The Witchblade: Origins

by 13 Potatoes

(Case 2-3 Ninkasi): The Gluttonous Fundraiser

Snowflakes drifted gently from the sky down to the ground as soft as cotton. Sunset stood in front of SugarCube Corner alongside Gilda as they stared into the shop. Sunset rubbed her bracelet as she waited nervously for the Rainbooms to leave. They were all packing up and looked to be having a small discussion which was inaudible to her.

"They are probably talking about you." Gilda muttered. "Probably still having their panties in a twist about Anon-A-Miss."

"Yeah." Sunset muttered.

"Why are you still crying over them? They aren't your friends."

"They were there during my lowest moment." Sunset snapped. "I need to stick with them while they are at theirs."

Gilda let out a small sigh as she turned towards Sunset. "Listen, girl. I know RainbowDash, and I know that she is as loyal as they come to her friends ...."

"Really?" Sunset snorted. "She was quite quick to ditch me."

"That's the thing." Gilda remarked. "She is loyal to her friends, and she ditched you. Now put the pieces together."

That caused Sunset to bristle. "I know you think you are helping ...."

"I am."

"But I am sticking with them. And that's final." The ostracized girl growled stubbornly.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Gilda snapped.

Before Sunset could come up with a response, RainbowDash and the rest of the Rainbooms walked out of SugarCube Corner. Sunset turned towards Gilda with a finger up and muttered, "We'll talk about this later."

Gilda let out an exasperated sigh and threw her arms up in the air as RainbowDash, Applejack, and Rarity walked past them. Applejack crossed her arms as the three of them faced Sunset and Gilda.

"We aren't here for any trouble guys." Sunset sighed. "Please, I've had a long day."

"I don't know what you've said to trick Pinkie Pie ...." Applejack started.

"Oh, for fucks sake." Gilda muttered.

"But if you hurt her, I will make sure you regret it." Applejack sneered.

"Oh please. This isn't about Anon-A-Miss." Gilda snorted.

"Excuse me?"

Gilda scowled as she walked up towards the farm girl and towered over her. She looked down and gave a crooked grin. "You know what I am talking about."

"Gilda. Enough. Just let them throw their insults, and then we can go." Sunset grabbed Gilda's arm, but the large girl wouldn't move.

"This is about the bake sale, isn't it?" Gilda snorted. "Still never moved on from that. Honest in how she speaks, but as thick-headed as they come."

"Gilda!"

"This isn't about the Bake Sale." The farm girl snapped.

"Oh yeah, sure it isn't." Gilda scoffed. "Oh, please. I know all about grudges, and I can recognize it from a mile away."

"Darling, just let them go. Ignore them, they just want attention." Rarity sighed.

Applejack hesitated but finally clenched her teeth and walked around Gilda with Rarity and RainbowDash behind her. Sunset looked down at the ground as the three walked past them. However, as she heard their footsteps fade into the background, she couldn't help but ask one question.

"I thought we were friends." Sunset asked without looking behind her.

"We were." RainbowDash answered, with the others being silent.

Sunset stood still, right there on the sidewalk, as she tried to retain her composure. A small sniffle escaped her lips as all the emotion she had been pushing away bubbled out onto the surface. She wiped her eyes, telling herself over and over that she had a job to do, but her soul wouldn't stop as tears began to drip from her cheeks.

The former unicorn let out an ugly cough as she slowly lost the battle against her emotions. She didn't notice Gilda wrapping her arms around her until the tall girl had Sunset in a large hug.

"Don't let them get to you." Gilda muttered.

"Y-yeah." Sunset stammered. "I-I was just c-caught off g-guard."

"Take as long as you need."

"N-no. I-I don't want to k-keep Bon Bon waiting."

"I couldn't give a damn what Bon Bon thought. What about you?" Gilda whispered.

Sunset stopped protesting and simply held Gilda's arms closer as she finally stopped fighting the tears and let them flow out. She let out heartbroken sobs as Gilda hugged Sunset closer. She clenched her teeth and broke down, with Gilda being the only reason why she hadn't fallen to the ground.

After a couple of minutes, Sunset's emotions began to steady. She hiccuped and wiped her eyes with her sleeves before letting out one final sob.

"I'm done." She muttered miserably.

"It'll be okay, Sunny." Gilda muttered. "The sun will rise again one day."

"Did you just come up with that just now?"

"Mmmmmaybe." Gilda smirked.

Sunset let out a snort before taking in a deep breath. She slowly pulled herself out of Gilda's grasp and turned towards SugarCube Corner once again. "Come on. Let's go see what was so urgent that Bon Bon needed us here as soon as possible." Sunset whispered.

"Fine. Don't want to give her any more material to complain about, ay?" Gilda smirked.

Both of them walked through the doors of SugarCube Corner, where they immediately saw Sweetie Drops, known to them as Bon Bon, sitting at one of the tables at the back of the store. The girl had a scowl on her face and was tapping on the table impatiently. When she saw the two enter, she threw her hands up and gestured impatiently for them to sit in front of her. Sunset and Gilda did as instructed and sat in front of the girl who had her hands in front of her.

"You're late."

"You didn't give us a time limit." Gilda shrugged.

"If you immediately came here from Sunset's home, you would have been here three minutes earlier." Bon Bon snapped.

"How do you know that?" Sunset asked.

"I have my ways." Bon Bon shrugged. "Time is precious. I have been tracking the demon of Gluttony and have managed to trace her location." The girl explained.

"Great. So, do we know who she is?" Sunset questioned.

"No. Her identity is hidden to me as it will be to you." Bon Bon explained. "Though I don't know what the demon host is, I do know where they will be."

"Perfect. Where and when?" Sunset shrugged.

"Canterlort High School and tonight." Bon Bon answered.

This caused Sunset's emotions to flare up, and she slammed her hand on the table, which caused it to shake. This got the attention of Mister Cake, who was wiping down a couple of tables. He turned towards them with an eyebrow raised.

"Is everything okay?" Mister Cake asked.

"Everything is fine." Bon Bon answered as she glared at Sunset. "We were just hashing out some disagreements. Sunset here is a very reasonable person, and she will demonstrate this by sitting down!"

Sunset scowled but followed the girl's instructions and sat back down. Mr. Cake shrugged and walked away into the backroom of the Cafe, leaving them all alone in the diner. Bon Bon reached into her jacket pocket and took out a small metal flask.

"Your friends will be okay." Bon Bon explained. "Pinkie Pie is just there to deliver the confectionaries, and Octavia is doing the performance. All Ninkasi wants are the attendees."

"You didn't see it fit to tell us that a wendigo was going to attack our school today earlier?!" Sunset hissed.

"This plan is extremely sensitive. I had to think it over." Bon Bon rationalized. "But after some consideration, I have determined that I hate you less than the demons trying to eat all of our souls."

"You still think Sunset here is Anon-A-Miss?" Gilda raised an eyebrow.

"I don't care if she's Anon-A-Miss or not; she tormented everyone in the school for years. Do you expect all of us to just forgive and forget?"

"You sure seemed keen after Twilight." Gilda snapped.

Bon Bon pursed her lips and stared down at her metal flask, her face twisting with what looked to be shame, apprehension, and inner conflict. "That was different." She muttered.

"Sure didn't seem like it." Gilda growled. "So what changed huh? When the Sirens attacked, you and the rest of the school seemed to like her when she could solve all your problems."

Before Gilda could get another word out, the pink and blue-haired girl slammed her hand onto the table. "Do you want to help your friends or not?" She scowled.

Sunset let out a sigh but relented and raised her hand in front of Gilda. "I don't like it either, but a demon is currently as the school. We can scold her about her distrust later." Sunset muttered.

Gilda nodded, crossed her arms, and gestured for Bon Bon to continue. Before they could continue their conversation, Mr. Cake walked over with a towel wrapped around his arm.

"The cafe is going to close soon. Are there any last-minute orders you want to make?" The man asked.

"No. We were just on our way." Bon Bon explained before she stood up from her seat. She took out her wallet and handed the man a dollar bill. "Tell Pinkie I said hi."

"Will do." The store owner nodded as Bon Bon headed towards the door.

"You two. In my car." Bon Bon ordered.

Sunset rolled her eyes but followed the girl with Gilda right next to her. They all walked out of the cafe with Bon Bon at the lead. She led them towards a large business van that had Bon Bon's candy shop logo drawn on the side. She opened up the back of her van and gestured for the other two to follow behind her.

As they all entered Bon Bon's van, Sunset immediately noticed the sniper rifle, rocket launcher, and grenades that lined the walls. There were small laptops strewn across the floor with a map of Canterlot High School right in the middle. Bon Bon closed the door behind them and turned on the ceiling lamp before turning her attention to the school map.

"Okay. So there will be a ritual occurring tonight. It won't start until the attendees start eating, which will occur here." Bon Bon explained as she pointed in the middle of the auditorium. "I suspect the food will be spiked, so don't touch any."

"You suspect?" Sunset hissed.

"The demon feeds off of Gluttony. It can also induce Gluttonous behavior, but the environment needs to be right." Bon Bon explained. "When the initial spell reaches its limit, the ritual will begin, and the entire area will lock down, trapping everyone inside."

"Trapping everyone inside." Sunset muttered. "I am familiar with these types of spells. Nobody in, and nobody out."

Bon Bon nodded in confirmation. "Precisely. However, so will the Wendigo, which is where I planned to spring the trap. However ....do you still have the Witchblade?"

Sunset nodded as she rubbed the bracelet on her wrist, its red gem gleaming under the light. "It never leaves my wrist."

"Good then." Bon Bon muttered. "So all you need to do is get into the school building, wait for the Wendigo to reveal itself, and then we banish it."

"What about the host?" Sunset snapped.

Sunset saw Bon Bon hesitate and watched as the girl rubbed her fingers together. "I have a device that will neutralize the demon." She finally answered after a short time of deliberation.

"Will it kill them?" Sunset asked.

"Does it matter?"

"To me, it does."

"Then good for you because the device doesn't kill the host. Just knocks them on their ass for a couple of minutes." Bon Bon explained. "Then we can neutralize the demon and keep the host alive."

"So all you need for me to do is to distract the demon while you trap it?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"Yep."

"Seems too simple."

"Wendigos are not that smart." Bon Bon shrugged. "Besides, the most simple plans are usually the best plans."

Sunset pursed her lips before finally letting out a heavy sigh. "Fine then. We'll go with what you have."

"Good. Then I'll get us moving." Bon Bon said as she moved towards the front of the van. She reached into one of the seat pockets and took out two earpieces. "Catch." The girl tossed them into Sunset's and Gilda's arm. "When we get there, I'll keep you updated on the plan and keep track of you. Press the center when you want to speak to me. Got it?"

"Got it." Sunset muttered as Bon Bon got into the driver's seat and started the vehicle.

"I don't like this Sunset. This is moving too fast." Gilda whispered as the van began to move.

Sunset nodded as an uncomfortable feeling crept up her spine. She turned towards Bon Bon and saw the girl move rigidly as she drove the van down the street. Something was wrong about this whole situation, and she couldn't help but feel they were being led along.

"I agree." Sunset muttered. "But we don't have a choice. If there is a Wendigo attacking the school tonight ...."

"I know." Gilda nodded as she reached into her jacket, procuring out a small metal cylinder. "Got the spear, just in case."

"You've just been carrying this around?" Sunset asked.

Gilda nodded yet again with a sly smile. "Yeah. Real good at smuggling things, you see."

}}}The girl has good sense. There is a darkness surrounding the agent you are working with{{{

'What do you mean?'

}}}She is good at clouding her intentions. That is never a good sign. Keep vigilient.{{{

'I will.'

"When we get to the school, they won't be happy to see us." Gilda muttered as she put her spear back into her jacket.

"I know."

"Everyone in the school still thinks you're Anon-A-Miss, including Bon Bon here." Gilda murmured as she turned to look over at the girl driving. "Why are we working with her, even though she clearly still hates the both of us?"

"Because right now, we can't afford to be picky with our allies."

"Allies who hate us or are massive assholes."

Sunset looked over at Bon Bon and gave a small, sad smile. "I don't blame her. Ann-A-Miss has shown me very few people actually forgave me."

"Then why work with her? Let's go together and do it ourselves. Come on, we can take it."

Sunset let out a small chuckle. "I'm sure we can. But I don't want to put you at unnecessary risk. Bon Bon here has probably done all the planning and has everything figured out already. We don't have one since we weren't even aware of this attack until now. So much for my detective work."

Gilda let out a small sigh as she leaned against the car wall. "We sure have a habit of getting ourselves into a pinch ay?" She smirked.

"Yeah." Sunset smirked. "But then again, are you really surprised?"

Gilda let out a small snort in response. Sunset looked down at the Witchblade bracelet which sat on her wrist. She felt warmth emanate from it, and she began to feel a bit better. She began to rub the red gem as she prepared herself for yet another fight.

Witchblade

Lightning Dust let out a scowl as she parked her car in the parking lot of the school. She walked out towards the trunk, opened it up, and opened up a large black suitcase. Before she could begin to do what she had been tasked to complete, she felt her phone begin to ring in her pocket.

She took out her phone and saw that it was Sunny Flare. She picked up the call and was greeted with, "You're late." In an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, girl. had some trouble at the cafe." Dust smirked.

"Will it be a problem?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just that Pinkie Girl doesn't think that Sunset is Anon-A-Miss anymore."

A loud groan was heard from the other end of the call. "That is a big problem. Is she working with Sunset?"

"Not to my knowledge, no. Besides, she's one of the targets of the hit. I splatter their brains across the walls, call it an accident, then we call it a job well done."

"If you don't do this discreetly, I am docking your next paycheck." Sunny Flare snapped. "No more murderous rampages. We need less heat."

"Don't worry, I'll shoot a chandelier or something and cause it to fall on the infidels."

"That's so obvious. I have hidden a chip that has all the information about the school behind one of the trees behind your car; use that." Sunny Flare scolded.

Lightning Dust let out a groan and walked around towards that Sunny mentioned, and when she kneeled in front of it, she saw the small plastic chip lying against one of the roots. She picked it up while taking out her small modified ChangeData smartphone to slot the chip in.

"Cops are swarming the area. Seems like the police department got tipped off about this little operation. You'll have to eliminate them before making your way to the gym." Sunny explained while Dust watched all the information displayed to her from her smartphone's screen. "From there, you have multiple angles to eliminate your target, which should be displayed to you."

"I see it." Dust affirmed as she narrowed her eyes. "Found a good spot."

"Silencer on. Use the modified one from ChangeData. Remember, no mass murders." Sunny Flare snapped.

"Got it, whatever." Dust snorted as Sunny ended the call.

The sports girl shoved her smartphone back into her pocket before making her way back towards her car. She picked up her suitcase and went to the back of the school. From there, she took out a pistol, a rifle, along with a rocket launcher. After arming herself, she finished off her preparation by taking an orange mask with black stripes on the left half out.

"There we go. Now we're in action." Dust smirked as she placed the masks over her face. She let out a small smile as she chambered a shell into her rifle.

Witchblade

Pinkie Pie placed the confectionaries onto the table that was set up around the gym. She wiped the sweat from her brow before patting her hands on her skirt. She gave a big smile before turning to Mrs. Cake, who was setting up the large cake in the middle of the gym.

"All done." Pinkie announced cheerfully to the woman.

"Thank you, Pinkie." Mrs. Cake smiled as she wiped her hand on her apron. "This order was a doozy. With all the cake and dessert they were ordering, you would think they were serving a small city."

"Now that would be a party!" Pinkie beamed.

Celestia and Luna walked over towards the two smiling while averting their eyes from the police presence in the gym. The two were dressed in formal wear, with Celestia wearing a golden and marble-colored dress. Luna, meanwhile, wore a dark blue, starry one that contrasted her sister's more sunny attire.

"Thank you two for accepting such a large commission for this evening." Celestia smiled softly.

"No problem!" Pinkie smirked. "SugarCube Corner is always happy to accommodate."

"We do really appreciate it, you two. The other bakeries could only supply so much." Luna sighed. "This event is really important to us and the school."

"Despite it being sponsored by a known criminal now." Celestia grumbled.

"Say what?" Pinkie blinked.

"The Iron Lady of Canterlot helped set this whole operation up." Luna muttered. "Her real name is still not known to most of the public, other than a few close associates." Luna let out a small sigh. "It's been a bit of a public relations disaster ever since her illegal dealings were revealed, but we still need to go through with it. Too much money and time was sunk into it."

"And I wonder who had a hand in doing that?" A stern snobbish voice interrupted.

Pinkie looked over Celestia and Luna's shoulder just as the two women turned around towards the source. What Pinkie saw made her blood turn cold, and her eyes began to widen as the figure walked up. It was none other than the masked woman who attacked her home, who attacked her parents and siblings.

"Aria Blaze." Celestia pursed her lips as she stared at the tall woman who was walking up towards them with a small strut in her step.

"Oh, come on. You say my name with such scorn." Aria Blaze snickered. "As if I somehow wronged you."

"A version of you." Luna scoffed.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." Luna muttered.

Aria Blaze smirked as she walked over towards Pinkie, who was still frozen in shock as the mask that nearly killed her stood right before her. Pinkie took a step backward, but not before Aria lifted her head up with a finger.

"Who is this girl?" Aria whispered.

"Her name is Pinkie Pie. A student at our school who helped prepare this event." Celestia answered with a sigh. "Leave her alone; you're scaring the poor girl."

"Nonsense. She's just having a bit of stage fright." Aria said as Pinkie pulled herself away from Aria. "Is it the mask?"

"Pinkie had an encounter with a masked hitman." Celestia sighed.

"Well then, never liked this thing anyway." Aria said as she reached up to her face and slowly pulled the heavy metal mask off. She gave a sly smile as she looked down at Pinkie, whose eyes widened. Aria parted her hair away to show more of her face and turned towards Celestia and Luna, who stared at her agape. "Am I too stunning for your taste?"

Luna was the first one to blink out of her trance and shook her head. "Aria, why are you here? Shouldn't you be dealing with the PR disaster that Iron International is in?"

"Maybe I should." Aria pressed her hands together. "But I decided to take a break today. Besides, I believe as the sister of the benefactress of this event, I should attend out of courtesy."

"We would be thankful if you didn't." Luna scoffed.

"Excuse me?"

Before Luna could say anymore, Celestia cupped a hand over Luna's mouth and gave a forced smile. "She's trying to say that we don't want to bother you and take away valuable time away from your business."

"Please. I can always make time for my subjects." Aria gave Celestia a small pat on the arm. "Don't sweat over it."

Celestia grimaced from Aria's touch. She pushed the woman's hand away and cleared her throat. "Well, we are honored with your presence then."

"Please, Celestia, don't be so formal." Aria scoffed as she turned towards Pinkie. She put a hand on Pinkie's shoulder, which caused the smaller girl to squirm. She tried to wrangle herself out of Aria's grasp, but the woman's grip was too strong. "I am not my sister. Just call me Ms. Blaze."

"We still have some preparations to make, so if you would excuse us." Luna grimaced.

Aria widened her eyes and lifted up her hand. "Of course. Besides, I need to have a word with young Pinkie here anyway about some ....business."

"What business would you have with a student?" Celestia snapped.

"Just business." Aria shrugged. "My sister recommended the services of SugarCube Corner before she was jailed."

"Really?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

Aria let out an exaggerated sigh, slumping her shoulder as she did so. She raised an eyebrow towards the two sisters. "Don't you have a fundraiser to prepare? Trust me, Pinkie will be safe with me and the ...." Aria looked around the room while gesturing out towards the multiple officers in the room. "And the entire police force, apparently." Aria chortled.

Celestia looked hesitant to leave Aria with Pinkie in her hands, and Luna narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Eventually, though, Luna grabbed Celestia's shoulder and pulled the woman away. "We need to go have a talk with the police chief, remember?" She hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Celestia muttered before allowing herself to be pulled away by her sister. Aria watched as the two walked off towards the door of the gym. She smirked in amusement as the multiple police officers in the room glared at her, with hands sitting near their holsters.

"Now that we are alone ...." Aria smirked as she gripped Pinkie's arm. "Let's have a small chat, shall we?"

"W-what do you want?" Pinkie whispered nervously.

"Just to ....reminisce about old times." Aria shrugged. "Nothing big."

"I know you're the one who attacked me and my family." Pinkie muttered silently as she tried to stop her entire body from shaking.

"I don't really care." Aria snorted. "However, I do need a favor from you."

"W-what do you want?" Pinkie muttered.

Aria simply just smiled as she slowly turned her head to look at Pinkie Pie. The girl's heart began to beat faster as she saw the sly grin forming on Aria's face. "Just need some bait."

Witchblade

When the van finally arrived at Canterlot High School, Bon Bon parked it on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance. The spot was conveniently empty for them despite the fact that there were many parked vehicles for the anti-bullying fundraiser. Sunset looked out the window and bristled at how many people were attending the event.

"Look, Sunset, you're famous." Bon Bon snorted as she placed a small parking receipt onto the dashboard of the card. It seemed to Sunset that Bon Bon did have this all planned out after all.

"The anti-bullying fundraiser could be for anything." Sunset muttered.

"Yeah, the anti-bullying fundraiser that occurred right after Anon-A-Miss is totally a coincidence." Bon Bon snarked. "They'll all recognize you, and it'll break what we are doing here."

"Do you have a plan, or are you just going to throw a childish tantrum all night?" Gilda snapped.

Bon Bon let out a sigh before leaving the driver's wheel and making her way to the back of the vehicle. She grabbed two suitcases and handed them to Gilda and Sunset Shimmer.

"What is this?" Sunset asked as she opened up the one given to her to see that there was a suit inside of it.

"I was originally going to go in, but I decided the task would be best suited for you two." Bon Bon shrugged. "I'll stay here and monitor the situation from here."

"So we take all the risk while you get to sit comfy. Got it." Gilda snorted.

"There is a massive police presence here, and I can best monitor their movements from here." Bon Bon snapped.

"Why is the entire police department here anyways?" Sunset asked as she peeked out the window, focusing her vision on the cops at the entrance. They were all spread out in an attempt to seem inconspicuous, and some of them were even wearing casual clothes in an attempt to disguise themselves. However, Sunset's vision was able to discern them thanks to the ability given to her by Sara Pezzini.

"Because I tipped them off." Bon Bon answered.

"Why?" Sunset asked incredulously.

"Distraction." Bon Bon smirked. "When things go to hell, you'll be glad for the backup."

Sunset rolled her eyes but closed her suitcase and made her way towards the backdoor. "Okay, where do we go?" She asked.

"Backdoor of the school, through the parking lot. Stay in the shadows. This mission will be compromised if you are seen. Nobody can know that we are here." Bon Bon explained. "Also, none of us has an invitation."

"Won't they recognize our face?" Sunset asked.

"There is a small button on the tie. It will make your features more indiscernible." Bon Bon explained. "Don't get too close to anybody; otherwise, they will see through it. And remember ..."

"Yeah yeah, stay stealthy." Gilda muttered as she and Sunset walked out the back of the van.

The dark of night covered the school like a black veil. Sunset activated the Witchblade to get a better vision of her surroundings. From what she could see, most of the attendees were concentrated at the front of the school which gave a small path past some cars that lead into the parking lot in the back.

Sunset ducked her head and gave Gilda a small pat on the shoulder to get their attention. She gestured for the white-haired girl to follow her through the street and between the cars parked on the sidewalk. The dark of night covered them as they snuck past the attendees who were in line next to the horse statue. After that, it was smooth sailing from there as they ducked behind the school building and made their way towards the parking lot.

}}}Sunset. There is something off with this school.{{{ The Witchblade suddenly piped up.

'What is it?"

}}}There is a spell around the building.{{{

'Yeah, Bon Bon already told us about the shield.'

}}}This isn't the shield. This is something else.{{{

'What is it then?'

}}}It is a very minor presence, and I barely felt it back in the vehicle. It is much stronger here. I feel like there is more that Bon Bon girl isn't telling us.{{{

Sunset and Gilda made it to the parking lot and began to approach the backdoor into the school. As they did, Bon Bon spoke up in their earpieces and informed them that there were a couple of police patrols passing by the area and that they needed to wait for her signal. Sunset waited by the door, but her mind was more focused on what the Witchblade was saying.

'Are you saying we might be set up?'

}}}I am advising you to approach with caution.{{{

"Hey Sunset, are you speaking with the Witchblade?" Gilda whispered to her.

"Yeah, how can you tell?" Sunset asked.

Gilda tapped the side of her face next to her eyes. "You get this blank stare. What did the Witchblade say?"

"Said to approach with caution. There is another spell in the area." Sunset explained.

"What's new?" Gilda grumbled. "First magic, then sirens right before demons."

Before Sunset could say anything else, Bon Bon spoke up through the earpiece, "Okay, guys, make your way down the hall now. Into the bathroom."

Sunset reached for the backdoor and tried to open it, only to find it locked. She let out a small curse before backing up and manifesting a small metal blade that extended out from the Witchblade. She jabbed it into the lock and began to work on the lock before it finally clicked. She then pushed the doors open into the buildings.

"Nice trick." Gilda nodded.

"Didn't know it would work." Sunset sighed. "Wish I brought my lockpicking set with me."

"You have one?"

"You don't?"

Gilda let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, fair enough."

The two made their way into the school building, down the path given by Bon Bon. They eventually arrived at the bathrooms, which they quickly entered. Gilda and Sunset entered different stalls and began to change their clothes into the disguises that Bon Bon provided them. As they changed Bon Bon suddenly began to speak frantically.

"No good. There is another person in the system." She muttered.

"Who is it?" Sunset asked as she pressed the earpiece.

"I don't know who it is, but they are good. I'll deal with them, and you deal with the Wendigo.

"What about the device?" Gilda asked from the other stall.

"It is hidden. The device will activate when the Wendigo is weakened."

"It better." Gilda growled. "Otherwise, It's your ass I'm going to kick."

Sunset finished changing into her suit and walked out of the stall alongside Gilda. She fumbled around her tie, found the button that Bon Bon was talking about, and pressed it. Immediately, a small veil surrounded her head that distorted the air around it. She could still see through it, though. She turned towards Gilda and saw the effects. The device made it so that their features were twisted in a way so that it was always blurry and indiscernible but subtle enough that it wouldn't draw too much attention.

"Okay, where to now?" Sunset asked Bon Bon.

"Make your way to the gym, and act like you belong. Wait for when Ninkasi appears. Don't eat any of the food."

"Well, that's just a shame. I was thinking of gorging myself." Gilda snarked.

"I'm serious. Eat one bite, and you get to be one of Ninkasi's victims." Bon Bon snapped.

"Fun." Gilda muttered as they walked out of the restroom. "We won't touch a single cake."

They made their way towards the gym, passing by a couple of officers on the way. The officers raised their eyebrows but let them pass as some attendees walked out of the gym towards the restrooms they were just in.

When Sunset entered the gym, the first thing she noticed was how many confectionaries were piled up around the entire area. Huge cakes and shelves full of pastries ranging from cupcakes to cookies in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Tables were set up around the entire room, and many of them were filled. She kept her head down as she scanned the gym full of people for a place to sit. However, most of them were already full of attendees, who had plates full of sugary sweets, enough to cause a cardiac arrest.

"Gilda, did you find a place to sit?" Sunset muttered into her earpiece.

"Yeah, found a nice place all the way in the corner. There's a cop next to me, though."

"Just keep your head down and be ready for anything."

"Don't worry about me. Focus on you."

Sunset approached one of the confectionary tables and pretended to be browsing the sweets. As she stood there, she heard familiar voices whispering near her. She looked up and saw none other than Lyra and Vinyl Scratch walking over towards her.

"Vinyl and Lyra are here." Sunset hissed into her earpiece.

"They'll leave with Octavia when she finishes her performance." Bon Bon reassured her from the other end. "Just sit tight."

Sunset ducked her head down as Lyra and Vinyl stood next to her, looking down at the confectionaries. As she stood there, though, she began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Octavia's mother is such a tight asshole." Lyra scowled. "What kind of mother starves her own child?"

"I am more worried about Bon Bon." Vinyl whispered. From her appearance, nobody would guess that Vinyl Scratch was actually a very soft-spoken girl. There was a reason why Octavia enjoyed her presence despite their vastly different musical tastes.

"She always pulls through. She always does." Lyra muttered. "I just wish I knew more about her. She just feels so ....distant sometimes."

"I'm sure she has her reasons."

"I just wish I knew her." Lyra said with frustration lining her voice. "Sometimes it feels as if our friendship is a lie."

"She cares about you, she really does." Vinyl Scratch sighed. "This whole Anon-A-Miss thing is probably just weighing on her."

"Anon-A-Miss is the whole reason this whole fundraiser was created." Lyra scoffed. "If only Sunset Shimmer would just come clean ...."

Sunset clenched her fist at that statement but took in a deep breath and withheld the gates of her anger as she continued listening in on their conversation.

"Who is the mystery sponsor of this fundraiser anyways?" Lyra scoffed. "Sunset must have pissed off someone quite powerful."

"Only Octavia's mother knows. However, she will make an appearance today." Vinyl explained.

Sunset raised an eyebrow as Lyra grabbed a couple of cupcakes and cookies before placing them onto a plate. The two girls began to walk off towards the stage, and after they made their way some distance, Sunset began to follow them.

She focused her attention on their conversation. She activated Sarah Pezzini's unique Witchblade power which allowed her hearing and eyesight to sharpen.

"I hope this is enough for Octavia." Lyra muttered.

"I am more worried about smuggling it past her mother." Vinyl admitted.

"That's something I am good at." Lyra said smugly.

Sunset watched the two as they made their way up backstage. She was about to follow them until a certain figure caught her eye. She looked over to see Pinkie Pie sitting at one of the tables under a large chandelier that looked to have been hastily placed there. The girl had her hands clamped together nervously, and her eyes seemed to be unfocused. However, the main thing Sunset was focused on was how she was supposed to have left a long time ago.

She began to make her way towards Pinkie until a hand grabbed her by the shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. No no. I need her there." Aria's voice whispered into her ear.

Sunset immediately turned around and pushed Aria back, who simply raised her hands into the air. "Good to see you too." Aria snorted.

"What are you doing here?" Sunset hissed.

"I was following some leads and found a lead that led here." Aria shrugged.

"So you were following me?"

"I am INSULTED that you would think so low of me." Aria gasped mockingly. "Yeah, a little. However, I ended up here because anything my sister sets up is usually a ploy or a front for something else."

"Your sister set this whole event up?" Sunset hissed.

Aria shrugged. "Yeah. She sponsors many events. However, she always held her cards close to her chest." Aria looked around the entire area. "But this one ....set up after Anon-A-Miss, right after the Wendigo's appearance? Not a coincidence."

"Bon Bon confirmed that one will appear today." Sunset muttered.

"Not surprised." Aria snorted. "Maybe that girl was some use after all. But right now, I am tracking someone else down."

"And who is that?"

"Someone that goes by the name of Tora No Shi." Aria explained. "Very deadly until she died."

"So she doesn't sound like a problem anymore."

"That is where you are wrong. She is very much a problem because her daughter thought it prudent to take up the mantle." Aria let out a small sigh. "Anyways, hold onto your pretty head." Aria smiled as she gave Sunset a small pat on her head.

Sunset brushed the woman's hand away and turned her attention back to Pinkie Pie. "What is she doing here?" Sunset hissed.

Aria shrugged. "Enjoying the view?"

"I am serious."

Aria let out a small sigh. "Pinkie will be safe. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"She's leaving now." Sunset hissed as she pushed Aria to the side. The woman threw her hands up in the air before rolling her eyes and walking towards one of the tables in front of the stage.

Sunset made her way towards Pinkie's table and sat next to the girl who was twiddling her finger. Pinkie turned towards Sunset with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Hello there. Who are you?" As Sunset sat in her seat.

"Pinkie, it's me." Sunset hissed.

Pinkie's eyes widened in realization as Sunset leaned forward toward the table. "Sunset? What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"Dealing with Anon-A-Miss. What are you doing here? Why aren't you back home?"

"I was distributing the desserts with Mrs. Cake silly." Pinkie smiled nervously.

Sunset gestured towards the snack tables, which were fully stocked with all the different sugary snacks that were known to man. "Jobs done. Go home now. It's dangerous here."

Pinkie pursed her lips nervously as she looked around the gym. "I can't." She whispered.

"Why not?" Sunset hissed.

Before Pinkie could answer, the sound of a cello echoed throughout the gym. Sunset turned her attention toward the stage and saw the curtains opening, revealing Octavia playing her cello. Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna stood at the front of the stage. Behind them stood a police officer who had tangelo skin that Sunset did not recognize.

"Hello, everyone. I would like to thank all of you for coming here to help bring awareness for bullying on campus." Principal Celestia began.

Sunset rolled her eyes as she began to tune out the rest of the opening speech. She looked over to see Aria, who had her legs resting on the table. She had a disinterested look on her face and was staring at the stage. She then looked around and caught a glimpse of Gilda, who was sitting nervously with a police officer looking over her shoulder.

"Sunset, there is a problem." Bon Bon suddenly spoke through the earpiece.

"What is it now?"

"No ....not now." Bon Bon cursed before the earpiece began to static.

"Bon Bon?" Sunset hissed silently.

"Is everything alright?" Pinkie asked, concerned.

"Yeah yeah," Sunset nodded at Pinkie before pressing her earpiece again. "Bon Bon, come in."

"..... and the guest of honor here today is none other than Ninkasi! Our first speaker for today!" Celestia suddenly finished her speech. Sunset felt her blood go cold as her surroundings went silent. She turned towards the stage to see an orange, very round woman walk up to the microphone.

As she stared at Ninkasi, the woman stared back at her. Their eyes locked, and in the brief second, Ninkasi's expression turned from shock all the way to rage. There was a second of silence as everyone in the gym stood still awkwardly.

"Ummm, Ninkasi? Is everything ...." Celestia began before the snapping of metal echoed out.

}}}SUNSET MOVE!{{{

Sunset felt her senses return to her and looked up to see the chandelier falling down towards her and Pinkie. In a split-second reaction, she kicked her foot out, pushing Pinkie out of the way just before the metal piece fell onto her, pinning her to the floor. She let out a cry of pain as the metal barbs of the decoration stabbed into her chest, stomach, and legs.

"Sunset!" Pinkie cried out as she rushed by Sunset's side.

"Someone call the ambulance!" Somebody else cried out as Aria walked by Sunset's side.

"Who puts a chandelier in a school gym?" Sunset coughed out along with blood.

"It was actually my idea." Aria shrugged. "You know, the mayor and her girlfriend were supposed to sit in the seat under here alongside Adagio before she was ...." Aria's eyes suddenly looked up at the railings that hung from the ceiling. "Duck."

"What?" Was all Pinkie could get out before Aria suddenly grabbed the girl by the head and pushed her onto the floor forcibly, just in time as well, as a bullet fired past just where her head was seconds earlier.

"Take cover, you two. I need to go discipline someone." Aria smiled as she yanked a piece of metal from the broken chandelier.

Pinkie desperately tried to pull the Chandelier off while Sunset turned her attention to the stage, where Ninkasi looked around the entire gym.

"Ninkasi!" Sunset roared.

Ninkasi turned her attention towards Sunset and scowled. "Fuck it. Plan B." The orange-skinned woman's hands suddenly glowed with energy before she slammed both into the ground.

The gym began to shake as panicked attendees rushed towards the exits, only to find all of them locked. A couple tried to open the windows, only to find each of them locked. Police officers ran out into the middle of the gym with their weapons raised towards Ninkasi.

"Hands above your head!" The police officer behind Ninkasi ordered while he pushed Celestia and Luna behind him.

"Oh, Spearhead, ever the obedient lapdog." Ninkasi sighed as she looked over her shoulder at Spearhead.

"Save it, Ninkasi. You're under arrest for murder, cannibalism, and human trafficking."

"Let me ask you, officer, do you really think you've got me trapped?" Ninkasi scowled.

"Let me tell you that I know I have you trapped." Spearhead scoffed. "You're surrounded."

Ninkasi rolled her eyes and slowly raised her hands up. "Fine then, you got me." As the woman raised her hands into the air though, Sunset saw that her fingers were pressed together.

"Don't move," Spearhead ordered as he slowly walked up to the woman.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't," Ninkasi smirked. "But tell that to everyone else."

Sunset felt a strong magic pulse throughout the entire gym and immediately knew something was wrong. Ninkasi was beginning to lose parts of her body mass as her fingers began to give off a small orange hue. She activated the Witchblade and felt a jolt of energy course throughout her body as metallic armor covered her from head to toe. Pinkie backed away in shock as Sunset pushed the Chandelier up off her body.

}}}The Wendigo is about to cast a spell!{{{

'I am aware of that!'

"Sunset!" Gilda yelled as the girl ran over towards Sunset.

"Everyone get down!" Sunset shouted as Ninkasi snapped her fingers, causing a wave of energy to pulse out throughout the gym. Gilda was knocked onto her back and slid along the floor alongside Pinkie Pie into the gym wall. Aria and a masked woman fell to the ground with a loud thud while sunset was thrown onto a table, which caused the confectionaries to fall over her.

Sunset wiped the dough and cream off her face as she slowly tried to get up onto her feet. She looked around and saw that many cops were also knocked onto the back. They were getting up; however, the rest of the attendees were lying on the ground, motionless. Spearhead got up quickly and unloaded his pistol at Ninkasi, with the gunshots echoing throughout the gym. Ninkasi simply raised her arm and blocked all the shots directed at her.

"What have you done!" Spearhead roared.

Ninkasi simply smiled. "I haven't done anything yet."

}}}Sunset, multiple hostile entities are arising. {{{

''Where?'

}}}Everywhere.{{{

Sunset felt confused for a second before she noticed that one of the attendees was beginning to stir. A police officer walked up to the person and jostled them a bit.

"Hello, sir? Are you alright?" The officer asked.

The man on the ground never answered and instead pounced on the officer, digging his teeth into the man's neck. The officer cried out in pain and shock as other attendees began to stir and let out frenzied roars. They began to tear each other apart, targeting everyone. The other police officers in the room began to discharge their weapons as they were swarmed with ravenous crowds. Spearhead turned around and walked to the backstage area, leaving Ninkasi alone at the edge.

"This was supposed to be a simple endeavor!" Ninkasi roared. "But you just had to butt into business yet again, didn't you, Sunset Shimmer!"

Sunset Shimmer got up off the ground just as one of the attendees grabbed her by the arm and bit into it, finding only metal. She looked around and found Gilda with her spear fending off three people while pushing Pinkie behind her. Pinkie's clothes and hair were covered in frosting, with a small circular tray stuck on her back.

Sunset pushed through the crazed attendees and made her way to Gilda just in time to pull a growling man off the girl. She slammed her fist into the man's face, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell is going on!?" Gilda asked.

"It's some sort of spell." Sunset answered as she pushed off a woman who frantically tried to take a bite into her neck. "Where the hell is Bon Bon and Aria?!" She roared.

Her question was immediately answered as the masked woman from before suddenly plowed into her. Sunset was thrown across the flood as the woman aimed a pistol at Pinkie. Before her gun could fire, Aria tackled the woman to the ground before wailing at the assassin.

The woman blocked Aria's attack and growled, "Nottingham."

"The Tora No Shi title fits your mother better." Aria snarked before she was kicked off.

Tora No Shi managed to get up off the ground, only for Aria to throw a sharp, broken metal pole into the woman's side. Tora stumbled forward before Aria rushed toward her yet again. Sunset got up on her feet and looked back to the stage to see Ninkasi with her hands out and a familiar green mist flowing into her. The woman's body began to grow and slowly morph with more magical energy, beginning to concentrate within her.

"Gilda! Get Pinkie out of here!" Sunset snapped.

"How? The entire place is locked down with cannibals!"

"Find a way!" Sunset shouted as she dashed towards Ninkasi.

She pushed past the ravenous mob, manifesting a shield on her left arm as they clawed at her body, teeth gnashing as they tried to rip her flesh off. The Witchblade's armor stretched all over her body, not bothering with the initial bikini armor stage, making it so that the possessed attendees could bite nothing but metal. Sunset managed to kick one of the attendees off a police officer, allowing him to get up off the ground and reach his pistol.

Sunset finally reached the stage and hurtled herself forward. Ninkasi barely had time to react as Sunset pushed herself off the edge of the stage and flung herself up into the woman's face, interrupting her from siphoning any more power.

"If it isn't the Witchblade." Ninkasi sneered. "You're no Sunset Shimmer, but you'll do."

"I can see you haven't gotten smarter." Sunset scoffed.

"You were lucky last time." Ninkasi grinned. "And now ....I no longer have to hide."

Ninkasi roared as her form transformed into a large hulking figure with a large mouth within her stomach area. The second mouth gnashed and roared before Ninkasi reached in and, with a gluttonous chortle, ripped a mace out of it. The mace was bronze colored, with sharp blades along the center and a spike at the very end. Orange ooze dripped from it as it scraped against the floor.

}}}Be careful of her mouth Sunset! If you are sucked in, it will rip your body to shreds! {{{

'Fun. Any tips on how to beat her?'

}}}Don't get hit.{{{

'How helpful.'

"I'm going to enjoy pummeling you into a pulp!" Ninkasi roared as she stormed forward, throwing her entire weight at Sunset as she swung her mace.

Sunset lifted up her shield just in time, but she felt the full force slam into her. She was quickly knocked off the stage and stumbled onto the floor below.

}}}You can't attack her head on!{{{

' I am aware of that!' Sunset grit her teeth and rolled to the side as Ninkasi jumped towards Sunset. The woman slammed her mace into the floor, causing it to crack under the force.

Sunset quickly jumped up on her feet and manifested two blades to stick out from her arms. She stabbed them into Ninkasi's sides, causing the woman to roar in anger. She was pushed off into the ground right into a possessed attendee who immediately bit her in the neck. Sunset let out a cry of pain before throwing the person off and slamming her fist into their face.

Ninkasi marched towards her but was jumped by two possessed individuals, who she swatted away using her mace. Sunset stretched out her hands and shot out two plumes of fire at the woman, which caught her by surprise. Ninkasi raised her arms to block the flames before Sunset created two cannons on the top of her forearm. She aimed it at the Wendigo and fired two shells into their skull.

The wendigo let out a roar of anger as she swung her mace violently in the area around her. Sunset jumped out of the way, but as she did, she noticed that the Wendigos arm was slowly healing from her flames. However, from the injuries that were still present, she could see how badly her attack had harmed the demon.

"Miserable creature! You'll die screaming!" Ninkasi roared as the mouth in her stomach opened.

The mouth let out a low rumble before it began to suck Sunset and everything around her toward sit. As objects entered the maw, Sunset saw them slowly disintegrate until they were nothing but dust. She managed to stop herself from entering the maw by gripping the jaws of the maw and pushing away from it.

"There you are!" Ninkasi roared as she grabbed Sunset by the neck. The woman pushed sunset towards the gaping maw in her stomach. "Don't worry, I heard it's quick!"

Sunset grit her teeth as she pushed away from Ninkasi's ravenous stomach. Her mind raced with ideas on how to get out of this situation until her thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry.

"Hey ugly!" A familiar voice cried out.

Sunset looked over to see Gilda rush towards them with her spear in hand. She stabbed the spear into Ninkasi's back, causing the woman to roar in pain. The woman relaxed her grip enough to give Sunset the opening to push away. She then focused fires as hot as she could manage into her hand before throwing the inferno into Ninkasi's stomach.

The Wendigo screeched this time as it clawed at their stomach. Ninkasi flailed around as they desperately gripped their stomach. Their form began to noticeably shrink as their form began to dissolve, with energy beginning to dissipate out from their skin.

"Sunset!" Pinkie cried out as she ran over towards her.

"What are you still doing here?!" Sunset snapped.

"The shield is covering the entire area like Bon Bon said." Gilda explained. "We're trapped with ugly here until Bon Bon decides to pull the stupid trap!" The girl shouted.

Their conversation was then rudely interrupted as Spearhead jumped down from the stage with Celestia and Luna behind him. The two sisters were carrying a student each. When they ran past, Sunset saw that they were carrying Vinyl and Lyra, who both had bite marks all over them with torn flesh.

"Lyra?" Sunset muttered before she was interrupted by a loud roar. She turned towards the stage to see Octavia, now completely frenzied with blood splattered over her mouth and fingers. The cellist leaped from the stage towards the crowd after Celestia.

Sunset dashed forward in an attempt to intercept the girl but was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder. She was thrown into the ground and was barely able to get back to her senses to see a mace swinging down at her head. She rolled out of the way into the loving jaws of Ninkasis's stomach maw, which latched onto her right arm. Sunset let out a cry of pain as the sensation of her arm getting torn to shreds, burnt, and dissolved all occurred at once.

"Sunset!" Gilda shouted as she dashed towards them, only to be blocked by several possessed attendees. She swung her spear around her, cutting a couple of them down, only to be swarmed by more. Sunset saw Pinkie dash through the group as Gilda swung her spear, knocking a couple down.

"You've been a thorn in my side for far too long, Witchblade! Time to die!" Ninkasi laughed.

"Get away from her you meanie!" Pinkie shouted as she broke a tray over Ninkasi's head. Ninkasi immediately stretched out and grabbed the girl by the throat.

"A two-for-one deal!" Ninkasi laughed, her head now healed from Sunset's shot. The wendigo was noticeably smaller but still large enough to be a cause for concern. "It must be lucky day. Don't worry, I'll make sure to savor you nice and slow."

}}}Sunset, my armor can only hold off the Wendigo's magic from dissolving your arm for so long!{{{

Sunset tried to pull her other arm out only to find it pinned between her side and the ground as Ninkasi pushed her down. With little choice left, she began to concentrate magic into the hand that was currently inside of Ninkasi's maw. She wasn't sure what would happen if she discharged a large inferno within the demon, but she didn't see any other option. Before she could discharge the flames, she noticed Pinkie was beginning to glow.

"Let go of HER!" Pinkie shouted. She grabbed a fistful of frosting that was in her hair, which began to glow along with her fists. Pinkie threw the fist full of frosting down at the Wendigo, which detonated immediately upon contact, blowing a chunk of its head off along with its eyes.

The demon let out a cry of pain and recoiled a bit. This allowed Sunset to free her other arm from under her. She then immediately blasted the Wendigo with fire from the Witchblade yet again. This time, it did more damage as it engulfed the demon, causing its skin to charr and peel off.

"Witchblade!" The demon roared as its maw opened and began to inhale everything around it. Sunset created claws out from her hand and latched onto the ground to prevent herself from getting sucked in. She grabbed Pinkie and watched as tables, platters, and people were sucked into Ninkasi's maw. The demon began to grow in mass the more it consumed and was starting to return back to its original power.

"Pinkie!" Sunset shouted from the entire commotion.

Pinkie looked down at the Wendigo and then back at Sunset before nodding. She took a handful of frosting which began to glow a bright pink. "Open wide, you meanie!" Pinkie tossed the frosting down at the Wendigo's maw.

A split second passed as the frosting entered the Wendigo's stomach. Sunset almost thought it didn't work before a large pink explosion erupted from the demon's maw. Ninkasi let out a fading cry as she stumbled back and fell onto the ground.

Sunset fell to the ground as the suctioning halted. She let out a relieved sigh until she saw Ninkasi begin to get back up. Her skin began to lose its orange color and started to transform into a light pinkish color instead.

"Does that monster ever stay down?" Gilda said as she ran by their side, her spear dripping with blood.

Sunset started to stand up along with Ninkasi, whose expression was now wrathful. The woman's facial and bodily features were still twisted from the magic, but the maw in her stomach was now gone. She was gripping her stomach and was trembling. Sunset raised her hands up, ready for another round, until she looked into the woman's light purple eyes.

"Berry?" Sunset asked as she lowered her fists.

The woman froze as the two stared at each other. Sunset saw Berry Punch's body peek out from Ninkasi's as the demon's form slowly began to melt from the girl's body. Berry clenched her fist and took a step forward right before the floor began to shake.

"This better be Bon Bon's doing!" Gilda shouted as she knocked one of the possessed attendees to the side with the blunt end of her spear.

"Something isn't right." Sunset muttered as she felt magic began to dissipate from the floor. "This is an anti-magic sigil! Anyone with magic or affected by magic is about to disintegrate!

}}}It is about to activate!{{{

'Where?' Sunset quickly got her answer as a large light erupted from the floorboards. Instinctively, Sunset pushed her hands down and channeled magic through her body into her palms. She felt the force push up from the ground as she pushed the explosion back.

"Gilda! Get out of here!" Sunset shouted.

"The shield is still up!" Gilda exclaimed.

Sunset looked over at Ninkasi, who was looking nervously down at the floorboards as well. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Aria holding Tora No Shi in a headlock, looking curiously at the light below her as Tora No Shi struggled in her grip.

'Does magic here work similar to the one in my world?'

}}}Similar enough.{{{

'Than I hope this works.'

Sunset looked up at Pinkie and Gilda and shouted, "Get down!" as she forced down a counterspell. As her counterspell collided with the sigil, the two conflicting magics began to fight, sending shards of magic all over the area. The gym began to fall around her, and she could hear the magic walls around the room beginning to fall.

However, as she pushed the counterspell down through the floorboards, she heard a distant hiss from the ground under her. She barely had time to process what was happening until the floor erupted, and everything went black.

Witchblade

Sunset let out a shaky cough when she finally woke up. A heavy weight pushed against her body which she pushed off. The sound of sirens echoed out in the air as soft snowflakes floated down from the sky. Sunset looked up in shock and saw that the gym's roof had been completely blown off. A cold breeze brushed by her, causing her to shiver, and when she looked down, she saw that her Witchblade form had been reduced to the bikini armor state.

She slowly got up off the ground with a loud groan before looking around her surroundings. However, two figures lying in the rubble caught her attention. A pink-haired girl and a brown coat stuck out from the rubble.

"Gilda. Pinkie." Sunset gasped as she stumbled forward. As she did, she heard loud crunching behind her. She turned around immediately only to see Aria, who was covered in soot, approaching her.

"Hey Sunset. Have you seen an assassin around here?" Aria wiped her mouth. "I appear to have lost one."

"Not yet." Sunset turned back towards Pinkie and Gilda and pulled the two out of the rubble.

Pinkie had gashes all over her body and was bleeding profusely. There were several shrapnel embedded in her skin and torso. Gilda had large pieces of debris stabbed through her stomach. The girl's breathing was shallow and weak, and she had purple coloration around her wounds.

[color=#be434]"We need to get them to a hospital or else they will both bleed out"

}}}We can heal them both.{{{

"Really? How?"

}}}Press your hand on them, and focus. Channel your magic and intent the same way you do with our powers.{{{

Sunset quickly pressed her hands onto Pinkie's body and focused her magic on the girl's body. She felt the girl began to heat up and watched as her wounds began to close. Sunset let out a sigh of relief before turning to Gilda. She ripped the debris that was stuck in the girl and pushed her magic through Gilda, the same way she did with Pinkie.

"You should probably now focus on yourself." Aria pointed down at Sunset's body. Sunset, confused, looked down and saw what Aria was talking about. There was a huge chunk of her side missing, with her insides showing.

"We need to get these two to safety first." Sunset gasped as she lifted Gilda up against a large broken table.

Aria rolled her eyes but grabbed Pinkie and laid the girl . "You really need to start taking care of yourself better."

"I'll be more careful when I need to." Sunset muttered, but she softly pressed her hand against her side and forced magic into her body. The warmth that flowed through her was weak, but it was enough. She felt the gash in her chest begin to heal.

"Where is Berry Punch?" Sunset whispered.

"Probably dead." Aria answered behind her. "That was an Anti-Magic bomb. Anything with magic or affected by it would immediately degrade. The more magic one has ..."

"The more they are affected." Sunset finished. "I canceled it out though."

"It wasn't a spell girl. It was a device created by SMILE to destroy magical creatures that they deemed a threat." Aria let out a sigh. "You're lucky it didn't backfire and create a bigger explosion." Aria shrugged her shoulder. "The Witchblade shielded you from most of the damage since it can't be destroyed, not so much for the Wendigo."

"Bon Bon." Sunset hissed.

"Yeah, she's much more ruthless than I thought." Aria snorted before she suddenly snapped her head to the side.

}}}Sunset, to your right!{{{

Sunset turned just in time to see a mace hurtling through the air at her skull. She was able to raise her arm and manifest a shield to block the weapon but was hurtled through the air and into the dirt ground below her.

She looked up to see Berry Punch angrily approaching her, wrath in her eyes, with parts of Ninkasi still dotting her body. "You just couldn't stop, could you?!" Berry roared as she grabbed her mace off the ground. "You couldn't just lay down and DIE!"

"Aria, take Gilda and Pinkie to safety!"

"You sure you can handle her?" Aria asked as she picked up Pinkie and Gilda off the ground, one under each arm.

"She's an old friend, just go!"

Before Sunset could see Aria leave, she was forced to roll to the side as Berry Punch slammed her mace into the ground. Berry Punch swung at Sunset's head, forcing her to duck down. Berry Punch let out a roar as she threw all her force into her next swing, which was directed right at Sunset's head. Sunset managed to duck under the swing, and as Berry was recovering, she locked her arm around the girl's arm and lifted her up. She then threw Berry Punch into the ground with a loud crack, causing the earth to shudder.

Berry let out a low growl as she jumped back onto her feet, mace tightly in hand. She lashed out at Sunset, who simply just jumped out of the way of her wild swings. "I should have known it was you! Only you would continuously screw me over!"

"Berry, it doesn't have to be like this!"

"We both know that isn't true!" Berry roared as she swung wildly at Sunset.

Sunset dodged out of the way of the girl's strikes and tried to concentrate her mind on manifesting a spear or a weapon but found it difficult to do so. She tried to maintain her distance from Berry but was slowly losing ground as the girl's strikes swung nearer to Sunset's head.

'I need a weapon now!' Sunset said mentally.

}}}The explosion silenced part of my form! I need a moment!{{{

Sunset grit her teeth as she watches Berry Punch raise her mace up, aimed right down at her. She only had a shield and couldn't keep defending herself against Berry. She didn't want to hurt the girl, but what was in front of her was more akin to a feral animal than a person.

As the mace swung down at her, Sunset felt a fire roar inside of her. Her instincts took over, and in a single motion, she jumped forward into Berry. She slammed her body into the girl's shoulder, interrupting the girl's attack. Then, as swift as the wind, she put all her force into her fist and struck Berry's face with all her might. The girl's head snapped back, and as it did, Sunset grabbed Berry by the arm and twisted the mace out of her hand.

Berry stumbled back in an attempt to regain her balance. However, she never got the chance as Sunset gripped Berry's mace and, with a single swing, slammed it into the girl's skull.

Berry fell backward with a loud cry and thud. She tried to sit up, only to see that Sunset was immediately on top of her, mace in hand. Sunset raised her arm up and struck downwards at Berry. Berry raised her hand up to cover her face and braced for the impact as the mace swung down at her. A loud crack echoed throughout the gym as Sunset slammed the mace down right onto its target.

Berry let out a loud gasp before shakily looking over at the slab of concrete next to her head where Ninkasi's mace was now embedded. Sunset let out a shaky breath as she looked down at Berry, whose body had finally returned back to normal, as vestiges of the demon Ninkasi slowly faded away.

"Why?" Sunset hissed. "You knew all along."

Berry let out a weak laugh as she tried to sit up to no avail. "What do you think?" The girl scoffed. "You abandoned me. You abandoned all of us!"

"You're the one who decided to be possessed by the Wendigo!"

"Because of you!" Berry roared. "Did you think what would happen when you joined the Rainbooms?!" The girl snapped. "Did it ever cross your selfish brain what happened to your previous partners in crime?!"

"I did it to change! To be better!"

"You haven't changed a bit." Berry sneered as Sunset began to pace in front of the girl. "You're the same selfish, egotistical Sunset Shimmer before the Fall Formal."

Sunset opened her mouth and looked for what to say but couldn't find anything from the top of her head. "I just wanted to make amends with the people I hurt. To be friends."

"I was your friend!" Berry roared as she beat her chest in anger. "But you always thought yourself better than everyone else. A heart of a coward and a traitor!"

"What we were doing was wrong!"

"As if you care!" Berry scoffed. "You gave up everything for what? The illusion of friends? For people who would turn their backs on you at a moment's notice?!"

"Because of you! Because of Anon-A-Miss!"

"Anon-A-Miss was just an excuse for them to exclude you!" Berry roared. "They never considered you as one of them, and they never will!" Berry let out a weak chuckle. "People like us ....we can never change because, at the end of the day, we'll always be seen as a monster."

"But it doesn't have to be this way." Sunset said as she knelt down in front of Berry. "Renounce the demon. I can help you, and we can help the school."

Berry stared up at the sky above her through the hole in the ceiling. She let out a shaky sigh before shaking her head. "No. You forgot me like everyone else in this school." The girl said bitterly. "At least I die while being true to myself."

Sunset stretched her hand over towards Berry. "'I won't forget you, not again." Sunset said softly. "Please Berry."

Berry Punch eyed Sunset's hand, and the girl visibly hesitated. After a second passed, she brushed Sunset's hand aside and shakily sat up. Her body was back to her human form but noticeably more emaciated, as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"No. I chose this for myself." Berry muttered. "Maybe you can change, but I can't."

"I don't believe that." Sunset muttered. " Please, give it a chance, at least."

Berry Punch let out a sigh as the girl looked away from Sunset out the window, which was shattered into tiny pieces. Distant sirens could be heard getting louder outside of the school building. "And get burned?" Berry muttered. "No, not again."

Sunset lowered her hand somberly before Berry spoke again. "I can still feel the Wendigo within me, but she's dormant." Berry sighed. "After this, I'm pretty much screwed anyways."

"What do you mean?"

"This was my attempt to climb the ranks. After this, the other Wendigos will target me." Berry answered.

"I can protect you, Berry," Sunset promised as she knelt down beside the girl. "I just need to know who Anon-A-Miss is. "

"And why would I trust you of all people?" Berry spat out.

"Do you really want to watch the city get ripped apart?" Sunset whispered. She saw the other girl hesitate, so she continued to push. "The Berry I knew was reckless and was thick-headed, but there was always a part of her that cared. I know that Berry is still there, somewhere."

Berry Punch looked away, and after a couple of seconds of silence, she turned towards Sunset. The girl then opened her mouth to speak.

Before a single word left her mouth, a loud gunshot echoed throughout the room. A bullet pierced the girl's skull, silencing her forever. Sunset tried to pull Berry Punch away, but she was too late as the girl's body lay limp against the ground. Sunset knelt there silently as she held Berry's body in her hands.

As she tried to process the sudden death of Berry, she felt her instincts fire up. She ducked her head just in time as a blade swung right where her neck used to be. Sunset rolled away as the assailant stabbed their blade down where she was just sitting.

"Witchblade, ever the thorn in my side." Tora No Shi hissed, who immediately snapped her gun up before rapidly firing her pistol.

"You'll pay for that!" Sunset roared as she manifested a shield back on her arm to block the gunshots.

"Get in line!" Tora No Shi laughed as she dashed forward and aimed her blade at Sunset's neck. Sunset managed to twist her body and throw her weight into swinging her shield into the force of the assassin's attack.

"Who hired you?" Sunset said coldly as she pushed the assassin back.

Tora No Shi scoffed and turned towards Berry Punch. "She did." The assassin shook her head mockingly. "However, couldn't take the chance of her spilling the details about Anon-A-Miss. Already screwed up this mission and didn't really want to get into any more trouble."

Sunset pushed the assassin's blade away before kicking the woman back. Tora No Shi slid backward and raised her blade back up to strike. However, their fight was interrupted as voices approached them with flashlights shining down the hallway. Tora No Shi let out a small scoff before taking out a small circular device in her sword hand.

"Till next time, Witchblade!" Tora No Shi roared.

"Tora No Shi!" A voice from the hallway roared.

Before Sunset could rush forward to capture the assassin, the woman threw the device down, causing a loud light to erupt from a sudden explosion. Sunset wasn't able to look away in time and was blinded. She continued forward but stumbled before falling over.

When her vision returned, she looked up to see Tora No Shi quickly jumping out of the window. A group of police officers ran to block the assassin, only to be quickly cut down, blood splattering over the ground before they could even process what was going on. Sunset began to get up off the ground, only to be surrounded by cops, all aiming their weapons at her.

"Freeze, CCPD!" One of them roared.

}}}We need to go now!"{{{

Sunset felt a strong fire rage within her as she summoned out her metallic wings, using them to knock a couple of the officers back. The rest were so stunned that it gave her a window of opportunity to jump up through the hole in the gym room.

Gunshots ran out behind her as she flew away with bullets flying past her. She made her way down the neighborhood, making sure to keep above the clouds so she wasn't spotted. As she flew over the clouds, she quickly spotted her apartment and made her way down into it.

Sunset entered through her apartment window quietly and made her way toward her bed with shaky breaths. As she sat down, she felt a faint buzzing within her.

}}}Your communication device is ringing.{{{

Sunset reached into her armor metallic pockets and took out her phone. She looked down and saw that it was none other than Bon Bon. With grit teeth, she answered the phone and lifted it up to her ear.

"You survived, I see." Bon Bon said from the other side.

"You set me up. You set us all up."

"The demon is dead, isn't it?" Bon Bon scoffed. "And besides, the machine wasn't supposed to blow up. I suspect you had something to do with it."

"You were willing to sacrifice everyone in that room. Everyone in that room was affected by the spell from Ninkasi." Sunset hissed.

"Sacrifice Sunset. Hard choices need to be made. I chose what was best for the greater good."

"Greater good for who?"

"For everyone." Bon Bon growled from the other end of the phone. "I don't expect you to understand. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"You-" Sunset growled but wasn't able to get another word in as Bon Bon handed up the phone.

Sunset threw her phone angrily on her couch before storming over toward her evidence board. She took off an old photo of her before the fall formal. It was when she was still working with Berry Punch along with her other partners. Back then, she never really considered the girl a friend but rather a business acquaintance. Despite their cold relationship, she never would have wished such a fate on the girl.

She looked down at the photo and looked at the smiling faces of Snips, Snails, and Diamond Tiara. Sunset hadn't caught up with them after the fall formal. As she clenched her fist, a somber feeling washed over her as she thought back to what Berry Punch had said and reflected on the scorn Bon Bon looked at her with. For the first time in a long while, she reflected back and wondered if she truly had genuinely changed after all.

After the fall formal, what happened to the people she left behind? What happened to the Sunset Shimmer she pushed away?

Author's Note:

I am really not that happy with this arc. This was really difficult to wrap up with so many moving parts.
After finishing this chapter, I reflected on my writing style and realized that I have the tendency to introduce way too many elements in the previous chapters and that I need to start resolving some of the plot points sooner or later.
This chapter was really hard to write. While writing it, I realized how poorly I had planned it. The themes, the characters, and the entire plot just got tangled up and messy. It was hard to connect all of them in a satisfying way that didn't feel contrived. This went through so many changes, and no matter what I altered, I just wasn't happy with it.
However, I decided to just wrap it up, finish up the arc, and get it out there. The reason is that even if the arc is imperfect, at least it exists, which is better than an unpublished perfect one.
To smooth out the process in writing, though, I am going to try to outline a plan to continue the story and how to resolve it. It is going to take a while, but in order to avoid any more headaches, this is definitely a necessity.
I am definitely going to edit some of these chapters in the next few months and try to clean up the plot as much as I can, but it might be a bit slow as I start school again.
Thank you for being patient with me and being on this writing journey as I practice my writing. If you have any advice on how to efficiently plot a story, feel free to share it with me because heaven knows I need it.

Comments

[randomdude101]

Wow Bon Bon is way more cold blooded than Sunset ever was. I personally hate 'Greater Good' people because they commit horrific atrocities and feel justified.

Edit: I also really hope that when the time comes when Anon A Miss is revealed Sunset is in a healthy enough place to not just let them back in right away. I mean Pinkie called it plainly with Lightning Dust how after a bit of thought could see how stupid it would be for Sunset to have those things done plus has now been on the other end of stubborn when she walked from their lunch table. I also really hope Gilda gets to hammer it in again since shes been calling out just how two faced everyone else was when Twilight came over.

Also, I really hope Twilight does comeover and make the same call of 'Sunset may have been petty, but she was not stupid or shortsighted and making this account with a BLATENT nod to her identity is stupid and the things this character has done or had done is extremely shortsighted with no benefit to her. I may not like what she did when we first met but everything she did served a direct goal, what goals could these actions serve especially since there's so much Evidence now that she took so many pains to not even come CLOSE to leaving before.' That I have seen a couple times before about how OOC Anon a miss would be for Pre reform sunset because of how blatent it was and NOT pointing at a rival.

[PonyofEntropy]

Interesting story. Added to my list.