enjoy her company, a spa is just not for her.”

It has been a little over a month since the incident with Zecora, and during that time Sunset has both been very productive and quiet at the same time. She has sent one report to her masters, through Princess Celestia, about how she is settling in and what she has been up to. They did not respond to her report, but then again she also was not expecting one.

Princess Celestia, however, finally sent her a small crystal capable of storing pure magic. It was scarcely the size of an oval marble, but it was something she could test her theories with. It also proved to Sunset that the princess was a mare of her word.

She was the Princess and it should go without saying; however it was nice to be reassured of the fact.

So her nights were now split between studying the crystal, experimenting with storing magic, and exploring the Everfree Forest; ensuring that the numbers of aggressive creatures are at a reasonable level.

Her integration into Ponyville has also been very productive; she actually felt she was almost a part of the community. Apple Bloom and her friends had come by the library to apologise and in turn Sunset apologised as well. It was nice of the one with a lisp to give her a candy cane, it was very tasty.

Even her friendships with the five mares she had met in town had grown to the point that Sunset actually considered them friends. They did not all get together very often; but individually, or in small groups, Sunset was meeting with them at least every other day.

Bringing it up to today, when Rarity realised that she had not actually had that spa day thank you with Sunset. It was a generous gift for both interrupting the tea party with Fluttershy, as well as assisting with the rescue of the crusaders.

Sunset was so glad Rarity all but forced her to come.

As with all good things in life, however, the state of bliss was disrupted by the end of time. Well the end of their session to be more exact. With friendly farewells and promises to do this again next week, the three friends parted ways to their own abodes.

---

The day continued on for Sunset, the wonderful feeling of calm bliss still a dominant memory within her head. Even without the deeper massages that were suggested, her whole body felt more fluid and relaxed. Ponies who came to use the library could clearly feel the tranquil atmosphere surrounding their normally strict but fair librarian.

Currently she was preparing a few fliers for the town, in hopes of finally having the outdated books of the previous management returned to where they belong. Sunset was planning a week long period in the coming days were no late fees would be applied and a reduction in fees for damages.

This decision would hit her financially, but thanks to her survival training the surrounding wilderness –including the Everfree Forest– were a giant free market during the fall season. She would survive quite comfortably, and even stock up some extras for the winter.

‘After this if there are still unaccounted for books, I am going to start using Divination magic to find them; and double the fee’s because of it…Maybe I should put that on the flier? Give ponies a bit of a warning, maybe? Probably, it would be the kind thing to do; yes I think that is what Fluttershy would want. Well she would probably want me to just forget them, but that is not happening.’

The tinkling of the bell by the front door, followed by the sound of someone grunting brought Sunset out of her musings to see what was going on. A light slate grey pegasus mare was dragging a cardboard package almost as large as herself into the library. She was wearing a white vest and a rich brown hat with a recognisable logo, one of the postal service. She also had a pair of saddle bags on, but they were clearly empty.

“I’ve got a delivery for Miss Shimmer, the librarian of the Golden Oak Library.” Her voice was soft and had an air of not being all together. Her golden eyes were also looking in two different directions.

Walking over to the struggling Pegasus, Sunset lifted the crate with her magic and moved it just out of the way of the main door. “I’m Sunset Shimmer, the librarian here. If you want, with the next shipment come and get me and I’ll take the books myself.”

“Oh thanks for the offer, but it’s my duty as the mail mare to get the mail to everypony in town. If you can sign here confirming you have received the shipment and it is in good condition.” All seals were still intact, so the clipboard was signed. A further thanks and she was off, having finally delivered everything for the day.

Resting prominently on top of the cardboard box was a letter; it detailed everything that was shipped to her from the Royal Library in Canterlot. ‘Hmm, let’s see. Ah yes the books on Evocation Magic and gems I requested are in here; oh and I’ve got a few customers to contact. The books they wanted to borrow from the Royal Library have finally arrived.

‘Oooh, Rainbow Dash is going to be happy; the latest copy of Daring Do is here. Yes even the hard back copy she had me order just for her; hmm, not to distribute for another nine days? I think I’ll make an exception for Rainbow Dash, after all that’s what friend privileges are for. That and she is adamant that no one finds out that she reads anything; she’s not going to tell anypony anything within it. I’ll have to start advertising for pre-rentals though. These things are popular.’

Sunset took the letter and returned to her work desk. Upon arriving at the far too clean and organised service location, Sunset brought out a second list from a drawer. It was filled with the names and addresses of ponies who had requested books from the Royal Library; there was a surprising number.

It took no time at all for her to write a generic message stating that the books they requested to borrow had finally arrived. With it nice and generic she used a spell to copy it a dozen times over before finishing them off with the unique information for each customer.

Once all the letters were completed; –and sealed securely inside of a Golden Oak Library’s branded envelope– Sunset applied a small teleportation spell, sending them all off to the main desk of the local post office. The ponies themselves will come to collect their orders within the next few days, some as early as first thing tomorrow morning, probably.

Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, Sunset wanted to do a little more for; after all she was the first person to be friendly toward her in town. Perhaps even outside of her old home.

With the assistance of one of Rainbow Dash’s feathers and using an advance Divination spell known as Scrying; Sunset located the rainbow maned Pegasus. She was currently in a field of grass along with a smaller deep orange coloured coat pegasus, with a purple mane and tail. Rainbow Dash was trying to teach Scootaloo how to fly again, and from the condition of the young filly Pegasus, it wasn’t going well.

Sunset hoof wrote a more detailed note than the others before sending it off with a Teleport spell. The spell Scrying was quickly reapplied to Rainbow Dash to see what her reaction was; Sunset was not disappointed.

---

“Come on Scootaloo, you need to take a break. Any more magic use today and you’re gonna exhaust yourself; and that’ll bring with it a whole load of injuries if you keep going.” Rainbow Dash was frustrated, she enjoyed teaching the young Pegasus how to fly, but this was getting a little silly.

Scootaloo’s big problem was that her wings were slow to develop; while a relatively rare condition, it was certainly not unheard off. To counter act this problem Rainbow Dash was working on the fillies Wellspring; to develop it for when her wings finally had their growth spurt. If she didn’t then Scootaloo might never be able to fly.

“No just one more time, Rainbow. I think I almost got it that time.”

“Sigh, ok fine; just one more time. But you’ll do nothing until I give the go ahead. I wanna be there just in case you run out of Pegasus magic as your gliding.” The happy squeal made the headache Rainbow Dash was developing worth it. Scootaloo was a good filly, just a little too enthusiastic.

A flash of light shocked Rainbow Dash out of her stupor. A quick look around revealed no new pony nearby; just a small scroll wrapped up and sitting comfortably by her hoof. It hadn’t been there before.

A quick look at Scootaloo confirmed that she was still climbing up the tree, heading towards the branch they chose to practice her glide from. Rainbow Dash took up the scroll; she had time to read it before Scootaloo was ready.

“Rainbow Dash,

I have an update to your waiting problem. It is here earlier than scheduled but I know you will be discreet with this issue. Would you like it now, delivered to you; or are you Daring enough to be seen at the place you have barred yourself from entering. Other than to see myself I hope? Oh what shall you Do? Say the name out loud to have it now. Unfortunately due to your home being a cloud, having it waiting there is not an option.

Your Instigator.”

“Rainbow , I’m ready!”

“Huh, what? Oh, right. Well come on Scootaloo, let’s see you glide. I’ve just remembered I’ve got something Daring to Do”

“Oh? OH! Can I watch you do it?”

“Na, it’s getting a little late and I did promise your aunt to get you back before your dinner time. So come on, get gliding!” The small Pegasus was vibrating with enthusiasm as she leaped off of the branch and towards her hero.

Scootaloo’s wings acted more like the wings of insects; you could barely see them as they rapidly fluttered back and forth. Still, she was gliding nicely. Rainbow Dash was watching her adoring student when a second flash appeared in the exact same spot as the previous one.

Looking down she found something worth drooling over; the latest Daring Do in hardback just nestled beside her hooves. It wasn’t due to come out for another eight days, fifteen hours and forty one minutes. But here it was, just waiting for her to touch it. “Thank you Sunset”

Whump. “Ouch”

“Ohmygosh, Scoots! Are you all right? You were doing so well, and I got distracted by something. How are you doing?”

“A little dizzy, but nothing serious. I was mostly down when my flapping stopped working.”

“Your flapping stopped working? Geez Scootaloo, I told you your Wellspring was almost dry. Sigh, you’re going to be feeling that in the morning. Again. And your aunt is going to be annoyed at me for letting you get like this. Again.” Scootaloo at least had the decency to look shameful at her actions; not that it helped. Rainbow Dash knew she would drain her magic dry again.

“Well there’s definitely nothing else we can do today. Come on Scoots, hop onto my back and I’ll take you home.” Rainbow Dash bent down to allow the small filly easy access to her back. At the same time she discreetly retrieved her new book, slipping it in between her left wing. With both of her precious cargo’s secured, Rainbow Dash trotted into town. The student and teacher were talking lightly to each other, as a way to help move the journey along.

---

Sunset gave a small smile to herself, as she observed the two Pegasi leave the park. Finally dismissing her spell, Sunset returned all her focus back to sorting through the box of books.

The library was due to shut in less than an hour and then –since she had scouted the Everfree Forest the previous night– Sunset planned to work on her duel casting and magic storage. It was going to be a pleasant, if quiet night. The fluttering of feathers and a “Who” of hello reminded her that at least she had some company.

---

It was the start of a new day and, as is normal, Celestia raised the sun for the whole world to enjoy. As the golden orb rose, the sky was bathed in a wonderful array of powerful reds. To pony kind it was a beautiful and impressive dawn; many complimented the Princess on her artistic skills. For the alicorn who raised the sun, it was an ominous sight.

---

The library was having a bit of a slow day; her only patrons had been ponies who came to pick up their orders. This gave the amber mare with the fiery mane ample time to finish sorting through her delivery from yesterday. Then again, what was left was mostly advertising for the up and coming releases.

Nearly all of the ponies she had contacted in regards to their orders have been and gone, and now she was almost twiddling her hooves.

Sunset looked over at her set of fliers. She had debated making a flier for the release of the new Daring Do but decided against it. Ponies who want it will already be coming in for the book; and others who don’t know it’s coming will be here to rent it in time.

More time passed, and still no pony came to the library. Finally, she had had enough; so closed the library to both enjoy the weather and have a late lunch. At the same time she could be productive and give out the fliers she had spent the last few days creating. The ones designed to encourage ponies to return overdue books.

Her trail had brought her towards the outskirts of Ponyville; where she saw most of her friends – as well as the cutie mark crusaders– running at full gallop out of town. Considering she did not see Rarity with them and that Pinkie wasn’t bouncing along, it told Sunset that something was wrong.

She followed behind them, keeping pace and cast the Phantom Ear spell to see what was wrong. She did not like what she was hearing; Rarity had been pony napped in the quarry.

Cancelling the spell, Sunset hesitated a moment before casting two Teleports; the small one returning her saddlebags to the library. The larger one was cast upon herself, her destination the Carousel Boutique.

Divination is an area of magical study that is difficult to get ones head around, and harder still to use in practice. The rewards for breaching those barriers, however, are worth it.

Take the spell Scrying; effectively you are warping magic around a focus in order to take a glimpse of an area or specific target, depending on what your focus is. From there if you are sufficiently skilled –and confident with your mental image of what you saw– you are able to combine the Scrying spell with a Teleport, in order to travel to said location. It can be very useful in this regard, if incredibly magic hungry.

The biggest down side to Divination spells is that they always require a focus of some sort; the fresher and more cherished, the better. A single hair plucked out of one’s head loses its association with its owner quickly –a matter of minutes to hours at most– because said pony really does not care about a single hair. A cherished doll that is loved and remembered, however, can still be used to search for its owner potentially years later; provided said owner still cherishes it.

Of course the power held within each focus limits the Divination spell it can be used with. The basic Divination spell, Phantom Ear, can be used with a very weak focus. Potentially none at all provided the target is close and the caster is willing to amplify the volume of power to the spell.

While on the opposite side of the spectrum, the spell Scrying has a maximum range that is dictated by how much association there is in the focus.

The second problem with Divination magic is that all the spells within it are incredibly power hungry. It is believed Arcane Circles were developed beside Divination magic, so as to help spread the cost of said spells over several unicorns.

Before the flash of magic finished diminishing, Sunset had stormed into the Boutique and was up the stairs looking for a cherished item that belonged to Rarity.

She quickly found a picture of Rarity and her sister together smiling happily; it was resting in pride of place on her night stand. ‘Perfect.’ The picture containing two different ponies wasn’t a problem, that it was so cherished by Rarity was all that mattered.

Sunset used the picture as the focus for her Scrying spell. She waved her horn over the cherished picture; the spell matrix planned within her head was now covering the chosen spells focus.

The magenta coloured magic reworked itself into a floating oval approximately the size of a pony’s head; with deep and bold magic paths acting as a frame. The picture of the two sisters was indeed cherished and the spell was successfully cast.

However a problem was quickly revealing itself. For as the seconds ticked by, the viewing mirror in the centre was still blank; hued in a pale variant of her magical aura, and still drawing in significant quantities of her magic. In fact the draw on her magic was increasing.

She had to cut the spell before any more magic was wasted; Rarity was just too far away for Sunset to be able to find her like this. Time for another Divination spell.

Leaving the picture where it sat, Sunset searched the room for something small and a bit less fragile; this next focus will have to accompany her.

Eventually she found a rather expensive looking hair clip depicting Rarity’s cutie mark. It was small and easily transportable; Sunset could wear it to keep it safe and secure while she was travelling as well. It was exactly what Sunset needed; provided of course it activated her spell.

With only a slight bit of concentration, Sunset brought forth the desired spell matrix within her mind. She nodded in satisfaction when the hairclip resonated in harmony, this would do nicely.

With a fresh Teleport, Sunset returned to where she was previously on the outskirts of town; before casting this latest Divination spell, Guide. Typically Guide is limited in scope and only useful in finding objects. However Sunset had long ago reworked its spell script so that it was able to target ponies as well. After all what is an object really?

Before her eyes lay a trail of hoof prints, clearly visible on the ground and glowing in Sunsets own magical aura. Her eyes followed the path only she could see, as it followed the main road towards the quarry. The spell worked and Sunset now knew the road to take in order to find her stolen friend.

She now knew her path; and she will follow it.

---

It was taking longer than Sunset estimated it would to reach the quarry. Following the trail her spell was setting out, it had actually taken her off of the main road and into the thickening undergrowth. The rest of her friends had clearly continued on the main road –Sunset could make out the fresh set of hoof prints before she veered off– following it all the way to the quarry. She trusted her spell and would continue to follow it, but this change in direction worried her.

So Sunset put an additional burst of speed into her running, determined to catch up to whoever had Rarity. This action had the side effect of making her journey even more difficult for herself.

There was a small fraction of her mind left wondering if her other friends would be ok on their own, and if she should have kept following their path. It was dismissed by her logic; Guide always took the quickest available path to its targeted object. She also knew that Applejack and Rainbow Dash could look after themselves.

Before long, still following her spell, Sunset stumbled across what had to be the main entrance to the Diamond Dogs lair. Standing guard at what could have been a generic cave, were three large bipedal beings.

They were bulky and looked like several domesticated species of dog. Each was wearing heavy steel looking armour and wielding spears. They were bulky and imposing; their ancestry had to have had a drunken meeting between a dog, and an extinct creature known as a gorilla. To most ponies they would be an intimidating sight; to Sunset they weren’t even a speed bump.

Not even slowing down from her galloping, Sunset swapped the spell Guide for a small but dense Searing Lance and aimed for the Diamond Dogs exposed neck. The creature collapsed before it knew what had happened. A second lance was launched as the first dog’s body hit the floor, striking almost as true as the last. While the spine was still intact, the jugular was pierced through and it would die quickly of asphyxiation.

The third was either smart or incredibly lucky as it dropped down to its stomach. The Lance flew over its head and travelled deep into the cave the beast was guarding.

She was now by the cave entrance. The one dog she hadn’t put down yet quickly scrambled back up onto its feet while howling a battle cry. It thrust the spear held within its clawed hand at Sunset, its point clearly aimed at her barrel.

She jumped. Still retaining the speed of her charge, Sunset launched herself over the spear thrust with ease, rising higher still so that she barely soared over the beasts head. Just as planned.

As her trajectory took her past the head of the creature; her front forehooves wrapped around it and using the momentum, as well as augmenting her strength with earth pony magic, twisted sharply and fiercely.

Two bodies landed on the ground at the same time, one on four hooves that continued running into the open cave. The other was still and lifeless, with its neck almost the complete opposite direction from where it should be resting.

---

Sunset was disappointed in herself, not only had she let one live that long, but it had also managed to issue a warning into the cave system. Not really a warning, more of a challenge, but it had travelled down the tunnels and it would have warned of her arrival. Surprise was out, and she couldn’t stop to ambush due to time constraints. The only option left was for pure aggression.

Still following the Guide spell, Sunset travelled deeper into the cave. She stumbled across a few more armoured dogs, but using her condensed Searing Lance, they fell without issue.

The dogs clearly knew something was wrong now. The smell of blood was in the air, regardless of her lance cauterising the wounds as it travelled through bodies. She could make out from the echoes that the pack was getting riled up. Good, that would make them stupid, even more so than normal.

There, up ahead was a group of them charging right at her through the tunnel; she smirked. With an almost instant reconfigure; her Searing Lance ballooned in size until it was almost the diameter of the tunnel she was travelling down. That pack was not getting up.

Noises from her rear, she turned around quickly; another group had tried to flank her. They had gotten close as well, too close for a fully charged Searing Lance to take them out. Close combat it is.

The front one was on top of her now, its razor sharp claws forcefully striking down right at her head. A spell was cast, with almost a decade of speed and precision, it was instantaneous and exactly where she wanted it to be. The clawed paw came down with what had to be tremendous force behind it; only to lose said paw at the wrist.

It howled in agony as it drew back the bleeding stump, its eyes dilating from the sudden shock. It blinked and the head followed the hand.

In front of Sunset Shimmer was a transparent curved blade of raspberry pink. A moment later and it had multiplied; so now there were four ghostly raspberry coloured blades, all of them evenly spaced out, protecting their caster.

The remaining six other dogs continued their charge; the pony invading their territory just stood there, raising an eyebrow. Two dogs swiped at her, she hopped back and countered with her Phantom Swords, removing the hand of one and leaving a deep gash in the arm of the second.

Three leapt over their now injured pack mates trying to attack from above. Sunset reared up onto her hind hooves and spun around to dodge the incoming attacks, while her Swords were directed right into their heads. The final sword positioned defensively to protect her blind spot. The last one turned tail and started to run, only for one of the blades to slice down its back. Two other swords finished off the ones still moving about on the floor.

They were all dead. Sunset confirmed where her friend was located before continuing on.

---

The tunnel she was following arrived at a dead end, however there was clear evidence of a cave in, and a big one at that. Using Guide once more, Sunset found another path to take; a little back from where she had just come from. It was a smaller tunnel, likely an offshoot that eventually became a convenient shortcut. Whatever it was, it would do for her use.

There were more signs of cave in’s in several other locations, some of them looked fresh, and all of them were clearly deep. There were too many to have been a coincidence, these beasts are trying to lead her somewhere. Well when the carpet has been rolled out like this, who could blame her for following it.

Rounding the next corner, Sunset had to quickly dive forward to prevent herself from being crushed by yet another cave in. She had just jumped into quite a significant hall, for lack of a better word. A big domed cave with tunnels branching off in many different directions; however that was not important, compared to what was in front of her.

This was clearly the Alpha of the pack; standing a third taller and broader than every Diamond Dog so far. It wielded claws and teeth that looked strong enough to scratch the gems they were named after. In a moon crescent behind him had to be the rest of the pack, at least twenty other dogs of varying size, all eager to get a hold of her.

The Alpha was not wearing armour, or much else actually; only a pair of brown shredded pants giving one a full view of its matted fur. It was mostly light grey, with random patches of both white and black splotched around the chest and arms. Scars were clear to see even through his coat and one of its ears had a big bite out of it.

“Pony! You attack pack, kill pack. Pony must be punished! Once done pack will attack town. Gather ponies for getting gems. Fair, yes?” its voice was low, gruff, and clearly had a masculine tone about it.

Sunset said nothing, just looking at where she was and how much she needed to watch her flanks.

The Alpha was upon her, so much quicker than its pack mates. Slashing with the massive claws, it was only by a hairs width that Sunset dodged the attack. Soon to follow was a relentless barrage of swipe after swipe, aimed almost perfectly to inflict grievous wounds on a pony. With the added bite thrown in here and there, acting more as additional distractions.

Even its hind legs were being used at times, both to inflict harm as well as to try to sweep her legs out from under her. A group of Royal Guards would most likely struggle to fend of this creature.

Throughout it all Sunset dodged and weaved through the flailing limbs and maw; slowly discovering a pattern. And the more Sunset observed the more she saw and evading her enemy became easier and easier.

She was bleeding, not all of her dodges were successful. Some of the gashes could almost be described as moderate, but there was nothing inflicted that would impede her significantly.

Before long this fight to the death slowly transformed into a deadly dance; even as the Alpha tried to switch up how he fought, the pony kept dodging. Sometimes on all fours, other times on her hind legs pirouetting around out stretched claws. There were even a few times she bent at an odd angle with only a single hoof keeping her up.

Her horn was glowing now, but not a single spell was being launched from the magical appendage. The surrounding pack animals dismissed it as nothing more than a threat display.

What the surrounding pack did notice was that the pony had become even harder for their Alpha to hit; faster and more agile than ever before. One or two very observant dogs might have even noticed her hooves starting to crackle and spark with lightning.

“Are you quite done playing? I have a friend to rescue.” The Alpha snarled before he pounced at her; both sets of claws extended and the slavering jaw open, ready to devour her.

Standing back onto her hind hooves, Sunset’s fore ones connected with the claws and pushed them away from herself. She jumped, leaning back and flinging a hind hoof right into the base of the snout and jaw. The force was great enough to snap the head back, causing the creature to stumble and completely stalled the attack.

It was clear now that her hooves did indeed contain electricity; however for what purpose, the Diamond Dogs could not determine. It had not discharged when striking their Alpha; so maybe a show of force?

The head of the Alpha kept travelling backwards; with the connected body following the head, which caused the remaining two paws to leave the floor. For a precious few seconds the Alpha Diamond Dog was flying.

Sunset continued her flip, landing back onto all four hooves and just stood there. An air of complete sureness surrounded her, as her horn kept creating earth pony magic and her hooves sparked even more.

The Alpha was back on her, but this time it was a much more defensive fight on the Alphas part. The offense of the powerful beast was quickly turning into defence, as Sunset continued to learn and adapt to whatever pattern this beast fought with.

Standing on her rear hooves once again, her front two clashed with claws before continuing the counter with a jabbing kick to the back of the beast’s leg. After the third time hitting the same spot on the same leg with significant force, it was starting to become rather tender; which helped slow the beast down.

Another claw strike, this time using the full reach of its arm; clearly in an attempt to keep its sensitive rear leg out of danger. Sunset moved a forehoof to block the strike, before twisting her whole body into the shoulder of the bipedal animal.

Using the momentum of her manoeuvre into the beast’s armpit; her blocking forehoof grabbed onto the extended arm and pulled. The free hoof was lending assistance by pushing just in front of the shoulder joint, generating even greater leverage.

All of this resulted in the large creature being thrown over her shoulder and slamming its back onto the unforgiving ground beneath the two fighters. The impact opened its muzzle wide, spraying saliva and most certainly knocking any air out of its lungs.

For the final action of this manoeuver, the supporting hoof travelled back up the length of the arm and latched onto the wrist still suspended in the air. The other was drawn back and up against the unicorn’s body. Blink and the following action would have been missed, but the noise it generated was a sickening crack. The now free hoof struck faster than a viper; right into the elbow of the downed foe, destroying the elbow and rendering the arm useless.

All this fighting, all this brutality and yet nothing changed on the face of the pony standing above the now helpless Diamond Dog. Even now the face was just as calm, and almost uncaring in nature, as when the fight started; with cold impassive eyes to match.

Sunset had already gathered enough tells from this Alpha that every major blow was avoided; this fight was no longer a challenge. Her time recently had been spent building up a trap for the observing mutts. They had seen her magic at work; but because it was not doing anything obvious, had ignored it. They would know better soon enough.

The fight was over; even this brainless beast knew it. With a final surge of earth pony magic, Sunset slammed her fore hooves into the ground with a powerful boom.

The following burst of lightning lashed out in every way imaginable; guided by a spell matrix not meant to be used with such raw, natural magic. The lightning wove around the floor in a complex pattern not dissimilar to the web a spider would make.

The matrix was not perfect however, some of the lightning was able to escape the elegant pattern; lashing out at the bodies of nearby Diamond Dogs. That the lightning was also striking at the cavern walls and ceiling did not matter to the elemental magic; it cared not how it escaped the matrix, it just wanted freed from its confinement.

The Thunder Strike spell taught to her by Master Thunder Stomp was not meant to be controlled in such a way.

It was not elegant, it was not quick, and it was not painless; but it was most assuredly effective. Sunset was finally starting to feel the significant drain on her Wellspring, before finally letting up on the generation of earth pony magic. Her breathing was hard, her body covered in sweat as well as blood, though most of the blood was not her own.

All of the Diamond Dogs in the area had fallen, there were no wounds, but the smell of burnt hair was overpowering and everywhere. The silence was deafening, just the slight crack or fizz of the remaining electricity finally discharging.

The floor was severely damaged with traces of scorch marks; though these were difficult to see through all of the new cracks and strutting out rocks that had formed thanks to the spell.

The ceiling let out a loud snapping noise, before a disturbing web of broken glass like cracks started to spread out from the epicentre of the noise.

The walls and ceiling started to rumble and loose stones were beginning to fall. A guide spell showed the tunnel to take and she went for it. Following through even more twists and turns, as well as ignoring branching tunnels; Sunset was purely focused on the spell guiding her to her friend. It was hard going; the floor was covered with loose debris that hindered her traction as she dashed for her exit.

Finally, she made it out of the large cavern; the floor was significantly cleaner of debris and much easier to run on. The ceiling still had the worrying web of cracks, but they were much fewer and smaller than the ones she had just left.

More, louder breaking noises were heard from the room she was just in; with the occasional boom of a falling rock for good measure. The additional burst of speed felt prudent, not only to get away from the incoming cave in, but also to find her friend.

It was getting difficult though; between all of her magic use, as well as the physical exertion, Sunset was certainly getting winded. So much so, she was now sparingly casting Guide; trying to keep some emergency reserves of magic in case of any more trouble.

‘This is taking too long. Rarity must be terrified; and thanks to her minor case of molysmophobia she could be having a panic attack, thanks to all the dirt and mud around us. I really hope I don’t have to force her to slee- what was that?!’

Slamming on the brakes Sunset froze in place; she heard voices, familiar voices, her friend’s voices. Coming from a small tunnel angled upwards. Following the out of place noises; she eventually caught up to all of them, including Rarity.

They seemed happy and were laughing away; the small heard of her five friends were clearly heading in a direction that Applejack seemed to know. The entrance the rest of the girls used to get into this cave system, probably. They all seemed to be pulling carts full of gems for some reason, the sight of which confused Sunset a little.

Behind her came the faint echo of a deep rumbling, followed by the sound of shifting sand; her battle ground had finally caved in. The big cave in seemed to have minor repercussions throughout many of the other tunnels, if what was happening around her was any indication. Several small rocks and dirt fell to the floor, along with a few gems of varying preciousness.

Curiosity was biting at the bit now. Her short period of time studying some of the recently acquired tomes last night put in her hooves a purity spell; the first spell an apprentice gem cutter learns.

Using it on the few gems scattered around the floor, Sunset found several that had the potential to be very useful to her. With a bit of refinement and a specialised touch, they could be turned into Magic storing crystals.

If nothing else they would help her fund getting said crystals. So she gathered the three closest to hoof and placed them within her Pocket Dimension. After which Sunset finally followed the path her friends had taken out of the caves.

Not to catch up –there was far too much red on her to be seen by Fluttershy– but to see where this entrance was located. The few gems she had stumbled onto informed Sunset this place held gems capable of storing magic. Hopefully there was one here big enough for her plans, if she searched hard enough.

But that was for a time when she was confident in her ideas. At this point the small gem Princess Celestia had given her would be more than sufficient.

Sure enough, following the trail left by her friends; Sunset found signs of bright light ahead of her, which eventually became a clear exit to the surface. It was indeed within the quarry situated a little bit out of town from Ponyville.

Now with the location set in her mind, Sunset flashed away from the sight in a series of short distance Teleports. Her magic reserves were low enough, she would rather not risk a long Teleport; but she also needed to get ahead of her friends in order to return Rarity’s hairpin.

After the success of returning the improvised focus without being seen; Sunset cast one last Teleport spell, returning her to the closed library. Her adventures underground were finally done for the day.

She also needed a shower in order to remove all this Diamond Dog blood covering her. Oh, and to look after the few injuries she herself received. Sunset was thankful that most of them had stopped bleeding by this point.

---

While Sunset’s escapades went unnoticed by her friends, her bloody hoof prints would be found by others in the coming days; causing the guards to investigate.

It did not take long, however, before specialised guards from Canterlot were called in to replace the initial team. The crime scene was quickly becoming far too complicated, and dangerous, for the local guards to handle.

Comments

[hamishwarfare]

10984286
Thank you for finding interest with my little piece here. The ears were planned to be a bit more of a distraction and hindrance (I also wanted to show sensitivity to loud, high pitch noises). But i couldn't fully get them to work without it feeling out of place. That and I was already more than happy with how long this chapter was.

[hamishwarfare]

10962333
Hopefully I have done some justice with her alternate backstory in chapter 13 for you. She did end up in the Equestria Girls universe... Just in a little bit more of a heroic way.

[Greenstaroftheplane]

“I’ve just remembered I’ve got something Daring to Do”

I'm amazed at the the smoothness and utter punnyness of this line. Smart and perfect.

[Ravens Flight]

Love your AU story and world. Quick question; were the first 2 chapters set-up and to be ignored now, or are we going to see what's up with psycho-doc and the brainwashing and how Tempest and PREDATOR tie together? That seems like a REALLY big plot hole to just leave lying around...

Thanks for sharing your story!