The World of Equestria

by Mona_Chromatic

Chapter 5 - Sunset

The night passed, and the sky went from a deep purple to a glowing orange as the sun rose over the city's skyscrapers. The lights within the city hall had been flickering throughout the night. The windows were foggy, cold to the touch from the chill air of the night. The autumn frost glimmered on the ground, squeaking and crunching under the shoes of an eager girl, running towards down the stairs of the city hall building.

The girl turned a corner a bit too quickly, slipping on the icy ground and tumbling forwards onto the pavement. She let out a cry as her face slammed onto the concrete, and laid still for a small bid. She twitched, and slowly rose from the ground groaning in pain. Her nose was slightly crooked and bleeding, and was dripping on her black skirt and pants.

She huffed, her breath condensing in the air, and continued walking down the street. The blood dribbled down her bright orange skin, illuminated by the sunrise. She pressed her palms on both sides of her nose, and with a defiant crunch, twisted her nose back in place. Wiping the blood off her upper lip, her red-and-orange hair flew back into a frenzy as she continued to dash towards the shadowy castle at the center of the city.

She stopped right before the castle's front gates, the road barricaded with police officers and their vehicles. The air was filled with the distinct sound of radio chatter, and felt heavy with dread. Looking on at the faded castle, she huffed a sigh, muttering, "This place has seen better days..."

The girl approached one of the officers, passing under the yellow police tape that was lined up. "Hey," she said, a little too loudly, gathering the attention of a few other officers around him. "I'm looking for squadron E-1A. You know where I can find them?"

The officer looked at his comrades, then chuckled. "Kid," he scoffed, "I don't know if you saw the signs, but this ain't no place for a kid."

The girl narrowed her eyes, walking right up to the officer. He was big, likely over six feet, she estimated, but she still could reach his shoulders at eye level. She glanced at his badge, then looked back a him. "I'm not just a kid" she said, folding her arms.

Here the officer laughed even harder, and his fellows joined. "That's adorable, kid, but you really should head back home. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

The girl groaned in annoyance, unzipped and reached into the back pocket of her skirt, and pulled out a small wallet, containing a badge. It was similar to the one on the officers' uniforms, but had a black rim, and was gilded in a gold color instead of the bronze the officers had. The officer's chuckling slowed, then ceased. He looked at the badge, then on the back of it, then looked at her.

"You're a member of the royal guard? You don't even look like your out of high school yet." he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

She responded with a dead silence, smirking slightly.

"Oh, come on, they let a HIGH-SCHOOLER IN?"

"Sunset Shimmer, leader of squadron E-1A. I was notified by one of my friends to come as soon as possible this morning."

One of the officers standing to the side turned to her. "E-1A? We can't allow anyone other than the Elite Guard to go into the castle."

Sunset looked at him, confused. "I'm sorry, the what?"

"The new shining white knights on the block, called together by possibly the biggest dipstick in history," a voice said from behind her.

Sunset turned around, seeing another girl approach her. Her yellow-toned skin complemented her massively puffy, orange hair, and contrasted with her cold, purple eyes. Her figure was slightly slimmer than Sunset's, helped by the black and grey jumpsuit that she wore. It was lined with glowing lights that traced down the side of her arms and legs, and circled around on her back. The newcomer smiled and outstretched her arms, embracing Sunset, who responded with the same action.

"Adagio," said Sunset, still embracing her friend. "I'm glad you're safe."

"So am I," said the girl, gently breaking off from the hug and patting Sunset's shoulder. The two began chatting, walking past the police officers while doing so. The officer standing on the side looked at his comrades. "Should we stop them?"

The first officer turned to glare at him. "You really want to get in the way of E-1A?"

"Huh?"

The first officer pressed the side of his ear, triggering a beep and a voice that said, "Any updates?"

"Yeah, did you call for squadron E-1A? Cause they just showed up and look ready to bust into the castle."

"....oh," said the voice, slightly nervous.

"Should we get everyone to intercept them, Blueblood?" asked the officer.

"No ,no, no, that would be a waste of both our time and men, " responded Blueblood. "I will have a small chat with them myself. Err ... Which way where they headed?"

"Two of them just waltzed right past the cars on the northwest entrance, heading towards the East one."

"Excellent. Thank you, you are dismissed," said Blueblood, before abruptly ending the call.

"What? Dismissed? Sir?" The policeman tapped the device again, only to be met with the voice of a much angrier, different voice.

"What is it?!" the voice yelled, annoyed and irritated.

The police officer winced. "Silver Comet?" he whimpered.

"KNOW YOUR PLACE, BUDDY! THAT'S MAJOR COMET TO YOU!" the voice screamed in his ear, causing him to wince. His comrades looked at each other nervously.

The voice breathed heavily, then in a gruff yet calmer tone, asked, "What do you want?"

The officer took a deep breath, then said, "I'm not quite sure I understand what is happening right now-"

"No one flipping does, moron."

"I mean to say, major," the officer continued, "that Blueblood just dismissed us from the case after hearing that E-1A arrived."

"I know, I was there with him when you called," responded the voice. "Look, he means what he said. You can stick around if you want, but I have my squadron advancing around the perimeter. No one is getting in. And with E-1A here, albeit uninvited, we should have this situation covered."

The voice became calmer, but still was coarse and gruff. "If you got family, you might wanna check up on them. That is all."

The radio static cut out, and the officer standing to the side chuckled. "This major sounds like he isn't out of high school either."

This was followed by another dead silence.

"Oh, what the f-"

_____________________________

Adagio led Sunset down the roads, past a few onlooking police officers, as the sirens continued to blare in the streets. A series of large white tents were set up, where several officers could be seen lined up outside waiting to enter.

The two walked past it, squeezing by a few officers who, upon seeing them, immediately moved out of the way, standing at attention position. Once they walked by, the officers resumed their tasks. Sunset followed her friend into a dark grey tent, pushing open the heavy entrance flaps, and walking inside.

"We're back," said Adagio walking over to a table centered in the tent, around a few iron-frame beds that were untouched and made neatly.

Seated around the table were two other girls, each wearing the same jumpsuit as Adagio. The first one was leaning back in her seat, her feet and black metal boots up on the table. Her green and purple hair was tied back in two giant pigtails, that fell just above her waist. Her eyes were a faded purple, as was her skin. Black eyeliner rimmed around her eyes, which gave her a piercing gaze.

The second one had skin that was a light tone of blue, but her eyes were an even deeper shade of purple than the first one. Her hair reflected her indigo skin, but streaked with a dark blue, and tied back with a glittered rubber band, forming a ponytail that curved up, then all the way down her back before rising up again slightly. Her face was a mess, as she was currently chowing down on a pair of hard-shell tacos, each in one hand. She looked up at the two, then, with her mouth stuffed, waved her hands.

"Mmf... Guysh, yer bach! I wast gehtting worried!" she called, bits of food flying out her mouth.

The first girl groaned in annoyance, then took her feet off the table and handed her friend a canteen of water. "For crying out loud, Sonata, swallow your food already!" she exclaimed, dodging a tiny bit of corn that flew past her.

Sonata snatched the canteen from her sister, chugging vigorously before swallowing and exhaling in utter satisfaction. "Heh, sorry," she said, wiping her lips with her sleeve.

Adagio rolled her eyes, and walked over to a bed that had another black jumpsuit laying down on it.

Sunset walked to the table, and looked at the food on the table. "May I?" she asked, pointing at the some leftover fries in the box.

Both Sonata and the other girl responded at the same time.

"No, they're mine!"

"Sure, knock yourself out."

Sonata turned to her sister. "Aria!" she exclaimed, "This is my lunch! I'm not finished with it!"

Aria snatched the food from her sister, who whimpered as her eyes bubbled in utter sadness.

"This was supposed to be OUR lunch, and yet you ate three-quarters of the bag before any of us could get a bite. Heck, you even drank our sodas!"

"You should thank me! Your food was dry anyway!"

Sunset watched as the two bickered back and forth, munching on the handful of fries she took. Adagio approached her, holding the jumpsuit.

"How do you three even live together like this?" Sunset asked, finishing off the last of the fries in her palm.

"We're sisters. We make it work," said Adagio, tossing Sunset the suit. "Suit up. We'll head in there in ten minutes." She motioned towards the castle gate as she spoke.

Sunset took off her jacket, then her shoes. "Are we even permitted to do that?" she asked as removed her skirt before grabbing the jumpsuit.

"I'm afraid not," came a voice from behind her.

Sunset turned around, stumbling as she slipped her feet into the pant legs of the suit. Blueblood stood at the entrance of the tent, wiping his monocle with a handkerchief, then placing it over his left eye. He sniffed the air haughtily, then coughed. "Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"

"I don't know. You walked in on an underage girl changing clothes, so you tell me," said Sunset, mockingly as she slipped on the sleeves.

Blueblood's eyes widened for a second, then closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then smiled and spoke in his trademark condescending tone, "Ah, well, my apologies. It's just that this particular matter at hand is of upmost importance."

"And besides," he added, approaching Sunset, "such beauty is not to be hidden under a warrior's clothes."

It was at this point Adagio stood up and gently tossed a long, grey case in Sunset's direction, who grabbed it, opened it and pulled out the item inside with her free hand in the span of a second. She aimed the sword she grabbed, still in its sheath, at Blueblood.

"Back off, buddy," Sunset growled, as she lightly threw the case on one of the beds nearby.

By now, her suit activated, and a deep orange glow began to began to flow through the mesh like a current flowing through a circuit. The suit molded, sprouting armor on the shoulder and back, and the mesh wrapped around her neck comfortably. From the back of the suit, the energy coursed outwards, curving around her eyes to make a sort of visor, and a black mask rose and covered Sunset's mouth. A voice from within the suit echoed:

"Recognized: Sunset Shimmer. E-1-A-2. Adjusting settings..."

Sunset used her free hand to press her left ear while keeping the blade towards Blueblood. The visor and the mask retracted, almost mechanically.

"I'm just here to look for my friend," she said.

Blueblood leaned slightly back, gently pushing the blade downwards and chuckling nervously.

"Ah... heh, y-your friend?" he asked, with nervousness clearly betraying his voice.

Sunset growled. "You don't even care about your own men, do you?" she hissed, annoyed.

Blueblood scoffed, then said rather haughtily, "I now lead the squadrons of the Elite Guard. Any other division has been passed on to others of high position."

"Yeah, yeah," said Adagio, waving her hand in dismissal and rolling her eyes. "You got to be a big shot for once, and if you suddenly want to act like a good leader for once, go for it."

Here, Adagio pointed her finger at Blueblood. "The very least a pathetic featherhead like you could do is tell us where Flash Sentry and his squadron are."

Blueblood was stunned. For a moment, he was utterly silent as the four girls glared at him in contempt. Then, out of nowhere, he began to chuckle, then laugh out loudly.

"Phah, hah, ah, ha ,haaaaaaaah...." he wheezed. "Flash Sentry? Squadron F1-Alpha-SH? You expect me to know or care about that outdated faction? Oh, it's Shining Armor's request all over again..." his laughter began to die out.

Shining Armor was here? Sunset thought to herself. She looked at Adagio, who looked back in confusion and shrugged her shoulders. Aria arched her eyebrows in anticipation, while Sonata awkwardly twirled her hair.

"I'll say it as many times as I need," said Blueblood, who became very stern very quickly. "I do not know, nor do I care, about any other squadron besides the Elite Guard. All I know is that no one has been seen anybody exiting the castle. If you wish to go in and look for your comrade, be my guest."

He turned around and sneered. "I don't think I need to warn you of the dangers of fighting an unknown threat, do I?"

Sunset opened her mouth to say something, but Adagio interjected. "We can handle ourselves just fine."

Aria nodded. "Beside, your precious Elite Guard charged it without much info either. For someone so proud of his new toys, you really don't reap what ya sow, huh?"

"ENOUGH OF THIS MOCKERY!" Blueblood yelled. The sudden rise in tone startled the four girls, causing Sonata to spill her bottle of water onto the table. "Aw, crud." she mumbled.

"I am FINALLY being recognized for my natural leadership and ability, and placed in a position where I can finally put my flawless plans into action. No interference from Luna, or Celestia, or Armor, I can FINALLY HAVE THINGS GO MY WAY FOR ONCE!" he continued, seething with anger.

"And I will NOT be mocked by a group of four, naive little MINXES!" he added, finally storming our of the tent.

"What a weirdo," added Sonata, wiping the spill with a shirt she had picked up.

"HEY! That's my shirt!" Adagio yelled, annoyed.

Returning to his tent, Blueblood turned to see the four girls, with their weapons in hand. Sunset's blade was sheathed on her back, and Adagio's larger sword was latched onto a belt around her waist, horizontally. Sonata had her narrow, pointed sword placed in her sheath hanging to the side, and Aria's pair of blades were latched onto her back, crossing each other with their hilts pointed towards the sky. The girls were quite a ways away, casually walking through the hole in the castle gates, much to the confusion and worry of the officers around them.

"Major Comet, I have a new task for you," said Blueblood, his eyes still transfixed on the girls.

"Finally," came a voice from inside the tent. Emerging from the tent was a tall young man, with skin as white as snow, and his hair long and sharp-ended, fading from the white at the center of his hair to an ashen grey near the points. The hair was soft and angled downwards, but stood up at the roots, almost like a hedgehog. He was adorned in an open white overcoat, with gold buckles and silver strips down the sleeves, and hung a few inches off the ground. His shirt was the same color as his hair, and his shorts were nylon and black, covering his knees. His red iris shone has he cracked his knuckles.

"What took you so long?" the boy asked in his gruff voice, craning his neck to the side.

Blueblood smiled. "Those four over there," he pointed at the girls walking into the castle. "While I do not think they will necessarily interfere with the mission, and believe that their power may be crucial to our success, they are currently another unpredictable factor that we do not need right now. More importantly, they are insubordinate, and will not listen to my orders."

Silver crossed his arms. "So you want me to deal with them?"

Blueblood nodded. "In a sense. I need you to reel them in, show them that we have things under control, and that they should act only when needed." Here he stroked his chin.

"Give them a sense of what it truly means to be an Elite, and 'convince' them to return to me." He said the word "convince" with a hint of animosity.

Blueblood pulled out his phone. "I'll call up a squadron to come with you into the castle."

"No," came the firm reply, as Blueblood looked up to see Silver grabbing a large sword, three inches wide and almost five feet long. Silver grabbed the handle, then twisted it until a mechanical click was heard. A second blade revealed itself, shooting out and spinning from the first blade and attached itself to the other end of the handle. He spun the now ten-foot long double-ended sword in his hand, then gripped it tight before looking back at Blueblood.

"I can handle those weaklings myself," said Silver, before walking towards the gates of the castle.

".........Right," said Blueblood. He grabbed a steaming mug of black coffee, pouring the cream in and sipping it gently.

He sighed, then scoffed. "That guy needs to curb his ego."