> Maho-Shojo Sunsetta!!! > by Vocal Chord > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: The Shimmering Sapphire Starts its Superior Story of Supremacy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep in the Dark Half of the Universe, the Council of Mikah-Hakim called to order its once-every-three-months-two-weeks-and-four-days meeting. The cloaked figures of the Council strode out of the inky darkness and into the light of the thirty-three moons. "We must discuss the Shimmering Sapphire, one said. "And how it will eventually destroy us all." "But the Sapphire is safe in the Vault of Kuyr'ard." "Not anymore! The Vault suffered irreversible damage when the meteor shower hit it! There's a giant friggin' hole, and all the stuff's falling out into Space." "Why must we always capitalize Space? It seems pointless." "Fool! It is written in the Tome of Time that 'Space shall always be capitalized, lest Space become 'space' and the world will end'. But we must not argue! The Shimmering Sapphire must be retrieved!" "We have calculated the trajectory of the Sapphire. It will hit a house outside of a building called Canterlot High! We will find it there!" "Then send out five most haughty, arrogant warriors to Planet Urth to deal with it!" "Yeah, those guys owe us for what happened to the pool table!" "Then it is settled. The Five Warriors of the Green Pentagon shall go to the Planet of Urth to retrieve the missing Sapphire. Call the Supreme Ultimate Lord Elder! We must journey deep through Space to reach Urth!" "It shall be done!" And so, with the Armada of the Council of Mikah-Hakim headed towards Urth Earth, we can only assume Canterlot High will no longer once again not be safe! What will happen next in the epic adventure of Moho-Shojo Sunsetta?!?! Will actual canon characters be introduced yet?!?! Do I really need these question marks and exclamation points?!?!?! Find out in the next chapter!!!!! > Sunset Shimmer: Transformation Activation! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Insert catchy theme music) Long ago, in a world of fire, the Shimmering Sapphire was forged in the deepest pit of the Planet Core. Now, its powers have been reawakened in the form of a high school girl named... Sunset Shimmer (dun da-da dun dun) Across the magic door to Canterlot (na-na-na) Destiny gave its gift and set its curse (na-na-na) A new hero was made And then the world was saved Now all evil villains expect the worst (na-na-na) Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! Rising up to save us all Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! All the evil guys will fall Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! Brighter than the morning sun Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! You know she's the only one Sunsetta! (Theme song ends here) Our story begins in the average life of a not-so-average girl with hair that makes it look like her head's on fire... Sunset Shimmer woke up to the sound of bacon sizzling downstairs. Ever since she was unceremoniously stripped of her power, she had been staying over at whatever friend's house she could get. This time, it was Pinkie's house. "Pinkie!" she called. "Don't eat it all like you did last week." "I said i was sorry about that!" replied Pinkie. "But it's just so good. I wonder if they have bacon in Equestria..." "Not at all," replied Sunset, walking downstairs in her Sunset Shimmer-colored nightgown. "Ponies don't eat meat." "Oh. Well, they're missing out. OJ?" "Yeah." Sunset sat down and took a sip of orange juice. She was glad that her friends were so understanding, but sometimes, she felt like she was a bit too high-maintenance for them. "Pinkie? Do you think I'm bothersome?" asked Sunset. Pinkie shrugged. "It depends. I don't mind you doing stuff, but do you really have to be so loud when you use the Internet? If it makes you that tired, you should just go to bed." "Tired?" "Yeah, you keep moaning and making weird noises whenever you go on there. That's not normal, and I should know; I'm an expert on not-normal. Sleep deprivation's really dangerous, Sunset. You ought to just skip school altogether and get thee to a bed!" Pinkie galloped across the room, imitating riding a horse. Sunset face-palmed. Sunset arrived at school with Pinkie, and they headed to their first class together. "Is this really necessary?" asked Sunset. Pinkie had insisted upon carrying a pillow around and accompanying Sunset everywhere. "Of course!" she shouted loudly. "What if it happens again at school?! In public! You'd be all over the ground, barely able to keep it together, and I'd have to swoop in and be all like 'Sunset, that's enough! We need a bed!' and you'd be all like 'but I'm fine with doing it right here...' and then I'd have to drag you to the nearest empty room so you'd have some privacy, and it'd take you all day to get enough to finally be satisfied!!" "She's talking about sleep!" shouted Sunset through the dead silence. After school, Sunset decided to walk Pinkie home, if only to give her a lesson about assumptions, when suddenly, a massive migraine hit her. "Ack...headache...d'you mind if I crash on the couch?" "Sure thing!" replied Pinkie. "But no internet." Sunset rolled her eyes, stumbling after Pinkie. Her headache hadn't gone away by the time they reached Pinkie's house, so Sunset assumed she was sick. "Go online and search up 'massive headache'," she said. "Maybe there's some easy way to get rid of it..." "Okay," replied Pinkie. "I'll try not to make any moaning noises." "I keep telling you, that's not because--" The pink-haired girl disappeared upstairs. Sunset laid back on the couch, massaging her forehead and trying to get comfortable. After an hour, it was starting to get dark, and Sunset's head had only gotten a little bit better. "I'm just gonna sleep down here," she said when Pinkie came downstairs. "If I can't go to school tomorrow, my homework's in the front pocket of my backpack." "Okie dokie lokie!" replied Pinkie. "G'night, Sunny." "I told you never to call me--argh, ow..." The night was long and hard for Sunset, whose throbbing head kept her awake far past midnight. "This sucks," she said, standing up. "I need a drink..." Sunset filled a glass of water and was about to exit the kitchen when a deep, feminine voice filled the room. "Sunset Shimmer. I need your help." The glass of water hit the ground, somehow not waking Pinkie. "Who'sat?" called Sunset. "Is there someone there?" "I am the Sapphire Spirit," replied the voice. Sunset blinked. "The what now?" "Sapphire Spirit. I have an urgent message, Sunset! In exactly one minute, you will be blessed with unspeakable powers!" "I tried that once," said Sunset. "It didn't work out so well." "Well...um...nobody cares, you're getting unspeakable powers! But heed my warning, Shimmering One! The evil empires of the galaxy are going to want that power! In order to save the world, you must retrieve the original Tome of Time from its resting place in the Vault of...I forget the name, but it's a big, scary vault with, like, spikes and stuff..." "Is it now?" said Sunset. The voice huffed. "You're going to need to use the power of the Shimmering Sapphire to save us all! I cannot aid you any further, but I bid you good luck!" "Wait, why can't you help me any more?" asked Sunset. "I only get one phone call. Goodbye, future savior of Space!" There was a flash of light outside. Sunset walked up to the window, only to see a gigantic ball of deep blue flames heading straight for her face. "Not the face!" she shouted, covering her face and bracing for impact. Sunset woke up on the floor, with the sun almost blinding her. "Are you alright?" asked Pinkie. "You look kinda...not good." "I'm fine," said Sunset. "Weird dream. Sleepwalking. Stuff." "Oh, that's a relief," said Pinkie. "You must've also been sleep-hair-dyeing, too. I gotta say, blue doesn't suit you." Sunset looked at her reflection in the window to find a single streak of sapphire blue hair mixed in with her usual fiery mane. "What? That's not..." Sunset shrugged. "You know what? I don't even care. I've turned into a raging demon and witnessed a group of singers nearly end the world. Stuff like this shouldn't surprise me anymore." "Atta spirit, girl!" shouted Pinkie. "Also, we're gonna be waaay late!" "Aw, buck, I forgot!" Sunset grabbed her backpack and ran all the way back to Canterlot High. > Blue Vs. Green! The Pentagons Finally Awaken? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We pick up our story where we last left off, with a confused Sunset unable to figure out exactly what happened that night. Another thing she doesn't know is that the Green Pentagon has started its invasion of Canterlot High! Let's hope Sunset can figure out how to stop them before they do unspeakable things to her! Sunset Shimmer burst through the school doors, gasping. "I'm--late--aren't I?" she asked. Principal Celestia stood there, a clipboard in one hand, as if conveniently waiting for late students to burst through the doors. (Her record for catching them was nineteen in a row one day. She was hoping to break past twenty; then Luna'd have to buy her a new mini-coffee-maker for the teacher's lounge.) "Yes," she said. "By..." She looked up at the clock. "thirty-four seconds." "Faust buck it," swore Sunset. Celestia frowned. "And now you're late by ten minutes." "But I--wha--you know what? forget it..." Nearby, in Space...which is still capitalized... "The Green Pentagon is ready to invade Urth," said one of the cloaked figures. Another nodded. "Toss 'em down." Back on Urth Earth... Sunset Shimmer sat in class, pitying herself and imagining various large objects landing on Principal Celestia's head at high velocity. "This sucks..." she spat. "Detention? For what? Because a friggin' meteor decided I'd make a good landing pad?" "Well, you do have quite the mane on you," snickered Adagio from across the classroom. Ever since the Battle of the Bands, the Dazzlings had been living at an 'open 24-7' internet cafe. (They were living there before, too, but people noticed them a lot more now.) One would think creatures of such long lives would be old and wise, but even Adagio was barely passing trigonometry, let alone Sonata. Who, in fact, was at the board, trying to solve a triangle. "Find X," said Cheerilee. Sonata took a piece of pink chalk out of her ponytail (she had a full 47 colors in there) and circled the letter X written on the hypotenuse. "'S right there," she deadpanned. While this was going on, Sunset took the opportunity to vent at Adagio. "Well, look who's talking, mattress head," she said. "Where'd you get your hair done? The circus?" Adagio huffed. "Well, at least...erm...look at your...*cough* wow. You're actually so much better off than me that I can't think of a snappy, insulting comeback like in the second EQG." "I'mma pretend I know what that means," said Sunset. "But look, Adagio. I've had a really rough morning, and if I so much as see you blink at me the wrong way, you're gonna wish Celestia'd decided to banish you to Mercury." "Ooh, temper!" said Aria, waving a finger in the air. "Don't want that hair of yours to catch on fire. Oh, wait, too late." "I'm still better at snappy comebacks than her..." muttered Adagio to herself. "I'm still awesome...I'm not an idiot like Sonata..." Sonata suddenly raised her hand. "Teacher! The triangle's too pointy and I cut my finger." Cheerilee facepalmed. "It's a chalk drawing, Sonata." Sunset tried to search her mind for something, anything, that could possibly make this day better. Stuck in math class with Dumb, Dumber, and Had-To-Be-Rescued-From-A-Maze-Painted-On-The-Ground. It wasn't shaping up to be a good day. And it was about to get worse... "Hey!" said Sunset. "Who said that?" Erm...nopony...keep doing...whatever it is you're doing. ... Ignore me. I'm not even here. Come lunch, Sunset was only feeling marginally better. She walked up to the buffet line and served herself a generous helping of delicious baked beans with extra pepper. "Now I bet I'm gonna trip and have all these beans go all over my studded leather jacket," she said. "Its been that kind of day." "Somethin' the matter?" asked Applejack as Sunset sat down, looking like she'd just been told she was adopted. Which was true, but we'll ignore that for now. "You're lookin' like how you did when the Dazzlings sang that long and much-too-seductive-for-a-kids-show song that one time." "It's been...un-good," said Sunset. "I was late, and I accidentally said Faust buck it to our principal, and I've got detention, and the Three Stoogettes wouldn't shut up during math class." "That's pretty rough," agreed Rainbow Dash. "Also, a ball of fire, which was blue, which makes me suspect there was some sort of chemical in there, hit me in the face." "..." "And now my hair's got this blue streak that doesn't go with the rest of me at all." Rarity actually choked on thin air at that point, rolling around on the ground for half a minute before she managed to get her lungs back in her control. "That--that's pretty bad," she rasped. "We must find some hair dye!" "That's what scares you," said Sunset. "Not the detention, or the meteor, but the fact that I'm no longer in style." "Mm-hmm..." nodded Rarity tearfully, putting on a near-perfect Fluttershy impression. Sunset sighed. "Fine. Whatever. I don't even care how weird my friends are. Just...I need some Sunset-time. Everybody shut up and don't bother me." "Wow," said Fluttershy. "She's really upset." "you don't say," replied Rainbow Dash. "How come I didn't get a line this time?" asked Pinkie Pie. Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion rocked the school. Earth-shattering as in "really loud", because the Earth didn't actually shatter. That'd be a pain to clean up. And "rocked the school" as in earthquake rocked, not as in Dazzlings rocked. That one already happened in the last movie. "What was that?!" asked Sunset. "It sounded like Flash Sentry's mom walking out of the bus." "I dunno," replied Pinkie. "Maybe it was the realization that you're actually super-depressed and lonely, and that you wish you had a boyfriend who'd do all that stuff you learned about on the Internet with you, and that you wish I didn't have a mouth, all hitting Earth at once." "No, Pinkie, you're thinking of last month." "Oh. Sorry." Suddenly, a blast of air strong enough to knock a hole in the school...well...knocked a hole in the school. Following it was a voice that was so loud and angry, it had to be written in caps lock and in red, bold, double-sized font, with extra punctuation marks. WHERE IS THE SHIMMERING SAPPHIRE PENTAGON??? Sunset gasped. "That's what the Sapphire Spirit called it," she realized out loud. "The wat nao?" asked Rarity, without bothering to use proper spelling. "When the meteor hit me," explained Sunset, "a voice calling itself the Sapphire Spirit told me to find the Tome of Time in the Vault of She-Didn't-Mention-The-Name." "And you're sure you weren't asleep?" asked Rainbow Dash. Sunset shrugged. "Dunno. But it happened." Suddenly, out from behind the dust that somehow took this long to clear, stepped a really angry-looking teenage girl wearing an eagle-patterned leotard and lion-fur crotch-high boots. "Wow," said Sunset. "Same fashion sense as Adagio." "I!" shouted the figure, saying each word as a separate sentence for dramatic effect. "Am!" "Gilda the Griffon, one-fifth of the Green Pentagon!" "...Some people also call it the Glittering Emerald. Whatever floats your boat." "Gasp!" Rarity said. (The whole word, not just gasping noises.) "It's one of those supervillains I read about while surfing the Internet for things to add to my closet obsession with steamy anime!" A blast of air came out of some metal ring-shaped things on Gilda's wrists, blowing all but Sunset against the cafeteria table, where they landed in Sunset's plate of beans. All five of them, somehow. "Gimme the Sapphire!" shouted Gilda, marching towards Sunset. "And nobody gets winded!" "Actually, it doesn't really hurt when you do that, it's actually kind of like a massage--" said Pinkie before a blast of air knocked her backwards onto somebody else's plate of beans. Sunset backed up. "What Sapphire?" she asked. "I don't have any Sapphire." "That blue streak in your hair!" said Gilda, grabbing it and pulling. "It's proof you've got the Sapphire! Just...like...MINE!" Gilda suddenly brushed her hair aside, revealing a streak of emerald green. "That's right, girlie...I've got one, too! And I've had more practice!" A trading card flew out of nowhere and hit Sunset Shimmer in the face. "If you're gonna battle, you're gonna need this!" shouted Pinkie. Sunset picked it up. "This is a Ponymon card," she said. "And it will not help in the slightest." "I've gotcha..." said Gilda, coming closer and preparing to rip the Sapphire out of Sunset. A voice suddenly popped into Sunset's head. "Welcome to the Shimmering Sapphire User's Manual," it said. "To use your powers, shout 'Maho Shojo Transform!' as loud as you can, for dramatic effect, and then close your eyes. A list of skills will appear, along with instructions on how to use each one. Enjoy, and thank you for choosing Shimmering Sapphire!" Sunset didn't waste any time, because she was sure the transformation would do that for her. "Maho-Shojo Transform!!" To Be Continued... (insert dramatic music) > Open Your Heart, Sunset, And Feel All The Power Of The Sun! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We return to Sunset Shimmer's quest to retrieve the legendary Tome of Time from Space, where Gilda from the Green Pentagon has just arrived! It's up to Sunset to transform into Maho-Shojo Sunsetta and save us all! "Maho-Shojo, Transform!" Sunset's voice echoed mysteriously through the cafeteria. Her fiery hair started glowing like it was actually on fire, her eyes glowed white, and a smug grin appeared on her face as she floated into the air. Then all her clothes vanished. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sunset covered herself desperately as ribbons of deep ruby red surrounded her, cocooning her in a bubble of mystical energy. In a flash of light, a new outfit appeared on her; a Sunset-Shimmer-colored skirt and matching tank top and black-and-red leather jacket, complete with a set of thigh-high combat boots (also Sunset-colored), a set of flame-patterned gloves, and a stupidly large bow on her lower back. Sunset looked down at herself, after landing on the ground dramatically. "I look ridiculous..." She shrugged. "Whatever." She pointed at Gilda. "Watch out, Gilda! I'm Maho-Shojo Sunsetta and I don't have a cool catchphrase!" Gilda laughed. "Maho-whatsit? You don't scare me. If anything, you look like a French biker maid." "I didn't choose this outfit..." Gilda laughed again. "You're still no match for me!" she said. "Even if you could use your powers, you're too inexperienced!" She punctuated this sentence with a blast of air that sent Sunset rocketing towards the opposite wall. As Sunset hit the wall (hard), the card Pinkie had given her fell out of her pocket. "Sunset!" shouted Pinkie. "Use the card!" "Pinkie, I don't think--" Picking up the card, Sunset noticed something. As Gilda prepared for another blast, she read the card's stats. DIGLETT (47.9 HP) AIR TYPE ATTACKS: SPLASH HYDRO PUMP STRONG AGAINST: ELECTRIC WEAK AGAINST: FIRE "Air...weak against fire..." Sunset's eyes lit up. Literally. It was actually kind of creepy. "One thing you don't know, Gilda," she said, closing her eyes. In place of the usual black nothing, a glowing blue list appeared. At the top was: [Fire Ball skill--active] Sunset opened her eyes and raised her right hand. A ball of fire appeared in her palm. "You can give it, but you can't take it!" Sunset tossed the ball of fire at Gilda, who blasted it into oblivion with a quick pulse of air from her wrist. "You really think it's gonna be that easy? You're dumber than you--" Gilda stopped talking as fireball after fireball rushed towards her. It was all she could do to shield herself from Sunset's barrage of spamming the same attack over and over. "What--stop--no fair!" Gilda was slowly pushed backwards as Sunset pushed forwards. She'd almost reached the far wall when Sunset stopped. "You've got a choice, Gilda," she said. "Give up or get torched." "I choose..." Gilda reached behind her. "This!" Out of nowhere, Gilda pulled a gigantic weapon that looked like a cross between a bazooka and a jet engine. "Eat hurricane, Sunset! I'm gonna blow that flame of yours right out!" "Blow my flame out--really? That's the best air pun you can come up with?" Sunset sighed. "Even Adagio's better than that..." "Just die already!" Gilda launched a blast of compressed air out of the weapon. Sunset barely had time to leap aside, and the blast continued, burrowing through the walls and leaving behind it a path of destruction. "Nobody's survived a direct hit from my cyclone cannon!" shouted Gilda, aiming. Sunset scrambled out of the way as a second blast created a ditch almost as big as the one she'd made when she was defeated. "I can't keep dodging..." she muttered to herself. "What else can I do?" She closed her eyes, and the list reappeared. [Firewall skill--active] Sunset flicked her wrist upwards, and a shield of fire leapt up in front of her, protecting her. "Your little shield won't save you!" shouted Gilda, blasting pulse after pulse into the wall. Sunset could see it straining to stay up. Then an idea hit her. She generated fireball after fireball, placing them all into a nearby bowl of ramen noodles. Keeping an eye on the firewall, she waited for that split second between blasts. Suddenly, she lowered the wall. "Finally!" shouted Gilda, believing the wall to have run out of power. "The Shimmering Sapphire is--" About two dozen fireballs covered in charred ramen flew out of the bowl Sunset was holding. "Eat that, Gilda!" "...well, buck." Gilda went up in flames, her cyclone cannon falling to the ground. "Gotcha," said Sunset, watching the burning griffon girl throw herself into a nearby dishwashing sink. "Canterlot High's safe once again!" "SUNSET SHIMMER! THAT WAS BUCKING AWESOME!" Pinkie came out of nowhere and glomped Sunset, who had transformed back to normal. "I guess I did kick plot," she said, removing Pinkie from her torso. "That was actually kinda fun!" Celestia walked up to her, slow-clapping. "Congratulations, Sunset," she said. "That was impressive. You managed to do an incredible amount of damage to the school in so little time, I would feel bad if you didn't get the truly incomparable task of cleaning it up. Bricks and mortar in the janitor's closet, and school opens tomorrow at nine. Enjoy." Sunset sulked off to the janitor's closet. "Even when I win..." In Space... "Gilda's been defeated." "I know. It was to be expected. But we have enough information now." "The other members of the Green Pentagon are ready to move in." "Then let the pummeling begin!" Gilda has been defeated, but the Mikah-Hakim aren't done yet! Will Sunset be able to save the day twice? Will Gilda ever make a comeback? Will the next chapter be more interesting? Find out in the next epic installment of... Maho-Shojo Sunsetta!!! > Mystery! The First Step Towards the Tome of Time! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We return to Maho-Shojo Sunsetta victorious! With Gilda out of the way, Sunset has more time to ponder her mission. The Tome of Time holds many secrets, and Sunset has yet to discover any of them. That is, until today... Sunset Shimmer woke up spooning a mop on the cafeteria floor, shortly after the bell rang. "Ugh...here all night...stupid principal..." She stood up, brushed the mortar and dust off herself, and admired her work. It looked like a kindergartener's diorama project. "At least there aren't any holes in the wall," said Sunset. "I'll put some posters over it later." She headed off to class, where hopefully, she'd be able to take it easy after the long day she'd had. "Hey, look!" said Adagio. "It's Sunset Supernova. Have fun blowing up the school, Sunny?" "Shut it," spat Sunset, sitting down. "I could torch you in a second." "Oh, yeah?" asked Aria. "The only burn this class is gonna see is this one!" "Ooh! Burn!" said Sonata, right on cue. Sunset stuffed erasers in her ears and tried to drown out the Dazzlings. Unfortunately, this had the added effect of drowning out Cheerilee. "SUNSET SHIMMER!" Cheerilee slammed her ruler across Sunset's desk. Why she still had a ruler in the twenty-first century was anyone's guess. "Stop daydreaming and pay attention! Yes, we all know you saved the school, but that won't save your grades!" "Whatever..." Back in Space... The gigantic spaceship hovered a few thousand miles above Canterlot High, a telescope locked on to Sunset Shimmer. "We're ready to send down the second wave," said someone. "Wait..." said another voice. "Let's watch for a minute. We may be able to find some of her weaknesses." "What was that?" asked the first voice. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of me sending the next wave down." "...Go jump into Space." Sunset walked to lunch with Rainbow Dash. "This sucks," she said. "I save the school again and all the thanks I get is manual labor and bad puns." "At least you didn't end up like Gilda," said Rainbow Dash. "I heard she's in jail now." "It's still pretty hard to see a bright side to all of this--" A random student backed into Sunset, causing her to drop her homework, which floated to the ground and slid itself under the door to the basement. Rainbow cringed. "Well, you're never getting that back," she said. "Janitor Discord doesn't let anyone into the basement." "But I spent nine weeks on that essay!" Sunset ran up to Discord, who was cleaning some unmentionable substance from outside the ladies' bathroom. "You gotta let me into the basement!" she said. "My nine-page essay about parenthetical quotations fell down there!" "Nope," said Discord. "Nobody gets in. Unless they're me; but I have yet to meet more than one of me." "Then could you at least go get it for me?" asked Sunset, putting on huge puppy eyes. Discord shrugged. "Sorry, no favors. You're just going to have to go to the library and print it again." "Oh, come on!" Sunset walked away, dejected. "I don't have time to wait for the printer!" she said. "Luckily, I have a plan." "Something tells me I'm not gonna like this plan," said Rainbow. "Janitor Discord! Help!" Rainbow Dash careened around the corner like a homing missile. "It's really bad!" "Did Berry Punch try to smuggle cider into gym again?" asked Discord. "What?" Rainbow Dash blinked. "No. Not that. Sunset Shimmer's caught in the locker room! The door won't open!" "It's probably just stuck," said Discord. "Try pulling harder." "But there's...erm...the Dazzlings in there, too! They're gonna do awful things to her!" "Mm-hmm. Why not tell Celestia, then?" "No time! It's also on fire!" "..." "...there's a gunman in there, too!" "..." "*sigh* and every single one of them is butt naked." "*zing*" The only sound was that of Discord running to the locker room faster than one would have thought possible for any living being. Sunset poked her head out from a nearby empty classroom. "He bought it," she said. "Good. Where's his janitor cart?" Rainbow pushed the cart over to her. On it was a hook holding up Discord's keys. "Bingo," said Sunset. The basement was dark, dusty, and much, much deeper than it should have been. "What kind of basement is this?" asked Sunset. "It's more like a dungeon." "If it's all the same to you, I'm gonna go to class now," said Rainbow. "Don't be late." Sunset nodded, continuing deeper into the damp pit. After a while, she saw light at the bottom of the stone stairs. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be coming from behind a thick metal door. Sunset pushed the door open. It was surprisingly silent. On the other side was a stone brick hallway that led off into the dark. "Creepy," muttered Sunset. "I'd have loved to use this as an evil base a while back." She walked on, eventually noticing a deep blue light radiating from behind another door at the far end. Sunset pushed the door open. On the other side was a glass casket, and inside that was the hilt of a sword. It was the same color as the blue streak in Sunset's hair. "Weird," she said, opening the casket. "What would something like this be doing in a school?" As soon as she touched the hilt, a wave of color hit her, and she was propelled backwards. "WHO DARES DISTURB ME?" "S--Sunset Shimmer," she squeaked. The hilt laughed. "You think you are worthy? You are nothing! You are barely worth my effort!" "W--Well, now, that's just rude," said Sunset. "You seek the Tome of Time, yes?" asked the hilt. Sunset nodded. "WELL, TOO BAD! You're not worthy to possess the Tome! You're not worthy to even look upon it!" Sunset grabbed the hilt and threw it against the wall. "Shut it," she said. "Jerk." "Um...hey! You know, you might be worthy in the future!" The hilt continued talking. "Hey! Don't leave me here! At least put me back on the pedestal! It's dusty down here! Hey! Wait!" Sunset stopped walking away. "If I put you back, you tell me where the Tome is?" she asked. The hilt nodded; or, it would, if it wasn't a hilt. "Yes." Sunset placed it on the pedestal and put the lid of the casket back on. "Now, talk," she said. "*Ahem* I don't know where the Tome of Time is right now, but I do know that it's close," said the hilt. "I also know this; only the Blue Pentagon possesses the power to wield it for good instead of evil." "You mean, people with this blue streak?" Sunset showed her hair to the hilt. "You possess the Blue Pentagon? You are worthy! My job is done. Take the Sword of One Thousand Swords and wield it against the foul forces of the Mikah-Hakim!" A blue flash surrounded the hilt, and the glass casket shattered. "Um...sure?" After walking up the stairs and back to class, Sunset realized something. "My essay! Awwwwwwwww!" A perfectly groomed head of hair peered up into the schools' windows. "She has the Sword?" a smooth voice asked. "Not for much longer..." With the Sword of One Thousand Swords in her possession, can Sunset defeat this new foe? Will the Tome of Time ever be recovered, Why is Janitor Discord such a perv? Find out in the next installment of... Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! > Secret Attack! Sunset's Hidden Battle Strategy? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We now return to Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, where a new foe has just arrived to try to defeat Sunset! Will Sunset be able to defend herself this time? Sunset Shimmer came to school the next day with the empty hilt tucked into her back pocket. "Some sword," she said absent-mindedly. "What am I supposed to do, throw it at people?" Fluttershy was standing outside the school, against the portal-statue, with a forlorn expression. "Fluttershy!" called Sunset. "Something up?" Fluttershy nodded. "Is it bad?" asked Sunset. Another nod. "Are you gonna tell me what it is?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I--I'm okay..." "Is it embarrassing?" asked Sunset. Fluttershy nodded again, and Sunset shrugged. "Then I won't bother you about it. I'm not exactly having the best week, either." "I--I got caught..." Sunset blinked. "Caught? Doing what? No offense, but of all the people to be caught doing something, I'd assume it'd be Rainbow Dash." "C-caught...doing bad things..." Sunset's eyes widened until they almost encompassed her entire head. "O--kay..." "Very bad...all over Rainbow, too..." "Enough information, Flutters! No more talking from you, thanks!" "O--okay..." The bell rang, and they walked to class together. Sunset tried not to make it awkward, but the sheer mind-buck of the information she'd just received couldn't help but spark a bit of curiosity. "Was it fun?" Fluttershy let out a sound like a mouse being stepped on. "Um...I wouldn't say no, but..." "Really? Rainbow Dash, too? I'm sorry, I just can't imagine it..." "W--well, it was by accident..." "How do you do that by accident?" "...*whimper*..." That day at lunch, Sunset took the opportunity to get Rainbow's side of the story. "So...all of a sudden...it just happened?" "Yeah," replied Rainbow. "Right outside, on that wall there." Sunset nearly choked. "Ou--*cough*--outside...*hack*...why?" "It's all warm out there," replied Rainbow. "Much more comfortable than some dusty school. Although, sometimes, when nobody's looking, I just curl up on one of the library's couches and go it alone, you know? Takes away so much stress." Sunset Shimmer hurled all three-hundred-ninety-four baked beans she'd eaten onto the lap of a nearby Jet Set. "I--*retch*--I think my brain just tried to kill my ears for hearing that..." "What? Don't you do it?" asked Rarity from the other table. "I certainly don't, even though the prospect does sound relaxing. But I know Pinkie does, too, and AJ and even Cheerilee every once in a while." Sunset Shimmer got up, clutching her stomach, and walked towards the girls' bathroom, her face green enough to double as a traffic signal. "Was it something I said?" asked Rarity. Sunset Shimmer finished pouring cold water over her head and spat out a stray baked bean. "Why...why must everyone...it's just so wrong..." She smoothed out her now-cold-and-wet hair, put on a brave face, and walked back out into the mentally-challenged world she lived in. A tall young man in a tan vest stopped her at the door. "Going somewhere, Sunsetta?" "I dunno," said Rainbow Dash. "It's not like you guys mind watching me, and Pinkie's okay with doing it anywhere, so what's gotten Sunset so bothered?" "Perhaps she doesn't like how tired it makes you," said Rarity. "I've only tried it once or twice, and I can barely wake up afterwards." "Or maybe she's just really, really--" Pinkie Pie was cut off by a massive explosion coming from where Sunset was supposed to be. "Really in trouble!" finished Applejack. "We gotta go help her!" Sunset Shimmer struggled to escape the coils of perfectly-groomed hazelnut hair constricting around her waist. "Y--you're not gonna--*cough*--get me that easily!" half-shouted, half-coughed Sunset. "I'm--*cough*--not afraid of hair!" "You should be!" replied the young man, whose perfect hair had inexplicably grown into a maze of hairy tentacles, not unlike The Mane-iac, who he totally ripped off without a second thought. "But if you give up the Sapphire, I might consider sparing you. Maybe." The hair wrapped tighter around Sunset's middle, almost crushing some of her organs. "N--Never!' The man sighed. "Then I, Trenderhoof, shall crush you like the fiery-haired insect you are! But very quickly, because I'm going to be late for the magazine photo shoot. It's not easy keeping these locks perfect, you know." "Trenderhoof!!" The sound of fangirl squealing erupted from behind Sunset. Rarity flew out of nowhere, phone camera flashing. "He's here! In my school! EEEEEEEEEEE..." "Hello?! He's trying to kill me!" shouted Sunset. "Seriously, what is this, a badly-written action story?!" "Shut up and let me crush you!" said Trenderhoof. "I only took this job because the Emerald Empress made me, and if I do it wrong, I'm not going to get the supreme power she promised me!" "Well, ain't that honest," said Applejack. "I wanna marry him." Rarity's shoe came out of nowhere and embedded itself in Applejack's hat. "OVER MY DEAD, DECAYING BODY!!!" shouted Rarity, hopping in place and removing her other shoe. Sunset rolled her eyes. "Screw it. Maho-Shojo! Transform!!" Trenderhoof's hair fell away from Sunset as a burning ball of fire engulfed her-- "Hang on!" yelled Sunset. "Last time, it was ribbons of fiery light! Where's the consistency!" Then Sunset's face melted off-- "Okay, I'm sorry for interrupting you. Please, don't write that." ...Good. Moving on: ...engulfed her, and her clothes melted into boiling lava, which dripped away to reveal her magical girl skirt and jacket and stuff. With a flash of fiery light, Sunset fell to the ground already holding a fireball in each hand, her hair flaming. "I am Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, and I still don't have a cool catchphrase!" Trenderhoof laughed. "You really think you can win that easily?" Sunset smirked. "Wanna find out?" She lobbed both fireballs at Trenderhoof. A shield of perfect hair formed in front of him, and the fire bounced off harmlessly. "Fireproof hair gel," he said. "Your powers are useless against me! I knew Gilda shouldn't have just rushed in there. Now I'm gonna win, because I actually took the time to find out your weakness!" "Wait, what?" Trenderhoof's hair reached into a nearby hallway and retrieved one of the gigantic water canisters from on top the water dispenser. "Fire doesn't do so hot against water!" Sunset had no choice but to run away as ten gallons of icy-cold H2O were lobbed after her. She fell to the floor, gasping. "C--Cold..." She tried to summon fire, to no avail. "Powers...useless...lights...fading...dramatic death speech...starting..." "Use the Sword!" came a voice Sunset looked up, her vision blurred by the water. "Who? What?" "It's me. The Sword. Get the Sword out from your butt pocket and use it!!" "Butt pocket...got it..." Sunset stood up shakily. "What? Still thirsty?" asked Trenderhoof. Sunset reached behind herself and pulled the Sword out of her pocket. "Sword of One Thousand Swords!" she yelled. "...um...do some sort of...weapon-ey thingy!" The Sword ignited, growing a five-foot blade of blinding white fire. "That's seriously so cool," said Rainbow Dash. "Just like that one anime!" "TASTE MY HEAT!" shouted Sunset, swinging the Sword and sending a blade of white-hot fire towards Trenderhoof. "On second thought, that's some really bad wording, but I'm sticking to it!" "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO why must we always scream 'nooo'?" Trenderhoof's hair fell to the ground in a singed pile. "I'm ugly!" he shouted. "I can't be trendy if I'm ugly!" Suddenly, he smiled. "But I can make 'ugly' trendy! I'm a genius!" Sunset transformed back to normal. "Well, that happened. I feel better now. Who wants chips? I want chips. Anybody got any chips?" The day ended, and Sunset Shimmer met her friends at the statue. "Sorry about earlier," she said. "You know, the whole 'doing to Jet Set what everyone wants to do to Jet Set' thing. I just had no idea you were all so...perverted." "What?" asked Rainbow Dash. "We were talking about napping. Fluttershy fell asleep on my shoulder yesterday. You shoulda seen her face, too! Priceless!" "You...were talking about..." Sunset turned a shade of red that complemented her hair perfectly. "I hate myself..." "What did you think we were talking about, silly?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Cause I think I know, and I only do that with AJ every weekend or so." Sunset Shimmer ran home, screaming things about mind-buck. "What?" asked Pinkie. "I was talking about doing homework." Another foe defeated by Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! Will the Mikah-Hakim ever learn? Will another, even stronger foe appear? Will Sunset Shimmer always have a dirty mind? Find out next time in... Maho-Shojo Sunsetta!!! > Side-Story: The Dazzlings, Part One: Vs. The Cloud Empire! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: This side-story is now (or soon going to be) published as an entirely separate story. For those of you who wish to read it, please look under my Stories tab for the Dazzlings' story arc. Thank you for your support in keeping the Dazzlings' story alive. > Relaxation! Sleepover at Pinkie's Gone Horribly Wrong! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's the weekend, and Sunset Shimmer's got nothing better to do, so what better way is there to unwind and cope with the fact of being chosen to save the galaxy from evil than with a sleepover at Pinkie Pie's house? Well, for starters... Sunset stuffed her pajamas into her backpack. "Finally, something normal," she said. "No more saving-the-world stuff. Just a nice, normal teenage girl thing. Yeah." She walked downstairs, turned off the lights, and started heading over to Pinkie's house. On the way there, she had some quiet time to think about het life, and how it had basically gone down the toilet ever since she'd become Maho-Shojo Sunsetta. After five minutes, it made her kind of depressed, so instead, she took out her phone and called Rainbow Dash. "Sunset, 'sup?" "Hey, Dash. I was just wondering if you'd like to join me at Pinkie's for a sleepover. Like, right now." "Short notice, hmm? Yeah, whatever, I'm just clop--I mean, clapping! Cause there's a really good show on TV. Yeah." "...I'm gonna hang up now." Sunset closed her phone and dearly hoped Rainbow Dash was just playing a prank on her, like the tine she'd recorded Big Mac and AJ, edited the voices to sound like a really, really saucy conversation, and left the tape recorder running in a loop in the guest room when Sunset came over to visit. Sunset's finger was halfway to Pinkie's doorbell when the door opened. "Come on, come on, come on!" shouted Pinkie. "I've got every version of Mario Kart ready and waiting, there's pizza on the way, and earlier today, I bought three gallons of cherry cola!" "I like cherry cola," said Sunset absent-mindedly. "Something goin' on in that flaming head of yours?" asked Pinkie. Sunset shook her head. "Nothing. Dashie pranked me again. Or, I think it was..." "If it was over the phone, ignore it," replied Pinkie. "How 'bout winner plays Dashie?" How did she know?... thought Sunset. A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash rang the doorbell. "I'll get it!" shouted Pinkie. While Pinkie was away, Sunset took the batteries out of her Wii remote. "I brought chips!" shouted Rainbow. Sunset walked downstairs to find Pinkie and Rainbow helping themselves to a bag of spicy nachos. "So, what'cha wanna do?" asked Rainbow. "Play any saucy party games yet?" "It's just a sleepover, Dash," said Sunset. "Stop trying to turn every get-together we have into a clopfic." "Your loss," said Rainbow. "I was gonna play for high stakes, too. Loser can only wear whipped cream as clothes until midnight!" "Ooh! Then can I eat it?" "Eww, no!" said Sunset. "Rainbow, stop corrupting Pinkie." "Naw, I'm pretty sure Maud's little rock candy operation downstairs got to her first," said Rainbow. "Hey! Maud makes great rock candy! Never a crystal under 85% pure sugar!" "Can we just go play video games or something?" asked Sunset. "This is escalating quickly and I really want it to stop." "Spoilsport," said Rainbow. "But whatever. I'm still the queen of the screen." After an hour of gaming (Pinkie somehow still won even with no batteries in her remote), Sunset and Rainbow Dash were left alone while Pinkie took her 8:37 PM shower. "So..." asked Sunset. "Wanna do anything?" "Hey! What about--" "And before you say it, I'm not playing any games that involve anything rated PG-18 or higher." "Aww!" Sunset flopped onto the bed. "How 'bout you put on some music or something," she said. "Maybe I'll go get some more pizza or something." "Yeah, whatever," said Rainbow. "I still think we should play Tr--" "NO." "...I was gonna say Trading Card Games." "Sure you were." Sunset stood up. "I'm getting a bit bored," she said. "When there's just three of us, and one of us is in the shower, it's not as fun." "It would be if you'd just play--" "I'm not interested in losing my virginity to you, Rainbow!!" "And you call me blunt, Sunny. I was gonna suggest we play a prank on Pinkie Pie." Sunset shrugged. "Yeah, why not? What's it gonna be?" Rainbow snickered. "We should put hot sauce all over Pinkie's slice of pizza," she said. "She won't know what hit her!" Sunset snickered. "Yeah, that could be pretty funny." "And then, afterwards, we could play Spin--" "No." "Oh, come on!" "Hey, Pink," said Rainbow, holding out the pizza. "Cut you a slice." "Oh! Goody!" Pinkie snatched it and downed it in three bites. "Mmm! Delicious!" "You don't feel too hot, do you?" asked Sunset. "Not even a little?" "Naw!" replied Pinkie. "But my sinuses do feel a lot clearer!" "Told ya," said Sunset. "Pinkie's been competing in every pepper-eating contest that ever was." "Dang it!" said Rainbow. At nine-thirty, everyone was getting pretty bored. "I say we wrap it up," said Sunset. "I'm running out of stuff to do." "I'm not," said Rainbow. "I keep telling you guys! We should--" "We are keeping this G-rated," said Sunset. "PG at the very most." "Actually, I wouldn't mind trying something new," said Pinkie. "Hit me with your best game idea, Rainbow!" "Buck you and your innocence," said Sunset. Rainbow smiled. "We're playing Truth or Dare, Code Red version!" she said. "It's like Truth or Dare, but the losers have to do whatever the winner wants for a full hour!" "...fine," said Sunset. "But be warned, Rainbow. If you so much as dare me to remove a sock, I'm gonna dare you to jump out Pinkie's attic window." "Fair enough," said Rainbow. "Let the embarrassment begin!" Pinkie Pie went first. "Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?" "Dare," replied Rainbow. Pinkie thought for a second. "Then I dare you to...say something really, truly nice about Adagio Dazzle!" "*gasp*!" Rainbow Dash started sweating. "Um...ah...come on, Pinkie! You picked a hard one right away!" "Do you want to be under my absolute power?" asked Sunset. "Or, better yet, Pinkie's? After all, this is your game." "...Fine. Adagio's got great hips, Aria's good at kickball, and Sonata's kinda cute. There." "I only asked for Adagio," said Pinkie. "Bonus points for Dashie!" "And I think we all learned a bit about Rainbow, too," said Sunset. Dashie blushed. "Alright, Sunset. Truth or dare?" "Truth," said Sunset. "I'm not gonna let you dare me, Rainbow." Rainbow snickered. "What's your favorite dirty magazine, Sunset?" Sunset blushed. "What?! I don't read...why do you even...argh...Bare Minerals." Pinkie gasped. "Maud has, like, two dozen of those! Aren't they about rocks?" "Pinkie, go to the Internet and type in any random word," said Rainbow. "Okay, Sunset, your turn." "Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?" asked Sunset. "Truth this time," said Rainbow. "When you called me earlier, were you pranking me, or were you actually telling the truth?" Rainbow shrugged. "Naw, that wasn't a prank. Come on. I'm a lot less sloppy than that. I think if I were pranking you, it'd be flawlessly executed with a hint of Rainbow Dash flair, don't you?" "So...you...forget it. I'm sorry I asked." "So, Pinkie," asked Rainbow Dash. "Truth or dare?" "Dare!" "I dare you to eat an entire bowl of fresh, steaming spinach!" "*Gasp*!" "I'll go make the green goo," offered Sunset. "I'm feeling a bit empty myself." "Wait, wait...you like spinach?" asked Rainbow. Sunset shrugged. "Well, yeah. A little salt and butter, and it's like green, slimy candy." "I don't know you anymore..." whispered Pinkie. The game continued until midnight, and Sunset successfully managed to avoid getting dared to do anything saucy. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of dark secrets had to be revealed. It was only by a stroke of pure luck that Rainbow Dash got dared to empty half a bottle of food dye over herself, then offered to go take a shower. When she came back, Sunset and Pinkie were already in their pajamas and pretending to be asleep. "Wimps..." said Rainbow, shedding her towel and throwing herself into her sleeping bag. At one AM, a flash of light followed by a huge blast of sound rocked the girls awake. "Grab your willies! Every man for himself!" shouted Pinkie, snapping awake. "Wait, am I still dreaming?" "I hope I am..." said Sunset. Rainbow just sat there, asleep. Suddenly, a blue force field surrounded Sunset, opened the window, and lifted her out of the room. "Aw, come on!" she shouted. "It's one in the bucking morning!" "Too bad, my dear! I shall have the magnificent Shimmering Sapphire, and with it, I shall rule all of creation with my gloriousness!" "Gloriousness?" asked Sunset. "Really?" "Yes, really!" A man in a bleach-white tuxedo stepped out from the shadows. "For there is no other word fabulous enough to describe the great Blueblood!" "Aw, poo, it's that guy from the PTO," said Pinkie. "I never liked him." "I don't care where he works!" said Sunset. "He woke me up early, I'm still sleepy, and I'm really ticked off! Maho-Shojo! Transform!" Sunset started spinning faster and faster, the colors of her pajamas blurring together until, suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Sunset Shimmer was now Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! "Watch out, random guy I've never heard of! I'm Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, and I really should come up with a cool catchphrase!" "Yes, you should!" shouted Blueblood. "In the afterlife!" He telekinetically picked up a nearby car and tossed it at Sunsetta. Sunsetta threw a fireball, igniting the gas tank and blowing the car into oblivion. "Look, I really wanna go back to sleep, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase. Burn, jerk!" Sunsetta threw a fireball... ...which was caught in Blueblood's telekinesis and hurled right back at her. "You can't hit me, I can just throw it right back!" he said. "Give up, and give me the Sapphire!" "Look, I don't even know where it is!" said Sunsetta. "I just got this random blue streak in my hair!" "The Sapphire is melded with you," said Blueblood. "It has become your very heart!" "...and you expect me to tear my own heart out and give it to you?" "Yeah. That'd be good." "...You're worse than Rainbow." Blueblood picked up a mailbox and prepared to throw it at Sunsetta. I'll get him while he's distracted, thought Sunsetta, throwing a fireball. It hit Blueblood square in the chest, knocking him backwards. "What? But..." He picked up another car, which Sunsetta sliced in half before it even left his telekinesis. Only one half of the car fell away. "He must only be able to pick up one object at a time," said Sunsetta. "I'll use that!" As Blueblood tried to throw various heavy things, Sunset fired blast after blast at him, aiming for him when he was distracted trying to use his powers. "This can't be right!" shouted Blueblood. "She's found my weakness! I must retreat!" He dropped everything and tried to run, only to have a piece of pizza fly out of nowhere and land at his feet, tripping him and letting Sunsetta tie his shoelaces together. She turned around to find Pinkie holding an empty paper plate. "Figured you could use some help!" she said. Sunset nodded, transforming back to normal. "Yeah. Pizza. Good idea, Pinkie." "I know," said Pinkie. Rainbow Dash leaned her entire upper half out the window. "What'd I miss?" "Your shirt," replied Pinkie. Rainbow looked down. "The sleeves get all bunched up when I sleep, okay?" Sunset fell asleep satisfied. Everything had pretty much ended out for the best, after all. They'd had at least a bit of a day off, the villain was being carted off to prison, and Rainbow Dash had kept her oath to turn every get-together they'd ever have into something saucy. All in all, it was a productive day, thought Sunset. And, on a side note, I still can't quite believe nobody's broke into spontaneous song yet in this entire series. In Space "Another one, gone." "Patience. We'll soon have our Sapphire. Sunset can't win every battle. You'll see; one day, very soon, she'll break." "This isn't one of those mob movies. Quit with the melodrama." "...fine." Coming Soon: Sunset Shimmer Vs. The Worst Villain Of All Time!! Don't bother waiting. When I say 'soon', I mean it. > Trickery! Trixie's Epic Introduction to Maho-Shojo Sunsetta? (Written April 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep in Space, yet another blue gem fell towards Earth... "Trixie doesn't like walking to school. It makes Trixie's legs tired." Trixie walked to school on a fine Friday morning. The birds were chirping, the grass was green, and a gigantic ball of light blue fire was hurtling towards Trixie's inflated head. "Trixie wonders what's for lunch todaaaaAAAAAAGH!" Trixie turned tail and ran as fast as she could, trying to escape the meteor. Unfortunately, she tripped over a loose branch, and the ball of searing hot death hit her right in the-- "Plot hole." Cheerilee pointed to the board. "Who can explain what it is and how it relates to writing?" "Trixie can," said Trixie. "An example is when Trixie got hit in the bum with Space. Nobody wrote down what happened between then and now. That's a plot hole." "Very good, Trixie." Trixie spent the rest of the day rubbing her sore plot and bragging to anyone who'd listen about how she survived being hit with a meteor. "Sunset Shimmer already did that," they'd say. "And she's way more popular than you'll ever be, Trix." "Trixie doesn't care!" shouted Trixie as another bored student walked away. "Why isn't Trixie interesting? Trixie finds Trixie interesting..." "Perhaps you'll find this interesting!!" A muffin the size of a large cake flew out of nowhere and hit Trixie in the face. "Hey! Trixie's Great and Powerful Nose! That hurt!" "Kya-ha-ha! And there's more where that came from!" With a flash of lightning, a cloaked figure appeared in the hallway. She was wearing a torn paper bag for a cape, had eyes that refused to work together, and had a bazooka loaded with muffins strapped to her back. "I am Derp Vader and I've decided to take over CHS!" "Derp Vader?" asked Trixie. "But there aren't any muffin launchers in Star--" "Silence!" shouted Derp. "You stand between me and total muffin domination! Therefore, I shall eradicate you once and for all!" "I was just on my way to buy peanut butter crackers!" shouted Trixie, who was so shocked that she spoke in the first person. "I don't care!" replied Derp Vader. "My reign of doughy, bready terror begins with your defeat!" She raised her muffin cannon and aimed it at Trixie. "Taste my C3 Muffin!" Suddenly, a strange burst of power surged through Trixie, and Derp was blasted backwards as Trixie stood up, cloaked in bright blue light. "I can't let you do that, Derp!" she shouted. "Moeru-Ikari! Transform!" A blinding flash of blue light encompassed Trixie, who floated a few feet into the air. Electricity crackled around her as her body was swallowed by a ribbon of light, only for her to emerge again dressed in a bright blue leopard leotard and starry cape. In her hand was a three-foot-long staff of power, topped with a magnificent jewel in the shape of a crescent moon. She landed with a force that shattered the floor tiles, but stepped forwards with a grace that could only be matched by the most delicate of butterflies. "You've met your match, Derp Vader! I am Moeru-Ikari Trixesu, and Sunset was right. It is hard to come up with a catchphrase on the spot." "No matter!" replied Derp. "I still have the upper hand!" She fired the C3 Muffin at Trixie, who only narrowly dodged it. The wall behind her wasn't so lucky; the C3 was so loaded with butter and calories that it crashed through a foot of cement and out through the other side of the school. "Trixesu won't be defeated by muffins!" shouted Trixie. "Peanut butter crackers! To me!" The lighting flickered, and hundreds of packets of peanut butter crackers flew out of nowhere and surrounded Trixie like a storm cloud. "Peanut butter glue gun!" Trixie pointer her staff at Derp Vader's feet. The packets of peanut butter crackers unwrapped themselves, and all the peanut butter shot out, trapping Derp in place. "Your feeble peanut butter magic won't stop me!" replied Derp, aiming the muffin cannon at her own feet. "Super-spicy peanut-butter-melting pepper muffin, GO!" A beet-red muffin flew out of the cannon and splattered on the peanut butter, which sizzled, then flowed away from Derp Vader's shoes. "Now, Trixie, taste my MEGA-MUFFIN!" A muffin the size of a wedding cake flew towards Trixie, knocking her backwards and snapping her magic staff in half. "No!" shouted Trixie. "I can't control my crackers!" "I win," said Derp Vader, stepping towards Trixie. "CHS is mine! All mine! And, as my first order of business as the dictator of muffins, I say everyone has to bring me muffins every day, or they won't get any food at all!" "Not so fast," said Trixie. "My staff's busted, but I've still got my secret weapon!" "Hahaha! Secret weapon?" laughed Derp Vader. "You must be kidding!" "No, she isn't," said Principal Celestia. Derp Vader tuned around. "Oh...um...hello, Principal..." "See me in my office. Weapons are not allowed in this school! You are in more trouble than Luna after spring break!" "Aww...muffins..." Trixie transformed back to normal. "Haha!" she shouted, jumping up. "Trixie finally saved the school! Shower Trixie with love and adoration, please!" "Oh, some on," said Sweetie Belle. "You didn't even do anything! Celestia's the one who caught Derp Vader." "Yeah," said Scootaloo. "You're lame." "An' you smell like peanut butter," said Applebloom. "It's really gross." Suddenly, Fluttershy walked up to Trixie. "I thought it was cool," she said shyly. "Let's go find an empty classroom and I'll tell you exactly how great and powerful you are..." "Trixie doesn't know what her feelings are doing right now!" > War! Sunsetta Vs. He of Pure Disdain! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's Monday, and after a long weekend of interesting events, Sunset Shimmer returns to school feeling like a million bits. Little does she realize her biggest battle yet is about to begin... Good luck, Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! You're going to need it. Sunset walked to school on the most perfect Monday imaginable. Not that that's saying much, but it truly was a Monday so glorious that it felt like the first day of summer vacation. The sun was shining down, yet somehow not shining directly into anyone's eye sockets. The light shower the day before had washed the dust away, and everything was brighter and clearer. The morning mist was low enough that a refreshing cool blanketed everything without an annoying breeze messing up peoples' hair, and it was so quiet that Sunset almost fell asleep walking. Basically, it was a really good day. At the moment... Mikah-Hakim Control Bridge "I believe we are ready for Sunsetta. We have enough information to generate a plausible attack plan." "And I've personally made sure our avatar is actually competent this time." "Then we are ready. Send down the airship. It's time we laid siege to Sunsetta." "You can't lay siege to a person, moron." "Sorry, boss." Back on Earth Sunset walked into the school with a smile on her face. "I feel good about today," she said. "It just feels like it's gonna be a great day." "I know, right?" Rainbow walked up to her. "Just this morning, I was out getting breakfast, and the machine gave me two bags of chips instead of one! How cool is that?" "You get breakfast from a vending machine?" asked Sunset. Rainbow blinked. "What? No. I got my breakfast from Stewey's All-You-Can-Eat Utopia in the mall. The chips were on a whim." "So you eat breakfast in a mall?" "It's close to my house, and we're out of food that doesn't require preparation." A blanket of storm clouds drifted over the sky, which Sunset noticed as she sat down for lunch. "Doesn't it look like rain?" she asked. "I didn't bring an umbrella." "Hopefully it's not," agreed Rarity. "Rain does horrors to my hairstyle." "Ah don't care," said Applejack. "Ah could use a bath. It's just lucky Ah get it on the way home from school." Thunder cracked. "Now that's just ominous," said Sunset. "And it was so nice out earlier." "Hopefully this is just a storm and has nothing to do with *ahem* Maho-Shojo Sunsetta," said Rarity. "The saving-the-world part is nice, but one day, somebody's going to come after you. Harshly." "If it's that games director lady, Harshwhinny, I wouldn't be surprised," said Pinkie. "She must've bought a bed with two wrong sides, 'cause that's where she always wakes up." "I highly doubt Mrs. Harshwhinny is going to try to kill--" Sunset was interrupted as a blast of lightning blew out the cafeteria windows. "Ow! My ears! What--" "Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! Show yourself!" "Just...great..." Sunset stood up. "What now?" A black storm cloud entered the room and wrapped around Sunset, trapping her in place and drenching her. "Surrender to us, and we'll go easy on you," said a snobbish voice. "Or, at least try to," added another, female voice. "No guarantees." "Could you at least tell me who you are?" asked Sunset. "Talking to the ceiling is getting old." "Of course," said the first voice, and two figures stepped in through the broken window. "I believe introductions aren't in order." "Jet Set!" gasped Sunset. "And...someone else!" "My name's Lightning Dust and you know it!" "Is this about the beans?" asked Sunset. "'Cause I'm totally not sorry about that." "It isn't about the *shiver* beans..." Jet Set sneered. "It's about the Shimmering Sapphire! I and Dust are the final two members of the Green Pentagon! We're here to claim the Sapphire for the glory of Space and all its empires!" "And I'm helping!" said Lightning Dust. Sunset rolled her eyes. "And I should be scared of you because?" Lightning Dust held up her hands. A bolt of lightning flashed between them. "Three hundred thousand kilovolts," she said, "plus human spine. Do the math." "Yeah, but Jet Set?" asked Sunset. "What's he do, move clouds?" "Move..." Jet Set floated up on a cloud. "Manipulate...absorb...all kinds of weather. I could freeze you in a blizzard, drown you in a flash flood, dissolve you with acid rain! Together, we are..." They did a pose. Not unlike Team Sprocket from Ponymon, noted Sunset. "Team Natural Disaster!" "That pose is a natural disaster..." muttered Sunset. "Well, let's get this over with. Maho-Shojo! Transform!" Fire and lightning burst into existence, shrouding Sunset in chaos. Out from the bubble of fiery power stepped Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, Sword in hand and ready for mortal combat. "Fear me, villains! I am Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, and I'm considering posting a suggestions box online, 'cause I have yet to say anything even remotely catch-phrase-ey when I transform!" "That 'I-don't-have-a-catchphrase' was too long," said Jet Set. "Prepare to die of natural causes!" "If that's the best you can do, you won't even need to use your powers to kill me," replied Sunset. "Let's see...what haven't I used..." She closed her eyes. "Welcome back to the Shimmering Sapphire User's Guide! Today only, get two for the price of one on all Shimmering Sapphire merchandise, such as this handy Shimmering Sapphire coffee maker and donut slicer combo! Current active abilities: [Fire Ball]--Active [Firewall]--Active [Sword of One Thousand Swords]--Active [Firewing Flight]--Active [Micro Sun Blast]--Active [Press 'B' to return to the main menu] "Firewing Flight? Sounds hot." Sunset concentrated. With a blast of light and fire, a pair of blazing wings erupted from her back. "Firewing Flight wears off after fifteen minutes. Firewing Flight is not right for everyone. Consult your doctor before using Firewing Flight or while using Firewing Flight while nursing or pregnant. Do not use Firewing Flight while taking Azurath, Trifectorate, Chlorophobin, or Methylethyltrinitride. If you or a loved one has suffered blisters, burns, blood clots, or death after using Firewing Flight, please call 1-800-515-4404." Sunset flew up and out of the school window, preparing the Sword for a blast of fire. Jet Set and Lightning Dust followed after her, only to be stopped short as Sunset blowtorched the ground in front of them. "Too hot for you?" asked Sunset. "Not at all!" replied Jet Set. "In fact, I think you need to cool down!" A torrential downpour appeared out of nowhere, causing Sunset's Firewing to burst into steam. "I'm not gonna be airborne much longer," she said. "Think, think...got it!" She blasted a fireball into the air, where it burst into steam, raising an excellent smokescreen. "I can't see a thing!" shouted Lightning Dust. "Jet, clear this crud away so I can get a clear shot!" Jet Set summoned a mighty wind, but by the time the smoke was gone, Sunset was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she--" Jet Set was cut off as a Micro Sun Blast hit him square in the back, knocking him clear into the faculty parking lot, where his head had an unfriendly meeting with Celestia's car's windshield. One broke. It wasn't the windshield. "Gotcha!" Lightning Dust turned around. Sunset was unable to do anything when a blast of electricity coursed through her, knocking her unconscious. A victorious Lightning Dust stood above Sunset's de-transformed body, grinning evilly. "I win," she said to the smoldering girl below her boot. "Consequently, you lose, Sunsetta." She lobbed Sunset over her shoulder and walked out into the street. "Take me up!" she shouted to the sky. "I've got her!" A bean of deep purple light blasted between the thunderclouds and lifted the Dust and her prey into the sky, lightning flashing behind them in a way that would be perfect for a dramatic cliff hanger. Far below, on the ground, most of the student body stared up in horror at the defeat of Maho-Shojo Sunsetta. Principal Celestia walked out into the field. She lifted a hand to her heart. "Sunset Shimmer, may Faust be with you, wherever you are. You're going to need it." Maho-Shojo Sunsetta defeated?! CHS thrust into disarray?! Will the Mikah-Hakim finally conquer Earth? Will Sunset Shimmer emerge victorious? Will Jet Set ever recover from that concussion? Find out in the next thrilling installment of... Maho-Shojo Sunsetta! > Style! Another Maho Girl Steps Up? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a reason the Sapphire is a pentagon. The Emerald's five sides have already been introduced, but not counting Maho-Shojo Sunsetta and Moeru-Ikari Trixesu, the Sapphire still has three more... "Too much!...Not enough!...Too much!...Not enough!...Too much!...Not enough!...Perfect!" "Excuse me, miss, but does it always take ya this long ta choose yer serving of collie-flower?" Photo Finish put her bowl of white florets on her plate. "Perfection cannot be rushed, Mizz Zmith! I go!" She walked across the cafeteria and sat down next to her two friends, Pixel and Violet. "The photo shoot next month is gonna be epic!" said Violet. "I heard Rarity's entering some of her stuff. That'll be interesting." "Yes, but it ztill iz mizzing zomething," said Photo. "Zomething BIG. Zomething zat will make ze crowd'z eyeballz fall out of zer heads from ze zheer amount of magiks!" "We've got a stage, light shows, smoke machines, fabulousity, plenty of models, and a concession stand serving nachos and tacos," said Pixel. "I'm pretty sure we've covered all the bases." "Zen we muzt make a new baze and cover zat!" shouted Photo. "I can feel it; zomething iz ztill mizzing!" Photo Finish sat by herself on the wall outside, thinking. Pixel and Violet had gone off to hand out flyers and put up posters, and Photo was left alone with her thoughts. "Perhapz fireworkz? No, too explozive. Different muzic? No, ze muzic's fine! Ach, dummkofp! Ztupid...empty...brain!" She banged her biology book against her head. "Vat I need iz ze mozt ztunning of inzpirationz!" A shimmer of blue light from above caught her eye. "Perhapz zat?" It grew closer, a trail of deep, multicolored stripes billowing out behind it. "How magnificent! Perfect for ze zhow!" It grew closer. Much closer. "But perhapz my priority zhould be zurviving until zen!" Boom. "Ach, what happened?" When Photo spoke, her voice kept clipping in and out of sounding like her usual self and like a metallic, synthetic voice. "Zis iz very ztrange..." She hiccupped. "Perhapz zat rock candy Maud zellz iz no good..." Fifteen minutes later, Photo had a free period, so she found a bench in the main hall and watched the other students walk past, trying to get some inspiration from their different styles. "Ach, headache...cannot think...perhapz get ideaz later, get zleep now..." She laid down on the bench and closed her eyes... Welcome, Photo Finish, to the Shimmering Sapphire User's Manual! Please consult this manual if you have any questions regarding your Maho Girl transformation. All complains will be forwarded to a Swedish ball-bearing factory, so try to enjoy your lifetime membership. Active Abilities: [Snapshot]--Active [Film Katana]--Active [Snare]--Active [Blinding Flash]--Active "Wat." She snapped back awake. "Zat waz ze ztrangezt dream I have ever had. And I have had vat Pinkie would call 'ze doozies'." An explosion shook the school. "Zis iz happening too often," said Photo. "I'm zure Zunzet will take care of it." A dead silence fell, and the words "Maho-Shojo! Tranform!" were not uttered. Neither were "Moeru-Ikari! Transform!" Photo looked around and found herself in an empty room. "Where haz everyone gone?" she wondered. "Iz there zomething I'm mizzing here?" "Perhaps you should turn around." Photo turned around. "Oh buck." Photo Finish backed away slowly. "Vat are you doing here?" Standing there, in front of her, was Flash Sentry, but dressed up like a 70s supervillain. "I am The Sentry. I am evil. Bow to me. Stuff." Photo wasn't convinced. "Whoze bet did you loze?" "I work for the Mikah-Hakim now. Mikah-Hakim are cool." "We have found the perfect weapon!" A voice issued from the school speakers. "The Mikah-Hakim have determined that this boy is so flat, so bland, so one-dimensional, that three-dimensional space doesn't affect him! Go ahead, try him!" Photo tossed one of her books at Flash, who teleported three feet to the left and avoided it. "I am Sentry. Prepare to die." Photo closed her eyes and prepared for pain... "Welcome back. Now, I know I'm just a virtual manual, but I highly suggest transforming now. Just open your eyes and shout--" "Shashin-Hantei! Transform!" Flash was blasted backwards by an eruption of black-and-white light, as Photo Finish floated up into the air, glowing like radioactivity. Suddenly, a beam of light blasted into her through the roof of the school, and Photo's clothes transformed into something similar to the outfit she wore for the Battle of the Bands, but with a gigantic black-and-white bow on her lower back. "Watch out, Zentry! For ze future of Earth, fazhion, and ze magiks, I am Shashin-Hantei Photo Finish, and I am magnifique!" Somewhere else, Sunset Shimmer sat up with a gasp. "I sense someone has finally come up with a cool catchphrase...and they probably look a lot cooler than I do right now..." Photo Finish drew her camera to her eye. "I ztill have no idea vat iz going on, but I do know vat Zunzetta and Trixie are not here, zo it is me who will be defeating you!" She clicked the camera, and a blast of light knocked Flash backwards into the wall. He disappeared and reappeared behind her, kicking her legs out from under her. "You will lose," he said. "Don't even try." "Go buck Celeztia," replied Photo, ramming her leg into Flash's two little Sentries. As he stumbled backwards, Photo ran through her ability list a second time. "Film Katana!" A blade made of camera film appeared in her hand, and with it, she chopped away a good portion of Flash's hair. "Ztand down, Zentry," she said. "You can't beat me, you're not fabulouz enough!" "Fabulousity is the enemy. Must destroy." Flash picked up the book Photo had tossed earlier and flung it at her. Photo sliced it in half with her film katana. "You know," she said, leveling her camera, "I never liked you." CRASH Photo Finish transformed back to normal to find half the student body surrounding her. "While vat waz...interezting," she said, "I'm not keen on repeating it." "Photo! How cool was that?!" Pixel rushed up to her, followed by Violet. "I had no idea your camera shot lazers!" "It doezn't," replied Photo. "But vat iz not important! I have found ze mizzing link to thiz puzzle!" "And that is?" asked Violet. "I know vat we need to add to ze zhow," said Photo. "It will be fabulouz! It will be mind-blowing! I, Photo Finish... ...zhall model in ze zhow myzelf! It iz only natural vat my magnifique-nezz zhould be featured! Zis haz given me ze perfect idea fashion idea! I will need ze drezz from ze Battle of ze Bands, and a large bow." "Not so fast," came a voice. Standing in the front hall was Celestia. "While I do appreciate you saving the school, I find it very worrying that you did such damage to one of my students." "Nonzenze, it waz only Flazh Zentry," said Photo. "Oh. Well, in that case, good job! All exams are cancelled!" said Celestia. "Also, Photo Finish is now the president of the student body." "PF for Prez!" shouted Pixel. "And I know vat my firzt order of buziness zhould be!" shouted Photo. ONE DAY LATER "I know I was only out sick for the day," said Sunset, "but did I miss something?" "Trixie doesn't know," said Trixie. "Trixie was visiting her aunt." "I'm sure there's something different, though," said Sunset. "You sure you don't know, Trix?" "Not a clue." Sunset shrugged. "Oh, well. I was leaning towards the fact that everyone is now wearing black-and-white stripes with huge sunglasses, but somehow I don't think that's it." "Look!" said Trixie, pointing. On the wall was a poster. Photo Finish is the New Student Body President All photo shoots will be held in the school lobby. Buy your PF For Prez T-shirts now! All students not wearing black-and-white stripes will be given detention. The new school motto is "Magnifique is Might". Tacos for Taco Tuesday will now be served with extra meats, tomatoes, and taco sauce. "Tacos! I knew it! They're finally getting to that complaint letter Sonata sent," said Sunset. "The tacos are gonna be so much better now." "Good thing it was just a small change," said Trixie. "Trixie was worried for a second." > Finale, Part 1! Sunsetta Vs. The Final Boss! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We pick up our story inside the Mikah-Hakim ship, where Sunset Shimmer finds herself waking up... "Ugh...where am I?" Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes and found herself in a huge metal room. She was still Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, but Lightning Dust was nowhere to be seen. "I don't think I'm on Earth anymore..." Perhaps it was the single window with a perfect view of Earth that convinced her. Sunset looked around for a door, finding one on the opposite side of the room. She pushed through it to find a long, narrow corridor leading, probably, into the bowels of the ship. "Maybe there's an escape pod..." Sunset ran off in search of a way out of the ship. After what seemed like hours but was only four minutes and nineteen seconds of searching, Sunset found herself completely and utterly lost in a maze of corridors, doors, and dead ends. "Why do they always make spaceships so confusing?" she wondered aloud. "Don't people get lost?" As she turned a corner, she picked up the sound of voices coming from a large door at the end of the corridor. Every instinct in her body told her to run as fast as she could; run and never look back. Instead, for the sake of advancing the plot, she barged through the solid titanium double doors and onto the bridge of the ship, which was the size of a small football field. Standing on a platform overlooking Earth through the biggest window Sunset had ever seen were five cloaked figures, all of whom had turned to look at Sunset. The leader appeared to be the one standing in the center, wearing the most exquisite cloak. It was also rather short, and seemed to eminate pure, unbridled rage, as if it was the physical manifestation of hate itself. It rose an arm and pointed at Sunset. "Lightning Dust, kill her." Sunset looked up and saw Lightning Dust preparing to leap at her from an overhanging catwalk. "Oh, buck." In the split second before Lightning struck, Sunset closed her eyes. The SSUM appeared in front of her. "Welcome back, Sunsetta! You've earned 10,000 EXP. Would you like to trade it in for some new moves?" Yeah, that sounds good, thought Sunset. "Excellent! You've unlocked: [Solar Sweeper]--Active and [Laser Flame]--Active. Enjoy!" Sunset opened her eyes and locked on to Lightning Dust, who was drawing closer. "Solar Sweeper," she said, raising an arm. "Let's see what that does." She swept her arm in front of her, and a crescent of blue fire shot out in front of her like a tidal wave, pushing Lightning backwards. "Y--you couldn't do that before!" said Lightning. "What are you hiding? What's your secret?" "Like I'd tell you," said Sunset. "Laser Flame!" A narrow beam of flame shot out of her palm, blasting Lightning against the window. "Looks like all I needed to beat you was a bit of an upgrade, Dusty." "Don't call me Dusty!" Lightning Dust sent a blast of electricity at Sunsetta, who narrowly avoided it. Sunset retaliated with a fireball aimed at Dust's face. Blinded, Dust stumbled backwards, tripping over the edge of the platform and landing on the floor below, unconscious. "That's that," said Sunset, turning towards the cloaked figures. "Now, how about showing me the way out--urk!" The figure furthest to the left lifted Sunset up in a telekinetic field of energy. "I was hoping not to have to resort to intervention," said the central figure in a cold, high-pitched voice. "Finish her, S." Sunset tried to struggle loose, but the energy field merely shrunk, trapping her tighter. If I don't get out of here *ow!* I'll be crushed! Sunset ran through her options. There weren't any. "*urk*...let me go!...I'll escape...somehow...*gasp*...tight..." Her lungs were slowly crushed as the field constricted even further, until she was barely able to maintain consciousness. "You lose, Shimmering Sapphire," said the cold, harsh voice. "Game over." "H--help..." Sunset released her breath, feeling like she'd never be able to take a second... "Kami no Taiyo! Transform!" A figure cloaked in white light burst into the room. "Release Sunset," she commanded, raising a hand. "Or be released from the realm of the living!" A bolt of white light forced its way through the solid titanium casing of the ship, slamming into the figure holding Sunset, who was immediately released. As the cloaked people stepped back, preparing a counterstrike, the white lady leaned towards Sunset. "My time to act is not yet come, young one, but yours has. Take the power of the Gold Pentagon! Open your heart, Sunset, and feel all the power of the sun!" Sunset was lifted up yet again, this time in a sheath of blinding white. As she absorbed the power gifted to her, she felt her strength returning with twice as much force. She floated back down glowing white, the air around her humming with power. "I am Maho-Shojo Sunsetta," she proclaimed. "And, catchphrase or not, I am here to end your evil forever!" "Finish her!" shouted the cloaked mistress, and the battle for Earth, the Sapphire, and the Tome of Time broke loose. > Finale, Part 2! Sunsetta Emerges Victorious! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We pick up where we left off, with Sunset about to battle the Mikah-Hakim for the future of Earth and stuff. Sunset felt her newfound power surge through her as she prepared to face the Mikah-Hakim in combat. Nobody moved for quite some time. I don't know how strong these guys are... thought Sunset. Better to just take out the whole ship. Sunset prepped a fireball in each hand. Then she turned tail and fled towards the engine room. "She's going to destroy the ship!" shouted one of the Mikah-Hakim. "After her!" Sunset ran through the dark corridors, ever too aware of the thundering stampede of angry evil alien warlords behind her. "Gotta find the engines," she said to herself. "That's gonna be a pretty loud room..." She turned towards the sound of the engines, her mind deadlocked in logic mode. At this point, her survival instincts were piloting her full-throttle, and all thoughts or actions relating to emotions were being tossed into an overstuffed file cabinet for later perusing. She was a cool, calm, calculating machine; unable to think or feel anything except the task she had to carry out. She was sleek, she was flawless, she was-- Just realizing she'd probably die if she blew up the engine room at such close range. "Bad idea, bad idea..." She turned down a dark corridor to regroup her thoughts. "Destroy ship...save self...destroy ship...save self..." She slumped against the wall. "I know I'm supposed to be the good guy, but I'm really leaning towards 'save self' right now..." "Intruders! Stop right there and surrender!" Sunset perked up at the sound of the intercom. "But who else would be up here...?" She jumped up and raced towards the commotion. "Who could possibly be up here besides--" She turned a corner to find two other Maho Girls holding their own against the Mikah-Hakim. They were doing a surprisingly good job, too. "Sunsetta!" shouted one of them. "Trixie has come to help save Earth! Without Earth, where would Trixie buy her peanut-butter crackers?" "And I've come az well!" added Photo Finish. "When ze other two Maho girlz got involved, I figured I might az well. After all, I don't want to zee the Earth destroyed any more than anyone elze." "Wait..." Sunset blinked. "You two are Maho Girls?" "Yeah," said Trixie. "There's quite a lot you missed. Honestly, when Photo was made Student Body President for defeating a villain, I was pretty sure you'd pick up on it." "You didn't figure it out until I told you," said Photo. The Mikah-Hakim leader let out a frustrated sigh. "Are we done with the exposition yet?" "Yeah, let's beat 'em up," said Sunset. "Maho Girls! Attack!" "Aww..." said Trixie. "Trixie wanted to say that..." While they fought the Mikah-Hakim, Sunset discussed her plan. "So--" She dodged a blast of dark magic. "--we need to blow up the engines. The whole ship--" She blasted one of the Mikah with a Laser Flame. "--will go down after that." "Great, but--" Trixie blinded a Mikah with a barrage of peanut butter. "--won't we all be killed, too?" "Not quite," said Sunset. "Photo Finish, do--" She and Trixie combined attacks to launch flaming peanut butter crackers at one of the Mikah. "--you have any defense moves?" "Let me check." Photo closed her eyes. "Welcome to the Shimmering Sapphire User's Manual. Feel free to check out our new--" "No time!" shouted Photo. "I need defenzive movez!" "...fine." [Film Field]--Active "I have one defenzive move," said Photo. "Good," said Sunset. "When the engines--" she tossed a fireball at a Mikah. "--blow up, Photo will protect us with her defensive move, and we'll--" she ducked under a bolt of black lightning. "--fall safely until we're in the atmosphere, at which point, I will use Firewing Flight--" she threw up a Firewall as a Mikah shot bolts of darkness at her. "--to glide us to the ground. Any questions?" "Couldn't we just take an escape pod, and then blow up the ship from there?" asked Trixie. Sunset blinked. "...we'll go with that." The three Maho Girls ran towards the escape pod bay, plan in mind and ready to end the reign of the evil Mikah-Hakim. "At least this time we have a plan," said Sunset as they crowded into a pod, the Mikah close behind. "Trixie agrees," said Trixie. "Trixie doesn't wanna die." "Well, we'll see." Sunset punched the release button, and the capsule jettisoned out into Space. "They're away." The leader of the Mikah-Hakim stepped back. "Should we get them?" asked another. the leader shook her head. "Let them go. Gather on the bridge. I have something I want to show you." Sunset looked out at the massive ship. For the first time, she saw its full, magnificent form; a sleek black bullet of metal, floating through Space. On one side were a line of letters: Mikah-Hakim Inter Space Solar Yacht "Hey, look," said Trixie. "The evil spaceship's name is Missy." "So it is," said Sunset. "Well, good night, Missy!" She opened the top of the pod and launched a super-charged Laser Flame at the engines. Image courtesy of the Internet With the spaceship in ruins in the sky, Sunsetta and the other Maho Girls touched down safely in the school athletic fields. And by 'safely', we mean for the girls, not for the fields. The entire student body had gathered outside to watch their return, and as soon as Sunset stepped out, five familiar faces surrounded her. "That! Was! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash almost crushed Sunset in a hug before realizing what she was doing. "I mean...um...that wasn't a hug!" "You saved the entire planet!" said Rarity. "How one girl can manage that is beyond me!" "Hey!" shouted Trixie and Photo. "Guys, come on!" said Sunset, who had transformed back to normal. "I know, it was pretty cool, but I'm exhausted. I could go for a smoothie or something. You guys want in?" Applejack shrugged. "What the hay. Celebration dinner's on me!" "Not quite yet." Celestia strode out of the school, looking like a goddess. But that was because Luna was shining a spotlight behind her. "Sunset Shimmer, you have done the impossible," she said. "The Earth is safe, the enemy is down, and nobody died. I'd check that off as a victory if I were you." She leaned in close to Sunset. "Oh, and just a tip...next time, try not to lose a life on the last level..." She walked away while a confused Sunset processed everything going through her brain. "You coming?" called Rainbow Dash. Sunset shook out of her daze. "I'm always coming," she said. Then she stopped. "Wait, no...that sounded so wrong..." Later "Oh, hey, Sunset?" asked Pinkie. "Did'cha know you've been spelling your name wrong this whole time?" "Huh?" "Yeah, it's actually Mahou-Shoujo Sunsetta, not Maho-Shojo. Just saiyan." "...well, buck." THE END