Case File 1-1 (The Worm): Death and Rebirth

When did it all spiral into chaos…?

When did I get so embroiled in blood and death…?

When did it become something else…?

Oh, right…it began back then, didn’t it?

That night…

Sunset sat on her bed; legs hugged against her chest as she stared out the window. Snow had fallen across the city of Canterlot, and reflected white into Sunset’s room, not that she could sleep much. Winter break was almost over, in fact, today was the last day. A new year was on the horizon, but it was already marred with bad omens. The flame haired girl sighed heavily, she continued to stare out into nothing, she knew she had to leave her bed, but honestly, she didn’t feel as if she had the energy to do so.

She glanced over to her right, spying the terrarium she bought for her pet lizard, Ray. The heat lamp shined on the little lizard, allowing him to rest peacefully on top of a rock. “At least one of us is sleeping well.”

Sunset’s sleep had been less than peaceful lately, nightmares plagued her every other night about CHS, the environment had become toxic, and thanks to the efforts of this mysterious Anon-A-Miss, she had become the target of the hate and malice that this online fraud had conjured, just as they wanted. Whoever was behind it obviously had a grudge against Sunset, on the one hand she couldn’t blame them, Sunset wasn’t exactly the nicest person a few months ago, and while some had started to forgive her, Sunset didn’t doubt that there would still be some who couldn’t.

Christmas has come and gone, and just like before, like all those other times before, she was alone. Just when she thought that the girls were ready to bring her into their lives, to treat her kind of like…family, it all came crashing down and shattered into pieces.

“Friends are supposed to have your back, to believe in you when no else does…” Sunset gripped her arms hard as a small bout of anger rose inside her. “Some friends, didn’t take much for them to turn on me and – stop it!” Sunset took a deep breath.

She couldn’t think like that, they were her friends. Still could be, if she could figure out who Anon-A-Miss was. A soft trilling sound drew Sunset’s attention, she looked to her left and saw that Ray was awake, his front claws pressed against the glass as he looked upon his owner with a sad face. Sunset smiled at her little lizard friend as she opened the terrarium and let Ray crawl up onto her arm. Ray made his way to her shoulder and nuzzled the side of her cheek.

“Thanks, Ray, but you shouldn’t stay out of your home for too long, it’s too cold for you without the lamp, even with my body heat.”

Ray trilled again and shrugged as if saying, “I don’t care.”

Sunset smiled and then laid back on the bed, now staring up at the ceiling as she felt Ray crawl his way atop of her chest. If the lizard wasn’t a lizard, Sunset would’ve thought the reptile was copping a feel. Sunset had her phone on the bed and opened it, going through her contacts to see if any of the girls had even tried to text her. No surprise, there were none. She then checked the MyStable page of Anon-A-Miss and narrowed her gaze, there had been no new posts since the break, but Sunset was certain that they would come flooding in sooner rather than later once school started again.

As she scrolled through them, she could see several comments from the students of CHS who were either cussing out or outright threatening harm, of course, they all thought it was Sunset, so the comments all had her name in them. And as predicted, Anon-A-Miss never commented back, it didn’t help that the profile picture was a silhouette of her, it was so obvious a ten-year-old could figure it out, which was another frustrating aspect of all this.

“If I was going to do something like this, why would I purposefully make it obvious that it’s me? I mean, I’d have used a generic profile pic, kept the name, and then go on and do all that! Making everyone know it’s me just makes me the target! UGH!”

Sunset slammed her phone down on the bed and growled in frustration. She then looked at it again, seeing the time was already nine. Her stomach growled and Sunset knew she’d have to leave the comfort and safety of her own home to get something, her fridge was painfully barren of food. Sunset picked up Ray and gently placed him back in the terrarium.

“I’m going out, Ray. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Sunset refilled his water bowl and placed some food in another before putting on some warm clothes and heading out the door.

Sunset sat at a local diner, unfortunately, it was the very same diner that Pinkie worked at. It was pretty late at night when Sunset left her home. Not many places were open this late, aside from bars, and Sunset wasn’t about to deal with a bunch of drunks hitting on her. So, the diner was the only other option. But with it being winter break, and the fact that school started tomorrow, Sunset was hoping that the party girl would be at home with her family or doing something else…

She was wrong.

The flame haired girl looked up at the curly pink haired teen to her right, a noticeable tension filling the air, despite Pinkie’s efforts to maintain her professional and peppy attitude, there was no missing the obvious discomfort she was feeling in this moment.

“Hi, Pinkie,” Sunset greeted calmly.

“S-Sunset…um, hi…”

Sunset sighed and said, “Look, let’s just keep this as courteous as possible. I really don’t want to get into it with you, I’m just here to get something to eat and head back home. I promise.”

The tension seemed to ease up from Pinkie Pie, allowing her to put on a more genuine smile as she said, “Okay, well, what would you like?”

Sunset told Pinkie her order and the pink haired girl skated off to the front and handed off her order to the cook. She rolled on by again when she noticed that Sunset’s drink was low and refreshed it right away. Sunset had suspected that out of the five, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were probably the ones most likely to believe her if she could bring proof. Fluttershy couldn’t hold a grudge for long, and Pinkie was the same.

“How’s your break gone so far?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, it’s been good. Spending time with my Mom and Dad, and my sisters is always fun!”

“I’m glad.”

Things got quiet after that; Sunset would just scroll through a few ViewTube videos. One in particular was of an earlier news broadcast that spoke on these “Mystery Murders”.

Several had been occurring in the last couple of months, of course the police wouldn’t give out too much detail, apparently the way in which the victims were killed were far too graphic and disturbing to be described. But that didn’t stop the online community from digging up information, and some were talking. Speaking of how the bodies were killed in ways that were not humanly possible, what made it worse was the victims list. They ranged from men, women, and children, some were of a specific age group, while others weren’t, and the M. O. changed with each new victim, making it hard for the police to pin down a profile to give out to the public. Hence, the Mystery Murders.

Happy New Year…seems like everything’s going bad these days.

After a while, Pinkie brought Sunset’s food and Sunset began eating, during this time, Sunset took notice of the people in the restaurant. It was nine-thirty at night, and the restaurant was close to closing. There weren’t that many people inside as far as she could tell, an old couple, a young couple, and then there was one guy that gave Sunset pause. He had a red sweater, with a brown leather coat folded to his right. The man was wearing glasses and was eating a bowl of soup, every once in a while, he would catch the guy making glances at Pinkie Pie.

Sunset didn’t want to be suspicious; he could’ve just been shy and was trying to signal to her with his eyes instead of speaking up. However, Sunset couldn’t shake this vibe that something was off about him. Her need to monitor the man didn’t last long as he finished his meal, paid and then left. Not long after him, the old couple and young couple did as well, leaving Sunset as the only customer.

Pinkie Pie rolled on over and asked, “Did you want a desert? The kitchen’s almost closed.”

“Nah, I’m good…”

“Sunset.” The former Equestrian turned to Pinkie. “Can we talk?”

Sunset blinked. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

Pinkie took a seat across from Sunset as she looked down at her hands. This was completely awkward, but it was also something that she needed to do. “Um…I…I don’t want to stay mad you…”

Sunset bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from bawling. “I, um, don’t want you to, either.”

Pinkie Pie’s normally chipper expression was no longer there as she stared at the table. “I was mad at you, very mad, like the rest of the girls. But…as the days have gone by, all I can see is the school not being happy anymore, and you…every day I see you taking everyone’s hate…and it hurts.” Pinkie’s eyes began to water. “And…when I think about going back, and seeing all that again…”

Sunset carefully reached out and took Pinkie Pie’s hands into her own. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not! All this ‘Anon-A-Miss’ stuff is making everyone angry or sad or both! And you’re sad all the time…”

Sunset looked away for a moment, remembering all the jeering, the graffiti on her locker, the occasional shove in the hallway, and of course people starting fights with her. There wasn’t much she could do in the way of retaliation, although it would be self-defense, it would just be seen as lashing out against others. All Sunset wanted was for someone, anyone to believe that she wasn’t the one behind all this mess, because, truthfully, at the rate things were going, Sunset wasn’t sure she could take much more without someone to help her through this. Out of all those people, she wanted it to be at least one of her friends.

“Pinkie, do you really think I’m Anon-A-Miss?” Sunset asked as she lightly squeezed Pinkie’s hands.

Pinkie Pie looked into Sunset’s eyes, she stared into them for a long moment, looking for any sign of deceit, and in truth, part of Pinkie wished she did see it, because it would ease the guilt that was weighing in her heart about shunning her friend and abandoning her when she needed help the most. But there was none.

“No, you’re not…and I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry…”

Sunset got up from her seat and walked around to give her hug, it felt so good to have one her friends back, a wave of relief washed over Sunset, like she had been underwater for so long and had now at least partially breached the surface.

Pinkie sniffled a little and then gently pulled back. “I gotta help lock up. Maybe we could talk later?”

“I’d like that.”

“Let me ring you up.”

Pinkie rolled around to the other side of the counter and rang up Sunset’s meal. Sunset pulled out her wallet and paid her friend – it felt good to say that again – and as she did, Sunset asked, “How are you getting back home?”

“Oh, well I was going to take the bus, my sister, Maud, was too busy with Marble and Lime while they went to go do some shopping,” said Pinkie. “And my parents are probably asleep by now.”

“If you want, I could give you a lift? I mean, if you don’t mind riding my bike,” Sunset offered.

Pinkie Pie smiled a genuine Pinkie smile. “I’d like that! It’s been a while since I’ve been on your bike!”

“Cool, I’ll wait outside.”

Sunset leaned against her Harley, checking her phone to see how long it had been since the store closed. The lights had been shut off, and most of the cars from the back left.

She wasn’t pranking me…was she? No! Stop that, Pinkie Pie wouldn’t do something like that, not after all that in the diner…

Sunset huffed and walked towards the back, she looked around and didn’t see much of anything, that is until she spotted something on the ground, something pink. Sunset ran towards the object and saw that it was Pinkie’s purse. The flame haired girl quickly took out her cellphone and called Pinkie, that’s when she heard it ringing in the distance.

She’s close, Sunset thought.

Sunset ran towards the sound, getting closer to the alleyway, but then she stopped when she got to the corner. In the alley was Pinkie, shoved against a wall, a man – the same man Sunset had saw in the diner. The man had a hand over Pinkie’s mouth, while in his other, he held a knife, placing it within Pinkie’s field of vision. The teen’s powder blue eyes widened with fear as she focused on the gleaming blade.

“Looks like I found me a good one tonight!” The man removed his right hand from Pinkie’s mouth and brought the blade to rest at her neck. “Scream and I promise you, I’ll paint these walls with your blood! Nod if you understand!”

Pinkie nodded, her bottom lip quivering is she struggled to keep herself from screaming for help.

“Good girl.”

The man leaned up against Pinkie and used his left hand to grope Pinkie’s breast hard, making her yelp. Sunset’s eyes narrowed as her blood boiled in sheer fury of what was happening. She quickly looked around and by luck found an old metal trashcan. Sunset picked up the lid and held it like a shield in her left hand, she searched the trashcan until she found unbroken beer bottle. Sunset placed the bottle under her arm and picked up a small rock, tossing it up and down to get an idea of its weight. She glanced back down the alley and watched as the man began moving that same hand to Pinkie’s rear, and growing dangerously close to lifting her skirt.

You picked the wrong girl, asshole!

While he was distracted, Sunset tossed the rock down the far end of the alley. The quiet of the street allowed the rock’s impact to echo loudly, causing the man to get off of Pinkie and pointed his knife down the opposite way.

“WHO’S THERE?!”

Sunset dashed with all the speed she could muster. The man heard the rapid crunching of snow and turned to see Sunset, her eyes burned with the fury of a demon, and with her flaming hair, she might as well have been one. The man went to grab for Pinkie, but Sunset kicked at a snow pile, sending chunks of it straight at the man. The assailant was blinded for a moment, but saw that she was getting closer, the man lunged forward with his knife, but Sunset was ready. Using the trashcan lid, she let the knife come to her, it pierced the cheap metallic lid, but that’s all she needed. Sunset twisted the lid to the right, then jerked it to the left, hard. The sudden action made the man release his grip on the knife as Sunset tossed the lid and the knife away.

The man was about to attack her, but Sunset was faster, striking him with the beer bottle right across his temple. Sunset capitalized on his disorientation and pressed her attack, she jabbed him twice in the face, attacked with a right hook to his kidney, followed by another to the second kidney. Sunset threw an uppercut into his stomach, making the man gasp in pain, she then kicked out his knee, making him kneel before her. And to finish, Sunset threw a thrusting kick into his face, sending the man flying back and landing hard against the cold, unforgiving concrete.

Sunset huffed and panted, her breaths visible in the cold night air as her brow dripped with sweat. Her body trembled from the adrenaline rush of the fight, but that didn’t matter right now. She turned to her right and saw Pinkie still up against the wall, still frightened.

“Pinkie…?”

With only that word spoken, Pinkie Pie rushed into Sunset’s arms, sobbing in both fear and relief that she was saved. Sunset hugged Pinkie close to her, at the same time berating herself for not having come sooner.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here, you’re safe now,” Sunset cooed.

“I…I was so scared…Sunset…he…he just appeared out of nowhere and…!”

“It’s alright, he’s down and out. Let’s call the cops and I’ll kick him a few more times to make sure he doesn’t get back up.”

“Oh man…that hurt.”

Sunset and Pinkie turned their heads in the direction of the voice. The man that Sunset had just thoroughly beaten was now sitting up. His face had tiny shards of broken glass, his nose was visibly broken from the kick Sunset gave him, and his mouth had blood dripping out of the corner, as well as from his face and nose.

“Tonight, is my…my lucky night. Two hotties, with loads of energy, I hope your pink friend there has as much stamina as you do, because you’re both going to need it!”

Sunset growled as she made Pinkie get behind her. “Son of a bitch, you don’t know when to stay down.” The flame haired girl entered into a fighting stance. “Guess I’ll have to break your arms and legs!”

Suddenly, the man jerked upwards as if he was picked up by some unseen force, and then placed back on his feet. The glass shards were pushed out of his skin, his nose made a sickening crunching and cracking sound as it was set back into place.

Sunset and Pinkie didn’t know what to make of it, the man was healing himself. In a matter of seconds, it was as if all of Sunset’s damage had been erased.

“Make this fun girls!”

A whirlwind kicked up down the alleyway, nearly knocking down Sunset and Pinkie Pie. The man’s body began to squirm as a silver aura appeared around him. His skin began to shed, like a snake molting, pieces of it falling to the ground and then turning into ash a second later. As the skin continued to fall off, Sunset and Pinkie were now able to see the true creature within.

“RUN!” Sunset ordered.

Both girls dashed out of the alleyway as fast as they could. They made it into the parking lot where Sunset hurriedly turned on her bike, revving the engine as Pinkie sat behind her, wrapping her arms around Sunset’s torso so tight that Sunset thought Pinkie was trying to snap her in half. Right now though, fear was overriding any sense of pain as Sunset peeled out of the parking lot and onto the streets.

Sunset turned down a few streets, trying to make it hard for that literal monster to track them down. The only bad part about that plan was that this part of town was kind of dead at night, which meant that there was a scarce amount of people actually outside or driving, especially with all the snow.

“D-D-Do you think w-w-we lost him?!” Pinkie asked.

“Must’ve of, there’s no way he could’ve–!” A wild screech drew her attention. Sunset and Pinkie Pie looked up and watched as some kind of creature was scaling the walls of the buildings, keeping pace with Sunset’s bike. “SHIT!”

Sunset revved her engine again, going at speeds that were dangerous enough on a none icy road, but right now, Sunset was less worried about black ice and more worried about the monster that was chasing after them. The creature leaped and bounded from one building to the next at inhuman speeds, keeping pace with Sunset’s bike like it was nothing. Sunset skidded into a corner and went down it, not really knowing where to go right now. Just then, she spotted a construction site.

“PINKIE, DUCK!” Sunset ordered.

Pinkie did as Sunset said, the bike rammed the gate, snapping the chain that kept it locked as she made for an opening and went straight in. She brought the bike to a screeching halt as she heard the monster outside release its own screech. The building was only half finished, most of it was empty with several floors still under construction, but it did allow for good hiding spaces.

“You okay?” Sunset asked.

“Y-Yeah!”

Sunset whipped out her cellphone and was ready to call the police, but then she heard that same screeching sound. Both girls turned to the direction of the sound, hearing rapid footsteps above them. Then it got quiet…a moment passed…another…and then another…It was as if the world went silent, the only thing that either of the girls could hear right now was the thumbing of their hearts ringing in their ears, and the sounds of the wind.

“Maybe it gave up…?” Pinkie thought.

“……” Sunset gulped. “No…”

The ceiling above the entrance broke as mortar and rebar clattered against the floor. In the dull, reflected light of the snow, Sunset and Pinkie finally got a good look at the monster that had pursued them, and they wished they hadn’t. It stood over six and a half feet tall, it had sandy colored skin, with worm-like tentacles for fingers, which were a fleshy pink color. There were more of the tentacle worms protruding from its skin and hooking into joints, its head was a skull, with just enough flesh on it to give it some semblance of a face. It’s left arm was nothing but tentacles from the elbow down, each one with little barbs at the ends. Upon further inspection, it appeared as if the worm tentacles was wiggling underneath the skin, as if it was just a sack to keep them all contained.

“Oh yeah…I can’t wait to have fun with you two!” The creature’s head turned towards Pinkie. “You’re first!”

The creature thrust his left arm towards Pinkie, the tendrils shot out like cobras, each one latching onto Pinkie’s arms, legs, torso, and neck. The creature was about to reel her in like a fish, until Sunset reached out and yelled, “LET HER GO!”

Suddenly, Sunset felt a wellspring of power surge inside her, and it was familiar. Her body sparkled and glowed red as her body underwent a transformation. Her human ears vanished and were replaced by pony ears, her hair was tied at the end and extended into a ponytail. Sunset’s right hand glowed as she focused her magic on the tendrils, going off of instinct from her time as a unicorn, focusing her magical energy on a single point and released it, snapping it like a rubber band.

A bright red flash went off and the tentacles that had attacked Pinkie all burst apart, releasing green blood from the severed ends. The severed limbs still wriggled about, but after a moment Pinkie managed to get them off. The creature retracted the tentacles, but after a second they began to regenerate.

Sunset got in front of Pinkie, arms up as she readied to fight. “Pinkie, you okay?!”

“S-Sort of, but, h-how did you pony up without your guitar?!” Pinkie asked.

“No idea, and right now, I don’t care, so long as I have my magic, we have a chance!”

“Oh-ho-ho, now I see. Now I see why you two are so appealing, you have power! Oh, I’m going to enjoy playing with you two!”

The creature’s tentacles regenerated, he then launched them again, all of them aimed at Sunset. The flame haired girl thrust her hands forward, creating a dome barrier around them as the tentacles slammed against it, making Sunset wince from the impact. Sunset pushed back with her shield, and fired a kinetic magical blast straight for the creature. The monster was wrapped in Sunset’s telekinetic aura, to which Sunset motioned upwards with her hand. The monster unwillingly followed her movement as he was thrown into the ceiling. Sunset motioned downwards, and the monster was slammed onto the ground, leaving a body sized indention in it. Sunset threw him to the left, striking the wall with his body, and then she did it again, and again, and again. The former unicorn mare cocked back her hand and waved it hard to the left. The worm monster was thrown into the wall once more, but this time with enough force to break through to the other side of the wall.

“Pinkie, you need to run!” Sunset ordered.

“What?! No! I can’t leave you alone with that thing!”

“Dammit, Pinkie, he’s after both of us! I have my magic, you don’t! I’ll fight him as long as I can and then ditch!” Sunset turned around and gripped Pinkie Pie’s shoulders as she looked into the eyes of her friend. “I am not going to lose you, do you understand?!”

Pinkie was speechless for a moment, every part of her wanted to say “no” and stay and help her friend. After shunning her, ignoring her, and hating her for something she didn’t do, Pinkie was not about to leave Sunset, not again.

Pinkie was about to answer, but she never got the chance to. Her answer was halted when she first heard a dull thudding sound, followed by a splash of witness on her face and clothes. Pinkie Pie blinked as she raised her hand and wiped her cheek with her right hand, when she looked at her fingers, Pinkie’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks. They were red, red with blood.

Sunset and Pinkie looked down slightly and right there, piercing through Sunset’s stomach, were three tentacles. Blood seeped from the wound and stained her jacket, some had gotten onto Pinkie’s clothes and onto her face. The attack was so sudden, Sunset hadn’t yet registered that she had just received a fatal blow.

“Oh…well…shit…” Sunset spoke in a shocked tone as blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth.

The flamed haired girl was whipped up, torn away from Pinkie, and then thrown, unceremoniously, to the ground like a piece of trash. The monster slowly approached as his tentacles returned to their normal length. He looked at Sunset, who was now lying on the ground, motionless, with blood pooling around her, and then to Pinkie, who was in a state of shock as she fell to the ground on her knees. Her eyes fixated on Sunset as she cried, but made no sounds.

The monster made a few chuckling sounds as he approached her, his tentacles already getting into position. But Pinkie wasn’t paying attention, all she could see was that her friend was dead on the ground, dead because she was trying to save her. Sunset was dead, and no one would know it, Anon-A-Miss would continue on, and people would continue to hate her, and no doubt Sunset would be blamed for her disappearance. Her name would be spoken in spite.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you…” Pinkie sobbed and she lowered her gaze.

“………I’m sorry, too.”

“Wha–?!”

Pinkie looked up and saw Sunset’s right hand pointed at her, which was now glowing with her magical energy. Sunset’s red aura surrounded Pinkie, making the monster back off in caution.

“Goodbye…”

“Sunset, wai–!!!”

In a flash of red light, Pinkie Pie was gone. The monster looked around, but he could no longer see nor sense the girl anymore. He then looked at Sunset and hissed as he demanded to know, “What did you do?!”

Sunset coughed up blood as she chuckled. “I teleported her away…as far as I could…good luck finding her. She’ll probably find the police and bring them here.”

“Do you think I actually care about some police?”

Sunset coughed again, the shine of her pony up faded away as her hair and ears returned to normal. “Probably not…the important thing…is that you don’t have her…my last little fuck you…”

The monster walked towards her as his tentacles began to coil outwards, the barbs extending. The tentacles went and pierced the jacket and shirt of Sunset’s clothes, and then ripped them apart as if they were made of tissue paper, revealing her bra covered chest, and further down, the gaping wound in her stomach.

“You ain’t dead yet, so I’ll make sure you feel everything before that happens.”

Sunset closed her eyes, this wasn’t the end she would’ve wanted. Then again, who in any life got to choose how they died? Most people would probably curse her name even after her death, but at least…at the very end…she managed to do one last good thing for one of her friends. Pinkie Pie would live…she deserved to live…her life had been all about bringing happiness to others…And I’ve spent most of mine making others miserable…

The tentacles began to wrap around her legs and spread them open, readying to remove that bit of clothing as well.

*………thump*

The monster stopped.

*……Thump*

The monster looked around again, and then he turned his head to his left and noticed something odd on the floor. A part of the concrete was cracked, strange thing was, it was pointing up.

*…Thump*

The sound was louder, and the cracks spread. A red glow emanated from the cracks, which was steadily glowing brighter by the second.

*THUMP*

The indention rose higher, and the cracks spread more.

*THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP*

The concrete was cracking rapidly, the red glow turning an even angrier shade of red. Whatever was underneath the concrete, it wanted out, and it wanted out NOW.

The concrete burst apart, scattering rumble all over the place, and sent a small plume of dust up into the air. The monster retracted its tentacles as it prepared to fight whatever it was. But what the creature saw…well, he didn’t know what to expect, but he wasn’t expecting this.

A gauntlet hovered in the air, silver in color, with a red jewel on the back of the hand, with a smaller yellow gemstone next to it. Along the gauntlet, at the top, was a third gemstone, blue in color. The jagged gauntlet rotated towards the monster, opened its hand, and unleashed a beam of red light that smashed into the creature’s chest and forced it back into a wall. Once the monster was away, the gauntlet zoomed towards Sunset’s right arm. The piece of armor began to unravel itself, and once in range, latched onto Sunset’s right forearm.

The flame haired girl inhaled deeply as if she had just come up for air, power rushed through Sunset’s veins, breathing life into her and returning her from the brink. The power continued to flow, it was a rush, it was exhilarating, it was pure ecstasy. Her eyes began to shift, the whites of her eyes changing to black as the turquoise color of her irises glowed. A pillar of flames erupted around Sunset’s body, lifting her up and obscuring her body, all but a silhouette of her was visible.

The creature managed to get back up, but when he did, he winced in pain. The creature looked at his chest and saw that it was burned where the beam had struck, his healing factor was taking care of the damage, yet somehow it wasn’t doing it as fast. The creature looked at the pillar and saw a red light shine from within as something seemed to be happening to his prey within the flames.

}}}Kill him…!{{{

Several things had happened towards the end of that night. The sounds of explosions, the heat of the flames, the screeching of metal, the screeching of some ungodly monster, and the maniacal laughter.

Case File 1-2 (The Worm): The Witchblade

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Darkness…that was all that Sunset saw…she didn’t know when she saw it, or when she realized it, but she was dying. A brief moment in time allowed many thoughts to come flooding into her mind. She wondered where her soul would rest if she died in the human world? She never fully delved into the religions of Earth, and, truthfully, ponykind didn’t exactly have a “religion” to speak of.

Celestia was the closest thing to a deity that ponies had. The one who raised the Sun and the Moon, the one whose power stood above all other creatures in the land. There were legends that spoke of beings more powerful than Celestia, and her younger sister Luna, the ones who gave birth to them. She was simply known as Faust, and before her, the All Mother, Bonnie. It was said that if you led a good life and were good to others, you would join the All Mother in the sacred place she dwelled in, an eternal paradise.

However, if you led a life of evil, of hatred, your soul was bound for Tartarus. What made this worse was that Tartarus was a physical place that ponies could go to, it imprisoned the most dangerous and most vile beings in the entire world, and that was just the first level. According to legend, what made Tartarus worse, was that when the creatures housed in it died, their souls would be condemned to the lower levels, where they would never escape or see light ever again.

The closest reference to this belief that Sunset found in the human world was Christianity, Catholicism, the Greek and Roman Mythology, and even Egyptian Mythology, to name a few. But Sunset wasn’t sure she believed in them, there was no magic in this world, at least other than what she dragged here from Equestria. So…where would she go? Would her soul migrate back to Equestria? Would she be judged by the All Mother? Or…would she be sent to Tartarus?

I know…I know I haven’t been the most kind pony I could be…no…I haven’t at all. Sure, I helped defeat the Sirens, and I’ve tried to make up for everything I’ve done since. But…can a near lifetime’s worth of fuck ups be erased by one good deed?

Sunset remembered, she sacrificed herself for Pinkie, she used the last of her magic power to send her away from the monster that was going to kill her. Surely that must count for something? Pinkie’s entire life was about making others laugh and smile, a light like that shouldn’t be snuffed out. Sacrificing her life for Pinkie’s was – no – must be a noble enough deed to spare her Tartarus.

Who cares…I didn’t do it because I thought I’d get to avoid a Hell…I did it to save her, she’s my friend, and she forgave me…I don’t need another reason…

Are you truly okay with how things are?

A red star in the darkness shined, it called to Sunset.

What…?

That creature will not stop. You saved that girl tonight, but that was only tonight. He will find her, and he will kill her, but not before he tortures her, you know this to be true.

I’m dying…almost dead…what else can I do…? My magic’s faded…

If it’s power you seek, I will grant it. Your spirit calls to me, and I choose you as my bearer.

Can you…really give me the power to save her…?

I will grant you the power to destroy anything that threatens you, and by extension, those you care for. But heed me, this power I grant is not to be taken lightly. Many before you have both cursed and blessed my existence. Do you think you can take on the burden? To wield light and darkness, can you be the Balance?

I’ve been in darkness before…I’ve just now grasped the light…If you can give this power, then please…give it to me!

Reach out for me.

Sunset reached out with her right hand, towards the glowing red star in the darkness, the only light before her. The cold of the dark was slowly replaced with warmth, like a fire was slowly building inside her. That red star glowed brighter and brighter, calling out to her, resonating with her will.

Just then, the red light shot towards her arm, wrapping around her wrist and piercing the skin. Sunset felt it, but didn’t hurt. The light began to wrap around her arm and slowly began to work its way around her body, coiling around every inch of her, and strangely, Sunset enjoyed it. Her body felt like it was on fire, excitement, power, adrenaline, ecstasy, call it whatever you want. Sunset released a scream into the darkness, and crimson light flared up, banishing the cold and dark and then–

Sunset shot up out of bed, awakening with a start and a deep gasp. Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath, sweat dripped from her brow and body as her eyes darted around to see where she was. Sunset’s pulse slowly lowered when she realized she was back home, the sun looked like it had just risen as its rays bathed over her. The flame haired girl looked at herself, for some reason, she was sleeping in her bed completely naked, she raised the blankets and confirmed this. It wasn’t unusual for Sunset to sleep in the nude, or go around her home as such. But when it was winter time, she mostly stuck to pajamas, after all, she didn’t have a fur coat to help protect her.

Sunset removed the blankets and swung her legs over the edge of her bed as she sat up, rubbing her face with her hands as she sighed heavily. “What the hell was that…? A dream…? Ugh, this Anon-A-Miss shit’s affecting me worse than I thought, I might actually need to see a shrink at some point.”

Sunset looked to her left and saw Ray looking at her with his head cocked to the side. She smiled at her critter friend and said, “It’s okay, Ray, just a bad dream.” Sunset went to reach for Ray’s terrarium, but stopped when she noticed something odd. Wrapped around her wrist was a silver bracelet, which bore a ruby red gemstone at the center of it. Sunset inspected the bracelet, her brow furrowing in confusion. “When did I get this?”

The former unicorn went to remove it, but found the piece of jewelry didn’t have a latch. She tried pulling it off her wrist, but found the ring wouldn’t slide over her hand. “What the hell? How did you get on me? For that matter, when did I even get you?”

Sunset looked around for her cellphone, but found that it wasn’t anywhere around. It was then that the teen noticed that her clock read “7:30 AM”.

“SHIT!” Sunset exclaimed. “I’m going to be late!”

Sunset made a mad dash for the stairs skipping every other step until she hit the floor and moved to her closet, that is until she heard the sound of the door slamming open and someone yelling, “SUNSET?!”

The young woman screeched as she grabbed one of her bath towels and brought up to cover herself. “WHAT THE HELL?!” Sunset yelled in fury, but that fury slowly cooled when she saw who it was that had barged into her home. “Principal…Celestia?”

The older woman looked like a wreck, her hair was disheveled, bags under her eyes, her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had been crying. Celestia closed the door behind her and ran towards Sunset, scooping up the teen into her arms and embracing her so tight that Sunset feared her bones would break.

“Oh, god, Sunset, you’re alive! You’re alive!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Y-Yeah…I’m alive…! But…if you keep this up…that won’t remain true…for long!”

Celestia released Sunset, and then blushed when she saw that her ward was completely naked. “I-I’m sorry, Sunset, but I’m just so happy you’re okay!”

“What are you talking about?” Sunset asked.

“When Pinkie Pie called the police and told them what had happened, I received a call since I’m listed as your guardian! They couldn’t find you, and your cellphone was found there, cracked, and…and…” Celestia’s eyes began to tear up. “There was blood…so much blood…on Pinkie…and on the floor.”

Sunset’s eyes widened, dropping the towel as the realization hit her. That wasn’t a nightmare, she really did go out last night, she and Pinkie were chased by a monster, and she really had been mortally wounded. But everything from that point on was a blank.

“I…I remember…Pinkie and I…I saved her from this asshole who was going to rape her, and then he turned into some kind of monster, literally! We ran…we got chased into a construction site…”

“They found your bike there, and some dried blood…there’s a missing person’s report on you right now…by sheer dumb luck I thought, ‘Maybe she’ll be home?’ I wasn’t expecting to find you here, but I’m happy I did!”

Celestia was close to bawling, Sunset reached up and placed her hands on her Principal’s shoulders. “Ms. Celestia, I’m okay, I’m alive, somehow. But, tell me, is Pinkie okay?”

Celestia sniffled and nodded her head. “Yes. She’s with her family right now, obviously devastated about what happened. We’ll need to go to the police station to show them you’re alright, and so that you can tell them what happened as well. If you want, we can drop by Ms. Pie’s home?”

“Y-Yeah…that’s good. Um…you know, if the police realize I’m not from here…”

“Sunset, I promise you. I took care of that a long time ago. They won’t be able to tell with the records that were set up for you, trust me,” said Celestia.

Sunset was still skittish, but nodded. There was no avoiding this, she needed to go to the police and tell them what she remembered. “Okay…but, could you please, like, sit on the couch and stare at the front door for a while I need to get washed up and dressed? I am in my birthday suit right now.”

Celestia cleared her throat and immediately turned around. “S-Sorry, but when I heard you yell I just rushed in without thinking. I’ll be over there.”

Sunset watched as Celestia walked over to her couch and sat down, facing the opposite wall to give Sunset privacy. The yellow skinned teen took another bath towel from the closet and went into the bathroom. She stood before the sink and looked herself over, her hands roved over her chest, and then down to her stomach, a flash of the events of last night reminded her that this was the spot where she was impaled. Sunset gasped as she leaned forward, gripping the sink, hard.

“It wasn’t a nightmare…Faust I wish it was.”

Sunset and Celestia had made their way to Canterlot City Police Department. When Celestia made the sergeant aware that Sunset was alive and okay, they were told to wait in an office where a detective would ask some questions. This was not unexpected, of course, but that didn’t make Sunset any less nervous. She had had a few run ins with the police when she was homeless for a bit, but that was before she had any official documents to show that she was a citizen of the city, and so far that hadn’t come up, and hopefully wouldn’t now.

Celestia noticed Sunset’s nervousness and gently placed her hand over Sunset’s. “It’ll be alright.”

Sunset smiled a little at the reassurance.

The door to the office opened up and the detective walked in. He looked fairly young, his hair was navy blue, with a light shade of blue that formed a streak. His complexion was white as snow, and his eyes were a deep ocean blue. He wore a navy blue suit, white shirt, and a black necktie, his badge pinned to the left side of his chest.

“Hello there, I’m Detective Shining Armor of the CCPD, I’m part of the task force that’s looking into the Mystery Murder cases,” said Shining Armor as he offered his hand.

Celestia reached out and shook his hand, all the while her eyebrow was raised. “Thank you, Detective Armor, but…why is someone from that particular task force here?”

Shining Armor sat behind his desk as he began. “To be honest, Ma’am, considering the circumstances, and the statement that Ms. Pie gave us last night, we assumed that this was related. But, seeing that Ms. Shimmer is alive is a great relief. Still, we’re going off the notion that the two are connected.” Shining Armor looked to Sunset. “Ms. Shimmer, I know you must’ve been through something traumatic, and I appreciate your courage in coming here today. But I do need you to tell me what happened last night in order to corroborate Ms. Pie’s story.”

“Of course.”

Sunset began the story of what happened that day, she was instructed by Shining Armor not to leave any details out, so that also meant telling him about the Anon-A-Miss ordeal that was going on at school.

“I’m sorry, there’s a some kind of cyber bullying that’s going on at your school, and they’re targeting you?” Shining asked.

“Not me directly…as far as I can tell, they’ve set it up to look like me, and because of that, everyone thinks it’s me.”

“We’ve banned the MyStable website from the school computers, and have filed a police report, but so far nothing has been done, and since exactly ban cellphones or confiscate them, they the website can still be accessed via mobile devices,” said Celestia.

Shining furrowed his brow. “I’ll be sure to follow up with our cyber crimes division and see where they’re at with that. Sorry, please continue.”

Sunset continued the story, omitting the part where her magic kicked in. “The last thing I remember was getting impaled…and then blacking out. I’m sorry, my mind’s hazy after that.”

Shining Armor stood up from his desk and walked around next to Sunset. “I’m sorry to ask, but could you left up your shirt, just to your midriff is all.” Sunset did as he asked, lifting her sweater and then her shirt up to show her stomach. “May I?”

“Go for it,” said Sunset.

Shining Armor gently pressed his fingers against Sunset’s stomach, trying to feel for any sign that there had been a wound there, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing. “Thank you.” Sunset put her shirt and sweater back down. “We scoured the crime scene and found blood, we matched it you, Ms. Shimmer. Honestly, the amount of blood that was there, I’m surprised you made it to your home, much less that there aren’t any wounds.”

Sunset nervously chuckled. “Yeah…I don’t know what to tell you. Say, how’s my bike? I remember that we rode it into the construction site, but I don’t know what happened to it.”

Shining Armor winced at that question. He brought up the file and pulled out a photo and handed it to Sunset. The teen’s jaw dropped when she saw the photo was of her bike, it was completely wrecked. “Sorry to say, kid, but that thing’s totaled…she won’t ride again.”

“Great…just effing fantastic…” Sunset grumbled.

“It’s probably for the best, I never really liked you riding that thing anyway. Perhaps we can look into getting you a car or something?” Celestia suggested.

Sunset sighed. “I guess…” That’s when another thought hit her. “Detective, did you find that guy that attacked us?”

Shining Armor’s expression turned into a frown. “Unfortunately, not. Ms. Pie gave us a very detailed description of the man in question when we sat her down with a forensic sketch artist, and thanks to that we’ve been plastering it all over, news, social media, as many places as we can. To be honest, this is our best lead we’ve had in months since the task force was made.”

Sunset stood up quickly from her chair upon hearing this. “If that’s true, then he might still be after Pinkie Pie! Maybe he think’s I’m dead, that’s fine, but he knows that Pinkie’s alive! She’s in danger!”

Shining Armor brought up his hands. “Calm down, Ms. Shimmer, we thought about that, too, and we’ve stationed some units outside the Pie residence. Right now, it’s probably best we do the same for you as well. Now, you said you live alone, Ms. Celestia, would it be too much trouble if Ms. Shimmer could stay at your residence for the time being?”

“Of course not, there was no way I was going to leave her alone with that monster on the loose out there!” Celestia stated.

“Good.” Shining Armor reached into his jacket pocket and took out two cards. “You call me anytime, day or night. If you remember anything else about what happened, don’t hesitate to call me, any detail – no matter how small – could help us nail this guy.”

“Thank you, Detective Armor,” said Sunset.

Celestia drove Sunset back to her place, deciding to pick up a few things, as well as take Ray, there was no way she was going to leave her pet alone in her home for however long this was going to take. Once everything was packed, at least a week’s worth of clothes, Celestia drove them back to her home to unload, and from there, the two of them headed towards the Pie Family home.

When they arrived, Sunset noticed the police car that was sitting outside of the Pie’s home. It offered Sunset some sense of relief, but when she remembered the monster from last night, she was fairly certain that conventional weapons weren’t going to be of any use against it. Celestia parked in front of the house and together, she and Sunset walked up to the door. Sunset pushed the doorbell and placed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.

The door opened and revealed one of the Pie Sisters. She was kind of short, by just couple of inches. Her skin was a light gray color, with lime green colored eyes, and light gray hair. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked upon Sunset. The flame haired girl had met Pinkie’s sisters before, this was Limestone Pie, out of the four, she was the one with a short temper and was very protective of her twin sister, Marble Pie.

“S-Sunset Shimmer…?” Limestone asked in a shocked raspy voice.

“Hey, Lime…is, uh…is Pinkie home?” Sunset asked timidly.

“Sis…SIS!” she called out.

“Limestone Pie, we have told you before, it is impolite to yell for thy kin when there are guests…oh my heavens!”

Around the corner came an older woman, her complexion was a shade darker than Limestone’s, she wore glasses, and had her hair tied up into a bun, and had a checkered shawl draped over her shoulders. Sunset knew this woman as Cloudy Quartz, Pinkie Pie’s mother.

“Hello, Mrs. Quartz, if it’s at all possible, we’d like to show Pinkie that Sunset’s okay,” said Celestia.

“Oh…y-yes, by all means! Oh, um, Pinkamena Diane Pie! Come downstairs, quickly!” Cloudy Quartz called out.

“What happened to ‘it is impolite to yell for thy kin when there are guests’?” Limestone quipped.

Pinkie rushed downstairs and stopped midway when she saw Sunset standing in the doorway. The party girl’s eyes widened with shock and happiness, tears began to stream down her face as she ran the rest of the way and nearly tackled Sunset to the ground, burying her face in her friends chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“S-Sunset…! You’re alive! Y-You’re alive!” Pinkie cried.

Sunset wrapped her arms around her friend, and then she began to stroke Pinkie’s curly hair gently and soothingly, making little shushing sounds as she did. “It’s alright, Pinkie, I’m here.”

“I…I…thought that you…that you died!”

Sunset continued to hold Pinkie, doing little more than comforting her friend. Of course, this did not go unheard as the rest of the Pie Family entered the room, her father, Igneous Rock Pie, the youngest of the twin sisters, Marble, and of course, the oldest of the Pie Sisters, Maud Pie. Even this show of emotion was a enough to put a smile on the normally stoic Maud Pie, as well as the normally irritable Limestone.

It took a while, but they eventually were moved into the living room, where everyone gathered. Pinkie didn’t want to leave Sunset’s side, and right now, no one would deny her that. For Pinkie, she felt that if Sunset left, that she’d never see her again, or that this was all a dream and the moment Sunset went out that door, the dream would be over and reality would set in.

“I must admit, when my daughter spoke of what transpired last night…we were…not only sorrowful, but also angry.” Igneous clenched his fist. “Angry at myself for not thinking better and going to pick up my daughter from her place of employment…”

Cloudy rested her hand on his clenched fist, allowing Igneous to relax. “But, now is a time to be jubilant, Ms. Shimmer has been returned, safe and unharmed.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Y-You are unharmed right? That thing really hurt you! Is there a scar or…?!” Pinkie didn’t wait for a reply as she lifted Sunset’s shirt to inspect her stomach.

Igneous averted his gaze, Lime smirked, Marble blushed, Cloudy face palmed herself, Celestia sighed, and Maud…Maud just stared and said, “Nice abs.”

Sunset quickly scooted back and pulled her shirt back down. “Yes, Pinkie, I’m okay! No scar, no nothing as far I can tell…It’s weird…” Sunset unconsciously rubbed the spot where she remembered getting impaled. “I remember it happening…it’s vivid…and I feel a soreness there…but then I see nothing.”

“Well, it obviously wasn’t, Sis was covered in blood, your blood apparently,” Limestone commented.

“Lime!” Igneous warned.

“It’s alright…I know this is crazy…but, after what the police showed me, it has to be true, I mean…even my bike was totaled…” Sunset slouched in her seat when she remembered that her pride and joy was now a heap of scrap metal. “Man, I really loved that bike.”

Celestia sighed. “I really would rather you drive a car, but if it really means that much to you, we’ll look into getting you a new one.”

“It’s fine…I’ll work up to it, again,” said Sunset.

“On that note, what news does the law enforcement give in regards to this?” Igneous asked.

“Unfortunately, not much. They haven’t found the culprit, hence the police presence outside your home, as well as mine. They also have a car stationed outside of Sunset’s home, but for now she will be staying with me until this is resolved,” said Celestia.

“Do they really believe this malcontent will try and accost our daughter again?!” Cloudy asked with worry.

Limestone punched the palm of her left hand with her fist as she grit her teeth in anger. “If that bastard tries it again, I’ll cut his balls off with a rusty knife!”

“Lime!” The third oldest winced. “Too ineffective, especially when I have a perfectly good rifle.”

Sunset and Celestia blinked, to be honest, neither of the two women had any doubt that the man who dared to harm Igneous’ daughters would suffer an olden wrath, the term that would be appropriate here would be “getting medieval on his ass.”

“Well, we should be getting back, I need to notify the school of what’s happened,” said Celestia.

When Sunset and Celestia rose, Pinkie grasped at the sleeve of Sunset’s jacket, causing the redhead to pause and turn to the pink girl. “Sunset…could you…is it alright if you stay over?”

Cloudy walked over to her daughter and sat next to her she as she gently placed her hands on Pinkie’s shoulders. “Now, Pinkamena, I’m sure Sunset’s tired and would like to be with those familiar to her.”

Sunset smiled and said, “Why don’t we have a sleepover this weekend, you and me, okay?”

Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded in agreement. “Pinkie Promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

The others let out a small chuckle at Pinkie’s strange oath, but no one could deny, that when a promise was made this way, it was always kept.

It was late at night, midnight by the digital clock in her room. Sunset was sleeping in Celestia’s guest room, and right now, as the pale light of the moon illuminated her bedroom, Sunset couldn’t help but think. She raised her right arm up and stared at the bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist. With everything that had happened, she didn’t even bother to remember that this piece of jewelry was affixed to her somehow and would not come off. And yet, the more she stared at it, the more she felt it held some answers to what happened last night.

“What are you…when did you even get on my wrist?”

Silence filled the room.

“Figures, talking to a piece of jewelry, what was I expecting?”

}}} I am not just some piece of jewelry. {{{

Sunset had to stifle a scream when she heard a voice resonate in her mind. The ruby gemstone at the center of the bracelet glowed a little now, as if it had awakened. “That…did you just talk to me?”

}}} Indeed I did. Our symbiosis took some time to finalize, but now our merger has stabilized enough for me to attempt communication. {{{

Sunset sat up in her bed, looking at the bracelet with a furrowed brow. “Okay…I’m not unfamiliar when it comes to magic artifacts, so I’m not going to completely freak out. So, I’ll start by asking, what are you?”

}}} I am no mere magical trinket. I am the Witchblade. I was born of light and darkness, meant to keep the balance between both. I seek worthy wielders and grant them my power, so that they my do just that. However… {{{

“However…?”

}}} I feel out of place in this realm, as if it is not my own. It is similar to mine, but also very different. Although, the stench of evil doesn’t seem to change much. {{{

“Then maybe you can tell me what happened. How did you get on me?”

}}} Telling you is a chore, your mind is protecting itself. So, it will be easier to just show you. {{{

Sunset suddenly felt a surge in her mind, images played before her, of the moment she got impaled, when she teleported Pinkie Pie away with the last ounces of her magic, how that monster was close to violating her, and then…fire, metal, and power, the image of a woman clad in armor, battling against a monster, and that woman was…

“Me…!” Sunset collapsed to the floor as she breathed heavily, her right hand pressed against her forehead. “That was me…I fought that thing!”

}}} More accurately, WE fought that thing. But essentially, yes. {{{

“And…I died…I really died!” Sunset looked at the bracelet in a newfound light. “You saved me?”

}}} Such is my power. Even fatal wounds are no match for my power, I pulled you from the brink, but it wasn’t me alone. You had a fire in your soul that refused to die, a fire that burned bright enough to be seen even in the abyss. You made it very easy for me, and you have power yourself as well. We will make an excellent team. {{{

“Wait…I also remember…we…we didn’t kill it!”

}}} Sadly, no, we didn’t. Our symbiosis was not complete, your attacks were unfocused and wild, allowing it to slip away. It’s to be expected, but that won’t happen again. {{{

Sunset shot to her feet as she realized that if that monster was still out there, then that meant that Pinkie Pie was in still in danger. “Do you think he’ll go after her?!”

}}} That depraved creature didn’t seem like one to give up on its quarry. Surely, he will seek her out. {{{

Sunset looked around, she knew that Celestia was asleep by now, but there was no way she could just take her car, or ask her to take her to Pinkie’s home. Her eyes fell on the window, she opened it, looking straight down to the backyard which was covered with snow, but Sunset doubted it was thick enough or high enough to act as a cushion.

}}} You can make, it. {{{

“Excuse me? You want me to jump out a two story window? At best, I sprain my ankle, at worst, I break my leg.”

}}} If I was not with you, then yes, those are the outcomes. But with me, you needn’t fear any of that. {{{

Sunset looked outside, and then out into the distance, that monster was going to kill Pinkie Pie if she didn’t get there first to intercept him. With a narrowed gaze, Sunset threw caution into the wind and jumped out the window. It was a short trip, but she soon felt her bare feet impact the dirt and snow below. She felt the impact, but there was no pain. Sunset looked to the house across from where she was and a crazy thought entered her mind. She dashed in the direction of that house, and then jumped.

Sunset cleared thirty feet as she sailed and landed on the roof of the house, three houses down from where she started. The flame haired girl looked back and panted with excitement, she felt stronger, she didn’t know how strong until now.

}}} You will take too long leaping and bounding from rooftops. {{{

“What do you suggest?”

}}} Unleash me, tap into my power and wear me! {{{

Sunset didn’t have much of a choice, in order to save Pinkie, to defeat this monster, she needed the power of this Witchblade. The former Equestrian held out her right arm as she focused her thoughts on it. A heat swelled in her body, flowing through her and pouring into the bracelet, in an instant, the bracelet came alive, shining with a bright crimson light.

The silver color of the bracelet changed to a black, obsidian color that glistened in the moonlight. It began to wrap around her right arm, forming a gauntlet as it shredded the sleeve of her pajama shirt. The fingers had razor sharp silver blades, the fingertips had pointed silver claws. But it didn’t stop there, the armor continued to manifest, shredding through the rest of Sunset’s clothes in the process.

The armor formed over her upper back, crawling onto her left arm and forming a similar armor on her left arm, but without the red ruby gemstone, instead, there were two blue, sapphire-like jewels fixed onto the middle of it. The armor wrapped around her breasts, just barely covering them up, it covered her shoulders and neck, and fastened itself under hefty chest. The armor continued to snake downwards as it formed, what can only be described as an armor bikini bottom over her womanhood. The armor ran down the sides of her hips and thighs, and from there, wrapped her lower legs in thicker armor, similar to her arms. The leg armor created high heeled boots, with the heels having a curved, silver blade attached to them.

The armor wasn’t the only part of the transformation, Sunset’s body felt as if it was on fire, but not in a harmful way, no, this was extremely pleasant. Her muscles became tight and lean, her hair went from its normal flame design to completely red, the only bits of yellow were around her bangs and the ends of her hair. Speaking of, her hair took on an almost metallic sheen to it, with the ends becoming sharp and blade like. The whites of Sunset’s eyes were gone, now replaced with black as her turquoise colored eyes shined. Finishing the transformation, was a pair of sharp fangs, and two turquoise colored lines that ran up her cheeks, giving the illusion of scars.

Sunset took a moment to look upon herself, the Witchblade had granted her armor, if it could be called that with the amount of skin it revealed. Sunset would normally make a comment that she looked like some heavy metal, dominatrix, prostitute, but right now, with the amount of power that was flowing through her veins, she rightfully didn’t give a shit.

“Heh, heh, hahahaha! This is amazing! This power, it’s unbelievable! I remember this power, I remember it!” Sunset’s brow furrowed as she remembered her mission. “Right, I have a monster to kill. How can we get there faster?”

}}} My abilities are only limited by your imagination. {{{

“That a fact?”

Sunset crouched low to the ground, her hair began to rise as a whirlwind kicked up around her. The back armor began to shift, it then shot out into the air and formed two large, bat-like wings. The arms were the same metallic obsidian armor, but the membrane was a translucent silver, altogether, she had a about a ten foot wingspan.

“Let’s fly!”

The wings rose and then gave a mighty flap, the amount of power and force behind the flap tore off the shingles from the roof and nearly punched a hole through it. Sunset zoomed through the air, the biting cold of the winter night didn’t faze her, actually, it looked like she was steaming, as if she was generating her own heat to combat the cold. To anyone looking up, all they would see is gleaming bat flying through the sky, but to the monster that she was after, she was going to be an angel of death.

“Hang on, Pinkie, I’m coming!”

Pinkie couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about what happened last night. She was happy that Sunset was safe, but even still, that was the scariest moment of her life, easily, hands down. Her Grannie Pie had taught her to giggle at the ghosties, but after what happened, laughter wasn’t going to make that monster go away.

The party girl reached over to her cellphone and looked over the messages that she sent out that day to their friends, as well as remembering the phone conversations she had with each of them.

[Rainbow Dash: Seriously?! Is she alright?!]

[Rarity: Oh my, Pinkie, I…I don’t….]

[Fluttershy: *sobbing*]

[Applejack: Don’t worry, Pinkie. Sunset’s a fighter…Ah…Ah’m sure she’s alright…]

It occurred to Pinkie that they were probably even more shocked by this news, after everything that Anon-A-Miss had done, and with the terrible things they all said to her before they abandoned her, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack were most likely afraid that those were going to be their last words her. Thankfully, though, Pinkie sent texts to all of them, informing them that Sunset was alright. She could practically feel the wave of relief coming from their replies.

But now, here she lied, unable to sleep. She wanted to see Sunset, something just compelled her to have her close by, if for nothing else then to reassure her that she was still with them, that this wasn’t some cruel dream.

Just then, Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense went off. A chill ran down her spine as a pit formed in her stomach. She hadn’t had that combo since…

“Last night…!”

The shadows that were casted upon her room began to wiggle and squirm. Pinkie’s eyes widened as she turned towards the window, her voice hitched as she looked upon the familiar visage of the monster from last night. Pinkie sat there frozen in place, her mind was screaming at her to run, but her legs would not heed her command.

The monster’s tentacles managed to work themselves underneath the window and push it up, snapping the locking mechanism. Pinkie crawled backwards until her back hit the headboard. The monster slithered into her room, despite its hulking size, it moved with all the silence of a church mouse. The monster stalked towards Pinkie Pie, but then shot its tentacles towards her, wrapping one around her mouth and effectively silencing Pinkie. A hard thing to do most of the time.

“Shh, don’t want to wake the family~”

Three more extended from his left arm, the tips released their sharp barbs as they began to gently rake themselves over Pinkie’s arms, neck, and collar, then ran over her chest, teasingly before hovering in place.

“I normally like to hear you scream, but considering we have company, I’ll just settle for the tactile enjoyment of it all,” he said.

Two of the barbed tentacles slipped under the straps of her top, they pulled back as the barbs cut into the straps, slicing them with a quick flick. The top came down and revealed Pinkie’s breasts, exposing them to the cold night air. Those two tentacles began to wrap themselves around them, gently massaging and squeezing them. Pinkie’s eyes began to release tears as her hands gripped the bed sheets to the point that her knuckles turned white.

The monster continued to molest her chest, as two more extended from its left arm and began to make their way towards her bottoms. Pinkie’s eyes widened, she didn’t want to be violated by this monster. Summoning all the courage she had, Pinkie Pie waited until the tentacle around her face relaxed and opened her mouth wide. Pinkie then chomped down on the tentacle as hard as she could, the irony taste of blood filled her mouth, but she didn’t stop as she continued to bite down hard until she could tear a chunk out of this thing’s tentacle. The monster released a cry of pain and shock as he immediately retracted his tentacles, examining the damaged one for a moment until it began to heal.

Pinkie spat out the piece she had taken from him, and covered her chest with her arms, crying out as loud as she could, “DADDY!!!”

That monstrous cry, combined with the cry for help from Pinkie, was more than enough for Igneous to kick open his daughter’s door, and, without hesitation, fired his twin barreled rifle right into the monster’s head, spraying the wall behind him with its blood as it collapsed onto the floor.

Igneous flipped the lights on as he now saw his daughter, half naked with her mouth covered with green blood. The rest of the family piled behind him, but Cloudy kept her daughters from going in. It wasn’t long after that the sounds of the police yelling came from downstairs. Maud separated from the group and went to let them in. Cloudy rushed into the room and quickly brought her daughter into her protective embrace.

Igneous walked over to the abomination, reloading his rifle as he stood over the creature and pointed his gun at its head. “Vile beast! You come into my home, attempt to defile and kill my daughter, not once, but twice! I hope you burn in hell!”

“Mr. Pie!” Igneous turned around and saw one officer standing in the doorway while the other was in the room. “Mr. Pie, I need you put that weapon down and step away from the body, let us handle it.”

“This thing isn’t a man! It’s a monster, look at it! And I’m making sure it stays dead!” Igneous declared.

The tentacles from the monster’s left arm wrapped around the rifle and yanked it free from Igneous’ grip while he was distracted. The monster quickly shot up and grabbed the older man’s throat, hoisting him up as if he weighed nothing.

“Officer Night Watch to Central, we need immediate backup to the Pie residence, I repeat – UGH!”

The officer in the doorway was quickly impaled through the heart, the barbed end of the tentacle appearing through the dead officer’s back. The other officer was prepared to fire, but the monster quickly brought Igneous close to his body, using him as a human shield.

“What ‘cha goin’ to do pig? You gonna shot me? Go ahead, cause this old fucker just tried to blow my head off, but guess how well that worked out! But, hell, by all means, try and do it!”

“NO! LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE!” Pinkie Pie pleaded.

The creature turned its gaze to Pinkie. “Little bitch, you have some fight in you. I guess subtly has gone out the window, so I’ll just take what I want and be one my way!”

The monster tossed Igneous at the officer, making them both collide against the wall. Cloudy Quartz placed herself in front of her daughter, trying to protect her. But the monster merely picked her up and tossed out the door like a ragdoll, hitting the hallway wall back first and knocking the older woman out. The remaining Pie Sister quickly hurried to their mother’s side, of course, this caught the monster’s eye.

“Oh, I hit the jackpot~”

“NO!” Pinkie protested as she ran from behind the monster and put herself in the doorway. “You want me! I’ll go with you! You can do whatever you want to me! Just leave them alone!”

“PINKIE!” Lime shouted.

A tentacle shot out and wrapped itself around Pinkie’s neck. “You’re not in any position to bargain with me you little bitch!”

Just then, something crashed through the roof, killing the lights. Everyone froze in that moment, including the monster. The being’s wings retracted into its back as it rose to its feet, the only thing visible in the dark were its glowing, turquoise eyes.

“Who the hell are you?”

Without warning, two spike tipped chains shot out from the shoulders of the being. They pierced the shoulders of the monsters, and then the spiked ends broke out into four hooks as they came back and pierced the creature’s flesh, causing it to screech in pain.

The being wrapped the chains around their arms and said, “I’m your worst nightmare!”

The being jumped back with inhuman speed, busting through the window and dragging the creature out into the open.

Sunset dragged the creature into the Pie’s wide front lawn, they had a lot of land to work with, so there was little to get in the way. The chains she had shot out from her armor retracted and melded back into her armor seamlessly.

The creature stood, the wounds sealing up, although it seemed a lot more painful. “Wait…I remember you! You’re that redhead I killed and came back!”

“Yeah, now I’m here to finish the job!”

Sunset dashed away, kicking up snow in her wake. The creature barely had time to react as Sunset closed the distance between them in less than a second, her sudden stop created a shockwave the kicked up more snow into the air. The former Equestrian threw a right hook into the monster’s left side, causing another shockwave to erupt from the impact.

The sound of several bones breaking at once echoed in the night as Sunset followed up with an uppercut. The blow sent the creature into the air, Sunset jumped up, soaring into the sky as the moon silhouetted behind her. The red jewel in her gauntlet shined as the armor formed a curved, scimitar sword in her right hand. Sunset gripped the sword with both hands and descended, slicing through the creature’s middle as she landed on the ground.

Blood sprayed from the two halves, cascading down from the air as the severed parts hit the ground. Sunset dismissed the blade, and clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Well that was boring.”

Suddenly, Sunset’s left leg was impaled by a tentacle. The tentacle whipped her into the air and slammed her down, back first. Worm like monsters crawled from the two severed halves until they rejoined, bringing the creature back together. The monster screeched in anger as it shot out two more tentacles, this time piercing Sunset’s stomach and then the center of her chest. Sunset coughed up blood from the attack as she was dragged up and slammed onto the ground again, and again, and again.

The creature shot out more tentacles as they wrapped around her head and began to twist. “Heh, heh, I’ll twist your fucking head off and play with your corpse!”

“Fuck off.”

“Huh?”

Sunset’s hair began to grow sharp and jagged. In a matter of seconds, the hair shot out like spikes from within, piercing the tentacles that had wrapped around her head. More strands of her hair began to wrap around the tentacles, and then took on the shape of razor wire. The strands of hair twisted and coiled until they sliced off all the tentacles that had wrapped around her head.

When they were gone, the monster was able to see Sunset’s face, and for the first time in a long time, he felt fear. He was used to a lot of expressions when he killed women, fear, shock, disbelief, anger, even that insane look that let’s them think that if they give him what he wants then they’ll live. But this look…this was different. She was smiling, but it wasn’t a normal smile, no, it was filled with a look of murderous glee and excitement, and it made him tremble, even going so far as to take a unconscious step back.

“Oh, what’s the matter? Are you afraid of me?” Sunset raised her arms up, and on the sides of her forearms, two long silver blades formed that grew to about three feet. “You should be!”

Sunset came down with both blades, cutting off the tentacles that had pierced her body. Blood sprayed from the severed limps as the monster stumbled backwards. When Sunset hit the ground, she tore out the bits that were still stuck in her, and when she did, the injuries closed up.

“What…What are you…?!”

“For starters, it’s not me. It’s we. And to answer your question…We’re the Witchblade.”

Sunset dashed once again, fast as lightning, and slashed the creature across its chest, forming a bloody, “X” shaped gash. Sunset dismissed her arm blades as she morphed her right hand into a large, metallic claw. With it, she thrust her hand right into the monster’s chest, making it spit up blood.

The monster tried to pull back, but Sunset wasn’t letting go. After a couple of seconds she found what she was looking for, smirked, and then ripped it out of the monster as more blood flew through the air and stained the pure white snow beneath them. The monster fell to the ground, gagging and twitching, Sunset looked in her right hand and saw what she was after.

It was a worm, a large one. The other worm-like creatures that crawled in the skin sack wrapped around them tried to reach out to it in a feeble attempt to reclaim it.

“P-Please…m-mercy…I’ll…I’ll give up…lock me away…p-please…?” it pleaded in a squeaky voice.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed as her eyes shined with fury. “Begging? How many women begged for their lives? How many of them pleaded and groveled for you to spare them, only for you to kill them soon after! How many of them begged you to stop violating them?!” Sunset’s grip on the creature tightened as it continued to squirm and squeak in her grasp.

Sunset glanced up towards Pinkie’s bedroom, and saw Pinkie Pie standing there, a blanket draped around her. The sounds of police sirens echoed in the distance, and Sunset knew that her time was almost up.

“Besides, if I do show you mercy, you’ll just kill again. There’s no one other than me who can stop you. You’ll just break out the moment I turn my back. So, go ahead.” Sunset dropped the large worm into the cold ground. “I’ll give you till ten to leave. One…”

The worm was about to turn tail towards its body, but then Sunset’s right foot swiftly descended upon the worm, causing a small tremor as the snow, for a good two foot radius, was pushed away. Below her heel was the remains of the worm, which was nothing more than a red paste.

“…Ten.”

Something interesting happened after that. The creature’s body stopped squirming and went still. The monster’s body began to shift, transforming back into the man that Sunset saw in the diner. His chest was ripped open, and he was bruised all over. Sunset inhaled and then exhaled slowly, the heat of her breath causing a fog to form in front of her.

Sunset took one last look at Pinkie Pie, who was now joined by her sisters. The sirens grew louder and one car came into view, it was a plain car, with a red light placed on top of it. The car came to a screeching halt as the driver came out, revealing himself as Detective Shining Armor.

“FREEZE! CCPD!” Shining declared.

Sunset smirked, her metallic wings flared out and caused a whirlwind to bellow in all directions. The slayer jumped into the air, and took off like a rocket into the night sky.

Sunset awoke the next morning, not surprisingly, naked. This time, however, she did remember everything that happened. She looked at her right wrist, at the Witchblade, and groaned.

“Question, are you going to shred my clothes, every time I change into that armored form?” Sunset asked.

}}} Not always, but most of the time, yes. {{{

“And what was with that outfit?! You call that armor?! I’ve seen female characters with more protection in fantasy RPG games than what was on me last night!” Sunset accused.

}}} The amount of armor is directly correlated to the level of danger. The enemy was weak, and my ability to heal you was greater than the damage it could cause. So, less armor was required. I assure you, if he was of greater threat to you, I would not have hesitated to cover you completely. {{{

“Great, so, most of the time, I’m going to look like a warrior slut, great.”

}}} I would take care of how you speak. Many women before you have worn that armor and have etched their names into history as legends! {{{

“Maybe wherever you’re from,” said Sunset. “If Rarity was still talking to me I could ask her to make me some extra sets of clothes…cause at this rate, my wardrobe’s not going to be able to take it.”

“SUNSET, COME DOWN, QUICK!” Celestia called.

Sunset opened the drawers, put on a pair of panties and a baggy shirt and made her way downstairs. She found Celestia in the living room, and unsurprisingly, she also found Vice Principal Luna in there as well. Not that it was that big of a surprise for her, apparently the two shared the living expenses by living together, and since the house as in close proximity to CHS, it was better than either of them commuting further and living in separate places.

Celestia had the TV on the news, which seemed to be reporting on last night’s events.

{We’re now going to our breaking news this morning as the police have confirmed that the man suspected in the Mystery Murders has been killed. According to sources, the man seen here: Beetle Underwood, was the culprit}

The news brought up an actual picture of the man and then put up the forensic sketch, it was a perfect match.

{Mr. Underwood was an Entomologist at the Canterlot University of Higher Learning, but was fired due to allegations of sexual misconduct with his students. Mr. Underwood, according to police reports, had tried to attack one of his victims that had managed to get away during the night. He was then shot and killed by the father of the victim while caught breaking and entering.}

Sunset’s brow furrowed. Wait…what? Shot and killed? That’s not what happened! Oh…I get it, cover up. Don’t want to freak out the public that there’s a girl with metal blades coming out of her body or that he turned into a monster.

Celestia released a sigh of relief. “Well, at least it’s over. I can’t imagine how Pinkie Pie is feeling, to be attacked twice in two days by the same person.”

“Indeed, but as you said. It’s over, he’s dead and is no longer a threat to her,” Luna turned her head and looked at Sunset, “nor to you, Sunset.”

Sunset smiled nervously. “Yeah, thank god.”

{Unfortunately, while this part of the Murder Mysteries has been solved, we in the media as well as some in law enforcement believe that Beetle Underwood is not responsible for all the killings going on in the city.}

“Say, WHAT?!” Sunset exclaimed.

The scene switched to Shining Armor, who was in front of Pinkie Pie’s house as he was giving a statement to the reporters. {It’s true that Mr. Underwood was responsible for this act, but until we can cross reference with the other crimes that have been committed in the city, we can’t say that this case is closed. We can’t rule out that Mr. Underwood might be a copycat killer.}

{But Detective Armor, the ways in which the killer has left various crime scenes, wouldn’t this indicate that there are not one, but multiple murderers? Seeing as how the method changes from victim to victim?} a reporter asked.

{That’s one of many theories we’re currently running with right now. The task force is dedicated to solving these murders and bringing the culprit or culprits to justice.}

Sunset gripped the sofa hard. So…there might be more monsters out there. The flame haired girl looked at her wrist and narrowed her gaze. Guess we’re not done yet…

Case File 2-1 (The Harpy): First Day of School

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Almost a week had passed since that night, and things haven’t exactly gotten any less peaceful. The man, Beetle Underwood, was gone and would never hurt Pinkie again, Sunset made sure of that. But, the Mystery Murders continued, some would say that they increased a little with the recent death of Beetle Underwood. However, Sunset couldn’t do anything about that, not now at least.

Today was Sunday, and as promised, Sunset had her slumber party with Pinkie Pie. Although, given that Pinkie’s room was demolished – partially Sunset’s fault – the duo had to have the party at Sunset’s home. Now that Underwood was dead, they no longer required police protection, and if Sunset was going to be honest, she much preferred living alone. She liked Principal Celestia, but living with her was too much of a reminder of the Princess Celestia she turned her back on in Equestria.

Instead of just coming over, Pinkie Pie opted to stay with Sunset for the weekend, making it an extended slumber party. Sunset was pretty sure that the other reason was due to what happened, Pinkie wouldn’t show it, but she had been through something traumatic. She tried to not let what happened keep her down, and for the most part she was, but being around Sunset seemed to make her feel calmer and more assured. Sunset wasn’t going to argue if that was the reason or not, the fact that she had at least one of her friends back, and was enjoying a simple slumber party with them was more than enough reason to let Pinkie Pie stay over.

Both girls were in the middle of playing a fighting game, with Pinkie showing off her mad button mashing skills, but the whole time they were playing, Sunset was thinking. With the acquisition of the Witchblade, Sunset knew that she had to be the one to stop these murders, but she lacked the investigative power to actually look into these cases. Well, not entirely. I could cross reference all the known crimes, revisit crime scenes, and scour the internet for some info. But…

“Sunset?”

The flame haired girl turned to her right and saw that Pinkie Pie was giving her a concerned look. “Y-Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, totally,” she lied.

Pinkie Pie paused the game and sighed. “You don’t have to lie, I know you’re thinking about something.”

“Uh…h-how could you tell?” Sunset asked.

“You get this little crease in your forehead whenever you’re thinking super hard on something…riiiiiiiight…there!” Pinkie used her left index finger and put it right in the middle of Sunset’s forehead.

Sunset groaned, but then chuckled in amusement, causing Pinkie to chuckle too.

“Are you thinking about tomorrow?” Pinkie asked.

“Tomorrow?”

“We have to go back to school tomorrow. It was nice of Principal Celestia to let us stay home for this long,” Pinkie hugged her legs to her chest, “but we can’t avoid going back.”

Sunset sighed heavily as she looked up at her ceiling. “I know…I’m not looking forward to it that much. Anon-A-Miss hasn’t stopped, I’ve been checking.” Sunset raised her cellphone up and opened the MyStable page for Anon-A-Miss. “Some are saying that I faked the whole thing, that I was using your trauma to try and get sympathy for myself.”

Pinkie turned to Sunset with wide eyes. “B-But that’s a lie! You were there, and…and you were hurt! I-I don’t know why you’re okay – I don’t really care how – but, y’know?!”

Sunset put her cellphone down. “It doesn’t matter what the truth is, Pinkie. So long as they believe that I’m Anon-A-Miss, anything I say will be a lie, even if you back me up. When we go back tomorrow, I don’t want you trying to defend me, or convincing anyone that I was there.”

“But…Sunset…”

Sunset turned to face Pinkie. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, believe me, I’d love to have someone advocating for my innocence.”

“But –!”

“But,” Sunset interrupted, “if Anon-A-Miss is at the school, he or she will target anyone that looks like they’re trying to help me. They’ll spread lies about you, make people distrust you as much as they are me. You’ve been through enough this week, I don’t want you getting hurt because of some invisible asshole who’s too afraid to just face me!”

Pinkie didn’t like it, she didn’t like knowing that Sunset was about to walk into a place where everyone was going to be attacking her, enemies from every direction, and not one ally. And to help her, would mean being labeled as her accomplice.

“Promise me that you won’t try and convince anyone, okay?” Sunset asked.

Pinkie nodded. “Okay…”

Sunset looked at the clock and saw that it was already ten at night. “Let’s hit the hay, we have a ‘fun’ day ahead…”

Pinkie was the first to go and wash up in Sunset’s bathroom, emerging a few minutes later and allowing Sunset to do the same.

}}} You’re on edge. {{{

“Gee, ya think?”

}}} Just know that we are one, you can cut down whoever tries to do you harm. {{{

Sunset splashed some water on her face and sighed. “Yeah, not really going to start a killing spree in my school with a supernatural artifact. Almost did that once, not ever doing that again. So, from tomorrow onward, unless I say so, you’re not going to react to anything!”

}}} ………Elaborate. {{{

“Look, there are people who are going to be shoving me around, writing shit on my locker, and some are probably going to be looking to fight me. I’ve either avoided, ignored, or when I did get into a fight, sidestep them as much as possible and let them hurt themselves. Works for the most part, but not always. So, I want your word that you won’t react or attack anyone! Or make that skimpy armor appear!”

}}} Humph, please, I wouldn’t waste a full armor transformation for the likes of a mortal. Maybe an army. But otherwise you needn’t fear that happening. {{{

Sunset brushed her teeth, rinsed, and spat out the remainder into the sink. “Good. So long as you understand. And, look, I’m grateful that you saved me, and that you allowed me the power to kill him. But, please, at least understand what I’m going through. You can see my memories can’t you?”

}}} ……I can. And I don’t like what I see. You remind me of a bearer I once had. She was the definition of a Saint. She fought entire armies for the sake of her people, and in the end, because the people loved her, those with power made the very people who she saved turn against her, and burned her alive under the accusation of being a witch. {{{

Sunset looked at the Witchblade incredulously. “You just let her burn and you didn’t save her?!”

}}} Much like you, she didn’t want to retaliate against her people. Her faith and resolve kept me from acting, and in the end, I lost my bearer. As I said, your actions remind me of her, a little. {{{

“Sorry.” Sunset turned off the faucet. “She sounded like a remarkable woman.”

}}} She was, but she was not the only one. My bearers have gone on to make legends of themselves, their heroic feats spoken only in myths and tales. In this age, it will be jotted down as history, in the future, it will be another legend that the old tell their young. {{{

Sunset smiled as she finished up. “Please, I’m not trying to be legendary…I just want to atone for my sins the best I can.”

The flame haired girl exited the bathroom, and saw all but the upstairs lights were on. She looked down to the couch and saw that Pinkie’s sleeping bag was empty. Sunset ascended the stairs and saw that Pinkie was waiting for her in her bed.

“I thought…maybe we could share the bed this time? You know, instead of sleeping downstairs in sleeping bags?” Pinkie suggested.

Sunset wasn’t going to lie, she was bi. Being a pony, where the female to male ratio was like three to one, ponies had developed into more bisexual or in some cases pansexual beings. So, right now, Sunset was very aware of how…attractive Pinkie looked right now.

Her favorite PJs were wrecked thanks to Underwood, and honestly, Sunset was sure that Pinkie wasn’t going to wear those again after what happened. So, the party girl opted for an oversized white t-shirt, with her signature three balloons on it, problem was, that underneath that was nothing more than Pinkie’s bright pink panties. Sunset wasn’t an idiot, even when she was her old self, she would notice how attractive the girls were, and now after being friends with them, that attractiveness just increased, but was normally kept at the back of her mind due to their budding friendships.

However, right now, tonight, after everything that had happened this week, Sunset felt a bit closer to Pinkie. And there were studies done that two people who had been through a life or death experience together do tend to have increased sex drives. Sunset mentally slapped herself. Get it together Shimmer! Don’t think about her like that! It’s Pinkie Pie for fuck’s sake!

“Ahem…uh, sure, that’s fine with me, Pinks,” said Sunset in as nonchalant a manner as she could muster.

Pinkie Pie smiled and scooted over to let Sunset lay down. For point of reference, Sunset was wearing a red tank top with black boxers. The flame haired teen sat at the edge of her bed and glanced over to Ray. The little lizard seemed to be smirking at his owner in a very, “Lucky girl”, kind of way.

Bite me, Ray.

Sunset turned off the light and she slipped into bed. The room was dark for a moment until Sunset’s eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed that happened faster than usual lately, most likely due to the Witchblade’s power enhancing her body. An hour passed and Sunset was barely asleep, her mind still racing about what could happen tomorrow. Just then, her body stiffened up as she felt Pinkie Pie turn to her. The pink girl’s arm draped over Sunset’s middle, bringing her closer effectively spooning her.

“Uh…P-Pinkie, you awake?” Sunset whispered.

All she could hear was the soft and steady breathing of Pinkie as she slumbered. Sunset felt Pinkie hold her tighter, and of course, that brought Pinkie’s warm breasts to press against her back. The former unicorn mare blushed at the sensation, to be fair, Sunset felt she had an impressive bust, C-cup bordering on D-cup. But, ahem, out of their group of friends, if it was a contest of who had the biggest rack, then Pinkie and Fluttershy tied for first. Both sported, plump, rounded Ds bordering on Es, and right now those two Ds were pressed against Sunset’s back. Sunset swallowed hard, the sensation, while awkward, was strangely not unwelcomed. The pony turned human was about to say something when she heard Pinkie murmuring.

“I’m sorry……Don’t be mad……don’t leave……Sunset……”

There was a wetness felt on her back, and the sounds of sniffling. All of the tension disappeared in that moment for Sunset, Pinkie was scared, and she just wanted to be close to Sunset right now. Sunset scooted closer and placed her right hand over Pinkie’s, she was trembling. How did I not notice that? Thankfully, the moment Sunset touched her hand the trembling stopped. Somehow, this reassurance made Sunset feel more relaxed. She was going to miss this when Pinkie returned home.

}}} I don’t disapprove. She’s quite attractive. {{{

Shut it you!

The morning sun rose way too fast in Sunset’s opinion, despite knowing that this world did not have a living deity that controlled the sun and moon, it was times like this that made her wonder if that was true.

Sunset and Pinkie awoke and got ready for school. Unfortunately, due to the state that Sunset’s bike was in – by which I mean it was only good for scrap metal – Sunset resorted to taking the bus. Celestia had offered to drive Sunset to and from school, but with the heat of Anon-A-Miss, it was better that Principal Celestia didn’t show any special treatment to her. The last thing Sunset wanted was to cause more trouble for another Celestia.

The bus ride took a few minutes, but Sunset wasn’t unused to it, before she got her bike, this was her mode of transportation. The bus came to a halt at one of its designated spots, and Sunset rose to get off.

“Wait, we still have one more stop before we’re at the school!” Pinkie stated hastily.

“It’s not that far a walk from here, besides, remember what we talked about. I don’t need Anon-A-Miss targeting you too. Just meet up with the girls and just do whatever, I’ll be fine.”

In spite of the reassurance, Pinkie was still worried. She nodded to Sunset and watched her as she got off.

Sunset stood at the bus stop until the hulking vehicle drove away. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and huffed as she began her walk. Sunset hated to admit it, but she had become spoiled in her time as a human. When she was a pony, Sunset would teleport, walk, or run to any place in Canterlot or in the palace. But, with the convenience of vehicles, buses, taxis, and ride shares, Sunset’s need to run and walk to any place had been drastically changed. It wasn’t that she detested walking, she just detested it during the winter months, and during rainstorms, and heat waves…so, yeah.

The long walk eventually came to an end when Sunset saw CHS in the distance. She took steady, calming breaths, steeling her nerves and hardening her skin – metaphorically speaking – for what was to come. Sunset approached the school, and the moment she stepped onto the quad, it felt like on oppressive miasma washed over her. The students had been divided, some returning to their cliques, others only sticking around those whom they thought they could trust, or just completely staying away from others and isolating themselves.

Of course, there was only one unifying thing that made them forget each other, and right now Sunset was drawing the eyes of everyone single person there. Before her fall, she was used to seeing fear in the eyes of the students, some anger, but more fear. When she fell, the students would look upon her with suspicion and glares of anger. After the Battle of the Bands, most of those glares had been erased and were replaced with smiles and warm greetings. Now though, if she wasn’t being verbally accosted, she was receiving glares, like hundreds of daggers stabbing her in every direction. The animosity that had been kicked up was palpable, as if at any moment the students would descend upon Sunset and essentially lynch her.

It was enough to make her sick. Not only were they willing to believe these lies, but that the person who started all this wanted this to happen and was getting some sick kicks from causing harm to others so that they could harm her indirectly. Thinking about it made Sunset tighten her fists in her jacket pockets.

Coward, if you have a beef with me then come on out and do something! Yell at me! Beat me up! But making everyone else miserable just to attack me?

Just then, Sunset felt something. Now that she was equipped with the Witchblade, Sunset’s senses had been heightened significantly. For one thing, her spacial awareness had been expanded, allowing her to sense things in a perfect three-sixty degree radius. It was due to this increased sensing ability that Sunset felt something approaching her at high speeds, and by the feel of it and the sound, it sounded like a snowball, but at the same time, it felt heavy.

Sunset sidestepped to the right, moving with great speed as she snatched the snowball out of the air just as it was about to pass her by. The students assembled in the quad all gasped at the show of speed and precision, Sunset hadn’t even crushed the snowball when she grasped it. The former Equestrian noted that the snowball was indeed heavier than a snowball should be, she crushed it in her hand in full view of everyone, and when she did, she scowled.

Sunset thrust her fist forward and dropped the object that was inside the snowball. It was a rock, it clattered against the cement walkway, it was decent sized rock, had it hit Sunset at the speed it was going it would’ve surely gave her a cut, or if she was unlucky, hit her in the temple and knock her out.

“I know whoever threw that’s not brave enough to step forward, so I’ll say this. The next time you try that, I won’t catch it, and if it hits someone when I dodge it, that’s on you.”

Sunset made sure to look everyone in the eyes as she said that, noticing that some had the decency to feel ashamed or were even shocked that there was a rock in the snowball. The redhead huffed and then continued her walk into the school.

Sunset entered the hallway, and the reception was no less unpleasant inside than it was outside. Unlike before, the mere presence of Sunset Shimmer was enough to make people part like the Red Sea whenever she walked down the hallway. Now, it was like to push through a crowded subway. It was as if the student body just realized the simple fact that they were many and she was one, Sunset almost laughed. Had they realized this fact back when she first arrived, maybe her plans, indeed all her actions up to this point, would have never happened. But, now they were united in a common hate of one person, as misplaced as it was.

Sunset continued to push through the crowds, nearly getting tripped in the process, three times. When she made it to her locker, Sunset found that her fellow peers didn’t waste any time in decorating her locker while she and Pinkie were out. The locker was vandalized with graffiti, the words “She-Demon”, “Manipulator”, “Bitch”, “Slut”, and a number of other things were either scratched, painted, or written on the locker door. Sunset wondered if they messed with anything? She had switched from a key lock to a combination lock to make it harder for people to break in, they’d have to take a bolt cutter to it if they wanted to get in. Sunset inspected the locker and could not find any signs of forced entry.

Regardless, she couldn’t leave anything to chance. Sunset put in her combination, hunching over the lock to ensure that no one saw her combination. Once it was unlocked, Sunset stood to the side and opened the door. Nothing happened. In the months of Anon-A-Miss, Sunset had stink bombs left inside, insects from the biology lab, and someone had been elaborate enough to set up a spring loaded boxing glove that nearly nailed Sunset in the gut. But, surprisingly, there was nothing.

Sunset began changing out her books for the classes of the day, she was about done when she heard the sound of a fist slamming against the locker beside her. She had long since lost the ability to be shocked or surprised by the action and loud sound, just as she wasn’t surprised when she saw who was on her left.

Standing at an impressive six feet and two inches, was Gilda Lionheart. She wore a dark brown leather coat, with a white fur collar, black steel toed boots and dark denim jeans. Her complexion was a golden brown, with white feathery hair, her bangs tipped with purple coloring. Her eyes were a piercing yellow, with purple eyeshadow, she scowled at Sunset, her presence meant to be intimidating.

“Gilda.”

“Look who’s back, the Queen Bitch herself,” said Gilda.

Sunset stood back, and just as predicted, her locker door was slammed shut as another person appeared on her left. That other person was someone Sunset knew through Rainbow Dash, her name was Lightning Dust. She had goldenrod colored spiky hair, and had a turquoise colored complexion. She wore black, fingerless gloves on her hands, a black leather jacket over a blue hoodie, and a dark blue denim jeans. Her eyes were the same golden color as her hair, and bore malice.

“Lightning. Can we not do this early in the morning? I’ve had a hell of a week and I just want to get through this Monday,” said Sunset.

“Oh, what? You mean that whole bullshit about you getting attacked?” Gilda asked mockingly.

“Please, don’t make excuses, Shimmer. You were just trying to avoid coming here to take your lumps, like a fucking coward, Anon-A-Miss,” Lightning accused.

Sunset grit her teeth behind pursed lips as she grunted, “I am not Anon-A-Miss.”

Gilda swiftly grabbed a fistful of Sunset’s jacket and pushed her against the locker. Sunset felt a stirring on her wrist, the Witchblade was reacting, she looked down and saw that small strands of metal were creeping out, like vipers waiting to strike at a moment’s notice.

“Do you think anyone here believes that shit?! Who else has the skills to find out the kind of stuff you’ve been posting?! Huh?! Talking shit about my family!” Gilda accused.

“Or spreadin’ some bullshit about my old man abusing me?! What kind of sick fuck are you?!” Lightning added.

}}} They are starting to annoy me… {{{

Sunset briefly glanced to the Witchblade. Don’t you dare! They’re just being stupid!

“Did you ever stop to think that it might be someone with a grudge against me, trying to make me a target? Don’t you get it?! By doing all this you’re playing into Anon-A-Miss’ hands! They’re practically turning you and everyone into their puppets, and the last time I checked, you weren’t one to let yourself be so easily manipulated, Gilda!”

Gilda grit her teeth as she readied to punch Sunset.

“What’s going on here?!”

The students parted when they saw the teacher, Ms. Harshwhinny, appear in the hallway. The woman was known for being stern, so most did not cross her. Her blue eyes scanned the scene before her and her scowl deepened. “Ms. Lionheart, I know you weren’t about to assault a fellow student in the halls of this school, were you?”

Gilda blinked and stuttered as she said, “Uh…I mean…no, no ma’am!”

“That was a rhetorical question. Report to detention!” Ms. Harshwhinny ordered. Her eyes then fell on Lightning Dust. “And you as well Ms. Dust.”

Lightning looked at the teacher incredulously. “What?! Why?! I didn’t do anything!”

“Guilt by association, now let’s go!”

Gilda released Sunset and looked her in the eyes as she said, “This isn’t over, Anon-A-Miss.”

Lighting walked by and added, “We’ll see you soon, Anon-A-Miss.”

Once Gilda and Lightning left, the rest of the students went back to their activities as if nothing had happened.

}}} This “Anon-A-Miss”, I might rescind my earlier statement about not wasting my full armor on a mortal. {{{

Buckle up, the day just started…

Pinkie Pie sat with her friends at lunch, and just as she predicted, the school was not any better than it was when Winter Break started. Everyone was on edge, with their secrets spilled, friendships were fractured, smiles were far and few between. But, the worst part of all of this, was seeing Sunset alone.

The flame haired girl sat at a table in the center of the lunch room, Pinkie figured that it made it easier for Sunset to see who was coming towards her, a table close to a wall would make it too easy for her to get ganged up on and driven into a corner. But it also served another purpose, Sunset made it so that everyone could watch her every move.

How could I let her stay like that…? It’s like she’s on an island with a raging sea all around her. And not the fun kind with coconuts, a sparkling lagoon, and monkeys getting into hijinks either!

“Pinkie, are you okay?”

The curly haired girl turned to her right and saw Fluttershy give her a worried look. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine!”

“Honestly, darling, if you’re not feeling well do tell us or the teachers. After what you’ve been through, you needn’t push yourself,” said Rarity.

Pinkie put on a smile, a forced one, as she said, “Nah, I needed to see you guys! Besides, my room’s a mess, so I really can’t do much there.”

“Ah just can’t believe y’all got attacked by some sorta demon monster! What the hell is goin’ on lately?” Applejack asked with concern.

“Yeah, about that,” Rainbow leaned in, “what exactly happened? A monster doesn’t just die that easily from some gunshots, what really happened?”

Fluttershy glared at Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie went through something terrible! If she doesn’t want to talk about it, don’t ask her!”

Pinkie Pie waved her hand gently as she said, “No, it’s okay, not talking about doesn’t help. I read somewhere that keeping things like that inside and not saying anything is really bad for you. So…what happened was…”

The party girl told her friends what happened that night, everything. Rainbow and Applejack had furious expressions upon their faces upon hearing of the monster’s molestation of their friend, while Rarity and Fluttershy were beside themselves with shock. Then she told them about the person who came to save her, another monster. She told them of how it dragged Underwood out of her room and fought him on her front lawn, and how that same monster killed him. To say that her friends were shocked would be an understatement.

“W-Why the hell didn’t the cops say that on the news?!” Rainbow asked.

“Think about it, Dash. How would it sound if they went around sayin’ there are monsters killin’ people, and that there was another one that killed the other? They’d either think they were crazy or hidin’ somethin’,” said Applejack.

“A-And…are we sure that this isn’t, ahem, Equestria related? Like the Sirens?” Rarity asked.

“Who knows?” Rainbow answered.

“Sunset might…” Fluttershy whispered.

Rarity and Applejack looked to each other upon hearing their former friends name. They were still angry with the girl whom they thought was their friend, but they had to admit, she was the only one in this world who had any knowledge about the mystical creatures that resided in her home dimension, that, and she was the only one with access to the magic journal that allowed them to talk to Princess Twilight.

“No effing way! We’re not asking for help from her!” Rainbow stated.

“Look, Rainbow, Ah ain’t keen on the idea either. But if this is Equestrian Magic related, then the only way to deal with it is to get Sunset’s help,” said Applejack.

“No! We could always ask Princess Twilight!” Rainbow shot back.

“But, Sunset’s the one with the journal, we can’t talk to Princess Twilight,” Fluttershy pointed out.

Rainbow slammed her hands on the table, startling the yellow girl. “Then we’ll just make her give it up! Once we tell her what’s going on, she'll totally be onboard!”

Rarity tapped her fingers against the table. “Oh yes, and how do you suppose that conversation will go? Princess Twilight, darling, how’s everything in your kingdom?! By the way, we’re currently experiencing a rash of murders that we believe are being committed by demonic beasts! Would you happen to know if there are any such things in your world? Why hasn’t Sunset contacted you? Oh that’s because we forced her to hand over the journal because we don’t trust her anymore!”

“W-Wait…you’re not seriously think about asking Sunset to hand over her journal, are you?” Pinkie asked with concern.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought. “Maybe, I mean, after all this Anon-A-Miss crap, I’d say she’s lost the right to talk to Princess Twilight. Plus, she could be messaging her and telling her all kinds of lies about what’s happening.”

Pinkie lost a bit of her cool as she stood up and said, “Did you guys forget what I told you?! Sunset saved my life! She sacrificed herself so that I could live! I saw her get hurt! It happened right in front of me! I still…” Pinkie’s eyes began to water. “I can still remember the warmth of her blood on my cheek and on my hand…”

The girls noticed that Pinkie Pie was trembling as she recalled the memory, a look of guilt spread through the table. Pinkie wasn’t one to make up something like that, and the tears she was shedding were not fake.

Fluttershy stood up and wrapped her arms around Pinkie. “It’s okay…we’re sorry. But Sunset’s okay, she’s over there.”

Pinkie sniffled again. “She’s alive, but she’s far from ‘okay’. As long as this Anon-A-Miss keeps telling people's secrets and spreading lies, no one’s going to be ‘okay’.”

“It’ll stop when she stops,” said Rainbow. “Seriously, who else could’ve gotten those pictures?! We were all in the same room, and Sunset was the only one with them on her cellphone! Plus, she somehow got the ones from Rarity’s phone, which again, we were all in the same room!”

Pinkie gently removed herself from Fluttershy’s embrace and stared defiantly at Rainbow. “I-I don’t know how those got out…! I’m just as confused as you all are…but…I just…I just know that it’s not her!”

Rarity blinked in surprise. “Pinkie, dear, I don’t doubt that Sunset saved your life, but Anon-A-Miss is still spreading rumors, even during those days you were out.”

Pinkie rubbed her eyes and put on a serious face. “Well…I’m tired of being mad at her. I’m tired and I don’t want to be mad, actually, I’m not mad at all! You know what, I believe her!”

The girls’ jaws dropped upon hearing this declaration. Pinkie then took her tray of food and proceeded to walk towards Sunset’s table. The other students watched as the premier party planner of CHS approached Sunset’s table, much to Sunset’s surprise. She then sat down and smiled happily at Sunset as she began eating her lunch.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Sunset asked.

“Eating my lunch,” said Pinkie happily.

“I can see that, but why are you eating your lunch at this table?”

“Do I need a reason to eat lunch with my friend?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset wanted to protest, she wanted to put on a show and yell at Pinkie to make everyone think that this wasn’t okay, but her protest was slowly fading as she watched Pinkie sit there and eat, her smile not wavering in the slightest. She knew what she was doing, and didn’t care.

“Anon-A-Miss is going to make up lies about anyone who helps you, you said so. No point in delaying the inevitable, you gonna eat that cookie? Dibs!”

Pinkie snatched Sunset’s chocolate chip cookie and began munching on it. Sunset couldn’t help but smile, yes, Anon-A-Miss might target Pinkie Pie now, but Pinkie knew the consequences, and didn’t care.

}}} I like her. You should consider her for a mate. {{{

Sunset’s face turned beet red upon hearing the Witchblade’s suggestion. I don’t think of her that way, okay?! She’s my friend!

}}} I didn’t hear a “no”. {{{

Sunset face palmed.

Sunset managed to get through the rest of the day relatively unscathed. All that was left for her to do was to go and change out her books at her locker, take the bus, plop on the couch, go to bed, wake up, and do it all over again. Rinse, dry, repeat. Sunset sighed heavily, she needed to find out who Anon-A-Miss was, but her resources were limited, not only that, but her list of suspects were more than a mile long, and no one in the school was exactly up for helping her investigate since they all pegged her as the guilty one. Well, correction, one person was willing to help.

}}} Look out! {{{

Unfortunately, Sunset’s inner thoughts distracted her from noticing that someone was coming at her. The redheaded teen was violently shoved into one corner of the hallway, a little caddy corner hall that was a dead end of lockers, no doors, one way in, one way out, and right now, that out was being guarded by two familiar girls.

Sunset picked herself up off the floor and growled in frustration. “Gilda, Lightning, I seriously don’t want to do this right now.”

“Tough titties, because it’s happening,” said Gilda.

“Aren’t you both supposed to be in detention?” Sunset asked.

“Slipped out just to see you,” said Lightning as she cracked her knuckles. “No more of you talking shit, Shimmer. Either take down the account, or else.”

Sunset sighed heavily as she slid off her backpack and kicked it behind her. “I’d love to, in fact, if I possessed the resources, I’d send a virus to take down all of MyStable! Sadly, I don’t, just like I don’t have the means to take down the account because IT ISN’T ME!”

Gilda cracked her neck. “Always gotta do things the hard way, huh, Shimmer?!”

The tall teen rushed in, taking a swing at Sunset. The former Equestrian stepped away from the attack, time seemed to slow down for Sunset, her enhanced reflexes and thought processing allowed her to see how Gilda was going to attack, which she then gave a slight push onto Gilda’s back with her right hand, making Gilda fall forward and ram against the lockers.

Lightning came in next, about to throw a haymaker, Sunset moved to the left and stuck out her foot just as Lightning Dust passed her by. The turquoise teen’s foot got tripped up, sending Lightning tumbling to the floor until she hit the lockers.

Sunset knew the Witchblade had to be giving her a boost, Gilda may’ve been tall and muscular, but she was by no means slow, no, Gilda was deceptively quick for someone her size, even more so when she was in a fight. Lightning was the same as Rainbow Dash, both excelled at sports, but Lightning had a nasty habit of pushing her body harder than others, which did lead to her being exceptionally fast and strong, but did also led her to receive a fair share of injuries to go with them. Sunset wasn’t a slacker either, without magic, Sunset had to learn how to defend herself, so she watched several ViewTube videos as well as read as many books as she could about self-defense, kickboxing, and other forms of martial arts. Sunset’s speed was honed over her first couple of years in the human world as a homeless girl, if you weren’t fast and constantly aware of your surroundings, you could end up dead. Which wasn’t that much different from the current situation.

Sunset looked over her shoulder and saw a crowd of students had effectively plugged up the exit and were filling the halls on both ends. If the teachers were coming, there was no way they were going to get to her as quickly as she would’ve liked.

Gilda shook her head and then charged in again, she threw punches wildly, cutting the air with each strike. Sunset managed to dodge each one, but she was quickly noticing that she was being forced back into the crowd, and Sunset figured that they were in no hurry to allow Sunset a way out. But worse than that, if Sunset used the same tactic again, Gilda’s swings could end up hurting someone.

The former unicorn watched as one of Gilda’s punches came at her, but she quickly caught the tan woman by the wrist, surprising Gilda. “Enough, Gilda! I don’t want to fight you! If you keep this up, you’ll hurt yourself or someone else!”

Gilda threw another punch with her left hand, but Sunset caught that as well. “You think that matters right now?! We’re doing what they don’t have the guts to do! And that’s putting a stop to Anon-A-Miss!”

“Yeah! Go, Gilda!”

“Kick her ass!”

“Don’t hold back!”

Sunset heard them, the students were actually cheering on Gilda and Lightning, they really wanted them to beat her up. All because of Anon-A-Miss, this was all that damn account’s, fault. All Sunset wanted was to live in peace with her new friends, to learn the joys and lessons that friendship could bring, but no. All of that was shattered, her fragile trust that Sunset had been building up was dashed like glass against a cliff side.

Gilda took advantage of Sunset’s dismay, rearing back her head and then lurching forward into a headbutt. Gilda’s forehead smacked Sunset right between the eyes, causing Sunset to yelp and release Gilda. The tall teen delivered a punch to Sunset’s gut, slightly lifting her off the ground, and then followed up with the left hook across her face.

Lightning came up behind Gilda and struck Sunset on the opposite cheek with a right hook. Gilda quickly got behind Sunset, getting her arms under Sunset’s pits and locking her up. Lightning took advantage of this and began to wail on Sunset, turning her into a punching bag. All the while, the Witchblade’s ruby gemstone was pulsing, the metal squirming like a cornered cobra that was just itching to strike.

}}} That is enough! {{{

NO! Don’t activate!

}}} I will not standby and allow my wielder to subject herself to this! {{{

Fucking Anon-A-Miss…this pain…these cheers…all of it because of Anon-A-Miss…!

“I’m…not…her…”

Lightning stopped. “What’d you say?”

Sunset’s head rose up and her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits that made Lightning take a step back. “I. AM. NOT. ANON-A-MISS!” Sunset used the leverage that Gilda gave her and reared up her legs and thrust them forward, donkey kicking Lightning in the chest and sending her falling to the floor.

The shift in momentum caused Gilda’s grip to loosen and allowed Sunset to get her right arm loose. Sunset drove her elbow into Gilda’s gut, and then followed up with a hammer back fist right into Gilda’s womanhood.

“SON OF BITCH!” Gilda screamed in pain as she finally let go of Sunset. “FUCK!”

Sunset swept Gilda’s legs from under her, making the tan girl fall forward onto the floor. With great speed, Sunset ground her knee into Gilda’s back as she took Gilda’s right arm and pulled back, effectively pinning her to the floor.

“Goddammit! You seriously cunt punched me?! Dammit that hurt you bitch! AAH!” Sunset bent Gilda’s arm at further back, silencing her.

“Not as much as me dislocating your arm, willing to make a bet?!” Sunset threatened. “I’m done!” She then looked towards the crowd who had stopped their cheering. “You hear me?! I’m through! I’m not the one who’s doing this, but I promise you, Anon-A-Miss, because I know you’re in that crowd watching this, getting your rocks off to seeing us tear each other apart, that when I find you, you’re going to wish that you were never born!”

The crowd seemed visibly shaken by Sunset’s declaration, causing the others to murmur amongst themselves wondering for the first time if Anon-A-Miss was someone else, and if that someone was in the crowd with them?

“Fuck that…” Lightning coughed as she rose back to her feet. “That’s just like you, Shimmer…playing the victim and throwing us off your scent! You’re just trying to confuse us by making us think it’s someone else, so like you! But ya know what…? We ain’t buyin’ it!”

Sunset was about to say something when Lightning, in a surprising display of speed, tackled Sunset right off of Gilda. The flame haired girl was about to retaliate, but then felt Lightning’s hands wrap around her throat. Sunset’s eyes widened as she felt Lightning immediately tighten her grip and constrict her windpipe. She grabbed Lightning’s arms, but for some reason was having a hard time making her let go, even with her enhanced strength.

Lightning straddled Sunset’s stomach as she leaned forward and applied more pressure. Sunset’s legs were flailing about behind Lightning as Sunset continued to struggle against her.

The crowd’s enthusiasm quickly turned to fear as they watched the turquoise teen choke out Sunset Shimmer in front them, she wasn’t beating her up, Lightning was trying to kill her.

Gilda managed to get up from the floor, nursing her hurt right arm, that is until she saw what Lightning was doing. “L-Lightning? Lightning what the hell, stop, that’s enough!” When Lightning didn’t heed her words, Gilda rushed towards her friend and tried to pull her off. “I said that’s enough! Stop it or you’ll fucking kill her!”

Lightning growled as she swiftly took her right hand off of Sunset’s throat and pushed Gilda off, making her slam into the lockers. “SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHE HAS THIS COMING!” Lightning’s hand returned to do its work, she then leaned in close to Sunset as she looked into her eyes. “I bet you like this don’t you fucking slut?! Having a hot girl straddle you and choke you out?! You look like you’d be into this hardcore shit?! Well, are you getting off?! Are you wet down there?!”

}}} That’s it, I’m killing her! {{{

NO…! She’s…wait…what is…? Sunset looked into Lightning’s eyes and noticed that her pupils briefly changed shape, shifting between a rounded “O” to an “X” as a silver glow outlined her irises. Something’s…wrong…

}}} I see it too. Now will you let me come out?! {{{

Just increase my strength, that’s all I need!

The Witchblade didn’t want to do that, it wanted to skewer this girl, but the weapon complied. Sunset’s irises began to take on a slight glow, she even felt a couple of her teeth become sharp like fangs. The familiar heat rose inside her body, invigorating and empowering her. Sunset once again gripped Lightning’s arms and began to pull. Both of their arms shook, but soon, Lightning was letting go. Lightning tried to fight back, but Sunset’s surprising increase in strength was actually overpowering her.

“What…how are you –?!”

“Arrrghaaaah!!!” Sunset yelled as she quickly released Lightning’s right arm and struck Lightning in the face.

The blow sent Lightning flying off her and onto the floor. Sunset got to her knees and coughed violently, taking in raspy gasps of air as she tried to catch her breath. Lightning growled as she got up, but then found herself tackled against the locker by Gilda.

“You’re out of control, Dust! Calm the hell down! You took it too far!” Gilda warned.

“NO! I NEED TO…TO…to…” The glow subsided from her irises as her pupils stopped transitioning and settled back to normal. Lightning looked at Sunset, seeing her clasp at her neck as she struggled to breathe. “Oh shit…did I just…?”

“SUNSET?!” yelled a high-pitched voice.

The crowd finally parted and let Pinkie Pie through, and right behind her were the rest of the girls. They all looked upon the scene before them, Sunset on the ground, a visible bruise forming around her neck, blood dripping from her mouth as her breathes still sounded raspy.

Pinkie gasped in shock as she quickly dropped to the floor and wrapped her arms around Sunset’s shoulders. “Sunset?! What’s wrong?! What happened to you?!”

Rainbow Dash looked to Sunset and then to Gilda and Lightning, and her face morphed into a scowl. “What the fuck did you two do?!”

“……” Gilda looked away, a look of shame on her face. She wanted to beat up Sunset, but what Lightning did was taking it too far.

“We were getting back at her! What’s it look like?” Lightning stated.

“No shit Sherlock, I can tell that much! But what did you do to make her sound like that?!” Rainbow demanded.

“Lightning Dust tried to choke Sunset out!” someone called out.

The girls all looked at the turquoise teen, anger was prominent on Rainbow and Applejack’s faces, Rarity was disgusted, Fluttershy was speechless along with Pinkie. The yellow teen quickly dropped to the floor as she looked over Sunset.

“Sunset, did you lose consciousness at any time?!” Sunset shook her head. “Okay, just take in slow breathes. In through your nose, and out through your mouth.”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!”

The kids finally all scattered to allow free roaming through the hallway, and then Vice Principal Luna appeared, her eyes landing on the scene before her.

“Sunset…? What happened to her?!” Luna demanded.

Applejack turned to face the older woman and said, “Gilda and Lightnin’ cornered Sunset and beat her up, and Lightnin’ nearly choked Sunset to death!”

Luna looked upon the two girls in question. “You two are supposed to be in detention. Lightning Dust, you are coming with me to my office, right now. Same with you Ms. Lionheart!”

Gilda released Lightning, but kept a firm grip on her shoulder as they walked over to Luna. The tall teen looked down at Sunset, who managed to look up to meet her gaze. “………Sorry.”

“Can I count on at least one of you to escort Sunset to Nurse Redheart’s office? I will send for my sister and have her meet you there, Sunset,” said Luna.

“We’ll go,” Rainbow answered.

Sunset looked up at Rainbow, surprised that she didn’t hesitate. She looked to Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, all of whom seemed to be in agreement with Rainbow. Sunset didn’t need to see Pinkie to know that she wasn’t going anywhere. The pink teen helped Sunset get to her feet, in truth she was starting to feel better, the Witchblade’s accelerated healing abilities were already fixing the injuries and erasing the pain.

“This is unbelievable!” Celestia exclaimed.

Sunset was sitting on the examination table as Nurse Redheart looked Sunset over, the bruise was still there, as well as some others. But Sunset was sure that after a few more minutes it’d be completely gone, and thankfully her breathing had gotten better too.

“Well, thankfully you don’t seem too bad off, but just to be safe, I’d recommend going to the hospital to check and make sure there aren’t any internal injuries,” said Redheart.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll be okay, I’m not hurting as much as earlier,” said Sunset.

“Nonsense, I’ll drive you there myself,” said Celestia with finality. “I just…I knew things were bad with Anon-A-Miss, but to actually try and take your life! And no one tried to stop it?!”

Sunset shook her head. “No, Gilda did. When she saw Lightning choking me, she tried to stop her. But Lightning knocked her away. When I got the chance and knocked Lighting off of me, Gilda pinned her against the lockers to make her stop, that’s when the girls showed up.”

Celestia whipped out her cellphone, and Sunset knew what she was going to do.

“Don’t, Principal Celestia, you don’t have to call the cops.”

Celestia scowled at that. “And why not?! Sunset, you were assaulted, and one of them attempted to kill you! That is not something I can overlook, not as your guardian, and certainly not as the Principal of CHS.”

Sunset got off the table and placed her hand gently on Celestia’s arm. “Look…I saw something strange when Lightning Dust was attacking me. I don’t know what it was, but I don’t think she was fully in control at that moment.”

Celestia eyed Sunset with disbelief. “Don’t make excuses for her, Sunset.”

“Look, you can report it as bullying or assault, but not the trying to kill me part! I know you remember the Sirens and how they’re magic controlled everyone here, it’s possible that Lightning was being controlled too, if only for that moment,” said Sunset.

Celestia couldn’t really deny that as a theory, after the magical events that had happened at the school recently, and with the fact that Sunset’s from another dimension of talking magic ponies, such impossibilities shouldn’t be discounted right away, especially with the even more recent attack on Pinkie and Sunset by that monster.

With a reluctant sigh Celestia said, “Alright. I’ll trust you on this. But if this happens again, I will be calling the police.”

“Principal Celestia, you’re not really going to let them off?” Nurse Redheart asked.

“Of course not! For now, I will have them suspended for the next two weeks, have a serious talk with their parents and warn them. However, what is nonnegotiable is that from here on out, I will be driving you to and from school,” Celestia stated.

“What?! No, Principal Celestia, you can’t do that! If everyone sees you doing that then–!”

“I do not care!” Celestia interrupted. “A student of mine is under attack by some unknown person and is inciting the student body into a lynch mob against you. I am also your guardian, and it would be neglectful of me if I didn’t try and ensure your safety. I honestly don’t care how it looks. Do you understand?”

Sunset nodded her head.

“Good, I’ll gather a few things from my office and I’ll be right back so we can head to the hospital.”

With that, Celestia left the office. Sunset sighed heavily as she sat back down on the table. “I don’t need her doing all of that.”

Nurse Redheart giggled. “Celestia’s just trying to help you. I honestly think she secretly wants to be a mother, but has never found the right guy, so with her being your guardian, I think she’s trying to be as good a mother as she can.”

Sunset’s cheeks flushed as she remembered her Princess Celestia. The kind and gentle ruler of Equestria, the goddess who acted like more of a mother to her than actual parents did. She remembered one time when she was calling out to Princess Celestia, instead of saying her name or title, Sunset accidentally said, “Mom!”. Of course, at that time, she said it loud enough for everypony in the court to hear her. Sunset felt so embarrassed in that moment, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die, she just called her teacher, her ruler, “mom”.

Princess Celestia wasn’t even bothered, she smiled, walked over to her, and placed her wing over her as she nuzzled Sunset’s cheek and said, “No need to feel embarrassed my star pupil, I have seen you grow from a little filly to a young mare, and have helped you and nurtured your talent since, if I may be so bold, I have come to think of myself as a second mother to you. So…ahem…I don’t particularly mind you calling me that.”

Sunset not only felt relieved, but overjoyed that Princess Celestia had thought of her as a surrogate daughter. Which only made her betrayal all the more hurtful, till this day, Sunset wasn’t sure if she could face the Princess, not after everything she did. Sunset pushed those thoughts out of her mind for now as she looked down at her right wrist.

I know that wasn’t easy, but thanks for listening to me.

}}} I am not a fan of inaction. I will not tolerate harm to my wielder. {{{

I appreciate that, as much as I appreciate your restraint. But, seriously, when she was choking me, did you see it too or was my mind playing tricks?”

}}} It was no trick, I sensed something in that moment. Something foul. It felt similar to that worm creature. {{{

Sunset’s brow knitted in frustration. More monsters, guess they’re coming to me.

Celestia returned with her coat and purse, and also managed to find Sunset’s backpack. “Ready to go, Sunset?”

Sunset hopped off the table and said, “Yes, Mom – MMPH!” The flame haired girl slapped her hands over her mouth as she realized her mistake, her face glowing red from embarrassment.

Celestia’s eyes widened as her cheeks tinted red. “Oh…um, ahem, I didn’t think you saw…uh, you saw me that way, Sunset.”

“I-I am so sorry! I-I didn’t me to say that! I mean, it just slipped out! I mean, I’m not saying I wouldn’t want you for a mom! You’re really great mom material and………Can we just go to your car now?”

“Y-Yes, let’s do so.” Celestia held the door open and let Sunset exit, saying in a whisper, “And…I wouldn’t mind having you as a daughter, Sunset…”

Celestia closed the door and now Nurse Redheart was alone. She had watched that whole display and sighed. “Those two really need to be more honest with themselves.”

Shining Armor was looking over the details of the last case that fell under the Mystery Murders. A digital board displayed all the known evidence pertaining to the man known as Beetle Underwood.

According to his file, he was fired from his job amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with his female students, that was a couple of months ago, right around when the time the Mystery Murders started to crop up.

Shining didn’t like lying to the news about what actually happened, but honestly, how would it look if they said that the culprits may be monsters? Underwood’s apartment didn’t yield anything useful from what forensics was able to find, other than what you might find from a creep like that. Lots of books on insects, a collection of specimens, some alive and some pinned to a wall. And a separate, password protected hard drive that was filled with numerous videos of porn depicting women getting brutally raped, the unfortunate thing was that they weren’t actors playing a role, they were from a black site that loaded those kinds of videos.

Based on the description that they were given from Ms. Pie, along with the officer, Mr. Pie, his wife, and the rest of their daughters, they were able to recreate an approximation of what Underwood looked like as a monster. Shining opened the victim files, there were many, some dying in the most horrific ways possible, not to mention bizarre. Still, this was part of the job, he had to cross reference the victims, taking into account this “monster’s” physical weapons.

“Let’s go with teens between the ages of nineteen and thirteen,” said Shining Armor as he typed. “Cause of death: rape, puncture wounds.”

Out of the vast number of victims, only four appeared on screen, teen girls, ages sixteen, seventeen, and two eighteen-year-olds. There was a diagram from the coroner's office that had circles drawn around their pelvic, chest, and head, indicating where the most severe trauma was. The crime scene photos weren’t a pretty sight either, it even made some veterans retch. It had gotten to the point that it was mandatory that several empty trashcans were to be stationed around the “War Room” at all times.

The bodies were either mangled, limps twisted, or split open. There was no way to get that level of trauma to a human body in such a short amount of time, and with such force without using a machine or it having been done by an animal. The problem with this whole thing was, despite being able to match at least four victims to the profile of Underwood, that still left many, many more.

“Shining, you still workin’ on that one?”

Shining Armor turned around and saw his partner, Spearhead standing there. He had a bronze complexion, with messy purple hair, crystal blue eyes, and a sandy colored suit with a red tie. “Yeah, still am. Something isn’t sitting right with me.”

“Which part?” he asked as he approached Shining.

“Truthfully, everything. The brass doesn’t want us to tell anyone the real things that are killing people, fine, I get it, don’t want to cause a mass panic. But why are these killings happening. I mean, it all started a couple of months ago. Just all of a sudden, murder, after murder, after murder, not counting kidnappings on top of all that. Until that time, Underwood was a normal-ish guy, and then he turns into a monster and starts raping and murdering women?”

Spearhead shrugged as he sighed. “Wouldn’t be called the ‘Mystery Murders’ if we knew who or what was killing people.”

Shining Armor brought up his dash-cam video, showing the scantily clad armored woman standing there with Underwood’s body on the ground. “Then there’s her.”

Spearhead let a out wolf whistle upon seeing her. “Damn, man, she’s hot. You know, for a monster that is. Looks like someone might have a chance to live out their of those hentai doujin fantasies.”

Shining Armor furrowed his brow as his cheeks turned red. “Dude, shut the hell up about that! You know I have a girlfriend, right?”

“Yeah, and does she know you’re a closet anime weeaboo, comic book nerd?” Spearhead asked.

“Y-Yes, I’m trying to ease her into the anime stuff…”

“Well, looking at all this crap, is like watching one of those horror anime shows. You think this chick is the key somehow?” Spearhead asked.

Shining Armor stared at that still shot of the woman. “Don’t know…yet. Even if the Underwood case is closed, we still have a lot more. Which means we may have more monsters out there, and if we have more monsters…”

“We’re going to need bigger guns,” said Spearhead.

“From what Mr. Pie said, he practically blew Underwood’s head off and he still came back. But this woman somehow manages to kill him.”

Just then, Shining Armor’s cellphone rang, he stepped away from the board and answered the call. “Hello, Detective Shining Armor.”

{Yes, Mr. Armor, this is Ms. Celestia, Sunset Shimmer’s guardian.}

“Oh, Ms. Celestia, is there something the matter?”

{……Well, yes, there is. First, I’d like to know if you ever spoke with your Cyber Crimes Division to look into that account.}

Shining Armor pulled out his notepad and flipped through the pages. “Actually I did, and…I’m sorry to say, Ma’am, they weren’t able to find much.”

{Excuse me?}

“Whoever is behind the account is shielding their IP address somehow, we’ve contacted the company that owns MyStable, they’re currently working with Cyber to find the owner.”

{Detective, is there nothing more that can be done? Sunset was attacked due to this Anon-A-Miss today, and was nearly severely injured! Can’t you…Can’t you have them shut down the account?!}

Shining Armor felt his forehead scrunch with anger. “As bad as this sounds, that’s good. I’ll look into it in the morning, now that there’s been a physical assault against Sunset, we can use that as leverage to have the site shut down the account or they risk getting charged as an accessory to assault or gross negligence.”

{Thank you Detective Armor, I know you’re doing more important work right now, but…I don’t know what else to do to help her and keep my students safe.}

“It’s no problem, it’s the whole reason why I got into law enforcement, to protect the innocent from people who seek to harm them. Goodbye Ms. Celestia.”

{Goodbye, and thanks again.}

Shining Armor hung up his phone and then paused for a moment. He turned around and looked at the image of the armor clad monster. “Hey, Spearhead, what did you say working this case was like?”

“Um, like watching one of those horror anime. Why?” Spearhead asked.

Shining Armor hummed as he turned away and grabbed a tablet. “No reason…” he entered his password and entered the name “Sunset Shimmer” into the database search bar. “…or maybe there is?”

Case File 2-2 (The Harpy): Bird of Prey

View Online

The girls had met up at Sugar Cube Corner, a favorite hangout spot of the CHS students. The proprietors of the sweet shop had a front row seat to the devolving state of the students that frequented their establishment, even the young woman who would part time for them was not immune to the goings on.

Speaking of which, the Rainbowbooms were sitting in their usual spot, each one with a forlorn look upon their face, Rainbow Dash however had an angry expression. The events of this afternoon were still fresh in their minds, and neither of them could shake the sound of Sunset’s raspy breaths, or the look of fear on her face as she was nearly killed, and by someone Rainbow had once considered a friend no less.

“Fucking Lightning Dust, what the hell was she thinking?!” Rainbow fumed.

“Ah don’t think she was thinkin’ at all. Bein’ mad at Sunset’s one thing, but that was goin’ way too far,” said Applejack.

“Do you guys still think she’s Anon-A-Miss after all that?” Pinkie asked with a hopeful tone.

The girls seemed hesitant to say anything, Pinkie believed they were probably feeling the same way she did on that night, holding onto some guilty hope that they were right, that Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, and that their actions were justified, but the longer this continued, the more doubts were forming in their minds.

“I suppose…I suppose it’s a possibility?” Rarity answered.

“I talked to one of the other students who was there when it happened, she said Sunset made some kind of declaration of war against Anon-A-Miss. Sunset also accused that it might’ve even been someone in the crowd watching it all,” said Fluttershy.

Applejack crossed her arms as she sat back and closed her eyes. “None of this is right…and Sunset didn’t deserve none of that.”

Rainbow Dash sighed heavily. “Look, I think we can all agree here that as pissed off as we are at Sunset–”

“I’m not,” Pinkie Pie interjected.

“As pissed off as some of us are at Sunset, we can all agree that what Gilda and Lightning did was going overboard, Lightning especially.” A round of nods affirmed this. “But, Pinkie, we’re not doubting that Sunset saved you, as shitty as all this is, even I don’t think she’s that much of a shitty person to let you die.”

Pinkie Pie frowned at Rainbow. “She ponied up, Rainbow! You know, the Magic of Friendship kind of ponying up! If Sunset was really the mean, cruel girl that everybody’s saying she is, then how would that happen?! If anything, she would’ve demoned up instead of ponying up!”

That was a fact that no one at the table could deny, Sunset ponying up could not occur without her feeling some kind of connection to the Magic of Friendship. Normally this shouldn’t occur without the use of their instruments, but it could possibly be due to the danger Pinkie Pie and Sunset were in that allowed her to access it, it could also be the reason Sunset was able to survive the encounter with the monster.

“Shouldn’t that be reason enough to think she may be telling the truth?” Pinkie asked with a pleading tone.

“Darling, I think that’s also what’s making this all the more confusing. But, there’s still one thing we can’t explain, if – and that is a big IF – Sunset isn’t Anon-A-Miss, then how did Anon-A-Miss get the pictures from the sleepover that were on Sunset’s phone?” Rarity asked.

“And how did Anon-A-Miss know about that story I told y’all at the party? Ah told y’all that story before and up until that night, no else knew about it,” said Applejack.

Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth. “I don’t know how…I wish I did, I really, really, really wish I did know so I could make all this stop! But I don’t know…but what I do know is that Sunset saved my life, I looked her in the eyes and she swore that she wasn’t Anon-A-Miss. That’s enough for me, I – we’ll – figure out the rest.”

The girls watched as Pinkie Pie collected her things and got up from the table, she then looked to her friends and said, “Oh, and Sunset said that Anon-A-Miss will probably be making up rumors and things about me now that I’m sticking with her. So…yeah, we’ll probably both be getting it.”

With that said, Pinkie Pie left the restaurant , leaving her friends to contemplate what their pink friend had said.

“Um…I think I believe Pinkie Pie,” said Fluttershy.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“L-Look, I…I’ve been having some d-doubts about this…this whole thing. And…I’m tired of being mad and angry. Sunset helped us during the Battle of the Bands, without her, the Sirens would’ve won.”

“We never said we fergot that,” said Applejack.

“I know, but…I just don’t want to take the risk that we’re wrong about all this. Sunset was seriously hurt, she could’ve gotten killed by Lightning today!” Tears began to flow from Fluttershy’s eyes. “It was Lightning today, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after that? What if someone succeeds?! I don’t want the last memories of Sunset or for me to be about how mean we were to her, how mean I was.”

Fluttershy wiped her tears as a stern look appeared on her face. “And what if it does turn out that it was someone else after something terrible happens to her?! We’ll have to live with the guilt that we abandoned our friend in their hour of need.” The cream colored girl stood up. “I need to go home and think, I’ll…I’ll see you later.”

Fluttershy left the room, leaving the past holdouts alone. Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked to the two remaining girls in the booth. “Don’t suppose you two are going to give a speech about how Sunset’s innocent and storm off?”

Rarity crossed her arms over her chest and then cupped her chin with her left hand. “Quite frankly, darling, I sympathize with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie about why they wish to stick by Sunset, but…I’m sorry, but there’s two pieces of evidence we still need to have cleared up. The photos at my house, and Applejack’s story. I’ll remain cautiously hopeful about the idea that Sunset’s innocent, but…”

“Ah hear ya, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Still, Ah can’t condone anyone harmin’ Sunset over this, it ain’t right,” said Applejack.

“I’ll see about talking to Lightning,” said Rainbow.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t that close anymore?”

“We’re still teammates, and we have respect on the field. Professional courtesy, I guess. Still, I’m the captain of the CHS soccer team, and she’s also the second best in the school alongside me, so I have a responsibility to at least chew her out for what she did.”

Lightning still couldn’t believe what had happened today. She and Gilda had planned on beating the hell out of Sunset Shimmer, but…that was on another level. Sure, Sunset deserved that and then some, but Lightning barely remembered it, she remembered getting up after Sunset knocked her to the floor, she remembered telling her off and lunging at her.

Then…things started to get iffy after that. Even now, the phantom feeling of having her hands wrapped around Sunset’s throat still lingered, and the look of fear and desperation in the redhead’s eyes as Lightning squeezed the life out of her, it haunted her even now. And yet…part of her liked it, and that was the scariest thing of all.

“Lightning!”

The blonde was snapped out of her reverie and glanced to her left. She was riding in a sleek, navy blue sports car, the man driving her had a sky-blue complexion, with an aviator’s jacket and a white scarf. A whiff of the air made it known that he had a strong cologne, a scent that Lightning often associated with him. This man was her father, a former professional racer, Wind Rider.

“Y-Yeah, Dad…?”

“What the fuck were you thinking back there?” Wind asked, his tone was even and yet hinted with a barely controlled rage.

“L-Look, it’s…it’s just that girl, she’s messing with everyone…! Me and Gilda…we just wanted to teach her a lesson…” Lightning stated.

“‘A lesson’, A LESSON?! You nearly killed that girl you stupid girl!”

Lightning at least had the decency to look ashamed.

“You have scouts coming to your games, and something like this will no doubt go to the police! I’ve covered up most of your bullshit before, but this is…UGH!” Wind took a deep breath as he turned a corner and continued down the road. “Can this girl be bought off?”

“W-What?” Lightning asked.

“Can. This girl. Be bought off?! Yes or no?!”

Lightning had to think about that for a moment. “I-I don’t know…if this was a few months ago, I’d say yeah. But…recently…it’s like she’s trying to be some goodie-two-shoes, or at least she’s acting like it…”

Wind ran his left hand through his hair. “So there’s a possibility that she can. Fine, that’s something to work with. Anything else I can use? She have a criminal record? Does she hang out with gangs, do drugs, whore herself out? Anything?”

Lightning had to think. “Not sure about the drugs, gangs, or prostituting, but she did do a lot of shit like blackmailing the students, she was kind of the Queen Bee Bitch of the school.”

Wind Rider nodded. “Okay, so she ain’t no saint, even better. We’ll also say that that tall girl convinced you to do it.”

Lightning looked at her father with a furrowed brow. “W-Wait, Gilda? N-No, don’t do that! She’s my best friend Dad! Plus, her home life’s not that great and all–!”

“Just as good, she looks like a thug, messed up home life. Writes itself, okay, this isn’t a total disaster,” said Wind Rider.

They finally arrived at their house, a modern, two story home, an homage to all of Wind Rider’s wins on the pro racing circuit. The car pulled into the garage as Lightning said, “No! Dad, just go after Sunset! Gilda isn’t–!”

*SMACK*

Lightning’s body lurched to the right side, her cheek throbbing as she bit back tears.

Wind Rider’s hand was still hovering in place, preparing to deliver another blow if necessary. “You need to get it into your thick, fucking skull, girl! Only associate with those who can elevate you, or who you can use to elevate yourself! That one with the rainbow hair is a good example, you’re on the same teams.”

Lightning looked away from her father. “She’s my teammate…that’s it. We’re not friends anymore.”

Wind Rider huffed. “Well maybe you should change that. You said she’s a carpet muncher, might as well put that body of yours to good use.”

Lightning’s eyes widened. “You want me to fuck Rainbow Dash? And what? Become her girlfriend?”

“If it helps you, and you can use her.” Wind Rider glared at his daughter. “Yes.”

Lightning couldn’t believe what her father was saying to her, had she really messed up that much to warrant going that far? Granted, this wasn’t the first time her father had to use his money to cover up some misdeeds she had done, but to go to this extreme?

“She won’t have anything to do with me…she saw what I did to Sunset, and she was pissed,” said Lightning.

Wind Rider unbuckled himself and said, “She’ll get over it, so long as you can persuade her. Now get to your room, and stay there. I have to make some calls and get ahead of this potential shit storm you kicked up.”

Lightning unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, her cheek would probably swell, but given that she had been in a fight earlier today, no one would look twice at it. The spacious home had a large trophy case in the center of the living room, containing within it all of Wind Rider’s racing wins, with pictures of him standing in the winners circle amongst other top racers. At the far end of the room was Lightning’s trophy case, filled with every sports trophy she could get from every sports team she could join. The only other person in the city she knew who could match this many accomplishments, was Rainbow Dash. The two had been friends at one point, until they had a falling out during a soccer game.

Lightning pushed those thoughts out of her mind, right now she needed to put some ice on her cheek before it got worse. She walked into the kitchen and found an ice pack, being an athlete, having such things was mandatory in their house. Lightning winced as she placed the pack against her cheek, feeling the heat in contrast to the coolness of the ice.

The sound of a door slamming made her jump, no doubt her father had retreated to his study to get to work on covering up her latest mess. Lightning Dust made her way up to her room, which was done up in black and green colors, an homage to the daredevil stunt group, The Washouts.

Lightning put the ice pack on her bed as she tossed her backpack to the floor. She discarded her shoes, jacket, and top, joining her backpack. Lightning stood before the mirror in her black sports bra and looked over the damage she had received from the fight. As expected, there was a bruise forming on her chest where Sunset donkey kicked her, now that Lightning saw the bruise her mind was now more aware of how much it hurt. She discarded her bra to the floor and took a closer look. The bruise was like a perfect impression of Sunset’s boots on her modest chest.

A cursory glance over the rest of her upper body didn’t show any other bruises, her breathing seemed fine despite getting kicked in the chest, and her ribs didn’t feel broken. Lightning released a sigh of relief, and then she chuckled darkly when she remembered calling Sunset sick for saying her father abused her.

The Anon-A-Miss post meant it in a sexual way. But that was far from the truth, in truth, her father struck her, but made sure to do so in ways that wouldn’t impede her ability to perform athletically. He pushed her, hard, and because of that, Lightning would push herself in everything she did, and if she was a shrink, part of the reason she pushed herself so hard was because she was hoping she’d get messed up enough to stop. But, at some point, Lightning was just doing it to be the best, despite her father’s further influence.

“Old man’s trying to relive his glory days through me…fine…” Lightning muttered as she sat on the edge of her bed. “Guess I’ll just fuckin’ seduce Rainbow Dash and sleep with her…bastard, probably buy me all kinds of sex shit and have my room set up. Hell, probably pay for a fancy hotel room for me and her!”

“Kind of sucks, doesn’t it?”

Lightning looked around the room as she shot to her feet. “W-Who said that?!”

“You’re life, being chained to that old asshole, taking his shit and trying to live through you! Ha, bet if he could, he’d take your brain out and put his brain in your body.”

Lightning felt a cold chill in the room, her breath becoming visible as if the A/C had been cranked up. “Okay, s-seriously, whoever’s there, I swear I’ll kick your ass if don’t show yourself!”

“Heh, heh, calm down. I’m not here to hurt you. Far from it, I just want to give you an outlet…look in the mirror.”

Lightning turned around and looked at the mirror, the reflection of herself began to walk forward, until it completely filled the standing mirror, yet, Lightning never moved from the spot she was standing. The turquoise girl slowly approached the mirror, and as she did, she saw that there was a distinct difference between herself and the reflection. Their eyes.

The reflection’s eyes had a silver glow around the irises, and her pupils were “X” shaped. “Now, you know where I am, happy?”

“No…oh shit…I’ve lost it, I’ve finally lost it! I heard about all those concussion warnings but I thought that they were just a bunch of bullshit,” said Lightning in a slight panic.

The reflection rolled her eyes. “No you dolt, you aren’t hallucinating because of a blow to the head. I’m real.”

“Prove it!”

The reflection smiled toothily as it brought its left hand to the spot where Lightning’s cheek was struck. She pressed it against her face and the red mark and swelling went away. At the same time, Lightning no longer felt the heat of her struck cheek, the pain was completely gone as well. The reflection ran her hand over her chest, making the bruise disappear into nothing, and just like with Lightning’s face, the bruise on her own chest vanished along with the pain.

“W-What are you?” Lightning asked astonished.

“What am I? Not really important. But what is important is that you need to let out some steam.”

“Wouldn’t mind that, but my old man won’t let me out of the house after today…”

The reflection had a mischievous grin on its face. “What if we could? The SOB will be hitting that bourbon pretty soon, and then pass out.”

“I can’t take the car…he’ll hear me and know.”

“Let me take care of that, and I promise you, you’ll enjoy every second of what comes next.”

Lightning should probably think twice about accepting the help of a doppelganger in the mirror, but something about her mirror self enticed her. She had done more than one rebellious thing to spite her father before, what was one more?

“What do I have to do?”

Shining Armor was pouring over some documents late into the night, he had a hunch and he wanted to follow up on it, but it was late, and Cadence was probably waiting up for him. He had told his girlfriend time and again that she didn’t need to do that, being a cop meant that he was more than likely going to be working late at night and come home just as late.

Of course her response to that was always, “I don’t mind waiting for you. I mean, I waited most of high school for you to ask me out, you dork.”

Thinking on that made Shining Armor smile, at Crystal Preparatory Academy, Mi Amore Cadenza, or “Cadence” as she preferred, was easily the hottest, smartest, and most popular girl in the school. Shining Armor would be the first to admit, the school could often feel like a viper pit with how competitive everyone was. But Cadence made the place feel less oppressive, she was always cheery, never put anyone down, and was never stuck up to anyone that was low in the “high school pecking order”.

Shining still couldn’t believe how he managed to snag her as he drove down the snow and ice slicked roads. He was cleaning up the Anime Club room, the group had had on an episode of Sailor Moon on and it was still playing in the background, the teen boy humming along to the English dubbed song as he moved some chairs back.

That was when she walked by and saw it playing on the screen. Shining Armor paused when he saw Cadence walk into the room, her eyes transfixed on team of magical super heroines.

“C-Cadence…?”

“What’s this show?”

“Uh…S-Sailor Moon. It’s a show about a group of teenage girls who have magical powers based on the planets of the solar system, and they fight demons, monsters, and save people.”

“Really? Huh, this is ‘anime’ right? I thought it was nothing but big breasted girls, gore, and other junk?”

“Ahem, well, i-it’s not always about that stuff. I-I won’t lie there’s a good amount of that, but there’s also some good stuff that will seriously make you bawl your eyes out.”

“Oh, which one would you recommend?”

Shining Armor looked around the room and wondered if she was really talking to him. “Y-You really want me to recommend you something?”

“Well you are in this ‘Anime Club’, I’m sure you have some ideas? But, nothing that’s raunchy or too messed up that I’ll have to hide it from my folks.”

So, Shining Armor made his recommendations of “Clannad/Clannad: After Story”, “Kanon”, and “Angel Beats”. Shining Armor didn’t make contact with Cadence much after that day, figuring it was just Cadence being nice and asking about his hobby to spare him any awkwardness. That changed over the weekend when Cadence actively sought him out and called him a “jerk” for recommending those anime. At first he thought he had royally messed up. Those three had the least amount of fan service, and were more story heavy and emotionally driven so he didn’t think there was anything too bad in it.

“You said ‘bawl my eyes out’, that was an understatement, I freakin’ lost it! That guy losing his wife and having to care for his little daughter alone…! The other guy finding out the girl he loved was a ghost…! And then that one girl finding out her heart belonged to that boy and saved her life! And that art and lighting was beautiful!”

Apparently he was a jerk for not warning how emotionally impactful it was. From then on, the two became friends, and Cadence had a different outlook on the art form. It wasn’t until after the Friendship Games that Shining Armor worked up the courage to finally ask Cadence to be his girlfriend. His friends thought he was aiming too high with that one, and was inviting the ire of many a jock and other pretty boys in the school for even attempting it. However, Cadence said yes, and the rest as they say was history.

Now the two of them owned a place together, with his money as a detective, and her money from being the Dean of Students at CPA, they were able to get a nice house. Although, Shining Armor hadn’t yet popped the question, which his coworkers, parents, and even his own little sister would pester him because of it.

“One day,” he said.

Shining Armor turned down one of the streets, but slowed down when he spotted something. There was a man going down an alleyway with a young girl. He couldn’t make out too many details, but Shining Armor could plainly see the man’s left hand was unabashedly shoved down the pants of the girl’s rear.

“Cop’s work is never done.”

Shining Armor turned his car around and pulled over. He stuck the red police light onto his car and turned on his radio. “Central, this is Detective Armor.”

{Go ahead, Detective.}

“I have a possible 10-30, going to check–”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

A scream pierced the night that made Shining Armor’s blood run cold.

“Central, belay that code! I need backup, at the corner of Main St. and Clydesdale Ln.! Possible 303!”

{Notifying all units, Detective requesting backup.}

Shining Armor threw open the door, drew his gun, checked it, and rushed towards the alleyway. The cop pressed his back against the wall of the opening, a flashlight in his left hand and a gun in his right, the sounds of gurgling and pleading could be heard echoing down alley, prompting Shining Armor to steel himself as he whipped around and entered the alley.

Shining Armor shined his light and paused at what he saw. There was a man on the ground, his mouth pouring blood, crawling on the ground. A wet “thunk” went off as something fell between the man and Shining Armor. He shined his light on the object, his eyes went as wide as saucer plates as he saw that the thing before him was the severed half of the man’s body. His legs were kicking, as if still receiving singles from his brain despite their separation. Shining Armor shined his light on the man still crawling towards him, and finally noticed that his lower half was indeed missing. The detective was about to reach for his radio, until something fell from the air behind the crawling man.

This creature was monstrous, it was female, it’s exposed, turquoise colored torso showed off its B-cup sized breasts, its lower half was covered in silver feathers, like that of a bird, halfway down its black avian legs could be seen, with black talons that were covered in blood and gleamed in the light of Shining Armor’s flashlight. It’s arms were like giant wings, with silver feathers covering everything from the shoulders down, stopping at around the wrists where its four fingered hand showed off the same black talons on its feet, which were also covered in blood. The creature’s face was angular and had pointed ears, with long silver hair that flowed down to the middle of its back, and at its rear was a long flowing, whip-like tail that had feathers at the end.

The creature was the fantasy textbook definition of a harpy, even Shining Armor could see that. It’s eyes were silver in color, with “X” shaped pupils that shrank due to the excess light. The Harpy smiled and showed off its rows of sharp teeth.

“Bastard was looking to get lucky tonight, guess he wasn’t as lucky as he thought,” said the Harpy.

Shining Armor shook his head and pointed his gun at the monster. “I don’t know what exactly you are, but you need to back off, NOW! This is your only warning!”

Harpy walked over to the man who was, amazingly, still alive as he continued to crawl in an attempt to get away. Harpy pressed her right foot onto his back, while her left foot’s talon tapped the ground. “Hmm, no.” Harpy pressed her right middle talon into the man’s back, piercing his flesh and digging all the way down into his spine, the man screamed in agony as his eyes went into the back of his head before finally falling silent. “Jeez, he was a real screamer, am I right?”

Shining Armor opened fire on the monster, the sounds of gunshots rang out in every direction as he emptied his entire clip into the monster, with each hit, Harpy jerked backwards from the impact as green blood seeped from her wounds. When Shining Armor was empty, he quickly replaced the clip, in that time, Harpy’s body began to heal itself, the gunshot wounds ejected the bullets as they clinked against the pavement. Shining Armor saw it, he had heard what the officers said, but now he was seeing it with his own eyes.

“How about it, officer? You feeling lucky tonight too?!”

Suddenly, the sounds of several police sirens filled the night, Harpy’s enhanced vision could see the telltale signs of blue and red light’s approaching them in the distance. “Well, I’ll take care of a few more before the night’s through. Let’s turn this into a race! How many people can I kill before you catch me?! If you can tag me with a gunshot before I get that person, you win and they’re saved! Ready, set, GO!”

Harpy jumped high into the air and then spread her wings, taking off like a bat out of hell as she soared through the sky. Shining Armor hurriedly ran out of the alley as the rest of the squad cars arrived.

“Detective, what was –?!”

“LISTEN! THAT THING’S GOING TO KILL MORE PEOPLE IF WE DON’T HURRY! ALL UNITS, SPREAD OUT, SHOOT THAT THING THE MOMENT YOU SEE IT!”

The other officers didn’t understand, but knew that there had been enough weird killings in the city that there wasn’t time to question such things. The other squad cars did as Shining Armor ordered, while two remained at the crime scene. Shining Armor hurried to his car and took off down the road where he saw Harpy go. This was a futile effort, he knew that, the monster was just toying with them. The creature was fast and the city was vast, even with every police cruiser in the city patrolling, there was no way for them to stop her. Still, that didn’t mean they couldn’t try.

“Celestia, I told you I was fine.”

Sunset and Celestia had spent the last few hours in the waiting room at Canterlot General Hospital. Despite informing the front desk of the injuries Sunset had sustained, the nurse at the station could see that Sunset wasn’t as bad off as Celestia had informed, and as such their wait was longer. Upon finally getting to see a doctor, he confirmed what Sunset had been saying to her since they left CHS, she was fine, and there were no visible injuries.

“I’m sorry, Sunset, but after what I was told and the way you looked, I’d rather be safe than sorry. I know they say kids can heal faster, but you really take it to another level,” said Celestia.

“Uh…what can I say? I mean, you know I’m technically not human,” Sunset pointed out.

Celestia shrugged. “That’s true, so I’m guessing that this has something to do with your magic, maybe?”

“Y-Yeah, magic,” said Sunset.

As soon as they got outside, the sounds of police sirens filled the night, making Sunset and Celestia looked at each other with worry.

“What’s going on out there?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t –?” Sunset sensed something, even the Witchblade was becoming agitated.

Suddenly, something silvery swooped down from the sky and snatched Celestia. Sunset turned and looked up as she watched her guardian get taken into the sky.

“CELESTIA!!!” Sunset screamed as she ran after her.

}}} I AM READY! {{{

“THEN LET’S GO!”

Sunset ran in the direction that the monster was heading, but then concentrated her strength into her legs and jumped straight into the air, causing the pavement beneath her feet to crack and fissure. Sunset bounded from one building and then another until she was on the roof.

The heat filled Sunset’s body, her eyes shifting to black as her turquoise irises shined. The flame within her burned hotter as the Witchblade’s gemstone shined bright in the night. The magical symbiotic weapon wasted no time in shredding through Sunset’s clothes, leaving her nude as the Witchblade’s armor fastened itself to her body. Once the armor was formed, Sunset willed her metallic wings to form as she shot into the air.

Meanwhile, Celestia was screaming as she felt the sharp talons of Harpy piercing her shoulders. “Let me go!? Please, let me go!” she pleaded.

“Oh you don’t want me to do that, look down.” Celestia did as Harpy said, and only now realized how high they were. “That’s right, we’re as high as one of these buildings, a fall from here and you go splat!”

“What do you want from me?!” Celestia asked.

“Oh, nothing. I just want to play with your body, maybe eat your liver in front of you? I’m still deciding, I mean, I just killed about three more people before you, so I’m trying to not repeat myself,” said Harpy.

Harpy suddenly saw something fly by her, something that gleamed in the light. A red dot seemed to be getting closer and closer until a sharp pain erupted from Harpy’s chest, causing her to shriek in pain. A long spiked chain had embedded itself in Harpy, and on the other end was Sunset, reeling Harpy in like a fish.

Harpy struggled against the chain, and in so doing, released her grip on Celestia, letting her fall out of the sky.

“CELESTIA!” Sunset exclaimed as she dismissed her chain, letting it dissolve into strands of dust as she flew down at breakneck speeds.

Celestia was screaming her head off as the wind roared in her ears, the ground quickly approaching. But right before she hit, something else caught her, princess style, and flew up with her into the air. Celestia had closed her eyes but opened them to see yet another monster had her in its clutches. Fear was prominent in the teacher’s eyes as she looked upon Sunset in her Witchblade armor, thankfully she didn’t seem to notice the similarities, either due to the night’s shadows, her fear, or the overall transformation.

Sunset flew down to the streets below, startling several people as they backed away from her. Sunset propped Celestia against the wall, her wound still bleeding profusely.

Those wounds, she’ll bleed out before help arrives.

}}} We can heal her. {{{

Wait, you can do that?!

}}} I have the capability, you need only to focus on healing her and it will be done. Press your hand against her. {{{

Sunset nodded as she raised her right hand.

Celestia’s eyes widened with mounting fear when she saw the clawed hand of the skimpy armored girl. “P-Please, don’t hurt me…I-I’ll do whatever you want!”

“Hold still.”

Sunset pressed her hand to the center of Celestia’s chest, the red gemstone glowed brighter as its energy pulsated through the older woman’s body. Celestia was surprised when she no longer felt the pain, she glanced to her shoulders and watched as the wounds started to close up. In a matter of seconds the puncture wounds and whatever pain she was feeling were completely healed. Sunset retracted her hand and smiled at her guardian.

“T-Thank you,” said Celestia.

Before she could reply, Sunset was tackled to the ground. Harpy had dived down and slammed herself into Sunset, the warrior girl grunted as she kicked Harpy off of her, jumped up, and turned to face her. The feathered creature flared her wings to stop herself from going further and stared down the new enemy before her.

“Who the hell are you, and why are you ruining my fun?!”

“Tch, ‘fun’, you have a real twisted sense of humor. Call me Witchblade, but you can also call me…” Sunset’s forearms formed two, three-foot long silver crescent blades. “You’re executioner!”

The armored maiden dashed towards Harpy, the feathered monster flew higher, dodging Sunset’s initial attack, but she quickly found out that flight wasn’t going to be her advantage as Sunset’s metallic wings sprouted. Sunset managed to close the distance as her twin blades pierced Harpy’s shoulders.

With a mighty flap, Sunset forced both of them back to the ground, slamming into the asphalt as several cars swerved and crashed to avoid hitting them. Sunset detached her forearm blades, but kept them connected via small chains, the tips of the blades had created hooks that anchored themselves into the asphalt, effectively pinning Harpy. Sunset stood up and saw that Harpy was about to try and do the same, that is until Sunset stamped down onto Harpy’s stomach with her left foot. The heel of her boot turned into a blade pile driver and shot down through Harpy’s stomach and came out the back, piercing the road beneath.

“AAAAAH!!! FUCKING BITCH!” Harpy howled in pain.

“Okay, since I have you like this, I’m going to need you to tell me what the hell you are and how many more of you are out there?!” Sunset leaned down as a sadistic grin split her face, showing her vampire-like fangs. “And if you don’t tell me…” Sunset’s right arm began to morph, taking on the appearance of chain saw blades. “I’m clipping your wings. Now talk!”

“FUCK YOU!”

Sunset wagged a finger in front of Harpy. “Wrong answer.”

The blades began to spin as Sunset slowly approached Harpy’s left arm. Harpy struggled against the blades, but doing so would only tear her apart. Something welled up inside her, a power, something caught in her throat. Harpy inhaled deeply and then released a sonic screech that visibly warped the air around them, creating a linear funnel of sonic energy.

Sunset screamed, although she couldn’t even hear that as Harpy’s screech rang in her ears. Not only that, but her body felt like it was being vibrated and torn from the inside out, causing her nose and ears to bleed, even her eyes were starting to cry tears of blood. All around them the people covered their ears as the sound pained them as well, the windows shattered along with the street lamps, the sound was even causing problems with the power as the entire block went dark.

Sunset’s concentration faltered as the blade constructs dissolved, allowing Sunset to stumble backwards as she continued to hold her head. Harpy stopped her screech, panting from the effort, her stomach still had the puncture wound, along with her shoulders. Her healing factor was slow to work, making Harpy realize that this girl was no joke, had she cut off her arm Harpy was fairly certain that that would remain permanently cut off.

“‘Nother time…hero…!” Harpy declared as she shot into the sky and flew off into the night.

Sunset was down on one knee as her ears rang severely, her vision danced with double images as her senses were thrown into disarray from the direct attack, not only that, but her body felt like it was torn apart from the inside, the irony taste of blood was in her mouth, and pain was felt all over her body.

Got to…get away…n-need time…to h-heal…

Her vision was still unreliable, but Sunset picked a random direction and jumped as high and as far as she could. That turned out not to be such a good idea as soon she found herself smashing into a fire escape, and bounced off a wall.

Unfortunately, her next impact was against a cop car, which happened to belong to Shining Armor. He stopped immediately as Sunset bounced off the hood of his car and into an adjacent alley. The detective got out of his car, abandoning his pistol in place of his shotgun, he cocked it once as he raised it and ran into the alley, finding Sunset still clutching at her head as he approached her.

“CCPD! PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND!” he ordered. When she didn’t comply he fired a warning shot at her feet. “I MEAN IT!”

Shining Armor watched as her eyes slowly opened, switched on the flashlight attachment and noticed how there was blood seeping from her nose, eyes, and ears, not only that, but she looked completely disoriented. Shining Armor wasn’t even certain if she was aware of his presence.

“Hey, can you hear me? Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?” Shining Armor asked as he held up three.

Sunset gave no response, she could barely see anything, and then she blacked out.

Shining Armor watched as the girl fell forward and rolled onto her back. At that moment, the armor which barely covered her body was retracting, changing into a bracelet that wrapped around her right wrist. When it was done, he stood there shocked at what he saw. What was now before him was a very naked Sunset Shimmer.

“W-What the hell?!” Shining Armor quickly grabbed his radio and was about to call this in, but then…he stopped. Why did he stop? He knew what he needed to do, protocol dictated that Shining Armor needed to call in for backup or an ambulance. Yet, how was he going to explain this? Finding a naked girl in a random alley, who was just clad in the skimpiest armor he had ever seen? Shining Armor looked and growled loudly, “Shit…!”

Shining Armor ran to his car and placed the gun in the trunk, and then he took out a large blanket and hurried back to Sunset. Carefully, he wrapped the girl up and carried her to the back of his car and laid her down as best he could. The block was completely blacked out due to whatever happened, there were no traffic cams on due to that and it was too dark to see anything. Shining Armor took off his police light and began to drive, wondering just what the hell he was doing.

Cadence had been waiting up, she had received a text from Shining that he was heading home, but that was almost two hours ago, then the news began reporting about some kind of fighting going on in the city, people getting killed and then an entire city block was blacked out. Cadence had no doubts her boyfriend was in the middle of that chaos trying to help people, even though he was well trained and was careful, she still couldn’t help but worry.

Thankfully, her fears were put to rest when she saw headlights approaching their driveway, and the sound of the garage opening up. Cadence rushed to the door and stopped when Shining Armor exited the car.

“Shiny, thank god you’re alright!” Cadence exclaimed. It was then that she noticed her boyfriend’s serious expression. “Shiny, what’s wrong?”

Shining Armor ran his hand through his hair as he grunted in frustration. “A lot of effed up crap, that’s what. But now I have another problem. Cadence, you trust me, right?”

“Of course I trust you,” she replied.

“And you know I wouldn’t do anything without a reason, right?”

“Again, yes! Now what’s wrong?”

Shining Armor sighed as he went to the backseat and carefully scooped up Sunset Shimmer into his arms and revealed her to Cadence. The fuchsia colored woman was speechless, to say the least. Her boyfriend just pulled out a teenage girl who, from what she could tell, was naked and wrapped in a blanket. A myriad of questions flowed through her mind, as well as a million reasons for why her boyfriend had an unconscious naked girl in his backseat and saw fit to bring her to their house.

Cadence took a deep breath as she tried to remain calm, employing the breathing technique she taught Shining’s little sister to calm herself. “Shiny, I’m not going to assume the worst. But I really, really need you to tell me why you have a naked teenage girl wrapped up in a blanket.”

“Believe it or not, I think she’s connected to the Mystery Murders,” said Shining Armor.

“W-What?!”

Shining Armor gently brought Sunset into their home and walked towards the guest room of their one story house. Cadence, after coming out of her shock, hurried on ahead of Shining and opened the door to the guest room, allowing him to carefully place Sunset onto the bed. Shining pulled back a little on the blanket and revealed her right arm, he stared at the bracelet on her wrist, seeing that the ruby gemstone had a slight glow to it.

Cadence bit on her thumbnail as she glanced from her boyfriend to the girl. “Okay, how do you think she’s connected? And if you think that, why didn’t you take her to the hospital or to a cell?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s my inner nerd telling me that there’s more to this than want we’ve seen, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her.”

Shining Armor motioned for the two of them to talk outside, they stood outside the doorway and it was there that Shining Armor told Cadence about how he met Sunset Shimmer, about the abuse she was suffering at school due to some cyber bully, and recently the attempt on her life. He then recalled the case with Beetle Underwood, telling her of the girl who was clad in skimpy armor who was standing over the body of the perp. Now, once again, he saw that same armored girl, but now it seemed that girl was Sunset Shimmer all along.

Cadence looked upon the girl in a different light. “And…that armor came from that bracelet?”

“That’s what I’m thinking. It just slithered over her body and returned to the bracelet, I have no idea what to make of this…” Shining Armor admitted.

“Shining…what are you planning on doing with her? You can’t just keep her against her will, her guardian is going to ask where she is! How’s that going to look when a decorated detective is found to have kidnapped a girl! And with no clothes on top of that?!” Cadence took a deep breath.

“Like I said, I think she’s connected to the Mystery Murders, I don’t know if she’s the one behind it, or…”

“Or?”

“Or maybe she’s someone who’s trying to stop it.”

Cadence placed her hand on his shoulder. “What will you do if it’s the former?”

“Arrest her, if she comes quietly. Honestly, I don’t think there’s much I could do to bring her in, not after what I saw that other monster do, I don’t doubt she’s strong or stronger than that thing.”

Cadence gulped. “I guess we’ll hope for the latter.”

It was late at night, but Harpy finally made it back. The window to her room was open, allowing her to slip in unnoticed by anyone, she plopped onto the floor as her body began to morph. Bones cracked and flesh rippled as a silver aura overtook her body. In a matter of seconds, the Harpy returned to her original form, that of Lightning Dust. The now naked girl huffed and panted, her stomach and shoulders were sore as hell from the injuries she had sustained due to Witchblade’s weapons.

Lightning stood up and looked at herself in the mirror, there were some scars from where the weapons had pierced her, but they were healing, slowly, but still healing.

“What the fuck was that?!” Lightning asked.

“Something that was unforeseen.”

“ ‘Unforeseen’?! I nearly got killed because of that thing! That’s it! I’m done! Get out of me and leave me alone!” Lightning demanded.

The reflection’s gaze narrowed. In a startling move, the reflection lunged out of the mirror and tackled Lightning Dust to the floor, putting her, ironically, in the same position as she had Sunset earlier today. Lightning Dust’s eyes widened with fear as her heart pounded in her chest, Mirror Lightning’s eyes glared with sadistic glee as her smile showed off her shark-like teeth.

“Let’s get one thing clear, I don’t take orders from you! I just need your body you mewling little cunt! So, we’re going to kill again, and again, until you and I are completely melded together.” Mirror Lightning leaned down and licked the side of Lightning Dust’s face. “I can kill you any time I want, and make it look like you just committed suicide, and when you do die, I’ll violate your soul and tear it apart and send you to Oblivion. Do you know that is, huh?”

“N-N-No…” Lightning whimpered with tears in her eyes.

“When the body dies, it’s soul moves onto the next plane of existence, but when your soul is destroyed you’re utterly, totally gone. No reincarnation, no Heaven, no Hell, no Purgatory, no nothing. For any living thing or spirit, that is the worst kind of death there can be. And I can bring that to you. Do you want that?”

Lightning shook her head in the negative.

Mirror Lightning released her grip on Lightning’s throat and patted her face. “That’s a good girl. Now, get some rest. We’ll need to plan our next move soon.” Mirror Lightning disappeared into thin air, leaving Lightning Dust trembling on the floor.

The scared teen curled up into a ball on the floor, hugging herself as she cried. “Help me…someone…help me….”

Case File 2-3 (The Harpy): The Enemy

View Online

Fair warning. This chapter contains sex scenes. Viewer Discretion Advised.

Sunset groaned as she awoke, small aches reverberated through her body, but it wasn’t anything to be concerned with. When she opened her eyes, Sunset went still. The ceiling, this was not the familiar ceiling she had been waking up to these past couple of years. The feeling of being at a higher elevation was not there, if Sunset had to guess she’d say she was at ground level. The feeling of the bed was unfamiliar as well. Sunset glanced to her left and saw that the nightstand was vacant of her terrarium or digital clock. In fact, the longer Sunset’s eyes roamed around the room, the more she was becoming aware of the fact that this was not her home. However, she was very aware that she was naked, again.

Sunset rose up, taking in her new surroundings. The room was pretty spacious, beige carpeting below with light-blue wallpaper. There was a dresser against the opposite wall next to the door, complete with a mirror. There was a closet to her right, and a desk and chair setup to her left.

“What…What the hell?! Where am I?!” Sunset whispered.

Just then the doorknob jiggled, Sunset readied to bolt at the person, the Witchblade’s metal strands coiling and readying itself to act on its wielder’s command. When the door opened, Sunset beheld a beautiful older woman standing in the door, with tri-colored hair of cream, magenta, and purple. Her opal colored eyes widened upon seeing Sunset up.

“Oh, y-you’re awake!” the woman exclaimed.

“Yeah, I am! Who are you! And where the hell am I?!” Sunset demanded with an edge to her voice.

The woman raised her hands up to show that she was not armed. “M-My name is Cadence, this is my and my boyfriend’s home. He found you last night in an alley and brought you here. His name is Shining Armor, he’s a detective with the CCPD!”

Sunset’s fury quelled upon hearing the name of the detective. “Wait…Detective Armor? He…He brought me here?”

“Shiny – I mean, Shining Armor said you were covered in some strange armor and that you were unconscious when it came off, apparently you weren’t wearing anything else so he covered you with a blanket and brought you here.” Cadence let out a stress heavy sigh. “To what end I still don’t know…”

Sunset’s mind replayed the events of last night. Celestia was taken by a monster, she transformed and gave chase, saved Celestia, fought the monster, and then…got blasted in the face with a super sonic screech. “Oh…Oh shit…” Sunset gasped as she put her left hand against her forehead. “He…He saw me? He saw everything?!”

Cadence blushed at the question. “Ahem, it depends on which part of that question you mean? If you mean that he saw you with your armor on and that you changed back, then yes. And if you mean if he saw, well, every part of you, then, sorry, yes he did. B-But you should know he swore to me that he didn’t touch you inappropriately in anyway, I swear he’s not that kind of person!”

Sunset glanced her right wrist, at the Witchblade which still had a faint glow to it. I’m pretty sure you would’ve sliced him up if he tried. “I believe you…”

“Okay,” Cadence lowered her hands and took a few calming breaths. “He’s up, right now. I’ll tell him you’re awake, Shining said he had questions to ask you. There’s some spare pajamas in the dresser and some clothes in the closet. Let me know if you need some underwear, I mean, there are some in this dresser, but after seeing your…physique…I’m not sure if they’ll fit you.”

“Thanks…whose clothes are they, by the way?” Sunset asked.

Cadence was about to close the door, but then answered, “They belong to Shining’s little sister, she’s about around your age. She stays over sometimes so we just have some extra clothes here just in case. I’ll leave you to it.”

With that, Cadence closed the door. Sunset flopped back onto the bed and released a heavy sigh. “Shit…Shining Armor knows about me…he probably thinks I’m the one behind the murders!”

}}} My apologies, Sunset. That creature caught me off guard with that attack. I should’ve increased the armor coverage, or created a shield. Forgive me. {{{

Sunset raised her wrist up and said, “Don’t worry about it. How could you have known she was going to hit us with a sonic concussion blast?”

}}} Believe me, that mistake won’t be made a second time. {{{

“I don’t doubt it.” Sunset got up and walked towards the dresser, she opened the first drawer and saw some pajamas. It was most likely morning judging by the light coming from outside. She saw that there were a pair of blue pajama pants with six-pointed star patterns on them, along with a powder blue top that had small dots on it, possibly to imitate stars. Next to that was another set, one that Sunset recognized. “What the…?” They were a bright yellow, with dozens of red heart patterns littering the pants and shirt. The last time Sunset saw that pattern of pajamas was on Princess Twilight. “Huh, guess someone else likes it.”

Sunset opted with the blue shirt and pants. She opened the second drawer and found the underwear. Sunset picked up the bra and held it against her girls and frowned. “Oookay, sorry to say, Shining Armor’s Little Sister, but that’s definitely not fitting me. Sunset eyed the panties and picked one pair and tried them on, finding it hard to do so since it looked like this younger sibling of the detective had a more slender waist than Sunset. “What was it that those mares back at the school said I had? Oh yeah, ‘Foal Bearing Hips’, guess that translated.” Sunset decided to just go commando for the time being.

“So, what do you think? Are we in trouble?” Sunset asked.

}}} Hard to say. I sensed no ill intent from the law officer, had there been any I would’ve struck him down before he got close to you. {{{

“I figured you would.” Sunset slipped on the pants. “What’s been happening since I was knocked out?”

}}} I have been unable to gather anything beyond our current situation. I overheard the law officer speaking to that woman, he believes that you may be responsible for the murders, or at the very least he suspects you have a connection to it. {{{

Sunset worked the shirt next, and pulled out her hair from the back. “Did it sound like he might be open minded?”

}}} It is possible. His actions thus far would indicate that he may be willing to listen to us. He could’ve just as easily brought you to a holding facility. {{{

“Not like it would hold us,” Sunset chuckled.

The Witchblade chuckled as well. }}} Of course it wouldn’t. {{{

Sunset paused as she face palmed herself. “Shit, again, Celestia! She’s probably freaking out right now!” Sunset made to grab her cellphone, only to be reminded of the events of last night. “Right…clothes were shredded. Pretty sure my cellphone is lying on top of that random rooftop.”

}}} Oh, that communication device? If that’s what you want… {{{

The Witchblade’s gemstone shined, the light began to produce a rectangular object. Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw that her phone materialized from the weapon. She quickly snatched the device up in her left hand and saw that it was still operational. “H-How did you do that?!”

}}} I can store some small objects. I also have that thing you call a “wallet” in here as well. {{{

Sunset unlocked her phone and cringed when she saw that she was blowing up with text messages. Not only from Celestia, but Pinkie Pie as well. “Damn…I need to address this…but there’s no way I can tell Celestia I’m at some cop’s house!” Sunset thought that over for a moment. “Well, at least he’s in the same boat. Pretty sure taking a naked teenager to your home instead of a hospital or prison cell is very much against protocol.”

Sunset stepped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it. The door led into a small hallway which then led into the living room. A brown leather, semicircular couch adorned the living room, along with a flat screen TV that set up on a stand. To the right was a fireplace, which was turned on and made the room nice and toasty. To the left was the kitchen/dining room, in it was Cadence, making breakfast judging by the smell, as well as some coffee. At the table was Shining Armor.

The flame haired girl immediately took notice of the man’s service weapon resting on the table, his hand placed on top of it as he looked down at a tablet. Sunset slowly entered the room, making sure she was in full view of the officer. Shining Armor took notice of Sunset and stood up, keeping his weapon in his right hand.

“Sunset Shimmer.”

“Detective Armor.”

“There’s some things we need to talk about, pertaining to last night and possibly more,” he said.

Sunset walked a little closer, making sure her hands were visible the whole while. “I guess I should ask, but am I under arrest?”

Shining Armor crossed his arms. “That all depends on how you answer my questions, Ms. Shimmer. Quite frankly, after what I saw last night, I should’ve put you in a cell. But…let’s just say that my intuition says that there’s way more to this than what I saw, and that I need to talk to you regarding them.”

Cadence walked from behind the counter and brought a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. She rolled her eyes at his explanation and said, “And by ‘intuition’, he means his inner fanboy told him to bring you here.”

Shining Armor’s face tinted pink as he stared at his girlfriend. “C-Cadence, that is so not true!”

The fuchsia woman gave him a deadpan look. “Really? ‘Cause this has all the makings of one your anime shows. Attractive girl falls out of the sky with a strange weapon, fights monsters, wears skimpy revealing armor?”

“I-I stand by what I said!” Shining Armor stated in determination.

Now Sunset also had a deadpan expression on her face. Well, I’ve been avoiding watching that stuff, but now it just might have saved my life.

“Sunset, do you drink coffee?” Cadence asked.

“Y-Yeah, if you don’t mind I’d like a cup,” Sunset requested.

Cadence smiled and went back to get it. Sunset pulled out a chair opposite Shining Armor and sat down, prompting the detective to do the same. Shining Armor began eating his meal, and while he did, Cadence brought over three cups of joe, setting one in front of Shining and another before Sunset.

“Thank you,” said Sunset as she picked up a couple of sugar packets and stirred them into it.

Shining Armor brought up his tablet, putting on its kickstand as he showed it to Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer. Born: 12-18-19XX. Happy belated Birthday.”

“Thanks…I guess.”

“Says here you lost your parents when you were young, and wound up homeless after escaping from an abusive foster home.”

Cadence glared at her boyfriend.

“Yeah…”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Also says that you lived on the streets for a number of years before your guardian, Celestia, took you in and enrolled you at her school. Also says that despite your young age, you were allowed to live at a residence all your own. Your guardian pays the rent and you…huh, used to work at a sushi joint until a couple of months ago.”

Sunset sighed. “Yes, I did. That is until the rumor mill made its way to my work. My boss didn’t want any potential bad press due to this Anon-A-Miss crap, so he let me go with at least four weeks pay as compensation. I told Celestia, and she said we could sue for wrongful termination.”

“Sounds like you should’ve,” said Cadence, a tone of irritation was in her voice after hearing of what happened.

Sunset shook her head. “It’s fine. No big deal.”

“Now, it also says here that you weren’t exactly the most likeable person in the school. We’ve had some complaints about you, anonymous, mind you, but complaints about ‘blackmailing’, ‘threats of bodily harm’, the list goes on.”

The former Equestrian gripped her cup hard. “I…I won’t deny that I did some shitty stuff in the past…but that’s behind me now.”

Cadence was getting a little annoyed by her boyfriend’s line of questioning. The protective instinct of a teacher was kicking in at this point, seeing that Sunset seemed to be genuinely lamenting those acts and it seemed that it was a painful thing to recall. “Shining, that’s enough, where are you going with this?!”

Shining Armor placed his tablet down and took a sip of his coffee. “On the surface, these records are good. The Foster Care System is pretty complex and overworked, lots of paperwork goes missing easy with so many kids going in and out of it. Now, it wouldn’t be hard to insert someone into it, no one would bat an eye since there are so many cases, a lot of people would just stamp it and let it through.”

Shining looked directly at Sunset as he said, “But, Miss Shimmer, I don’t. I dug a little deeper and couldn’t find anything going back further. The birth certificate is official, along with the Social Security Card, so that pans out. But to find not that many records or anything about your parents’ deaths, makes me wonder if you ever existed here in the first place.”

Cadence narrowed her gaze as she raised her voice. “Shining Armor –!”

“It’s true.” Cadence stopped and Shining Armor looked at her with an inquisitive expression. “I’m not really from here…I’m not even from this dimension.” Sunset leaned back in her chair and asked, “How open minded are you?”

Shining Armor kicked back in his seat and said, “Depends, let’s hear your story.”

With little in the way of options, Sunset spilled her guts. She told them the tale of a young little unicorn filly from the magical land of Equestria. How she was mostly neglected by her parents until she found her talent in the magical arts, gaining the attention of the land’s living deity, who ironically went by the same name as her current guardian. The tale went onto describe how this young filly grew into a mare that was selfish, proud, and arrogant, believing the world should be hers. Then she told them of how she got to their world through a magic portal, how she had to live on the streets for a while, scared out of her mind and fighting for anything she could use to survive. And as if by cosmic irony, the one mare she ran away from, was the same person who helped her. Sunset said that, somehow, Principal Celestia was able to obtain records that showed that Sunset had always been a citizen of Canterlot City, Sunset never asked how Celestia did it, and thought better not know.

From there, the tale told of a prideful, arrogant, and angry teen girl who sought to rule her school with an iron fist. To which, she did, until someone, another denizen of her world, came into the picture.

“She was wielder, and newly crowned Princess, of the Element of Magic, her name was Twilight Sparkle.”

Cadence and Shining Armor both did a spit take upon hearing that name.

“W-What did you say?!” Shining coughed.

“Twilight Sparkle, that’s the name of the Princess I stole the magic crown from.” Sunset glanced between the two adults and raised an eyebrow. “Am I missing something here?”

“U-Uh, no, no! Keep going, what happened next?!” Cadence encouraged.

Sunset decided to file that under “weird” and continued her story. Transforming into a raging She-Demon, or as some of her fellow classmates have affectionately called that form, Sunset Satan. Then she told them of the Battle of the Bands, fast forward to the current incident with Anon-A-Miss, and then the night she obtained the Witchblade, and her battle with Beetle Underwood.

“Then I saved, Celestia, apparently got my ass beaten by that monster, and that’s where we are now,” Sunset huffed as she finished explaining.

Sunset looked to both the adults, their faces said it all, they were not expecting all of that. It was real quiet in the home, the minds of Shining Armor and Cadence working to process all this information.

Finally, Shining Armor found his voice and said, “I…There’s no way that’s real…is it?”

Sunset raised her right arm. “I have the bracelet to prove it, and a magical journal back at my place. If you need more proof, I can have Princess Twilight fire up the portal and you and I can take a nice little stroll into another dimension.”

“No, no! That’s…” Shining Armor ran his hands through his hair as he stood up and paced the floor. “I could just say you have a very active imagination, or are mentally unstable, but then again, I just saw a literal harpy tear a man in two, and you fly off after killing Underwood.”

“Technically I killed a monster.”

“She does have a point,” Cadence added.

Shining Armor groaned as she dragged his hands down his face. “Apparently extradimensional beings exist, magic and monsters exist, and mystical weapons as well…jeez.”

Sunset looked up at the detective and said. “Look, I know that all this is a lot to process, and that not everybody’s mentally able to take it all in. But, I think we could work together here.”

Cadence was the first to ask, “How?”

“These monsters are too dangerous and too powerful for the police to handle. Bullets to don’t work, pretty much all conventional weapons shy of a bomb, possibly. But this,” Sunset raised her wrist again, “the Witchblade, it has the power to put them down.”

Shining Armor didn’t like that idea. “The police don’t have anywhere to put these guys. They’ll tear anyone apart that’s in their way. There’s really no other option, how are you going to arrest and prosecute a monster?”

Shining Armor hated to admit it, but she had a point. Those monsters could tear through them like wet tissue paper, and heal crazy fast.

“Let’s make a deal. I’ll help you take down these monsters, and in exchange, you help me take down Anon-A-Miss,” Sunset suggested.

Cadence and Shining Armor raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t have the resources to find out who this person is, or if there’s more than one. But they’re looking to get me, and while I have this Witchblade, I’m safe, but the school is just devolving into hate, barely anyone trusts each other anymore, and I don’t want that to continue. Forget that they’re targeting me, if my…my friends…decide to forgive and help me, they’ll become targets too! And I don’t want that to happen!”

Cadence glanced to her boyfriend, she could tell he was seriously thinking this over. From Cadence’s perspective, she could feel the urgency in Sunset’s request. Despite whatever past misdeeds she may have committed, Sunset seemed vehement about stopping this “Anon-A-Miss” before they caused harm to someone she cared about. As a school administrator, Cadence felt an urge to help Sunset, problem being, she wasn’t in any position to do so. Plus, it wouldn’t exactly look good if a CPA admin suddenly looked into issues regarding CHS.

Or knowing Cinch she’d probably use whatever I learned against CHS and bury them before the next Friendship Games, thought Cadence.

However, her boyfriend was under no such constraints. She knew Shining Armor had a particular distaste for bullies, which was probably why he was a little harsh with Sunset given what he found and now heard, but Cadence also knew that her husband could sense when someone was being honest and sincere.

Shining Armor was at war with his principals right now. Part of him was saying to refuse this request, that his job was not to kill suspects, but to bring them in so that they may be tried in a court of law. However, the law was not built to deal with murderous monsters of the literal kind. Plus, they still didn’t know what these creatures were. Were they a mutation? Were they always monsters? Was it reversible? Too many questions, not enough answers. Also, he wasn’t exactly psyched about bringing a kid into police work, she may be eighteen and legally an adult, but the things he’d seen during the Murder Mysteries was not something he’d want a young girl like Sunset to see. Then again, it seemed that world sought her out anyway.

“Look…I need to think about this a little. But, I won’t exactly say no to helping you with your Anon-A-Miss problem,” said Shining Armor.

“C’mon, it’d be perfect! I can go places you can’t because you’re a cop! Plus, I have my whole bad girl motif going for me, and a weapon that can protect me and heal me from anything near fatal, I wouldn’t be in any real danger!”

}}} So long as you don’t have your head removed, or are blown up, or disintegrated, or split down the middle– {{{

Not helping!

Shining Armor raised his hand to stop her. “Look, I know you probably think you’re the only one who can stop this, and you may be right. But you don’t know what we’re up against, just as much I don’t either. Until we can get more info, I don’t want you getting involved in this.”

Sunset crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow. “And what happens when ‘this’ decides to get me involved whether I like it or not?”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t defend yourself, just–”

Sunset’s phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up and grimaced. “Well…we can put that on hold for now. We first need to deal with what we’re going to say to Celestia.”

“Pardon?” Cadence asked.

Sunset turned her phone to face the two adults and both grimaced as well upon seeing the multitude of voicemails and text messages, most were from her guardian, and the others were from her friend.

“Oh…” Shining Armor groaned.

“This’ll be fun…” Sunset groaned.

“You were attacked, again?!” Celestia asked.

{Y-Yeah, that bird monster came back and tried to hurt me, ripped my clothes off and it was saying something about trying to lay eggs in me or something!}

(“‘Lay eggs in you?! Really?!” Shining asked in disbelief.)

(“How else am I supposed to explain why I’m wearing different clothes?!” Sunset hissed.)

Celestia sighed in relief. “Well, I’m just happy you’re alright. Is Detective Armor there?”

{Oh yeah, he’s right here.}

There sounded like there was a hushed argument in the background before Shining Armor took the phone. {Hello, Ms. Celestia.}

“Thank you, again, Detective Armor, for keeping Sunset safe.”

{N-No problem, my girlfriend’s the Dean of Students at CPA so I–}

“Wait, you know Cadence?”

{Hi, Tia!} came Cadence’s voice. {Don’t worry, we’re keeping Sunset safe, we’ll take her back to her place later in the afternoon. Or, Shiny will, at least.}

Celestia’s mind was set at ease upon hearing that Cadence was there. She knew the young Dean well thanks to Luna being friends with her back in college and high school, so she knew that between the two Sunset was in good hands. “Well, I’ll inform the teachers that you’re safe. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest talking to Pinkie Pie. She’s been coming by office almost every hour asking about you.”

{Will do. Are you at the school right now?}

Celestia was not in fact at the school. She was in her car, parked next to the sidewalk of Lightning Dust’s home. As she had stated to Nurse Redheart, she was going to speak with Lightning Dust’s parent, and then Gilda’s. But in all honesty, Lightning Dust was her top priority. Celestia took into account that Gilda tried to stop Lightning Dust, but failed due to the girl getting thrown by Lightning, but was successful after Sunset managed to get Lightning off of her. While she condemned what Gilda did, she would say she also commended her for trying to stop her friend. That being said, Lightning was the worst offender here, she had tried to strangle Sunset to death in front of everyone and would’ve succeeded had Sunset not managed to strike her and make her get off, and Gilda’s quick thinking to pin Lightning against the lockers.

“I’m taking care of some business right now. But it shouldn’t be long. Are you sure you don’t want me to come and pick you up?”

{It’s fine, I’ll ride with Detective Armor.}

“Okay, I’ll call you later to make sure you’re alright. Bye, Sunset.”

{Bye!}

Celestia heard the line cut off, part of her, her more motherly side, wanted to say “I love you”. But Celestia thought that that would make things awkward, and she definitely didn’t want to pressure Sunset into thinking that she had to see her that way.

“Okay.”

Celestia collected her things and got out of the car. She had phoned ahead and made sure that Lightning Dust’s father, Wind Rider, was going to be home along with his daughter. Thankfully, the man said they would be and Celestia informed them that she would be coming by in the afternoon. Now here she was. The older woman had to keep her emotions in check here, while she was Sunset’s legal guardian, she had to come to Wind Rider and Lightning Dust not as a concerned parent, but as a school administrator.

Celestia walked up the pathway towards the door and knocked. After a couple of minutes, Wind Rider appeared in the doorway, wearing his trademark white scarf and his famous Juniper Phoenix cologne.

“Principal Celestia, thank you for coming,” said Wind Rider.

“Thank you, Mr. Rider, although I wish it were under better circumstances,” Celestia replied.

Wind Rider ushered Celestia inside and was guided to the living room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the trophy cases of both Wind Rider and Lightning Dust. Celestia saw that Lightning was already sitting in the loveseat, she didn’t look good. The Principal could already see bags under the teen’s eyes, she also seemed jittery. Celestia wasn’t sure if this was due to nerves or something else. It wasn’t as if Lightning didn’t have reason not to be worried, she had done something seriously bad, something that could very well land her in jail.

Celestia sat on the couch opposite Lightning, with Wind Rider taking the opposite lazy boy chair. The school principal cleared her throat and began, “As you know, Mr. Rider, your daughter – along with another student – ganged up and assaulted another of my students. Not only that, but several more students attested that Lightning Dust was strangling the student, Sunset Shimmer, to the point that if Sunset had not managed to make Lightning stop, she may have very well managed to kill her. I haven’t brought this to authorities, yet, because I want to know the reason why Lightning thought that it was justified that she’d go that far.”

Celestia fixed her eyes on the girl in question. “Lightning, I want to hear your side of the story to be fair. Tell me, did Sunset Shimmer antagonize you in anyway prior to that incident?”

Lightning muttered a low, “…No.”

“Had she done so at any point before Winter Break?”

“…No.”

“Then, Miss Dust, why did you feel the need to attack Sunset Shimmer, and nearly killed her?” Celestia asked.

Wind Rider held up his arm. “Now, now, let’s just stop right there. First, I’d like to know, is the school pressing charges? Is this Sunset Shimmer pressing charges?”

“The school has a zero tolerance policy for fighting in or on school grounds, Mr. Rider. Normally I’d levy punishment to all parties, but given that the severity of this fight, two on one, any person would agree that Sunset had to fight back for her own self-defense. That being the case, Sunset Shimmer has not yet, and I do stress yet, pressed charges against your daughter. Likewise, the school is considering it.”

Wind Rider nodded his head. “I see…”

Celestia raised her eyebrow, noting Wind Rider’s relaxed demeanor. She wasn’t sure if he just didn’t care or if Celestia’s rehashing of the events was just boring him. “Mr. Rider, what your daughter did and attempted to do are very serious, and as it stands, being eighteen years old, Lightning would be punished as an adult rather than a juvenile.”

Wind Rider nodded. “Oh no, I understand. But, let’s be frank her, Ms. Celestia, this Sunset Shimmer is no saint, at least not from what my daughter has told me. In fact, I heard that up until a few months ago, she was quite the troublemaker. A bully, intimidator, and then there’s this Anon-A-Miss. A cyber bully who’s going around and spilling secrets of not only the students but some faculty, and this account’s profile resembles Sunset Shimmer.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed at the mention of that name. “That is under investigation, but we have strong reason to believe that Sunset Shimmer is being targeted by Anon-A-Miss, using the student body as a weapon to cause her harm. As was evidenced by this latest altercation.”

Wind Rider threw up his hands. “Then, that’s it then. You can’t blame Lightning, blame Anon-A-Miss! She was swept up into this mass hysteria just like the rest of those kids!”

“Mr. Rider, despite what Anon-A-Miss is doing, every person has free will, and a mind, and can make their own decisions. Your daughter chose to attack Sunset, she chose to strangle her until she was almost dead.”

Wind Rider was not fazed in the slightest. “Look, Ms. Celestia, let’s get to the point of all this. I have friends, and money, so it didn’t take me long to figure out that you are Sunset Shimmer’s legal guardian.”

Celestia shrugged at the information. “I never made any attempt to hide it.”

“So, is it fair to say that you’re showing favoritism towards your ward? I mean, she mostly went unpunished during her supposed free reign over the rest of the students. And now Anon-A-Miss crops up, could it be possible, that you’re ignoring some signs that Sunset Shimmer is this Anon-A-Miss person, given her previous history?” Wind Rider asked.

Celestia’s hands tightened into fists. “Mr. Rider, why on Earth would anyone invite this kind of hatred towards themselves?! I know for a fact that Sunset is smarter than that! Hell, a ten-year-old is smarter than that! Why make it obvious that it is her?! Why make herself a target?!”

Wind Rider leaned back in his chair as he said, “Dunno? I did find out she was on the streets for a number of years, perhaps she has some sort of underlying mental illness? Could be she has a disorder where she is doing this, but is not aware? I don’t know, I’m not a shrink. But, what I do know, is that there are ways this can go bad for Sunset Shimmer, and the school, and you Ms. Celestia.”

Celestia leaned forward as she leveled her gaze at smug man before her. “Are you threatening me and Sunset, Mr. Rider?”

Wind Rider leaned forward and matched her gaze. “All I’m saying is that this can go away one of two different ways. You and Miss Shimmer get a very nice sum of money and we forget this ever happened. Or, I can take you, Sunset, and the school, to court and see who’s got the better defense? Your choice.”

Celestia stood from her chair and glared at Wind Rider. “I see, well, thank you for letting me come to speak with you two. I will be bringing this up to the schoolboard.”

“Looking forward to it. Lightning, would you mind walking Ms. Celestia out.” Wind Rider said as more of a command than a request.

Lightning Dust stood up and walked Celestia to the door. Once at the door, Celestia turned to look at Lightning, now that she saw her close up, the older woman could tell that Lightning seemed more disheveled than she previously thought.

“Lightning, if there’s anything you want to tell me, please tell me now. If you need any help…”

Lightning Dust chuckled dryly. “Heh, sorry Principal Celestia…but the kind of help I need, isn’t something you – or anyone – can give me.”

With that, Celestia left, with Lightning closing the door once she was gone.

Wind Rider stood up, looking quite proud of himself. “Well, I think we settled that matter.”

Lightning walked back into the living room. “But…she might do it, you know. Come after us with lawyers and stuff.”

“Pssh, she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Her delinquent of a ward, combined with her rep and closeness to her, makes this an open and shut case for us if we do need to go to court. At most, we settle with them and this all gets swept under the rug, at worst, we just smear Sunset Shimmer and Principal Celestia. Easy.”

Lightning Dust had a look of apprehension. “Look…Sunset’s a bitch and deserves it, but can you try and not smear Principal Celestia? She’s a good person.”

Wind Rider sighed in frustration. “Lightning, don’t. If it’s a choice between making sure you can get into the sports limelight later on, or the rep of a public school teacher, guess which one I’m picking every time.”

Lightning didn’t really care if Sunset got thrown to the wolves, but Principal Celestia was a good lady, she could be tough, but fair, and everybody loved her, hell, even Lightning Dust liked her. She was almost like a mother to the students sometimes, so the thought of putting her through hell was souring her whole outlook on how her father was going about this. While she was going over all this, she noticed that her father was moving around and heading towards the garage door.

“Where are you going?” Lightning asked.

“Out, both to meet with some lawyers to be ready, and to get a drink. You,” Wind Rider pointed his finger at Lightning, “on the other hand, are not to leave this house, period. If you’re not here when I get back, you’ll wish that that Sunset girl had gotten to you first.”

Wind Rider closed the door, a couple of minutes later, Lightning heard the sound of her father’s sports car leave down the road.

Lightning felt lost, she had some sort of demon inside her, her father was going to mess with Principal Celestia, and he was probably going to drag Gilda into it, too. It was all going to shit. The blonde girl made it back to her room and sat down on her bed, the demon inside her had been silent since last night, but she suspected it wouldn’t be long before it decided to act. Her head was a mess, she needed…someone.

Lightning took up her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts. Her search stopped when she spotted Rainbow Dash’s number. That girl was the only person she had ever met that could match her in anything, her rival, her nemesis, her teammate, her captain…her…friend? Lightning still remembered that look of utter disdain for what she had done to Sunset, they’re relationship was rocky before, they barely spoke to each other after that soccer game a while back, but now, she wondered if she had burned that bridge completely now?

Lightning typed away on her phone.

[RD, I know you probably don’t want to hear from me…but…I really need to talk to someone and…I…you’re the only one who won’t bullshit me and tell it to me straight. Please…]

A couple of minutes passed before Lightning received a reply.

[You’re damn right I don’t want to hear from you. What you did to Sunset was fucked up. But…I’m your captain…and a good captain listens to her teammates. So…fine, I’ll hear you out. When do you want me over?]

[A little after school? 7 maybe?] Lightning asked.

[Fine, I don’t plan on staying too long.] Rainbow replied.

[That’s fine…and Rainbow…thanks.]

The sun had set and now night had fallen. Rainbow Dash pulled up and parked along the sidewalk. There was a noticeable scowl on her face as she approached the home of her rival and former friend. Rainbow had been debating why she was even allowing this meeting to happen, sure, Sunset’s recent stunt was bad, really bad. But Rainbow didn’t believe that that warranted physical harm to the former unicorn, nor did she want to see Sunset get killed over something like this.

Part of Rainbow Dash argued that she was doing this as part of her responsibilities as a team captain, and another probably wanted to deck the girl. Whatever the reason, she was here now, and Rainbow Dash didn’t back down from anything. The prismatic haired teen walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before the door was opened by Lightning Dust, which, Rainbow had to admit, the girl looked distressed.

“H-Hey, Dash…”

“Lightning…” A pregnant pause fell between the two of them as Rainbow stood there and Lightning just stared at her. “Can I come in? It’s colder than a snowman’s ass out here.”

“Oh, yeah! Come in!” Lightning moved out of the way quickly as she ushered Rainbow into her house.

“You’re dad around?” Rainbow asked.

“He’s been…out, for a while. It’s just the two of us…” Lightning rubbed her left arm in worry. “If you like, you can come back when he does…? But, I’m not so sure he’ll be happy to have company…”

Rainbow shrugged. “I don’t really care one way or the other, you wanted to talk, so let’s talk.”

Lightning nodded and gestured for Rainbow to follow. The two tomboys walked up the stairs and into Lightning’s room, with Lightning closing the door before taking a seat on her bed.

Rainbow Dash took off her jacket and placed it on Lightning’s desk as she crossed her arms. “Okay, you wanted to talk. Let’s talk. First off, I want to know, between you and Gilda, which of you came up with that brilliant plan?”

Lightning twiddled her thumbs as she looked down at the carpet. “Gilda…well, to be fair, we both came up with the idea of beating up Shimmer.”

“Tch, I could’ve told you right away you were going to get your asses handed to you,” said Rainbow.

Lightning looked up at her former friend in confusion. “Excuse me?”

The corner of Rainbow’s mouth turned up in a ghost of a smile. “When Princess Twilight told us to look after her, I wasn’t exactly keen on the idea. So, I challenged Sunset to a fist fight. Course, I had to keep it a secret from the girls. But she agreed, and you know what happened?”

“You kicked her ass?” Lightning guessed.

“Yeah, but only because she let me.” Lightning looked at Rainbow with more confusion, which Rainbow noticed. “I knew Sunset could fight, so I tested the waters, the mark of a good fighter isn’t to know how to take down your opponent, it’s knowing how to fight, to read the situation and use you’re strength, agility, and speed at the right moment. Sunset had me pegged more than once had she followed through, but she didn’t. Most likely because she didn’t want to ruin what she was given. Then we got caught up with these guys trying to pick us up, and we laid them out, and that’s when I saw her skill. She took down three guys before I was finished with my first one.”

Lightning blinked, remembering when Sunset got the upper hand on both of them during the fight, but even before that, Sunset was avoiding them, dodging, until Gilda managed to get her, Sunset hadn’t fought back at all. Yet, from what Rainbow told her, Sunset Shimmer could’ve ended the fight and put them down easily.

“Shit…” Lightning whispered.

“Yeah, so now you know how that could’ve gone. Now, again, between the two of you, who’s bright idea was it to kill her?” Rainbow demanded.

Lightning gripped her hands as she recalled that moment. “No ones…we only planned to beat her up, teach her a lesson, but…I don’t know, I just…I just lost it! I grabbed her and started choking her…” Lightning released her palms as she looked at them. “I can still feel it, y’know, the feeling of when my hands were wrapped around her neck, and that look of fear…I can’t get it out of my head.”

Rainbow growled as she ran her hand down her face. “Jesus, Dust, I know you can go overboard and push things to the extreme, but what you did was way over the line!”

“Don’t you think I realize that now?!” Lightning shouted as she stood up. “Don’t you think I haven’t thought about it since then?! But…I can’t help it! I need to always push myself! I need to go one step further, to be the best!”

Rainbow uncrossed her arms as she pointed at Lightning Dust. “You are the best, but that messed up part of you that pushes you makes you do stupid shit like this! Hurting yourself, hurting your teammates, or someone else! And what’s worse, I almost got sucked up into that!”

Lightning chuckled a little. “We did have fun though, right? Practicing until we collapsed from exhaustion on the field together…hitting the gym hard until our muscles were begging us to stop…you can’t say that all of it was bad?”

Rainbow Dash inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Yes, it was fun, but Lightning, you don’t need to push yourself that hard. I don’t know why you feel you need to go that far, but if you don’t tell someone, anyone, then you’re not helping yourself. I’m probably the only one who gets how you think, so that’s why I’m here. Tell me.”

Lightning sat back down on the bed, once again staring at the floor. Rainbow Dash walked over and sat next to her. Silence prevailed in the room for several seconds before a sound was made.

“My Dad…”

“What?”

“My Dad, he…he wants me to be the best, whatever it takes. He’s harsh, and really strict when it comes to me and sports. I got into it because I love it, but he sees it as a way to relive his glory days…so he pushes me harder, and I guess…I developed it in my head that I need to go one step further,” Lightning explained.

Rainbow’s brow furrowed. “Geez, I knew he could be strict, but I didn’t know he was like that. Does he…does he hit you?”

Lightning nodded.

“Lightning, you have to tell the cops.”

The turquoise girl chuckled. “Yeah, that won’t happen. My Dad has money and friends in high places, plus, he’s smart. He never hits me unless I’d been in a fight beforehand, or got injured during a game, that way he can hide it easier.”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and tightened her fists to the point that her knuckles turned white. “Well, now I’m going to wait till he gets here, and give him a beat down myself.”

Lightning smiled a little as she placed her hand on Rainbow’s fist. “I appreciate it, but don’t…he’ll just smear you. The last thing I need is to have someone I like get – humph!” Lightning slapped her free hand over her mouth.

Rainbow, however, managed to catch that. “Like? You like me?”

“Uh…I…”

“Go ahead, Dusty, I can feel it inside you. You want this girl.”

Shut up! Leave me alone!

“You can’t hide it from me. I can feel the heat rising in your core, you want her, stop denying yourself what you truly want!”

I’m not listening!

“Okay, guess I’ll just give you a little push.”

Rainbow looked at Lightning, her face turned from her as she awaited her answer. “Lightning, do you mean like-like? Or–?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t get to finish her sentence before Lightning’s lips crashed into hers. The sudden kiss managed to take Rainbow by surprise and made her fall onto the bed, Rainbow felt Lightning’s tongue explore her mouth as she moaned pleasurably. Rainbow tried to raise her arms to push Lightning away, but Lightning was quicker, grabbing ahold of Rainbow’s wrists and pinning them against the bed.

Lightning pulled away, a cliché string of saliva formed as she now looked down upon her. The turquoise girl had a silver aura around her irises, but then it faded and she was now met with the sight of her former friend pinned beneath her, panting and red as a rose as she looked up at Lightning.

“R-Rainbow Dash, I-I’m sorry! I just…I wasn’t…this isn’t why I called you over here! I…”

“Dust.”

Lightning went silent.

“You need to blow off some steam?” Rainbow asked.

Lightning Dust gulped and nodded her head in a bit of shame as she released her grip on Rainbow’s wrists. The rainbow haired teen leaned forward and brought her lips against Lightning’s, surprising the young athlete. When Rainbow pulled back, she looked into Lightning’s eyes and said, “That’s all this is then, okay?”

“Okay,” said Lightning Dust breathlessly.

Lightning leaned back down to meet her former friend again, the two girls locked lips as a series of moans filled the room. Both of them shifted on the bed, getting into more comfortable positions and not separating at all while doing so. Lightning Dust found herself straddling Rainbow’s hips, the latter’s hands moved to the back of Lightning’s head, massaging her scalp and running her hands through her blonde hair.

Lightning broke their kiss as she leaned back, grabbed the hem of her shirt, and pulled it off, showing that she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, her two B-cup breasts and perky nipples on full display for her former friend. Rainbow responded in kind, taking off her shirt to reveal a black sports bra underneath. Lighting grabbed the garment as Rainbow raised her hands up, allowing Lightning to pull it off, exposing Rainbow’s perky breasts to the air.

Heavy breathing reverberated in the room, the world and all its sounds outside this room seeming to fade into the background, as there was only this moment. Lightning brought her hands forward, running them along Rainbow’s sides as she went upwards, then slowly working her hands to cup each of Rainbow’s breasts. Rainbow moaned a little when Lightning began to massage them, despite knowing that Lightning Dust liked to move fast, she seemed to be savoring this moment.

Rainbow wasn’t one to be outdone, as she quickly leaned upwards and latched her mouth around one Lightning’s left breast, wrapped her right arm around her waist, and used her left hand to knead the other mammary. Lightning let out a loud moan of ecstasy as she felt Rainbow work her nipple in her mouth, licking it, and pinching it with her teeth. The sounds of suckling echoed loudly in Lightning’s ears as she felt her chest getting assaulted in the best way possible.

“Fuck… Dash…that…I’ve wanted to do this since we first met,” Lightning confessed in her heat.

Rainbow stopped for a moment to look up at Lightning. “I kinda had a feeling you were….you know, like me.”

Lightning looked down. “How long?”

Rainbow smiled as she recalled the memory. “I wasn’t really sure until that one practice match when we were the last two to clean up. I decided to test the waters – no pun intended – when we were showering.”

Lightning’s eyes widened when she recalled the day. Rainbow Dash wasn’t a shy girl by any means and was quite proud of her physique, but on that day, she seemed to flaunt it more than usual, especially when they were showering. She also remembered that Rainbow Dash seemed to lose her grip on the soap bar quite a lot and had to bend over more than once to grab it, spread eagle no less. Remembering that day made Lightning’s cheeks turn a rosy shade of red as she glared down at the rainbow haired teen.

“You fucking tease! You were flashing me on purpose?!”

A cocky smile formed. “Yep, and I saw you taking a peek every chance I gave you.”

Lightning narrowed her gaze. “And you never said anything to me because?!”

Rainbow’s smile vanished. “Because…not long after that, you and I had our falling out. You messed up most of the team and nearly got me injured bad. So…yeah.”

Lightning frowned a little. “……Sorry. Heh, great, I messed up my shot…”

“I wouldn’t…say that it you completely missed. I mean…we are here, aren’t we,” Rainbow stated.

Lightning allowed herself to smile a little. “Yeah…we are.”

Rainbow lied back down and, in yet another surprising move, unbuttoned her jeans and pulled down the zipper. Lightning looked up at her and asked, “Are you…Are you sure?”

“I’m pretty sure, at least.”

Lightning look down, she would admit, there were a few times, even after their falling out, that Lightning Dust had fantasized about this moment, but having it happen right here and now…it was almost surreal. Demons, murders, her shitty father, all that didn’t matter right now. This was something that she secretly wished would happen between her and Rainbow, and now it was about to happen. Lightning slowly moved her hands towards Rainbow’s pants, about to rise up and pull them down, that is until she heard movement outside her front door.

“Lightning, who’s car is parked out front?! I don’t – oh!” Wind Rider paused when he opened the door, seeing his daughter half naked, and another girl on her bed, also half naked, with said daughter’s hands working at the pants of the other.

Instinct kicked in after that as Lightning got off of Rainbow, allowing her to roll to the side and cover her chest, while Lightning grabbed a pillow and covered her chest.

“DAD, WHAT THE HELL?!” Lightning yelled.

“Oh,” Wind turned his head away as he said, “I didn’t know you had company over. You’re, uh, Rainbow Dash, right?”

Rainbow, whose face was redder than a tomato, managed to squeak out, “Y-Yes, Sir.”

“I see. Lightning, could you put on a shirt and come out here,” Wind Rider requested.

“S-Sure,” Lightning replied.

“I-I’ll leave,” said Rainbow Dash.

“No, no, no!” Wind Rider spoke. “No, you don’t need to leave, I just need to speak with Lightning.”

Lightning Dust glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Lightning Dust found her shirt and put it on, and then left the room. Rainbow Dash felt completely embarrassed, she had heard of those cliché moments in teen movies when parents walk in on their kids doing it, but she never thought in a million years that she’d end up in that position. Not to mention, it was the parent that beat their kid.

“Oh fuck,” Rainbow realized, “Lightning!”

Rainbow got off the bed, zipped up her pants, found her shirt, and hurried to the door. She stopped just before opening the door when Rainbow heard voices. Cautiously, she cracked the door open just enough to peek outside.

“Dad, I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t call or text you that she was over! Please don’t be mad at her!” Lightning pleaded.

Wind Rider only smirked as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Dusty, why would I be mad at you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re doing exactly what we discussed yesterday!” Wind Rider exclaimed.

What, thought Rainbow.

“I told you to make up with that girl and you did. Now you’re thinking like a winner, she’ll help you get places for sure! But, yes, I am a little irritated that you didn’t call me or text me, had I known you were going to seal the deal I wouldn’t have interrupted,” said Wind.

Rainbow Dash eyes narrowed into slits as her grip on the doorknob tightened to the point that the metal was groaning from the pressure. WHAT?!

Lightning pushed his hands away and glared at her father. “What?! No, that’s not why she’s –!”

“Dammit, I may’ve killed the mood. How about this? I’ll leave the house for a few more hours, and you two can keep going!” Wind Rider snapped his fingers as an idea entered his head. “I have a good wine in my study, I can bring it up and–!”

“WHAT THE HELL, LIGHTNING?!” Rainbow yelled as she exited the room and stormed towards Lightning Dust.

Lightning’s eyes widened with fear upon hearing Rainbow’s voice and the anger in her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, wait!”

“So everything you told me back there was a bunch of bullshit?! You just wanted to get into my pants just to make yourself look good?!” Rainbow accused.

Lightning faced Rainbow Dash as she said, “No! I swear to god, that’s not why I wanted you over here! I meant every word of what I said! I’ve always liked you!”

“And you!” Rainbow turned her furious glare on Wind Rider. “What kind of sick fuck encourages their own kid to do that kind of shit?!”

“Now, Miss Dash, let’s calm down and–”

“NO! FUCK YOU!” Rainbow interrupted before turning her ire on Lightning. “You know, Sunset has done some shitty stuff in the past, and this Anon-A-Miss is also shitty as hell, but at least Sunset never played with people like that! If anything you’re worse than her!”

Lightning’s eyes widened as she grabbed her head and backed away after hearing those words, this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. She just wanted to talk with Rainbow, she just wanted someone to hear her, to be close to her, and when she finally managed to do so, her father…her father…her father.

“This…This all your fault,” said Lightning as she glared at her father.

“Pardon me?”

“Because of you, I just lost the only chance I had at being actually happy! Because of you, I’ve endured pain, fear, and humiliation!”

Wind Rider’s brow furrowed as he listened to his daughter’s rant, while also noting that Rainbow Dash’s anger was shifting towards him now. “Lightning, I know you’re upset, but there’s no need to be spouting nonsense!”

“FUCK YOU IT ISN’T NONSENSE!”

“That’s right, Dusty, let it all out…”

“I hate you!” Lightning growled.

“Say it…!”

“I wish…!”

“Say it!”

“I wish…!!”

“SAY IT!!!”

“I WISH YOU WERE DEAD!” Lightning yelled at the top of her lungs.

That proved to be the last straw as Wind Rider struck his daughter with a strong backhanded strike across her face. Unfortunately the blow was strong enough to make her stumble backwards, causing Lightning to trip and fall right down the stairs. Rainbow watched in shock and horror as her former friend tumbled down the stairs, hearing something crack as she hit the floor and slammed against the wall.

“LIGHTNING!” Rainbow cried as she bounded down the stairs and slid to a stop before her former friend’s body.

Lightning’s right arm was bent a different angles, while her left arm’s bone had broken the skin and was bleeding profusely. Her legs weren’t any better, they were bent at the wrong angles. Lightning’s mouth had blood dripping from the corner, and her body twitched. Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be a doctor to know that Lightning definitely had a spinal injury, and more than likely a brain injury on top of that, and that’s not counting the visible injuries, and whatever else was going on internally.

“Lightning! Stay with me! Can you talk?! Lightning try and say something?!” When Rainbow received no response other than the constant twitching, she turned her furious gaze upon Wind Rider. “You bastard! Look what you’ve done!”

Wind Rider still seemed as if he was in shock, staring at his hand as if someone else had done the deed, but there was no denying the facts that were right before his eyes. He had struck his daughter and she fell down the stairs. Now that he looked at her, if she survived, there was no way her body would recover, at worst she was now in a coma, at best, she’d end up with a spinal injury and never be able to go into any serious sporting events, either ending up as a paraplegic or a quadriplegic.

“You mean…what you did.”

Rainbow looked at the man incredulously. “What did you say?!”

“I came home, hearing an argument, and saw my daughter get struck by her supposed former friend who held a grudge over the altercation yesterday, and came to take revenge. Yes, that’s what happened.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This guy was going to seriously pin this on her. “Fuck you, I’m calling the cops!” Rainbow reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her phone, dialing the number.

“You little bitch, you won’t!” Wind Rider ran down the stairs and tackled Rainbow Dash to the floor.

“Son of a bitch! Get off me!” Rainbow spat.

Rainbow punched the old man in the face, making him growl in anger as he delivered a punch across Rainbow’s face, the blow dazed her a little, but she managed to press the call button just before Wind Rider struck her in the gut, making her drop the phone as it slid across the floor. Rainbow balled up her right fist and drove it straight into Wind Rider’s face, making him back up, she took that opportunity to deliver another punch, this time lower.

Wind Rider released a high pitched gasp as his crotch flared with pain, making the older man back away as he cupped his manhood. “You…little…bitch…!”

Rainbow Dash wiped her mouth of the blood as she got up and assumed a fighting stance. “You really going to do this? How are you going to explain this to the cops?!”

“S-Self-defense…” Wind Rider took a breath. “I famous race car driver, angry girl seeking revenge, my injured daughter…the story writes itself!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

Rainbow Dash and Wind Rider gasped in horror, Lightning Dust was standing up on her broken legs. However, her legs began to crack and snap back into place, along with her arms. Lightning Dust’s neck popped and cracked as it realigned itself. The once injured girl smiled sadistically as her gaze fell on her father.

“Rainbow, you should sit down,” said Lightning.

“L-Lightning…you’re alright?!” Rainbow gasped.

“Lightning?! Oh thank god! How did…no, it doesn’t matter, this is great!” Wind Rider exclaimed.

Lightning’s eyes shifted, turning into “X” shaped pupils as the color changed to silver. “Do you think so?”

A silver aura overtook Lightning’s body, her skin began to slide off and turn to ash, underneath her silver feathers showed, her hair turned silver instead of its goldenrod color. After a few seconds, Lightning Dust was no longer in a human form, she was the monster, the Harpy.

“Finally, thank you for that ‘Daddy’, I needed you to push little Dusty just far enough to let me take control! This was just perfect!” Harpy exclaimed with glee.

Wind Rider shook his head as his mind failed to process what he just saw. “I don’t…I don’t understand this! Where is Lightning! What did you do with her?!”

Harpy chuckled. “Oh, she’s here.” Harpy pointed her talon at her chest. “She’s very pissed at you right now. Quite frankly, I’m starting to wonder if I picked the wrong the host, but she’s physically strong so that’s the upside.”

Rainbow Dash fell to the floor on her rear, her legs no longer working as she beheld the sight of this monster. Somehow, despite seeing Sunset’s demon form, and the Sirens’ avatars, this was by far the scariest thing Rainbow Dash had ever seen. As embarrassed as she was to admit, Rainbow was on the verge of wetting herself.

“Now, how am I going to play with you? ‘Daddy’?”

Sunset was riding in the front seat of Shining Armor’s car, she had borrowed a couple of loose fitting clothing from the closet, some sweat pants and large t-shirt, still going commando as she didn’t feel like inconveniencing Cadence. After having spent a couple of more hours answering some more questions Shining Armor had decided to take Sunset back to her place. Thankfully, she managed to convince the detective that she wasn’t behind the murders, but that made him no less suspicious about her. Given that she just confessed to being a being from another dimension, it was understandable.

“You still haven’t said anything about my offer,” said Sunset.

“I said I’d help out with Anon-A-Miss,” Shining Armor replied.

“That’s not it, I mean, about me helping you! You know and I know that the Witchblade is the only thing that’s able to hurt these things, kill them even!” Sunset huffed as she looked outside. “Besides, you know I’ll just get involved anyway, might as well coordinate.”

Shining Armor sighed, knowing full well that this girl just might do that. “Look…I don’t doubt that you can, but you’re still a kid.”

“Legally, I’m an adult, and before I came here, I was well within my early twenties, so, I’m mentally, and physically, an adult,” Sunset countered.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, well, physically, you’re eighteen, and yes legally an adult. But you’re still in school, and honestly that’s all you should be worried about. Is it possible you can transfer that thing to me or someone else?”

}}} That is most assuredly not happening. {{{

“Yeah, he says that’s not happening,” said Sunset.

“Of course it did.”

{All units, we’ve got a disturbance at the residence of 1205 Hoofington Ave. Possible 303.}

Sunset watched as Shining Armor’s brow furrowed, his expression becoming deathly serious. “Hey, what’s a code 303?”

“Mystery Murders related. It’s a new code that we developed whenever there’s a possibility that this it’s connected,” said Shining as he reached for the radio. “This is Detective Shining Armor, what’s the situation?!”

{Unsure at this time. Received a call at around 20:03, at first it was believed to be a prank call, but the operator could hear talking and then an unusual voice. The phone is still active and we’re recording as we speak, we don’t know the status but SWAT is en route.}

Sunset looked to Shining Armor. “They’re not going to be able to help them!”

Shining Armor glanced at Sunset, seeing the determined look on her face. Part of Shining Armor told him to not get a kid involved, while the other half was telling him that there was no other choice, and the latter was winning out.

“Dispatch, I’m en route, let me scout out the situation first, tell the SWAT team to hang back until I can assess,” said Shining.

{Copy that, proceed with extreme caution.}

Shining Armor took out the police light, rolled down his window, and placed it on the roof of his car. “Hang on.”

The engine revved loudly as the siren blared in all directions. Sunset held on for dear life as Shining Armor sped through several stop lights and weaved around traffic when they weren’t getting out of the way fast enough. Thankfully they were close, so it did not take long before the duo made it to the residence, Shining Armor shut off the siren and light about halfway down the road, approaching the house slowly. He quickly opened up the dashboard computer, entering the address and getting some info on who might be inside.

“Okay, Wind Rider, father, a retired race car driver. One child, Lightning Dust,” Shining Armor read.

Sunset looked back at the house. “Wait, this is Lightning Dust’s house?!”

“You know her?”

“She was the one who nearly killed me yesterday…but the hell’s…” Sunset glanced to the car parked in front of the house, and when she did, her eyes widened. “No…oh shit!”

“What? What’s wrong?!” Shining asked.

“That car, that’s my…one of my friends’ cars! Rainbow Dash’s in there!” Sunset exclaimed.

Shining Armor got out of the car and made his way to the trunk. He took off his coat and immediately strapped on a bulletproof vest, and took out the shotgun, loading rounds into it while putting a few more into the rack that was mounted in its side.

Sunset got out of the car, the Witchblade’s gemstone gave a low glow in the dark of the night. “We need to get in there!”

“Follow up behind me,” said Shining Armor.

The duo quietly made their way towards the house, they managed to make it to the front door, listening in as the voices carried.

“Hmm, you used to race. Drive fast cars, you sound pretty proud of that and your legs. Let’s start there shall we?”

“No! Please, wait! AAAAAAHHAHH!!!!”

The sickening sound of bones breaking and snapping like twigs reached their ears and nearly made them retch.

“Lightning stop! I know he’s fucking nuts, but you can’t do this! Don’t let him make you into a monster!”

Rainbow!

“Dashie, you don’t have to be afraid. Just enjoy the show, this old fucker was going to put all the blame on you for nearly killing me. And once I’m done with him, we can continue where we left off.”

Sunset growled as she tightened her fists. “That’s it, I’m going in!”

“Wait!”

Sunset ran into the front yard, aiming herself right where the living room would be. The heat rose in her body as her eyes shined with turquoise light in the night along with the Witchblade. In a matter of seconds, the armor reacted, exploding outwards as it began tearing through her clothes and replacing them with its own armor. Sunset dashed towards the wall, cocked back her right fist, and punched the wall. The blow blasted a hole about five feet wide six feet high. Dust rose in the air as Sunset stood there, her fist still extended as the faint light of night silhouetted her form. At the front door, two shots were fired, blowing the doorknob off, Shining Armor kicked the door down and ran inside. Once inside, he cocked the gun and aimed it at the creature.

Harpy had Wind Rider in its clutches, holding him by the throat with her left claw. While her right claw was covered in blood, with Wind Rider’s torn leg still grasped in it. Blood dripped down to the floor from the two severed limbs as Wind Rider thrashed about, trying to get free.

Sunset glanced to her left and saw Rainbow Dash, fear evident in her eyes as she looked from Harpy to Sunset, as if trying to assess if she was in even more danger than before.

“Keep her safe,” said Sunset.

Shining Armor nodded and slowly moved to Rainbow Dash. “Miss Dash, I’m Detective Armor, everything’s going to be alright.”

Harpy chuckled at that. “Oh, Officer, haven’t seen you since last night.” Her eyes fell on Sunset and she scowled. “I could’ve done without seeing you again, Witchblade! What, getting your ass kicked once wasn’t enough?”

“One: I was mopping the streets with your ass. Two: I’m going to finish what I started!”

Sunset dashed towards Harpy. The monster released her captive as she was swiftly tackled straight through the drywall and into the study. The creature screeched in anger as she attacked Sunset with her talons. Sunset’s right forearm armor morphed until it formed a round shield, allowing Harpy’s talons to bounce harmlessly off it.

Harpy swiped again, but Sunset jumped back, but cursing when her back slammed against a bookshelf. The creature came in again with another talon strike, Sunset ducked as the talons ripped through the wood and books, turning the tomes into confetti and splintering wood. Sunset rushed forward and shield bashed Harpy in the front, sending her flying to the other side of the room.

Sunset concentrated, and into her left hand the Witchblade formed shuriken throwing star. The monster slayer tossed the weapon with deadly accuracy, but Harpy managed to dodge it at the last second. The projectile stuck itself in the wall behind her, only to dissolve a few seconds after. Sunset tossed a few more as she got closer, making Harpy concentrate on dodging. The warrior woman jumped, spun once in the air, and delivered a powerful spinning heel kick to Harpy’s chest, busting through the wall and throwing this fight into the next room.

Harpy was sprawled onto the floor of the kitchen as Sunset approached her, but the second she was close, Harpy rose up and stabbed her talons into Sunset’s left thigh. Crimson blood flowed from the wound and made Sunset grunt in pain. Harpy removed her talons and then stabbed Sunset in her stomach, making her cough up blood. Harpy used the leverage to then toss Sunset right onto large island countertop. Sunset grabbed ahold of that same arm and willed spikes to jut out.

In less than a second, silver spikes protruded from Harpy’s arm, making her screech in pain. Sunset dislodged the talons, brought Harpy closer, and then kneed her in the face. The avian monster backed away, clutching at her face as Sunset rolled off the counter and charged for her again, this time striking with an uppercut that sent the monster straight up through the ceiling and into the upstairs.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor, with Rainbow’s help, managed to drag Wind Rider out of the house and onto the lawn. “There’s a some tubing in the trunk of my car!” Rainbow announced.

“Great, I need a tourniquet, get it!”

Rainbow Dash ran over to her car, popping the trunk as she frantically searched amongst her various sporting equipment. She couldn’t believe she was doing this, after what Wind Rider did to her and to Lightning, he deserved to bleed to death. But then, she would be worse than him, and a dead man can’t pay for his crimes. The sounds of battle echoed in the night, waking many of the neighbors as the police Sirens wailed in the distance.

Rainbow found the tubing and hurried back to Shining Armor, she slid as she approached them, kicking up the snow as Shining Armor went to work tying off the severed part of Wind Rider’s leg.

“My leg…My leg…oh god, she ripped off my leg!” Wind Rider wailed.

“You’re lucky that’s all she took off!” Rainbow shouted in anger.

Two loud crashes drew everyone’s attention as two figures flew up into the air. The battle continued, with Harpy having several gashes and stabs wounds that bled out, her healing factor wasn’t working as well against the otherworldly powers of the Witchblade’s armaments.

“Give it up, Lightning Dust! This doesn’t have to end badly!” Sunset warned.

“The only…The only one who’s going to have a bad end…IS YOU!!!”

Harpy inhaled deeply, feeling that same power well up in her chest and move its way into her throat. In the next moment, Harpy released her super sonic screech, the column of distorted air moved right towards Sunset, but she didn’t move. The Witchblade’s gemstone began to glow a bright scarlet as it went to work.

The gaps in the armor had been covered with more armor, the chest plate sported one blue jewel at the center of her chest, and a second, yellow gemstone right over her navel. A helmet formed over Sunset’s head, creating two curved horns from the forehead, and also allowed for her metallic hair to flow out. The helmet’s eyes were turquoise crystals that glowed with the same intensity as Sunset’s eyes. The Witchblade had learned from their previous engagement, and was damned if it was going to be bested twice by the same creature.

The sonic blast struck Sunset, she felt a dull thud against her body, but nothing else. Her helmet filtered out the screech, allowing none of the flesh tearing, minding destroying sound to affect her. Harpy stopped her attack, out of energy and out of breath as she huffed from the effort of the attack, only now noticing Sunset’s armor had changed.

“W-What?! How did–?!”

“Yeah, my armor is a bit of a sore loser, so it found a way to adapt and counter your little surprise attack!”

Sunset flew for Harpy, striking her across the face with a right punch, she spun in place and kicked Harpy up higher into the air. The slayer flew after Harpy, zooming passed her and hovering over her, a broadsword formed in her right hand as Sunset dove down with great haste and stabbed Harpy right through her gut. The monster screeched in pain as the two of them plummeted straight down.

Everyone watched as the monster and armored woman descended at a rapid pace, and smashed straight through the roof of Lightning’s house and ended up right back in the living room.

Rainbow Dash felt worry about seeing all of this and ran towards the hole in the wall. Shining Armor called out to her, but then gave chase. Both of them walked through the hole and once the dust settled, saw Witchblade standing over the body of Harpy.

Surprisingly, the creature was still alive. But was in very bad shape from the looks of it. Sunset reformed the broadsword and pointed in Harpy’s face. “Any last words?”

“……” Harpy closed her eyes.

Sunset raised the sword and prepared to administer the killing stroke.

“STOP!” Rainbow yelled.

Sunset did, but then watched as Rainbow Dash ran towards them and put herself between Witchblade and Harpy.

“Miss, get away from them!” Shining Armor ordered.

“You don’t understand! Lightning’s…Lightning Dust isn’t a monster! I don’t know what’s going on, but this isn’t right, you can’t just kill her!” Rainbow pleaded.

Sunset lowered the weapon, but still kept it formed. “She’s like the monster I killed last week. The one that went after a girl in her own home. She’s dangerous.”

“Look, I don’t know who you are! But, my friends and I… we have magic powers too! If I can get them together, we can fix her,” said Rainbow Dash.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “I find that hard to believe. Can you assure me that your friends – all of them – can come together and heal her?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to rebut that, but her argument died before it could make it past her lips. The truth was, there was no guarantee. Right now there seemed to be a divide amongst them, and even Rainbow Dash wasn’t stupid enough to discount that Sunset’s presence might just be needed if they were going to effectively save Lighting. However, she wasn’t ready to give up.

Rainbow Dash turned around looked down at her transformed former friend. “Lightning, please, if there’s any part of you that’s in there, please, fight this thing!”

Harpy chuckled darkly. “Forget it girl…she’s mine. She gave into her hatred, and now I can – W-What’s happening?!” Harpy began to convulse. “What are you doing?! I’m not a monster! I don’t want this! I never wanted to kill! UGH! Don’t be stupid! Force me out and you’ll die with all these injuries!”

Rainbow Dash took a few steps back, with Sunset placing herself between them. Shining Armor kept his weapon trained on the monster, watching as the creature began to spasm and grab its head as if it had a splitting headache.

“STOP! You’ll die! I swear you’ll die! So long as you’re gone! Then FINE! GET! OUT! OF! ME!!!!”

Lightning Dust screamed loud enough that the whole neighborhood heard. Her body went still as she fell forward onto the floor. Her body began to glow, changing back into the original form of Lightning Dust.

The Witchblade armor retracted the additional plating, allowing Sunset to fully view what was happening. Something strange began to happen, the silver aura rose up from her body, going higher and higher. The aura then shifted, transforming into a monster, its body was ethereal, but had a muscular human upper body, and a hooved creature’s lower body. It’s head was that of a deer’s skull, or it was wearing deer’s skull, it was hard to tell. The creature released a terrible wailing sound as it began to move about.

}}} Do not let it escape! {{{

How?! It’s a ghost or spirit or something!

}}} Not even spirits can elude me! Trust in me! {{{

Sunset hadn’t had reason to distrust the Witchblade, there was no reason to start now. Sunset willed her armor to form chains, she pointed her left hand towards the spirit and fired the chains towards the demonic spirit. The chains moved like snakes, wrapping around the spirit. The demonic spirit didn’t fear the chains as they surrounded him, knowing that no mortal weapon could capture it. The spirit was introduced to a rude awakening as the chains went taut and completely wrapped around it.

“W-What sorcery is this?!”

“Wow, apparently I can capture ghosts too,” said Sunset, genuinely surprised.

“Because why not,” Shining Armor added.

“At least now I can get some answers. Keep this in mind, spirit, if I can capture you, I’m pretty sure that means I can harm you. Now, tell me, what are you?!”

The spirit, for the first time in its existence, felt fear. This being had the power to bind him, and that also meant she could destroy him, there would be no coming back, Oblivion would come.

“NO PLEASE, I’LL TELL YOU! I am…I am Wendigo!”

Sunset’s eyes widened upon hearing that name. It wasn’t possible, Wendigos were nothing but a myth, a boogey monster from the tales of Hearths Warming Eve, a metaphor to teach foals that hate and division make for a cold heart. They weren’t supposed to be real, not in Equestria, and certainly not on this human world.

Sunset tightened the chains as her eyes glowed with fury. “You’re lying, you can’t be a Wendigo!”

“AAAH! I speak the truth! My kind have existed since the beginning! We are spirits that feed on hate!”

A thought entered Sunset’s mind. If this world was a parallel version of Equestria, then it was safe to assume that maybe, just maybe, the Wendigos existed on this side as well. What was a tale in her world, may be reality in this one.

“Why are you here?!”

“Long ago…this world used to be filled with magic, and much turmoil. We fed on the hate, and through it, we would possess the humans and take form here! We were to stop at nothing to make this world our own, to turn it into a wasteland of frozen hate! But…the humans and other creatures banded together and imprisoned us. And over time…the magic faded, making it impossible for us to break free. Until…”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Until?”

“A great surge of power echoed throughout the world, magic was reawakened and we felt it! That surge allowed us to free ourselves! But we were weak, and came here to where the magic first surged!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes began to widen, Witchblade – Sunset – was also starting to make the connection. A powerful surge in magical energy, and it originated here in Canterlot City. The only magical surge that had happened was when Sunset Shimmer activated the Element of Magic.

Sunset’s body felt numb, once again, her actions had brought harm to others, in the worst way possible. “How…How many of you are there…?!”

“Many…! You humans haven’t changed in the numerous millennia that have passed! Still coveting, lusting, and hating each other, I’d say it’s even worse than when we were imprisoned! We will get our full strength back, and this city will be our breeding ground! You have not the power to stop ALL of us!” the Wendigo taunted.

Sunset gritted her teeth as anger welled up inside her. The chains suddenly grew blades, piercing the Wendigo spirit and making it howl in pain. It began pleading, but Sunset had long since ignored its cries. With a tug of her left hand, the chains ripped through the Wendigo, tearing it apart as its remains evaporated into the nothingness of Oblivion.

After that heavy revelation, Rainbow Dash hurried to Lightning’s side, there was blood seeping out of her, making Rainbow Dash grow more worried by the second. “Lightning, can you hear me?! LIGHTNING?!”

The turquoise girl slowly opened her eyes. “Hey…Dash…I’m messed up…real bad…”

“Save your strength, I’ll go it an ambulance!”

“She won’t need one.”

Rainbow Dash gasped when she saw Witchblade kneel before Lightning Dust. The armored heroine placed her right hand on Lightning’s back, and immediately after, the ruby gemstone began to glow. Waves of red light flowed over Lightning’s body, the wounds that were caused from their battle were quickly mending themselves. Lightning took in a deep breath, being able to breathe easier now.

When she was done, Sunset stood back up and said, “She’ll be alright.” She then walked over to Shining Armor and asked, “Promise me you’ll do what you can for her?”

Shining Armor sighed heavily. “I’ll do whatever I can, this isn’t going to be easy to report.”

Sunset nodded, her back created the metallic wings, and thanks to the hole in the roof, Sunset was able to take off without needing to smash through it. The flame haired girl soared through the sky, quickly covering miles of distance in just a few seconds.

She spotted her neighborhood and descended quickly to the stoop of her front door. The Witchblade glowed and produced her keys, to which Sunset used to open the door and close it behind her. Once inside, the armor retracted back into bracelet form.

Sunset trudged towards the stairs and ascended them to her bed. Ray chirped happily at his master’s return, but then his expression became solemn when he saw the look on her face. The former unicorn mare sat at the edge of her bed, and once she did, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

Case File 3-1 (The Widow): Reassurance

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Two days had passed since the incident at Lightning Dust’s home, and already word was spreading around. All they knew was what was allowed to come out through the police, which stated that Wind Rider and Lightning Dust were attacked, and that Wind Rider sustained severe injuries to his legs. It was also going about that Wind Rider abused Lightning Dust, not in a sexual way, but striking her and pushing her to the breaking point. Some speculated that this was the reason why Lightning Dust went postal on Sunset Shimmer, nearly killing her.

The student body didn’t know how to take this news exactly. Lightning Dust was kind of jerk, and could be super competitive, but to know that that was going on at home put some things in perspective. On that note, Sunset Shimmer hadn’t returned at all in those two days following the incident, and yet, miraculously, Anon-A-Miss hadn’t made a single posting since. It could be said that Sunset’s declaration of war against Anon-A-Miss meant that maybe she was indeed not responsible, however, not all of the student body shared this sentiment. Indeed a vast majority still suspected Sunset of being the true culprit, the fact that Anon-A-Miss hadn’t posted anything was enough proof for them, what with Sunset being absent.

Rainbow Dash returned to school after about a day off, she hadn’t really said much about what happened when she went to Lightning Dust’s home, part of her wondered if she should say anything at all. It wasn’t that Rainbow thought that the girls wouldn’t believe her, but more along the lines of what she knew and what was going on. It became too much to bear, so, the jock had decided to speak to her friends regarding what happened, having asked them to meet in the music room after school, it’s sound proof walls would allow them privacy and ensure no eavesdropping would occur.

When the last bell rang, the students filed out of school and into the cold winter afternoon. But the Rainbooms had assembled in their music room, with Rainbow Dash looking as sullen as she did when she returned.

“Alright, Rainbow, so what’s goin’ on? Ya’ve been actin’ all quiet and depressed, and that ain’t like ya,” said Applejack.

Rainbow crossed her arms as she stared down at the floor.

“Darling, if it’s too hard to speak of, you don’t have to force yourself to do this,” said Rarity.

“No…I have to. You guys need to know what I saw, what I heard. Because…this could be a whole lot worse than Anon-A-Miss or the Sirens,” Rainbow stated grimly.

The girls all had worried expressions on their faces, Rainbow was serious. After taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash told her friends what had happened on the night she went to go and see Lightning Dust, she admitted to having an intimate moment with her, earning Rainbow a glare of contempt from Applejack and Pinkie, considering what Lightning had done to Sunset. Rainbow pressed on, telling them of what Wind Rider wanted Lightning to do with her, and how Lightning ended up turning into some kind of demonic monster. The tale continued as Rainbow, almost retching at the memory, told them of how the monster tore each of Wind Rider’s legs in front of her.

Then came the fight, of a girl dressed in skimpy armor who fought the demon and nearly killed it, but Rainbow stopped her. Looking back on it, she was glad she did, it gave Lightning the chance to break free from the demon spirit, the Wendigo.

“She called herself Witchblade, she interrogated the Wendigo, and it told us that there are more of them, and they were all swarming around Canterlot City as we speak,” said Rainbow.

The girls turned pale upon hearing this, the Mystery Murders were being conducted by demonically possessed people, and they were being drawn to Canterlot City.

“But…But why here?!” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash’s grip on her arms tightened. “That demon said it was because magic was reawakened in the world. That our world’s magic was so faded that it was practically nonexistent. Care to guess how it was reawakened?”

Pinkie was the first to realize the connection, and she shook her head in disbelief. “No…y-you’re not saying…you’re not saying that this was because of the Fall Formal?!”

“…Yeah. More specifically, when Sunset put on the crown and turned into a demon. That was the surge. Thanks to Sunset, she awakened a horde of demon spirits, and now they’re swarming the city because there’s still a lot of magic radiating from here,” Rainbow explained.

The Fall Formal, the night that the girls first awakened to the power of the Magic of Friendship, where they met Princess Twilight Sparkle, and defeated Sunset Shimmer who had turned into “Sunset Satan”. Princess Twilight had called the crown the “Element of Magic”, one of six powerful artifacts from her home dimension, and was supposedly the strongest of the six. That much power being unleashed into their world that night had a ripple effect that no one could have foreseen, and now the consequences of that event were showing themselves.

“You’re not going to blame Sunset for this are you?!” Pinkie asked.

“What do you think?” Rainbow asked curtly.

“B-But she didn’t mean for this to happen! It’s not like she was intentionally trying to summon demons from hell!”

“Doesn’t matter, because of her, we have demonic spirits lurking throughout the city, killing people! It’s like we’re paying for all her bad choices!”

Pinkie Pie walked up to Rainbow and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t you dare blame Sunset for those things killing people!”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “Why not?! She’s tearing the school apart, again, and now we find out that she’s also called on demon spirits! Don’t forget, you were almost raped by one of those monsters!”

Pinkie’s hands shook at the memory of that night, her body still had phantom feelings of that creature molesting her, but even so, “I know, but don’t you forget that Sunset almost died trying to save me!”

Applejack got between the girls had held them at arm's length. “Okay, simmer down you two!” The cowgirl turned to Rainbow. “Dash, Ah’m gonna have to side with Pinkie on this one. It ain’t fair to put the blame on Sunset for somethin’ she wasn’t even aware of, not like anyone here, not even Princess Twilight, coulda seen this coming!”

“Same. Anon-A-Miss is one thing, but these Wendigos are another. Besides, who’s to say that it was only Sunset?” Rarity queried. “The surge of magic could have also been due to us unleashing the Magic of Friendship. Or when we defeated the Sirens with all seven us uniting our magic. There’s no way to know for sure.”

Rainbow Dash’s fist tightened, her face looking like it was about to explode. But Fluttershy walked up beside her, placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder and one over her right fist. The moment she did this, the tension in Rainbow Dash ebbed away. If there was one thing you could count on, it was that Fluttershy could calm the raging storm that was Rainbow Dash, most of the time.

“Rainbow, I know this is upsetting, but I think you’re upset for more than one reason, right?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow looked away from her friends and back down at the floor. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to Lightning Dust…I mean…her father was a shitty person, and treated her just as shitty. If it wasn’t for him, she’d probably wouldn’t be the kind of person she is…was…I don’t know anymore.”

“I know you liked her, but they’re right. You can’t blame Sunset for what happened, or what’s happening now. We need to focus on what we can do to stop it,” said Fluttershy.

“The only thing that seemed to stop them was that girl in the skimpy armor.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Now, Rainbow, when you say ‘skimpy armor’, what exactly do you mean?”

“I mean that she had on this weird armor that barely covered her. I won’t lie, she was hot as hell, that metal barely covered her tits, and it was like she was wearing an armored thong or something,” said Rainbow Dash, a small blush forming on her face.

Pinkie’s jaw dropped, “Hey, that sounds like the person who saved me that night!”

Applejack brought her arms down as she rested her hands on her hips. “Well, at least it looks like someone’s out there fightnin’ them.”

“Yes…although I question their choice in wardrobe,” Rarity commented.

Pinkie Pie sighed, this was a lot to process. “I’m going to go and see if Sunset’s alright. I haven’t heard from her in two days, and she hasn’t returned my calls.” Pinkie gathered her things and made for the door. “I’ll text you guys if something changes!”

Sunset lied in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She felt hollow, the weight of guilt pressing down on her like a fifty ton boulder. She barely moved from her bed, aside from eating, going to the bathroom, and feeding Ray. Just because she was depressed didn’t mean she had to let her animal friend suffer neglect.

The teen would hear the occasional beep and vibration from her phone, no doubt Pinkie Pie or Celestia trying to contact her. She didn’t really care at this point. After all, it wasn’t every day you found out that you were responsible for unleashing an ancient evil upon the world hell-bent on possessing and murdering people.

Once again…my selfish actions come back to haunt me…

She barely ate much, or drank, at this point, she was contemplating going out to buy some alcohol and get herself shitfaced drunk.

“It’s all my fault…”

}}} This state you are in does not suit you. {{{

“Please be quiet…”

}}} Your actions in the past may have brought this turn of events about, but it is not too late to make things right. With my help, we can destroy this evil. {{{

Sunset chuckled darkly. “How…? How can we destroy demonic spirits? We don’t even know where they are…We don’t know how many of them are out there…For all we know, we’ve already lost.”

}}} I see. {{{

“Just go and find another person…I’m pretty sure that there’s a more worthy person out there,” said Sunset.

}}} ……I will not. I chose you as my bearer. Until death do us part, I will not leave you. I will remain silent. But I am here if you wish to speak. {{{

“I don’t.”

Silence prevailed over her home, at this point, Sunset was very much contemplating getting shitfaced drunk.

*knock, knock*

However, a knock at the door prevented that train of thought from forming into action. Sunset sighed heavily as she dragged herself out of bed, thankfully, she managed to put some of her more modest pajamas on as she made her way to the front door. Once she did, Sunset opened the door and was treated to a blast of confetti that nearly made her throw a punch.

“Hi, Sunset!” Pinkie’s cheerful greeting rang.

“……Hey.”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Wow, you almost sound like my big sis. You don’t look so good.”

“Thank you for noticing. Now, please leave,” Sunset deadpanned as she slowly closed the door.

“W-Wait!” Pinkie Pie moved forward and placed her hand on the door to stop Sunset from closing it. “You haven’t been back in two days, and you haven’t been answering my calls, my texts, my emails, my anything!”

Sunset slowly nodded. “Mmm-hmm, and what does that tell you?”

“That you need to check your messages more?”

Sunset’s left eye twitched. “Pinkie…please, I’ve had a helluva night a couple of days ago, and I don’t…!” Sunset took a deep breath. “I don’t want to snap at you because you’re the closest person. So, please, go home.”

Pinkie stood there for a few seconds as she looked away. “Maybe…Maybe you need to snap? Sunset, it’s not good to keep things bottled up inside.” Pinkie looked back at Sunset with a small smile on her face. “I may not know what to do or say, but…I can at least hear you out. Is that too much?”

Sunset wanted to tell her yes, that it was. Because right now she felt like the worst person on the planet and that she had no right being around someone as positive and cheerful as Pinkie Pie right now…but, the other part of her that had been alone for all these months did want someone around.

Sunset sighed again as she moved aside and let Pinkie inside. Once the door was locked, Sunset walked over to her couch and plopped down on it. Pinkie took off her jacket, hat, and gloves and joined Sunset on the couch.

“What happened?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset stared up towards the ceiling and closed her eyes. “I just found out that I’ve fucked up worse than what I did at the Fall Formal…”

Pinkie grimaced as she had an idea of what it was. “What do you mean…?”

Sunset opened her eyes and glanced to Pinkie. “Do you remember, when all of us were outside at the Wondercolt statue, playing Keep-Away with the crown?” Pinkie nodded. “Do you remember what happened when I put it on?”

“Well, yeah. You put the crown on, it went all flashy, and crackly, and then a huge column of light when whoosh, straight up into the air! And then…” Pinkie paused. She knew the “Sunset Satan”, She-Demon, reference was a very sore spot for Sunset. “…stuff happened, and then the girls, me, and Princess Twilight used the Magic of Friendship to change you back.”

Sunset smiled darkly. “Yeah…that moment I put on the crown, was the moment I unleashed a horde of demonic spirits into the world.”

Pinkie once again tilted her head, this time out of confusion. “Wait…how did you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rainbow Dash, she told us about what happened with Lightning Dust, she said she heard this monster call itself a ‘Wendigo’, and that it came here because of a strong magical surge. How did you know that?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset’s eyes darted around the room, cursing inside her mind, of course Rainbow Dash would’ve told them, why wouldn’t she? “Um…I…I was attacked by that same monster that attacked Celestia!”

Pinkie gasped in shock.

“Thankfully, this girl in armor saved me. Detective Shining Armor found me and took me back to his place where he and his girlfriend kept me safe,” Sunset half lied. “A-And I found out through him that night…later on.”

Pinkie Pie narrowed her gaze as she stared at Sunset. The flame haired teen was sweating bullets, hoping that Pinkie bought that lame ass story. The pink teen continued to stare at Sunset, inching herself closer as she did so, and making Sunset back away ever so slightly. At the same time, Sunset couldn’t help but notice the generous amount of cleavage that she could see from the open collar of Pinkie’s shirt.

“Hmmmmmmmm…Okay!” Pinkie moved away and smiled. “I’m glad you’re alright though…but, you’re not really blaming yourself for this, are you?”

Sunset breathed a sigh of relief, she then leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees. “Why shouldn’t I? Pinkie, those Wendigos are out there, possessing people! Either forcing their hosts to commit murder, or worse, their hosts are enjoying that they’re committing murder! Turning them into monsters! Monsters like the one who almost hurt you!”

Pinkie felt her body shiver, recalling the memory was never pleasant. “I…I mean…”

“All the people who have died in the last couple of months…all the pain…the trauma…It’s because of ME!” Sunset felt a lump form in her throat as tears started to flow down her face. “I’ve…I’ve tried to do good…I’ve tried to make up for all the shit I did here! To everyone in the school! But, no matter what I do, my sins keep coming back to kick me down back into the smoldering crater I was trying to crawl out of! Fuck…at this point, that rainbow laser was better off destroying me then –!”

*SLAP!*

Sunset found herself lurching to her right, the left side of her face stung as a red mark formed. She turned to her left and saw Pinkie Pie, tears were flowing from her eyes as she furrowed her brow at Sunset. “Don’t you ever say that again! I don’t want to ever imagine not having you around, Sunset Shimmer!”

“P-Pinkie…?”

“Okay…so, maybe you did unknowingly unleash a horde of demonic spirits onto Canterlot City, but you didn’t know that could happen!” Pinkie stated.

Sunset narrowed her gaze. “Regardless, if I wasn’t such an arrogant, prideful, egotistical bitch, I wouldn’t have ran away to this dimension! Then I wouldn’t have had the ‘brilliant’ idea of stealing the Element of Magic, and bringing it here!”

Sunset stood up and then turned to Pinkie, making her back away a little. “And, lest we forget, if I hadn’t done that, the Sirens wouldn’t have come to CHS, and very nearly, becoming all powerful! One mistake after another, you’d think I’d have taken the opportunity of ending up in a strange new world to remake myself, but stupid me, no! I just tried to find a way to get what I thought I deserved!”

Pinkie probably would’ve been afraid of this rant, but she couldn’t be afraid, not when Sunset was crying throughout her rant. There wasn’t just anger in Sunset’s eyes, but also remorse and sadness. The pink party girl stood up as well, she then reached out and embraced Sunset, hugging her tightly against her body. The flame haired girl struggled to get away from her, to the point that they both collapsed onto the couch, but still, Pinkie Pie didn’t let her go. She continued to hold on until Sunset ceased her thrashing and just cried into her chest.

The pink teen began to stroke Sunset’s hair in soothing motions, offering her friend as much comfort as she could. “Sunset, you’re not that meanie from before. Not anymore. The Old Sunset Shimmer is gone, she was destroyed by that rainbow laser. You’re nothing like her anymore. Yeah, you kinda do have a lot of bad things to make up for, but I know you’re not one to give up!”

Sunset seemed to stop crying, letting her body shudder as she tightened her hug around Pinkie.

“Besides, you’re smart, strong, pretty, and just a badass all around.”

Sunset chuckled at that last one.

“If there’s anyone who can find a way to stop these things, I know it’s you. I know all of us can stop this, we just need to work together again, Anon-A-Miss or not!” Pinkie stated.

Sunset sniffled as a smile graced her lips. “I’m really glad we’re friends again…”

“I’m sorry I ever said we weren’t…”

Sunset lifted her head and looked at Pinkie. “How about we both try and stop feeling sorry for ourselves? I’ll promise to try and stop blaming myself, and you try and stop berating yourself for this whole Anon-A-Miss thing?”

Pinkie Pie smiled Sunset as she asked, “Pinkie Swear?”

Sunset rolled her eyes, but returned the smile as she said, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Pinkie Pie’s smile widened as she then booped Sunset’s nose with her right finger. This caused Sunset’s face to cutely scrunch up. “Don’t forget, you can’t break a Pinkie Promise.”

“I know.”

Silva Evergreen was a good looking girl, twenty-one years old, long cherry red hair, flawless emerald green skin, and jade colored eyes that sparkled like jewels, was it any wonder she was scouted for a modeling agency? With her slender frame, and hourglass figure, she wasn’t just the perfect model, but also a knockout when it came to boys.

The young woman was paid handsomely for her modeling work, although it was for small competitions, but it was good work, and if the designer’s collection did well, then she’d get noticed as well.

For the past couple of years, Canterlot City would host a little fashion show for the spring, summer, fall, and winter lineups. It was the city’s version of Fashion Week from Manelan. The competition brought in local talent, granting them a stage for which to showcase their creations. Of course, these kinds of things drew in a lot of scouts from different fashion labels, looking to snatch up the next big hit in the fashion world.

Now Silva modeled for a lot of clients, but the one she liked to model for the most was a girl named, Rarity. The ones she worked with before were either snobbish, pushy, or just plain rude. Silva knew they could be eccentric, but sometimes they took it too far, but not Rarity. That’s not to say she wasn’t eccentric in her own ways, but the girl took great pride in making sure not to sacrifice comfort, even making fine tuned adjustments to ensure that the models were able to move about without restrictions.

Yes, Silva loved working with Rarity, to the point that she decided to work almost exclusively with Rarity for whatever design gig she wanted to enter. Silva even contemplated working up a contract with the young designer, becoming partners in business.

Silva was snapped out of her contemplation as she heard her phone go off. Her studio apartment was quite spacious, and she often would leave the phone somewhere far without realizing it. In this case it was located in the living room, Silva walked in and found the device on the counter. She unlocked the phone and grimaced at the name that popped up, reluctantly, she answered it.

“Hello? ……Uh-huh. Yeah, I know and as I told you, last time, I decline…” Silva walked about the living room as her frown deepened. “Because I am already working with Rarity……Money is not an issue, I make even more just walking down the runway in her outfits…” Silva stopped as the caller seemed to have said something that made her frown turn into a scowl. “Well, that’s fine. ‘Cause your shit is weak, and you’re going to lose to her!”

Silva ended the call, a smug look plastered on her face after telling that person off. “They’re so getting their ass kicked at the show,” she mused.

The young woman chucked her cellphone onto the couch and headed back into her room. She entered her bathroom and began to disrobe, turning the knob to unleash a small deluge of water from the showerhead. The young woman was about to enter the shower when the lights flickered off.

“What the hell?”

Luckily for Silva, she was prepared. In the socket opposite the sink, a flashlight kicked on. It only ever went on when there was no power feeding it. Silva quickly took it and put on her robe as she exited the bathroom, she tried flicking on the switches in her room, but nothing happened. Something like this was not normal, it was snowing outside, but the news had made no mention of rolling blackouts nor that the snowstorm was bad enough to make this happen.

“Fuck, someone probably plugged in too much shit and blew the fuse,” said Silva.

She was about to go to her nightstand to call the building manager, but remembered that it was in her living room. Silva groaned in annoyance of her actions as she began walking into the living room. The spacious loft had high ceilings, and a wide open living room, perfect for hosting parties, and she did have a few now and then, but she just didn’t like cramped spaces.

As she shined her flashlight about, Silva paused upon hearing rapid scurrying. Silva shined her flashlight in the direction that she thought she heard the noise, but there was nothing. Silva dismissed it, without the extra noise of the heater, the noises of the building were becoming more prominent, at least, that’s how she rationalized it.

Silva took a few more steps and found that the cellphone was not on the couch. “What the hell? I…I threw it right here!”

Just then, more of that same scurrying sound echoed in the room, making Silva move her flashlight rapidly up to the tall ceiling. With the light now on them, the metal beams of the rafters caused eerie shadows to be cast, making the young woman feel very uncomfortable. The tip, tap, tapping scurrying went off again, but was more rapid , moving as if it was crawling all over the ceiling and the walls. Some furniture was nudged, causing it to screech as it scratched against the hardwood floor.

Silva’s heart was racing, something big was in her home, something that was moving too fast for her to see, and what made it worse was that whatever-it-was could be right behind her, but with the lights out she didn't know.

As if either by grace or eerie coincidence, the light of her cellphone shined from the kitchen counter. Silva shined her light on it, scanning the area from where she stood. She didn’t like this, oh no, she’d seen this horror movie before, but Silva was smarter than those stupid teens and college kids from horror movies. Whatever was in here wanted her to go towards the light of the cellphone to call for help, however, the front door was only five feet from her left. A quick dash to the door and all Silva had to do was run like the wind, the hell with the freezing cold, if it was between that and facing whatever was in her loft, she’d choose frostbite.

Silva edged herself closer to the making like she was going to bolt for the cellphone, however, that wasn’t the case. The young woman bolted straight for the door, a smile formed on her face as she thought herself brilliant for not making the classic horror movie mistake. That, unfortunately, was her mistake.

As soon as Silva ran for the door, the young woman felt her right leg get pulled from under her, sending Silva face planting straight to the floor. Her flashlight rolled across the room, hitting the wall and angling just enough to illuminate Silva herself. The model rolled onto her back, her face radiated with pain just as much as her leg did from the sudden jerking motion. Silva brought up her leg and saw something glimmering, carefully, she pulled at the thin looking rope, or wire, that had somehow gotten around her ankle.

“What the hell is this…?”

Suddenly, several more strands of the wire lashed out of the darkness and wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, snapping taut as they held her arms and legs out to where she was forming an “X" with her body. Silva was about to scream, that is until something shot at her mouth, covering it in a thick substance that hardened immediately. Her cries came out as muffled, too low even for a passerby to hear her.

A sudden thump silenced Silva as she stared towards her left, her eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but she could vaguely make out a large, shadowy figure. She could hear the tip tapping of the figure as it walked, it then turned towards Silva, making the young woman gasp when she saw six, fuchsia colored eyes. Silva tensed up as those eyes approached her, she struggled in vain to get herself free from the wire, but it was no use, she was helpless.

The figure was now hovering over her; the flashlight illuminated some of figure's features. The legs were long, sharp, and violet colored, from what she could tell, there were six of them. Whatever this was, it was definitely not human.

“Hello, Silva Evergreen, I need you to do me a favor,” the feminine voice stated. The being showed Silva her cellphone, which also gave her a good look at her four clawed hand. “There’s a certain girl that you work with, a – ugh – ‘talented’ designer, that I want you to cancel on.”

Silva had a look of confusion upon hearing this strange request.

“Now, if you do as I say, I’ll let you go. But if you refuse…”

The figure brought its left claw into view, the tips began slide up, revealing small holes. From those holes, wire-like thread began slithering towards Silva as the creature before her brushed part of robe aside, revealing the left side of her chest. Silva watched in horror as the threads began to pierce her skin, she could feel the threads burrowing into her skin, going deeper and deeper, strangely enough, she felt no pain from what this monster was doing, but she could definitely feel them moving around. Panic gripped Silva as she went still, feeling the threads closing in on her heart and then stopping.

“I laced my thread with an anesthetic venom that deadens the pain that you’d be feeling from this. Now, if you don’t call her, I’ll wrap the threads around your heart and squeeze it until it pops! And it won’t be sudden, no, it’ll be slow, very slow. Do you understand?”

Silva nodded slowly, eyes wide with tears running down her face. The creature carefully placed the phone in Silva’s right hand, with her free right claw, the creature gently removed the patch that she had put on around her mouth. Afterwards, she loosened the wires wrapped around her wrists, allowing Silva to use her arms and hands to make the call. Silva made to dial, and was secretly about to call the police.

“Show me that you’ve called her once you’ve done so,” she ordered.

Silva gulped, her eyes glanced back at the four threads that were still inside her chest and the feeling of them close to her heart. With little choice, Silva brought up her list of contacts, scrolled through them and pushed Rarity’s phone number. The young woman turned the phone around and showed the six-eyed creature that it was ringing.

{Hello? Silva?}

“Y-Yes, Rarity, it’s me.”

{Darling, so glad you called! Listen, I was wondering if you could come by my home after my school lets out. I need to make a few more adjustments and–}

“Rarity I’m sorry but I can’t come,” said Silva.

There was a brief pause before Rarity spoke again. {Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Of course, you must be busy. Tell me, when do you think you’ll be able to come over?}

“I-I can’t…I mean, I won’t. I’m not going to model for you for the competition.”

{W-W-What?! Silva…I…This is…P-Please, you can’t cancel on me now! The competition is this weekend! I can’t find another model on such short notice! I-If this is about financial compensation, I promise I’ll give you a very generous portion of the prize money! Plus whatever else I have!}

Silva hated this, she hated hearing the desperation, the hurt, and betrayal in Rarity’s voice. The last two years she’d spent working with her, wearing her brilliant clothes, elevating their careers as both designer and model, and now she was throwing it all away, abandoning her in her hour of need. This monster, who literally held her life in its claws, was a monster in the truest sense of the word.

“I’m sorry, but…I’ve gotten an offer from another client. One that p-pays better, and works in Manelan. I’ll be working exclusively with them, and as such, I can’t be seen modeling for another designer………I will say, the years I spent working with you were some of the best I’ve ever had……goodbye.” Silva didn’t wait for a reply as she ended the call, tears running down her face as she looked away from the creature. “I did it…”

“Yes, you did. Well done.” The creature pulled back its left claw, withdrawing the four threads from Silva’s body.

Silva felt the wires holding her go slack, granting her free movement again.

“I did what you wanted…so, please, leave me alone,” Silva begged.

The creature hummed as if contemplating. “Here’s the thing, hon, I know I said I’d let you go, but now that I think about it, you’ll just tell the cops and then go back to working with her. I can’t really have that kind of heat on me.”

Silva’s eyes darted up to the glowing eyes of the creature as she tried to back up. “B-B-But you promised you’d let me go!”

The six eyes of the creature narrowed into slits, the creature then slammed its claws atop both of her Silva’s arms, pinning her against the floor. “I lied.”

The creature reared back its head and then chomped down onto Silva’s neck. Silva tried to scream, but no sound came out. A paralytic venom was injected into her, silencing Silva’s vocal cords. The young woman thrashed about, as she screamed in her mind. Her eyes managed to catch a glimpse of the creature, seeing red glowing veins appear over its body.

Silva was suddenly feeling lightheaded, her strength waned with each passing second, after a minute, her thrashing stopped and she went limp. The only sound that could be heard was a kind of gulping, sucking noise. When Silva stopped her thrashing, the creature lifted her up and continued its work, the flashlight still shone, illuminating the darkness just enough to see Silva’s feet as they twitched every so often. Finally, her feet stopped twitching.

Silva’s body was then dropped to the floor, showing that her vibrant, emerald colored skin had become pale and lifeless.

The creature’s red veins continued to glow in the darkness, funneling towards her claws as a red thread was produced from them. “Hmm, tasty.” The creature looked down at the corpse on the floor. “Don’t worry, hon, you’ll still make it big in the fashion world. Just not the way you thought.”

Case File 3-2 (The Widow): A Friend in Need

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Sunset sat in Principal Celestia’s car, the older woman had kept her promise about driving Sunset to school until this matter with Anon-A-Miss was over and done with. Celestia hadn’t probed Sunset about why she didn’t want to come back, but she chalked it up to the trauma of being attacked, again, by a monster.

At this point, she was glad that Sunset came out at all. Suffering through one event like that after another would be enough to make any person want to lock themselves up in their room and never come out. But Celestia knew better, she knew Sunset was a stronger girl than that, which made her happy when she received the call to come and pick her up.

“Are you sure you’re up for coming to school today, Sunset?” Celestia asked.

Sunset glanced to Celestia as she smiled a little, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…but if for any reason you don’t feel safe, don’t hesitate to come to my office, or go to Vice Principal Luna, understand?”

Sunset smirked, it sounded less like a request, and more like an order. “Yes, Ma’am.”

They eventually arrived at CHS, and just like before, Sunset felt the oppressive aura from the school. Although, now knowing about the Wendigos, the aura seemed to take on a different meaning. How many other students at the school were potentially possessed by those demonic spirits? How many were ticking time bombs waiting to go off? With a sigh, Sunset walked towards the school. Since she arrived with Principal Celestia, she arrived earlier than most of the students, which was fine, Sunset didn’t really want to have to go through dealing with them this early in the morning.

However, since the teachers were in a meeting this morning, Sunset couldn’t exactly wait in her first period class, so she was stuck waiting in the library for school to start up. After an hour, the students started funneling in, and of course, there were whispers and glares whenever they looked at her.

The day went by as per the usual, or at least what the usual was now. Meeting up with Pinkie Pie helped Sunset get through most of the day, her cheerful smile and perky attitude was like a breath of fresh air in this otherwise confined social space. It was close to the end of the day when Sunset received a text message, at first she thought it was Pinkie Pie, but then she paused when she read the name.

Rarity:[Sunset. I realize that this is incredibly awkward, and you have no reason to hear me out, but I must confess I am in a bind and I require your assistance. If you are willing, please meet me in the fashion design room 103 after school.]

On the one hand, Sunset was kind of happy to be receiving any kind of communication from Rarity, the fashionista had grown to become one of her confidants over Sunset’s time of reformation, but on the other, Sunset was worried that this might be a trick of some kind. A quick glance to her right wrist reassured her that even if it was a trick, she had the means to escape it.

With that in mind, Sunset waited for the last bell. Once it rang, she waited for the rest of the classroom to file out, and a bit longer for the hallways to clear as well. After about ten minutes, Sunset began her walk towards the design rooms. It never ceased to amaze her how many specialized rooms CHS had for its various activities, Sunset had even considered joining the Fencing Club, seeing as she seemed to possess a knack for the use of bladed weapons.

Sunset arrived at the door to room 103, and knocked on the door. No sooner had she done that did the door swing open, Sunset then found herself swiftly being pulled into the room with the door closing shut behind her. Now inside the room, Sunset laid eyes on Rarity. The fashion designer looked frazzled, and tense, something was up.

“Rarity…are you okay?” Sunset asked.

“Well, yes, and no…it’s complicated…” Rarity straightened herself up before continuing. “First off, I would like to thank you for coming, Sunset. I know that our…relationship is a bit on the rocky side, but I’m honestly between a rock and a hard place and I don’t know who else to turn to.”

Sunset dropped her backpack and crossed her arms. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

“Do you remember that fashion show I had…ahem…uninvited you to?” Rarity asked sheepishly.

Sunset frowned a little at the memory, yes, she did remember. When Anon-A-Miss struck, she was officially uninvited to any events and activities that involved her friends, one of those being the fashion show that Rarity would routinely compete in every winter. “Yes, I do.”

“Well…it turns out that the model I’ve been working with these past couple of years…well…she…she cancelled on me,” said Rarity with tears in her eyes.

Sunset looked shocked upon hearing this news. “Wait, Silva Evergreen, she cancelled on you?! Why?!”

Rarity rubbed her eyes, her mascara began to run so she grabbed a tissue from her skirt pocket and dabbed her eyes. “She says she had gotten a contract to work with some fashion label in Manelan! I…I could hardly blame her, but…to up and cancel on me so close to the day of the competition!”

Sunset didn’t understand, from what Rarity told her of Silva, she wasn’t the kind of woman to do this Rarity without a reason. “I-I’m sorry to hear that Rarity…are there any other models you can use?”

“NO! At this point it’s near impossible to get someone else! Especially since I have the dresses tailored to Silva’s measurements!”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head, she was feeling bad that Rarity was in this situation. “I’m sorry that this is happening, Rarity.”

Rarity took a moment to compose herself as she readied herself for the hardest part of this conversation. “Well, truthfully there is a way to salvage this situation. I was going over some old measurements lists and I found that there were at least two people who could fit into my dresses without much need to modify them too much. One of them is Fluttershy, and the other……”

Rarity let that hang in the air, hoping that Sunset would catch on. Fortunately or unfortunately, Sunset did catch on. “Wait, you mean me?!”

“Sunset, I know you have no reason to do this for me and you have every right to refuse –!”

“You’re damn right I have every right to refuse!” Sunset sniped. “All of you pegged me as Anon-A-Miss after I came to you and told you I wasn’t! You’ve shunned me, and practically made me Persona Non Grata! Why in the hell would you think that I’d help you?!”

Rarity, at this point willing to throw her dignity to the wind, fell to her knees and looked up at Sunset. “Sunset, I know, I know the girls and I have done something terrible to you! Something that we can never take back or begin to make up for! But, please, I’m begging you, I need your help! I’ll do anything! I-I’m even willing to sell my BODY if that’s what it takes!”

Sunset blushed at the declaration. Again, it was no secret, she found her friends attractive, and the offer was very tempting, but still. “Tell me something, what will happen after the competition?”

“W-What?”

“If I agree to this, will you just go back to shunning me again, suspecting me? Do you even think I’m innocent, AT ALL?!”

Rarity paused at this question, she had to admit, she was struggling with the notion of Sunset’s guilt or innocence. The question of how the pictures from her phone had gotten posted was still unclear, Sunset was the only one who took them, and they were on her phone. With the events that have occurred thus far, Rarity didn’t know anymore if Sunset was Anon-A-Miss or not. But right now she was willing to gamble on Sunset not being Anon-A-Miss, this competition was too important to let something like guilt or innocence get in the way.

“Sunset, I don’t want to make this a condition, the last thing I want is to force you into thinking that your participation in my competition in the only way for me to forgive you. But, if you promise to do this one thing for me……I’ll do anything, without question, without hesitation. I’ll prostrate myself before you if that’s what it takes!”

Sunset looked down at Rarity her frown still present. “Alright, do it then.”

“Pardon?” Rarity asked.

“You said you’d ‘prostrate’ yourself. So do it, but I want you to get on all fours, raise your ass in the air, and say, ‘Sunset, please forgive me’.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at the request, she was trembling, she didn’t know Sunset hated them this much for their treatment of her. But, then again, there was no choice, she didn’t have anyone else to ask other than Fluttershy, and she knew how that would turn out. Rarity scooted back and prepared to do as Sunset asked. That is until Sunset knelt in front of Rarity and placed her hand on the fashionista’s shoulder.

“Stop, you don’t have to do that.”

“B-But you just said…?”

“I know what I said…seeing that you were willing to go that far was enough.” Sunset smiled at Rarity. “I don’t expect you to believe me when I say I’m not Anon-A-Miss, that’s a decision that you need to come on your own. I’ll do this for the sake of the friendship we had. You won’t owe me anything.”

Rarity had admit, she was moved by Sunset’s words. After everything that has happened, Sunset was willing to do this for her, with no conditions whatsoever. “Sunset…I don’t know what to say…just, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But, quick question, why didn’t you ask Fluttershy?” Sunset asked.

“Well, let’s not kid ourselves, between the six of us, you, me, and Fluttershy have the best modelling figures, but I can’t do it because I’m making the dresses, and Fluttershy…well…I think we can both agree that being in front of a crowd isn’t exactly her strong suit.”

Sunset had no argument with that, Fluttershy had a rockin’ body, but flaunting it in front of a large crowd down a runway was not going to go well. “Point taken.”

Shining Armor was still trying to wrap his head around everything he learned two days ago. Demonic spirits were gathering in his city, possessing people and turning them into monsters. Shining wasn’t exactly sure how to bring this up to his superiors, it was hard enough for them to accept that the perpetrators of these crimes were people who turned into monsters, now he had to tell them that not only were these monsters people possessed, but that some may not be in control of their actions.

“Dammit, the law was not set up for this kind of crap,” Shining muttered.

“Yo, Shining, you alright man?” Spearhead asked.

Shining Armor looked up from his paperwork to see Spearhead heading his way. “Not entirely, still working on this Wind Rider stuff.”

“What a douchebag, to think I thought that guy was the best driver on the circuit, makes me sick that he did that to his own kid,” said Spearhead.

“Yeah, but right now his daughter is sitting in juvie, it wasn’t like I could just lie and say that it wasn’t her, I saw the whole thing from beginning to end. But, from what I heard from the judge, she may just spend a couple of months where she’s at, along with some psyche help.”

“That’s good…still…don’t know how well that’s going to go over the families of the victims.”

Shining Armor put down his pen and sighed. “Yeah, which is why the brass is keeping this hush-hush. The official story is that the monster attacked Wind Rider and his daughter, but was then killed by SWAT.”

Spearhead smirked. “So they’re not mentioning that babe in the bikini armor? Shame, even though she was the one that killed both those things, how are they framing that?”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes, after knowing that Sunset Shimmer was the one in that armor, hearing his partner talk about her the way he was made him cringe. “They’re not sure yet, her appearance doesn’t exactly scream ‘kid friendly hero’, but neither has she attacked anyone. The brass isn’t exactly willing to say that we’re working with some half naked warrior woman, PR and all that shit.”

“Spearhead, Shining Armor!”

Both men glanced to the office on the other side, there stood their captain, Broadside. The man was big, and muscular, with black hair that was graying a little, his bronze skin and piercing blue eyes were intimidating to most. “We got word on a possible 303, I need you guys uptown, now!”

“Yes sir!”

Shining and Spearhead hurried out of the police station and headed for uptown Canterlot. This part of town was where most of the more well-off people lived, some who were professional models and others who were either business owners or something that involved making a lot of money. They pulled up to a building that held many apartment lofts, there were already a couple of squad cars there, and some unies standing outside waiting for them.

Once they were spotted, the two uniformed cops led them upstairs, after ascending a couple of floors, they arrived to see a man waiting outside one of the apartment doors with a couple a more officers standing with him. He was tall and lanky, wearing a purple suit with a red tie. He had similarly colored skin, but a shade darker, and green hair. And for some reason he was wearing sunglasses despite the sky being overcast with snow filled clouds.

“Well it’s about time you got here!” he stated.

“And, who are you sir?” Spearhead asked.

“My name is Glitz Showman, but you can call me Glitz, I’m Silva Evergreen’s agent,” he said.

Shining and Spearhead glanced to each other and the back to Glitz.

“Okay, Glitz, why did you request that we come here?” Shining Armor asked.

“Because I got a call earlier today and heard from one of our best clients that Silva has up and quit on her!” Glitz stated. “She adores this client and would never just up and cancel on her without good reason!”

Spearhead crossed his arms. “Maybe she got a better gig?”

Glitz scoffed. “If she ‘got a better gig’ I would know about it! Despite what you may think, Silva isn’t some conniving girl, she’s definitely a lot better than some of my other girls.”

At this point they were wondering if this guy was an agent or a pimp. Shining Armor sighed and asked, “Have you tried calling her?”

“Yes, several times! But she hasn’t returned my calls! And I know she’s in there because I hear it ringing just outside this door! So, here I am, but the landlord won’t open it up just because I’m her agent!” Glitz stated. He then dialed the number again, and not long after, the sound of a cellphone going off came from the other side of the door. “See?!”

Spearhead and Shining weren’t sure if this was an emergency, but decided to take the initiative and check this out.

“Did you guys manage to get a spare key?” Spearhead asked.

“Yes,” said one of the uniformed cops as she handed it to Spearhead.

“And no one’s entered or exited this room since you got here?” Shining Armor inquired.

“No, Sir, no one,” said another.

With a heavy sigh, both Spearhead and Shining Armor walked up to the door. Shining Armor knocked on the door and said, “Ms. Silva Evergreen, this is Detective Shining Armor and Detective Spearhead Thrust of the Canterlot City Police Department. Your agent’s here and he’s worried about you. Are you there?”

They waited a couple of minutes, but there was no response.

“Ma’am, we have a key to the apartment, we ask that if you’re not descent, to please do so as we will be entering,” said Spearhead.

Once again, no response. With that established, Spearhead used the key to open the door. When they did, both detectives already on edge. A few feet from the door was were some red splotches on the hardwood floor, across from that was the cellphone. Both men had seen enough crime scenes to know that those weren’t some wine stains, that was blood. Shining Armor and Spearhead drew their weapons, causing Glitz to tense up.

“Stay out here, Glitz. One comes in with us, and I want one of you to back us up,” said Shining.

The female officer volunteered, drawing her weapon as she followed both detectives inside while her partner and the other officers watched the front door. There wasn’t any sign of a struggle, so far as they could tell. Spearhead got down on one knee to inspect the splotches, confirming that it was indeed dried up blood.

“This is all dried up, Shine. Couldn’t be more than a few hours,” said Spearhead.

“Let’s move to the bedroom,” said Shining.

The three officers checked the living room and kitchen, confirming that there was no one inside. They made their way to the closed bedroom door, Shining and Spearhead hugged the walls on either side of the door, the officer took up position a foot away, her gun pointed at the door.

Spearhead knocked at the door. “Ma’am, this is the police, are you in need of medical help?!” No response. “Ma’am, were coming in!”

Spearhead nodded to Shining, who then nodded to the officer across from him. All three readied themselves as Shining Armor opened the door, it was dark in the room, the uniformed cop tossed them her flashlight, Shining grabbed it and turned it on, illuminating the inside, all three officer’s stood with their mouths wide open at what they saw.

There was a large…cocoon, sitting on the bed. Shining Armor went in first with Spearhead right behind him, his partner turned on the lights, allowing them to see the entire room. The cocoon was webbed up against the wall, bed, and floor, fastening it atop the bed itself.

“What…the hell…is that?” Spearhead asked.

“More weird shit that the law was not made to handle.” Shining Armor took out his radio. “This is Officer Shining Armor, I need CSI to my location, we have a code 303.”

After some convincing, Sunset was able to get Celestia to let her go with Rarity back to her place. Memories both good and bad were coming up as they approached Rarity’s home. It was after their slumber party at Rarity’s that this Anon-A-Miss nightmare truly kicked off. Even now, Sunset had some anxiety about this whole thing. Part of her was worried that this was just a trick to get Sunset alone. But Sunset didn’t want to think like that, she didn’t want to see the worst in her friends, if she lost that, then there was truly no hope in rebuilding what was lost. Hopefully, this would prove to be the first step.

Once Rarity pulled into the garage, Sunset took up her backpack and followed the fashionista into her house.

“You’re parents aren’t home yet?” Sunset asked.

“Oh no, my mother will be late coming in, same with my father, for now it will just be me, you, and Sweetie Belle.” Rarity opened the garage door and entered through the laundry room, which then led into the kitchen. Upon entering, Rarity spotted her little sister pouring herself a glass of milk. “Hi, Sweetie~”

The young teen turned towards the sound of her big sister’s voice and smiled. “Hey, Rarity, what’s uh…uh…w-w-what is she doing here?!” Sweetie Belle demanded as she pointed towards Sunset.

Sunset had to admit that stung a little. Rarity figured that this was the sort of reaction that her little sister would have, but nevertheless, this needed to be addressed. “Sweetie, Sunset’s here because I asked her to.”

Sweetie Belle looked at her sister with great confusion. “B-But why?! She posted all those embarrassing photos! Why would you invite Anon-A-Miss to our house?!”

Rarity narrowed her gaze. “Sweetie Belle, that’s enough! Whom I invite to our house is my business! For now, Sunset and I are putting this whole Anon-A-Miss business on pause, I need her help with my fashion competition this weekend since my model up and cancelled on me! So, for now, we have…an understanding if you will.”

Sweetie Belle looked panicked, but still managed to give Sunset a scrutinizing glare. “And how do you know she won’t try and sabotage you?! Or post some more embarrassing stuff about you on MyStable?!”

“If that is the risk I take, then so be it. Now, I don’t want to hear another word about this subject while Sunset’s here. She’s our guest, and will be treated as such, understand.” Rarity’s question was more of a command.

Sunset could see the power struggle between the two sisters, and it was obvious that Rarity held more authority over Sweetie Belle than Sweetie herself was comfortable showing. Reluctantly, it seemed that Sweetie Belle would bow to Rarity’s word on this.

“Fine…but don’t come crying to me when she does something,” Sweetie warned as she stormed off upstairs, which was swiftly followed up with a door slam.

Rarity sighed heavily. “I’m sorry about that, Sunset.”

“It’s…okay, I just hope you don’t start fighting over this,” said Sunset.

Rarity scoffed and waved off the notion. “Puh-lease, darling, Sweetie Belle and I have had our fair share of fights, it comes with being sisters. We always make up in the end. Now, let’s head up to my room, unless you want something to eat first?”

Sunset shook her head, and with that the two of them headed upstairs. When they arrived, Sunset smiled, it was just as she remembered it. The lavish bed spread, the numerous sowing items strewn on one side of her room in a sort of organized chaos setup. Sunset spotted one of the dresses that Rarity had created, it was white as snow, with diamonds – Sunset doubted that they were fake – studded onto it in the form of snowflakes. Each snowflake was in a unique design, Rarity was a stickler for detail, and she knew that no two snowflakes are ever alike, and she carried that fact into her design.

The body had accents of icy blue, with a white fur shawl connected to the body and would loop around the neck. The shoulders, arms, and just a smidge of the chest were left exposed.

“So…where do we start?” Sunset asked.

Rarity placed her things in their designated spot and then moved to her desk. She then picked something up and turned around, showing Sunset the measuring tape. “First, I’ll need to get some measurements. I want to be as accurate as possible so I’ll know where I need to make adjustments. My previous numbers show that you and Silva were a good match, but I need to be absolutely sure.”

“Well, okay.” Sunset put her backpack down next to Rarity’s bed and then took off her jacket. “Let’s do it.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Ahem, well, actually, I…I need you to strip down, Sunset. Completely…Everything off…”

Sunset blushed. “Um…well, that’s new. You never asked me that before, or any of us.”

“Yes, well, those times I wasn’t under the gun for a competition that could elevate my status as a fashion designer,” said Rarity. “I promise, Sunset, I will remain professional.”

Sunset wasn’t too keen on exposing herself in front of her friend like this. In a locker room was one thing, but having her be that close in her personal space, nude, was another thing. Well, that and there was another fear that she had, and it seemed Rarity caught on.

“You’re worried that I have some hidden camera somewhere to record you, aren’t you?” Rarity asked.

“What?! No, that’s not…” Sunset sighed. “Okay, yeah, I kinda am worried that that’s what’s going on. I’m sorry, but with all this Anon-A-Miss stuff going on, you can’t blame me for being paranoid, I did just get nearly strangled to death.”

Rarity nodded. “I understand.” The fashionista took out her cellphone and turned it off in front of Sunset. She then placed that cellphone in the drawer of her nightstand. “A bit of good faith both ways?”

Sunset agreed, taking out her cellphone, turning it off, and placing it next to Rarity’s in the drawer.

“If you wish, you may search my room to make sure there are no hidden cameras.”

“I don’t…want to be rude,” said Sunset.

Rarity placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Sunset, you have every right to suspect me, up until now, you didn’t have many people to trust. Aside from Pinkie Pie, you’ve been surrounded by potential enemies, and I don’t blame you for thinking that I am one of them. I will sit down at any spot you wish while you take a look around.”

Sunset felt bad for not having more trust in one of her friends, but right now she was still on edge. “Okay, just uh…sit on the floor right here, I guess.”

Rarity nodded and sat down, cross legged, on floor. With that, Sunset began her search of the room, she checked the closet, bookshelves, pillows, bedding, every nook and cranny that Sunset could think of that would be able to house a camera, for this she had to tap into her previous devious mind, thinking how Sunset herself would capture such images. After about a minute and a half of thorough searching, Sunset concluded that there were no hidden cameras.

“Sorry, again,” said Sunset.

“And again, it’s alright.” Rarity stood back up and dusted off her skirt. “Now, are you more comfortable with what I asked?”

Sunset did feel more assured that there was no devious intentions here. So, Sunset slowly nodded and set to strip. She stopped once she reached her underwear, not exactly sure if she wanted to go further.

“Sunset, if you’re not comfortable going further than this, that’s fine, the way you are will work,” said Rarity.

“But it won’t be as accurate as you want, right?” Sunset asked.

“Well…I will have to do some extra deductions, but–”

“Then no, I’m fine.” Sunset reached back unhooked her black lace bra, letting it fall to the floor, she then moved down and removed her matching panties. Sunset turned around and let Rarity see all of her for the first time. “So, here I am.”

Rarity paused for a moment, as an artist, Rarity admired the human figure, both male and female, in all its intricate shapes and contours. So Rarity could appreciate the attractive figure of Sunset Shimmer. Her hips were wide, showing of lean muscle, not enough to make her look bulky, but not too much as to make her lose her feminine appeal. Sunset’s chest was still impressive as always, and the way her flaming hair cascaded down her shoulders and back made her quite the picturesque beauty.

“My…goodness,” gasped Rarity.

“W-What? Do I look weird or something?” Sunset asked.

“Oh no, sorry! I just realized that this is the first time I’ve taken in how you look, you’re quite stunning, Sunset,” said Rarity.

Sunset blushed a little and muttered, “Thank you. So, can we start this before it becomes more awkward?”

“Very well, arms out, legs spread.” Rarity went to work, taking careful measures of Sunset’s bust, hips, waist, moving on to her arms, shoulders, stomach, legs, and in seams. The last part she took special care not to come too close to her womanhood. Rarity would repeat this process a couple of more times, writing down her numbers as soon as she was done with each measured body part. Once she was done, Rarity smiled and said, “All done, darling, thank you very much.”

Sunset smiled. “No problem.” As Sunset began to put her clothes back on, she asked, “So, what’s the verdict, can you make the adjustments work?”

“Hmm, well, it’s not as bad as I thought. But at the same time, it’s going to take a minute…you’re, ahem, bust is larger than that of Silva’s, as well as your hip and waist, but thankfully it’s not too much that it’s not something I can fix. However, and I hate to ask this given what happened last time, but would you be willing to stay over tonight?”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow at that. “You want me to stay over?”

“It’s the only way to make sure that all these adjustments work out, I can have you try on the dress at different intervals to make sure that it’s perfect.” Rarity sat down at her desk chair as she looked at Sunset. “I know the previous time you were here did not leave you with a good memory, but please, will you trust me? As I am trusting you?”

Sunset debated this in her mind, and with another. What do you think?

}}} I sense no ill well in her intentions. But the decision is yours. {{{

Sunset understood. “Okay, let’s do it. I made sure to give Ray a good enough supply of food in case I came home late or not at all, depending.”

Rarity jumped out of her seat and globbed onto Sunset, doing a good Pinkie Pie tackle hug as the both of them were now on the bed. “Oh thank you, thank you, Sunset!”

*knock, knock*

“Rarity, Mom and Dad said they’ll be home late, do you wanna order pizza or…” Sweetie Belle’s eyes bulged as she looked upon the scene before her. In Rarity’s excitement, she tackle hugged Sunset before she could finish dressing, leaving her with only her panties on and her chest exposed, and of course, Rarity lying on top of her. “……uh…w-w-what are you doing…?”

Rarity glanced to Sweetie Belle and then looked down at Sunset who was blushing. The fashionista took in more of the scene and then began to babble incoherently as the situation finally dawned on her. “S-S-Sweetie Belle this isn’t what it looks like!”

“You and Sunset…I…when…I don’t…WHY?! She’s not a good person Rarity!” Sweetie stated.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity exclaimed, forgetting the embarrassing situation and focusing on the rude comment her sister had made. “If Sunset and I were like that, you have no right to question my choice in romantic partners, and I would think you’d trust my judgement in who I decide to be with! Secondly, Sunset has made some mistakes…” She glanced to her friend who was covering her chest with her arms. “But…But…” Rarity felt a sense of realization hit her. “That’s no reason to blame her for every bad thing that happens…Sweetie Belle, apologize to Sunset!”

Sweetie Belle stared defiantly at her big sister. “It’s not like I’m not saying something that isn’t true!”

“Apologize to Sunset!” Rarity ordered.

“Forget this!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she left the room, slamming her door shut.

Rarity shook with contained rage, but it wasn’t just due to Sweetie Belle’s actions, no, this embarrassing moment had offered her some clarity when she spoke about Sunset. “I really am a terrible person…”

“Rares?”

“I – we – made a promise to Princess Twilight to look after you, and help you along your path to redemption. Then, we found out that we were doing this less for the promise and more because we were growing more fond of you with each passing day…” Rarity turned around, and to Sunset’s surprise, she was crying. “We grew close, you and I. We used to talk a lot, gossip, go to the mall, confide in one another…and I threw that all away…over some embarrassing photos…”

Sunset watched as Rarity fell to her knees and began to sob, taking in shaky breathes as she hugged herself. “I left you alone…we left you alone…we never gave you a chance…we just assumed…Pinkie Pie was right to believe in you…when this is over, I wouldn’t blame for never speaking to us again…”

Sunset, forgetting her modesty, knelt before Rarity, and brought the girl into an embrace, surprising the fashionista. “Rarity…that’s the last thing I want. Not having you girls in my life is the worst thing that’s happened out of all of this. I can take the abuse, the glares, and the words, but not having you five hurts worse than all of that. Honestly, if I could have you all with me again, I could give two shits about Anon-A-Miss! I just…I just don’t want to be alone anymore…”

Rarity could feel tears coming down on her shoulder, the teen wrapped her arms around Sunset and the two hugged each other tight, both sobbing in a strange combination of relief and sadness for the entire situation they were both put through. It took a few minutes before either one of them had calmed down enough to stop, and a few more before they released their embrace.

“Rarity, can we…can we be friends again?” Sunset asked.

“Darling, nothing would make me happier. And I promise, I’ll do all I can to earn back your trust,” said Rarity.

The two separated and smiled at each other. Rarity looked down and realized that Sunset was still half naked. “Oh my, well, you may want to – ahem – put the rest of your clothes on. Or, if you wish, I can pick out some pajamas for you to wear.”

A smirk started to form on Sunset’s face, she then placed her hands behind her head and thrust her chest out. “Oh, c’mon Rares, you know you want to bury you face in them.”

Rarity blushed as her cheeks puffed up. “I don’t wish to do anything of the sort!”

Sunset then feigned hurt as she said, “What…are you saying I’m not attractive enough to do lewd things with?”

“That is not what I’m saying, I just – I – ugh!”

Sunset began to laugh, and not soon after, Rarity joined in. It felt good to laugh with a friend again.

Case File 3-3 (The Widow): Pulling of Strings

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Sunset lied back in Rarity’s bed, going through her cellphone messages and keeping track of Anon-A-Miss. Apparently Celestia had sent a few texts asking if she was still alright, to which Sunset smiled and replied that, yes, she was indeed alright. Across from her, Rarity was working fiercely, the deadline loomed ever closer. The day after tomorrow the show would be begin and Rarity wasn’t going to let this little development stop her.

“By the way, Sunset, wherever did you get that piece of jewelry?” Rarity asked.

Sunset nearly dropped her phone at the mention of the Witchblade. “Um – Uh – y-you mean my bracelet?”

Rarity glanced over her shoulder. “Of course, I haven’t seen you wear it before recently, was it a present or something you just bought yourself?”

The former unicorn’s eyes darted about as she tried to come up with a good excuse. Pinkie Pie hadn’t brought it up before, but then again, Rarity was more fashion and detailed oriented, so something like that would definitely be picked up right away. When Rarity was doing the measurements earlier, Sunset was surprised she didn’t bring it up.

“It’s uh…It’s a good luck charm! Yeah – that’s it! I bought it at a little out-of-the-way store! They said it’s supposed to help get rid of negative energy and ward of evil,” said Sunset.

Rarity turned her attention back to her sewing machine as she said, “Well, given your recent run ins with those horrid creatures, aside from looking fabulous, it doesn’t seem to do too well in the ‘warding off’ part.”

Sunset chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Y-Yeah, but, you’re right, it still looks good! And…” Sunset looked at the Witchblade as it’s ruby crystal dimly shined for a moment. “Maybe it’s working in other ways.”

“Sunset, I’ve been thinking about this whole Anon-A-Miss, mess,” Rarity changed the setting on the sewing machine and went back to work. “Is it possible that your phone was hacked by someone?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow in contemplation. “I won’t lie, I’ve been floating that idea around for a bit. But, the only way to do that would be through a Wi-Fi connection, and…”

“Your phone was connected to my home’s Wi-Fi, I gave the password to all of you that night.”

“So, someone had to know that I’d be here on that night,” Sunset concluded.

Rarity grimaced as she continued down her line of thought. “Unfortunately, that narrows the suspect pool dangerously close to…our friends.” Rarity looked over her shoulder and saw Sunset’s shocked expression. “I know it’s not a pleasant thought, darling, but we have to assume that…either one of our friends is lying to us, or someone they know is the culprit.”

Sunset didn’t want to think that one of her friends was putting her through this hell. Yes, she did do some shitty things to them in the past, but to warrant this level of abuse and revenge? The bad thing was, each one of them had good reason to want revenge on her. For sure she could count out Rarity and Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy…she wasn’t too sure about her. The kind girl did forgive Sunset, after a few false starts with talking to her. But after that, they became just as close friends as the rest. Although, before then, Sunset did verbally abuse her, demean her, and threatened physical harm. Albeit the third she did to everyone, but the point was, she couldn’t see Fluttershy going to this level, and yet, at the same time, it did make some twisted sense.

Applejack was too straightforward to go behind someone’s back like this, if she wanted to settle something, the farm girl would’ve called out Sunset a long time ago and settled it then. Rainbow Dash was much the same way, she didn’t like the cowardly approach, to have someone else get her revenge, oh no, Rainbow Dash was more hands on. If she was coming for you, you’d see it coming and all you’d have time to do was brace. That being said…

“Let’s keep that as a backup possibility, it’s still possible that my phone was hacked,” said Sunset.

A small smile appeared on Rarity’s lips. “Well, if that is the case, we’ll need someone who can look into that sort of thing. My first thought is of Microchips, but he’s as much on this Anon-A-Miss train as the rest of the student body.”

“Ironic, we need a hacker to find a hacker. Wish I brushed up more on that stuff, I know some basic stuff, but depending on how sophisticated the hacker is, what I do know would be like trying to find a needle in the rainforest.”

“Don’t despair so soon, I’m sure we can find someone.”

Sunset thought for a moment, then it hit her, she did know someone who could do that, well, more like she knew a certain cop who had access to such resources. “I think I might know someone…I’ll have to give ‘em a call later.”

Rarity nodded. “Very well,” the fashionista turned off the machine and pulled out the piece she was working on, “now let’s get you in this dress so I can see what else needs adjusting.”

“Oh, you’re that much in a hurry to see me naked again?” Sunset teased.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I forgot how much of a pervert you can be sometimes.”

Sunset shook her head and held out her hand. “Hey, I have no problem giving you a show, but I’m going to have to ask for some monetary compensation. The first time was free, second time will cost you,” she stated with a wink.

“Oh would you just get into this thing already!”

During this whole exchange, neither girl suspected that they were being listened in on. Outside the door to Rarity’s room, Sweetie Belle listened closely. She looked both agitated and concerned by the conversation between her big sister and Sunset Shimmer. Believing that that was all she was going to gleam from their talk, Sweetie Belle quietly, but quickly, returned to her bedroom.

The curly haired girl carefully closed her door and paced about her room. Sweetie Belle took out her cellphone and made her way towards her closet, once inside, she closed the door and video called her friends. Two windows appeared on her phone one read “Apple Bloom” and the other “Scootaloo.”

After about a couple of minutes the window came to life, with one showing Apple Bloom somewhere in her own room, and Scootaloo in hers.

{Hey, Sweetie, what’s up?} Scootaloo asked.

“We might have a problem,” she said.

{What kind of problem?} Apple Bloom asked.

“Okay, so…Sunset Shimmer’s at my house.”

The looks of shock and fear were evident on both girls’ faces.

{W-W-What?! Why?! How?! Is your sister there?!}

“She is…and…she’s the one who invited her over. Apparently the model that she had for her fashion thing this weekend up and quit, so she had to go and find someone to fill in.”

{But…why her? Ah mean…after everythin’ we did how in the blue hell is Rarity okay with havin’ her there?! Considerin’ how embarrassed she was after ya got those photos from her phone?!}

Sweetie Belle dragged her hand down her face. “I know…but that’s not even the worst part…well, there are two worst parts.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo waited for the news.

“I went to go and ask what we were doing for dinner, and I found my sister…hugging Sunset.”

{……Ah’m sorry, how’s that bad?}

“Sunset was naked and my sister was on top of her,” Sweetie deadpanned.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo blushed fiercely upon hearing this.

{………That’s hot.}

“SCOOTALOO!”
{SCOOTALOO!}

{Sue me! Sunset may be a bitch, but she is hot! And, your sister, too.}

Sweetie Belle’s left eye twitched. “Okay, we’re going to address how long you’ve been perving on my big sis later.”

Apple Bloom waved off the concern. {Don’t get yer panties in a twist, ‘sides, we both know there’s one gal that Scootaloo’s interested in.}

Scootaloo visibly blushed even harder, sputtering to try and come up with a good comeback, which earned a laugh from both girls.

{Shut up!……So what’s the other bad news?}

“They might be suspecting that Anon-A-Miss may be someone else…this is bad. If she manages to convince the others that she’s not Anon-A-Miss, it won’t be long before they figure out it was us!”

A feeling of dread came over all three young girls. Not only had they violated the trust of their sisters, but they’ve also whipped up the students of CHS into a frenzy, nearly got Sunset killed through their actions, and raised the ire of all the students in CHS. They started all this to try and make Sunset stop hanging out with their respective sisters, but then they realized that they could take revenge on Sunset Shimmer, believing that she hadn’t fully paid for her crimes and that she was secretly plotting something under the radar.

If anyone in the school found out it was them, they’d surely go to jail, and that’s if the students or their sister’s hadn’t killed them first. Or worse, if Sunset herself had gotten ahold of them. They knew Sunset was a master of payback whenever she was crossed. After the hell they had put her through, they were surely going to be put through far worse tortures.

{Dammit all…why couldn’t she just give up and leave the school or something?!}

{Maybe we can use somethin’ from tonight. Ya said that she and Rarity were on the bed naked, right? Maybe…Ah don’t know…we could make somethin’ up that Sunset and Rarity are goin’ out or that she’s getting’ her gossip from Rarity? No offense, Sweetie, but yer sis is a gossip queen.}

Sweetie Belle bit her bottom lip, she didn’t want to start bringing her big sister into this. If they did do this, they’d be painting a target on Rarity’s back as well. Sweetie Belle shuddered at the thought that someone like Lightning Dust might do the same thing to Rarity, her big sister was scrappy, but not a fighter like Applejack, Rainbow, or Sunset. If someone tried to hurt her, Rarity wouldn’t stand a chance.

“No, I-I don’t want her to get hurt! We’ve already got stuff set up for Pinkie Pie…as much as I don’t like it, but we can’t let her–!”

*beep, beep*

Sweetie Belle looked at her phone and noticed that a third person was calling, the caller ID read as “Unknown”.

“You think it’s them?” Sweetie asked.

{Well, answer it if it is,} said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle connected the line to the video chat, a third window opened, but this one only showed darkness, as if the person on the other line was purposefully keeping their identity a secret.

{I seem to have missed the invite. Was there something important happening?}

The girls were still on edge about this person, after the post of the embarrassing photos, this person contacted them, telling them that what they were doing was right, and that Sunset Shimmer needed to be gotten rid of before she could harm anyone else at the school. It was this person that helped them gather more and more secrets from the other students, while some of the students wrote Anon-A-Miss back as a way to get revenge on the person who they thought blabbed their secrets, it was this mystery person who truly got the juicer dirt on the students, it was almost scary how good they were at it.

The girls explained the situation to their mysterious benefactor, and awaited their response. {I see, this is a bit troubling. But not to worry, she won’t suspect us. Sunset likes to think herself smarter than everyone, but she’s not nearly as smart as she thinks. Here’s what we’ll do.}

{We’ll post some things about Sunset and Pinkie as per our agreement. If we post anything about Rarity it’ll be too risky, as it stands, the only person in your house is you, Sweetie, if they’re already this suspicious then it won’t take them long to figure out it was you who spread a rumor about them. We’ll figure out another way to work that in, preferably further down the line. Are we in agreement?}

Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all looked at each other and nodded.

{Very well.}

That Friday morning saw Shining Armor back at the crime scene, the CSU crew were still trying to determine what the cocoon was. So far their efforts to dislodge the huge thing were unsuccessful, having used everything from an ax to a chainsaw to try and cut it loose. But, no matter what they used, the threads were too strong, sometimes even breaking the blades they used.

Shining Armor looked off to his left, where a pile of discarded broken tools were left. The lead CSI, a woman named Dr. Pinkheart, looked upon the cocoon with determination and aggravation. She was dressed in a white jumpsuit, with blue gloves around her hands. Her skin tone pink, with white hair, and crystal blue eyes.

“I’m guessing you haven’t had much luck?” Shining Armor deduced.

“Not. At. ALL!” Pinkheart stated. “But, oh-ho-ho, I got something for it, and it should be here any second now.”

No sooner had she said that did one of her fellow CSI members walk in, carrying some kind of Buzzsaw. The blades shined with a bit more flare, the motor and handle made it look like some weapon from a sci-fi war movie. “What the hell is that?”

Pinkheart took the device from her colleague with mirthful glee. “This I had to borrow from Canterlot University’s Science Department! It’s a diamond edged circular saw, it’s function is to cut through meteorites that are too dense for steel, but are also too reflective for laser cutting! Let’s see how it likes this bad boy!”

Shining Armor stepped out, knowing that Dr. Pinkheart was going to get crazy here in a second. Once in the living room, Spearhead entered holding a cup of coffee. “Too early for this weird shit.”

“Amen. What’d you find out?” Shining asked.

“We managed to grab a warrant for Miss Evergreen’s cellphone records from around ten to ten-fifteen last night. During that time, she had two calls, one incoming and one outgoing.”

Shining took a sip of the coffee. “Did you manage to find out who was on the other end of those lines?”

“The inbound call came from a Suri Polomare, heh, get this. She’s a student at our old stomping grounds,” said Spearhead.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Wait, she’s from CPA? Huh…wonder if Twily knows her? Who was the outbound?”

Spearhead looked at his notes and said, “The outbound was to a Rarity Belle. She’s a student at Canterlot High School, our old rivals, well, if you can call them ‘rivals’.”

Shining chuckled a little, he couldn’t blame Spearhead for thinking that way. CHS hadn’t won one Friendship Game in years. “Alright, we’ll question Miss Polomare, I can swing some leverage with Principal Cinch to let me speak to her. I also have some pull in CHS with the Principal, so it shouldn’t be too hard to speak with this Rarity.”

Just then, a loud noise emanated from the bedroom, it was an ungodly loud, shrieking sound, like nails on a chalkboard. The two men looked in that direction and saw Dr. Pinkheart slicing at the cocoon.

“IS THAT REALLY A GOOD IDEA?” Spearhead asked.

“WHAT?”

“I SAID, ‘IS THAT REALLY A GOOD IDEA’!”

“WHAT’S A GOOD IDEA?”

Suddenly the noise stopped, Shining and Spearhead went back to the bedroom and watched as Pinkheart managed to cut a five-foot long gash in the side of the cocoon. She motioned for her colleague to come over, and together, they pulled on the opposite ends of the gash. In a matter of seconds, the tear grew bigger and in the next moment, a body came falling out.

Pinkheart, her colleague, along with Spearhead and Shining Armor, all gasped and jumped back. The body was that of Silva Evergreen, however, she was unclothed, her skin was pale and her hair had lost a lot of its luster. The two CSI members shook off their surprise and carefully moved the body so that she was facing up. Her eyes were milky and dead, around her neck were several puncture wounds, but also seemed to have been filled in with some sort of substance.

“Well, we were hoping for a missing persons, but now we definitely have a murder,” said Spearhead.

“Detective, you really do call in on the most interesting cases,” said Pinkheart.

“I wish I didn’t. Can you determine the cause of death?” Shining asked.

Pinkheart gave the body a look, but she couldn’t tell right away. “Not from a cursory, glance. I’ll need to take the body back to the morgue.”

“Definitely too early for this weird shit,” said Shining Armor.

It came as a surprise to most when Rarity and Sunset Shimmer arrived in the same car, most of the student body knew that the Rainbooms had left Sunset, but also that recently Pinkie Pie had been hanging around the fiery haired teen more often, and now to see Rarity doing the same, it was starting to make people talk and wonder.

During lunch it was more apparent, as Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both sitting at the table that Sunset had been sitting at for the past few months alone. That left Applejack, Rainbow, and Fluttershy to look on in confusion.

“What the hell is going on here?” Rainbow asked.

“Looks like Rares…made up with Sunset?”

Rainbow Dash eyed her former friend suspiciously. “Pinkie Pie is one thing, but Rarity?! Come on! Sunset’s gotta be working her somehow! Maybe she got some really bad dirt on her and threatened to let it out unless she started get in line or something?!”

Applejack crossed her arms as she thought. “The old Sunset Shimmer would do somethin’ like that. But, I’m not entirely sure about the Sunset we’ve seen up till now.”

“Oh don’t start telling me you’re getting on this ‘Sunset’s innocent’ bandwagon?!”

“Ah didn’t say that!”

Fluttershy sighed heavily. “Maybe she’s just forgiven her.”

Rainbow sighed and ran her hand down her face. “Look, Shy, I know you’re religious and think people deserve second chances, but the facts are–!”

“The facts don’t add up. I’ll admit, I was just as angry as the rest of you, but…” Fluttershy paused as she chose her words carefully. “I prayed on this, and I’m not going to keep accusing without proof that Sunset is one-hundred percent Anon-A-Miss, which is what we should’ve done in the first place.”

“If ya think that, why’re you still eatin’ with us instead of with Sunset and the gals?” Applejack asked.

“Because, you’re my friends too. And…because I’m not sure how to approach her, yet, and because…well…” Fluttershy gestured to the state of the cafeteria.

Indeed, it was still a hornets nest of hostility in CHS, cliques had been reformed, and further subdivisions had been made with those whom nobody trusted anymore and those who were already burned by Anon-A-Miss and sought revenge. At best, the only relatively safe places were around Applejack and Rainbow Dash, or – again, relatively speaking – around Sunset’s table. At least then you had a better view of who was coming towards you.

“Can’t say I blame you there, Shy,” said Rainbow.

Applejack nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Rarity, Sunset, and Pinkie were enjoying their lunch. For Sunset this was probably the best lunch time she had in a long while. Two out of five of her friends were sitting with her, and were no longer suspicious of her being Anon-A-Miss. Sunset believed that this might just be the way to defeat this cyber bully, with her friends gathered again, how could Anon-A-Miss justify continuing to post stuff about them?

“I’m glad you don’t think Sunset’s Anon-A-Miss anymore! I really didn’t like having all of my friends divided,” said Pinkie.

“Oh, believe me, it took a semi-heated argument with Sweetie Belle to finally make me see the light,” said Rarity.

“That and hugging me while I was naked,” said Sunset nonchalantly.

Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie was chugging down a soda and was about to do a spit take, but then saw the dangerous look in Rarity’s eyes. The look that said “If you even dare spit that on my outfit, I will stuff you into that soda can!” Pinkie managed to rein it in and gulped down the contents in her mouth, and then gasped for air.

“Y-You mean, y-you two…did it?!” Pinkie asked.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Please, Sunset, don’t make it sound as if we were conducting lewd activities.”

“What? Just telling the truth. You hugged me while the only think I had on were my panties. And then Sweetie Belle saw us, and that’s when you two had your argument.”

“Sweetie Belle saw you two?! Uh…wow, Rarity, I had no idea you swung that way! I mean, I do know a few girls at the school who told me that they’d give their right arm for a night with you, but ...damn!” Pinkie exclaimed, her face blushing the entire time.

Rarity’s face was also red, while Sunset was snickering to the side. “Ahem, let me clarify. I was overexcited about Sunset accepting my offer to model for me, and rushed to hug her. In my haste I failed to realize that she hadn’t fully clothed herself. After my argument with Sweetie, I came to the realization that I’ve been a complete idiot about this Anon-A-Miss mess, and we cried and hugged it out, if you will. So now it’s all water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. And thank you for telling me that I have a few female admirers as well.”

Sunset nudged Rarity and smirked. “Please, like you didn’t know. You can be a bit of a tease sometimes, if not all the time,” she joked.

Pinkie Pie was happy about this, maybe, just maybe things would start to go back to normal, bit by bit, but still it was getting there. What Pinkie loved about this was that Sunset was smiling again, a genuine smile. Since this whole thing started, she hadn’t smiled once, her face was a constant frown. And why should Sunset smile? These past couple of months haven’t exactly been kind to her. Now though, that was changing. The pink haired girl disappeared and reappeared behind both Sunset and Rarity, hooking both arms around their necks and bringing them together into a hug, squishing their faces together.

“I’m so happy we can do stuff like this again! I say, we have a party at Rarity’s house!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Both girls giggled.

“As fun as that sounds, Pinkie, perhaps you should save it and turn it into a victory party! Come this Saturday, I expect to come out on top!” Rarity declared.

{Rarity Belle, Sunset Shimmer, please report to Principal Celestia’s office. Repeat, Rarity Belle, Sunset Shimmer, please come to the principal’s immediately.}

The students all glanced in their direction. Rarity, Sunset, and Pinkie looked between each other in confusion. Murmurs started to erupt from the normal dull roar of the lunch room. Without even knowing the details, the students were already pegging this as something Anon-A-Miss related.

Sunset sighed, she really didn’t need to hear their nonsense. “Let’s go.”

Sunset and Rarity walked to the Principal’s office, it was there that Sunset saw two policemen, one of which she recognized.

“Detective Shining Armor?”

“Hey, Sunset, been a minute,” her replied.

Rarity glanced between the two and grinned devilishly. “Pray tell, who is this handsome fellow, and how do you know him?”

“He’s the detective who worked Pinkie’s case when we were attacked, and the second time when I was ‘attacked’ by the winged monster,” said Sunset. “But, I don’t recognize you.”

Spearhead offered his hand. “Name’s Spearhead Thrust, Detective, I’m Shining’s partner in crime solving.”

Sunset shook his hand. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you both here? Did you by chance make any headway in this Anon-A-Miss crap?”

“Sorry, but not yet. However, we did come to talk to Ms. Belle. And you, if needed.”

The girls raised their eyebrows curiously. They were then escorted to an empty classroom where they were seated.

“Ms. Belle, do you know a Ms. Silva Evergreen?” Shining asked.

Sunset immediately got on edge, Shining Armor worked the Wendigo cases, if he was here then that meant…

“Yes, I do. She is – was – my model for this weekend’s fashion competition, but she gave me a call that Wednesday night to tell me that she would no longer be working with me.”

“Did she happen to say why?” Spearhead asked.

“Something about getting a contract to work in Manelan. I spoke to her agent about it and said that he’d hadn’t even heard of something like that! He promised that he’d look into it and give me a call, but I told him not to worry about it. As I now have another model who can take her place right here,” said Rarity.

Bothe detectives glanced at each other, Spearhead took some notes while Rarity was talking, and Sunset could tell by the looks on their faces that something worse was about to be dropped on them.

“I’m sorry, but, why are two of Canterlot’s finest questioning me about Silva?”

Shining Armor sighed heavily. “Miss Belle, I hate to tell you this, but…Miss Evergreen is dead.”

Rarity’s eyes widened while her eyes shrunk to pin pricks. “W-W-What? No, no, no, I just spoke with her that night! S-She can’t be…be…”

Sunset moved closer and hugged Rarity as she began to visibly shake, tears already streamed down the fashionista’s face as Shining Armor’s words sank in. Sunset looked at Shining Armor and asked, “When was she killed?”

“We didn’t say that she was,” said Spearhead.

“If she died of natural causes then Rarity would’ve found out through Silva’s agent or through one of her fashion clients. The only reason why two detectives would be here would be because someone killed her and you’re checking in on the last people who had contact with her.”

Rarity looked to Sunset and then to the detectives, waiting to see if she was right.

Shining Armor nodded. “It’s true, Miss Evergreen was murdered. I suspect that someone forced her to call you, and made her cancel on you. And to cover their tracks, the suspect killed her. Miss Belle, is there anyone who would seek to gain from your forfeit of this competition? Anyone that might have reason to harm you?”

Rarity wiped her eyes and shook her head. “No! I mean, the fashion world can be ‘cutthroat’ but not in the literal sense! Despite our rivalries, there is respect amongst us! Something like this…I-I don’t know who’d want to do this!”

Spearhead looked to Sunset and then back to Rarity. “Miss Shimmer here, was she your backup in case this happened?”

Rarity looked ashamed as she brought this up. “No…we…up until now our friendship was torn due to some unknown cyber bully, I believe Detective Armor can tell you about it. But due to this, our relationship was strained. I asked her for help out of desperation. Thankfully we’ve reconciled.” Rarity placed her hand over Sunset’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I haven’t announced my newest model, and I planned on heading there with Sunset for a dry run at the end of school today.”

Sunset glanced to Rarity and the back to Shining Armor, she locked eyes with the detective and said, “Um, Detective Armor, is there a chance I could speak to you, alone?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Spearhead, can you finish up?”

Spearhead nodded.

Sunset and Shining Armor walked out of the room and down into an empty hallway. “Okay, no bullshit, she was killed by someone possessed by a Wendigo, wasn’t she?”

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, she was. We found her body wrapped in a cocoon of super strong webbing.”

“Shining, you need me on this! If it’s another person who’s possessed then they might be struggling to get free from the Wendigo! If that’s the case, you’ll need me to subdue them!” Sunset stated.

Shining Armor sighed. “Look, I know, I know you’re the only one who can even seriously hurt them and/or kill them! But right now we don’t have any clues to go on. The only thing we can assume is that whoever this person is, they’re targeting your friend, and are willing to kill.”

The blue haired detective placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “The best thing you can do is stay by your friend’s side. If anything, she’s much safer with you close to her, than roaming around the city trying to look for this person.”

Sunset couldn’t disagree with that logic, this person clearly wanted to take out Rarity from the competition. Once they found out that their indirect attack didn’t work, they might try a more direct approach. “You’re right. I’ll stay by her side.”

“Glad you look better.”

“What?”

“After that night with Lightning Dust, when that demon said that stuff, you looked super depressed. I’m just glad you bounced back,” Shining clarified.

Sunset smiled. “Believe me, I wasn’t in a good place for a while. But thankfully one of my friends slapped some sense into me, literally. She slapped me in the face.”

Shining Armor winced. “Ouch.”

After a few more minutes of questioning, Shining Armor and Spearhead left the school. Rarity needed a minute to compose herself before the next class, so Sunset walked her to the girls room. After a while, Sunset asked, “Are you alright?”

“I will be…” Rarity answered.

“Maybe we should just call it off. Not go to this dry run.”

Rarity fixed her make up and then said, “We’re going. If we don’t, whoever killed Silva will relish in the idea that they won, and if I didn’t win now, her death will be in vain. She was forced to cancel on me, whoever did this wants me to bow out, I won’t give them the satisfaction.”

Sunset gripped her right arm hard. “Rarity, you should know, that Shining Armor, he works the Mystery Murders cases. If he came to question us, then that means whoever did this is probably someone possessed by a Wendigo. Which means that they have more than one way to make you stop. They can kill you and no one would know who it was because they’re in a monster form!”

Rarity took a moment to process this information. “My mind’s made up, Sunset. I won’t let this scoundrel intimidate me. Besides, strangely, I feel safer with you at my side. I know I’m asking far more than I was earlier, if you wish to leave now it’s understandable. You twice now escaped the clutches of two monsters, there’s no need to put yourself in the crosshairs of a third.”

Sunset shook her head at that notion. “The hell with that! Like I’d leave one my friends to get hurt by one of those things! One almost violated Pinkie Pie and almost killed her, I’m not going to let the same happen to another friend!”

Rarity smiled and hugged Sunset, to which Sunset hugged her back. As she did, Sunset could feel the fashionista shiver in her embrace. Rarity was scared, but Sunset knew that Rarity wasn’t as fragile a girl as others made her out to be.

I just hope I can keep her safe.

It was late afternoon by the time Shining Armor and Spearhead managed to get all they needed. They had questioned the other suspect, Suri Polomare before seeing Rarity, and the information they got wasn’t much help. The two detectives were currently on their way to the morgue to speak with Dr. Pinkheart and find out what killed the young woman.

“Do you think whoever’s behind this is targeting the CHS girl?” Spearhead asked.

“My gut is telling me that they are. We might need to talk to the chief to post some protective detail at the competition tomorrow, maybe put one on her family’s house as well,” said Shining Armor.

*ring, ring*

Shining Armor’s phone went off, Spearhead answered it and put it on speaker when he saw the caller ID as “Dr. P.”

“Dr. Pinkheart, we were on our way to see you. Did you manage to find out what the cause of death was?” Shining Armor asked.

{Um…funny thing about that…I wasn’t able to.}

Spearhead and Shining were confused by that statement.

“Okay, why not?” Spearhead asked.

{Because…well…the body is gone.}

Shining Armor slammed the brakes on his car, thankfully the cars behind him managed to stop in time, but there were several others honking at him. Spearhead opened the car window and flashed his badge, which ceased some of the honking as he motioned for the drivers to go around.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘the body’s gone’?! It was transported there this morning, you were there!” Shining stated.

{Yes…Yes I was. Now, remember the kind of cases we’re working as I explain. The drawer we kept her in was had its door broken off.}

Spearhead shook his head in disbelief. “Wait, you’re saying someone broke into the morgue and took her body?”

{……A little weirder than that. Please don’t make me say it, I’m looking at it, and I still can’t believe it.}

Shining Armor dragged his hand down his face as he closed his eyes. “The drawer was broken from the inside, not the outside, right?”

{Correct.}

“Wait…” Spearhead held up his hands as he tried to contemplate this. “Are you saying we got a dead body walking around Canterlot City?! Now we’re dealing with zombies?!”

{You said it, I didn’t.}

True to her word, after school, Rarity and Sunset made their way to the Canterlot Grand Hall, where the competition would take place. Upon entering the space, Sunset saw dozens of people walking about, she could easily spot the designers from the models, some were eccentrically dressed, while some wore more tamed garbed.

Rarity informed Sunset to sit with the other models and that she would address the situation with the coordinator of the competition, Prim Hemline. Sunset watched as the designers assembled on stage, one was in a truly goth outfit, another was in a flowing dress, and the other had his hair done in blue and red stripes. After a moment, the coordinator and judge, Prim Hemline, made her appearance on stage. She wore a blue jacket, with gold lining, an opaque blouse, mauve pants, and red high-heel shoes. Her complexion was gray, with light pink hair.

“Before we begin, I’d like to make an announcement. Some of you may or may not know, but one of our models has…tragically, been taken from us before her time. Silva Evergreen,” said Prim.

The designers and models all began to murmur and had looks of worry.

“I regret to say that this was not due to natural causes, rather, it appears that she was killed. The police assure me that they are doing everything in their power to bring our dear Silva’s killer to justice.” Prim looked directly at Rarity when she spoke again. “Rarity, we’ll understand if you wish to take some time.”

Rarity stepped forward. “No, I was informed by the police about her untimely death. But, the show must go on! And I’d like to do so in memory of Silva, she loved working with me, and I want to honor her by going forward.”

A round of applause erupted from the other contestants, as well as the models. Rarity gave a slight bow to all of them, even Prim nodded in respect to Rarity’s wish.

“Very well, if you wish, I can put in a call to try and get someone else to model for you. But on such short notice we’ll be hard pressed to find someone, and even then, the changes to your entry will need to be done,” said Prim.

“Oh, I’m no stranger to all-nighters. However, that won’t be necessary. I have asked a dear friend of mine to help me in this, my hour of need. Her name is Sunset Shimmer!”

The eyes of the models and the designers fell on Sunset, who smiled nervously at the attention as she waved to all of them. Prim Hemline glanced at Sunset, her critical eye going over every detail of the girl Rarity had chosen as her replacement model.

“Are you sure? Your score isn’t just based on your couture alone, the ability of your model to help bring it all together counts a great deal towards your score. I understand the bonds of friendship are deep, but are you sure you wish to do this?” Prim asked.

Sunset gulped, now that she was standing amongst all these professional models, she had to admit, she was feeling a bit self-conscious right now. She had never doubted her looks, even when she was ruling CHS with an iron fist, Sunset ran into no shortage of guys who thought she was hot, or who wanted to sleep with her. That being said, now that she was standing next to these women, maybe she was thinking too highly of herself. Maybe Rarity should choose someone else…

Rarity stood confidently as she said, “I know that, and I will stick with my choice.” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Sunset may not be a professional, but she does carry herself with a sense of purpose, power, and grace, I have no doubts in my friend. If you will, please allow her to be my model.”

Prim could see the determination in Rarity’s eyes, upon second glance of Sunset Shimmer, Prim could see what Rarity was speaking of. The fiery haired teen certainly had the body and looks for the job, if she devoted herself to modelling, Prim had no doubt she’d be on par with the rest of the girls here.

“Very well, I will allow it. Now, with that said, we shall go through a dry run of tomorrow’s competition.” Prim then glanced in Sunset’s direction, making the teen stand straight at attention. “I expect you, Miss Shimmer, to be extra attentive to this, you’ll only have today to get it memorized.”

Sunset gulped.

After that Prim went into how the rest of the competition would go. It would start with the announcement of each contestant, showcasing their previous works while on stage via old competition footage. Afterwards, the main event would occur. In total, there were about twenty contestants, and each was allowed to showcase their signature outfit for the winter theme this year. It was here that Sunset paid extra close attention, Rarity sat next to her, giving her pointers and explaining how the models walked, the poses they struck, as well as the timing for when to stop, pose, and then walk on.

Sunset had to admit, there was a lot more to modeling than just standing there and posing. When she was a pony, Sunset remembered walking with a since of grace and authority that came with being the Princess’ protégé, so she would sometimes walk with her head held high and strut down the street whenever she was in the presence of the nobles. They had always looked down on her, even more so when Sunset’s low standing came to light and made them wonder why she was chosen above their own bratty kids.

When it came to be Sunset’s turn, the girl fumbled a bit, getting called out by Prim a few times for either going too fast or too slowly. Thankfully, some of the other models were happy to assist her with the runway walk. Knowing that she was going to be doing this for Silva meant a lot to them, as some of them were friends with the model, so it only seemed right to help Sunset.

After a few hours of making sure everything was done, everyone was allowed to depart.

“Rarity!”

Sunset and Rarity turned around and saw two girls approach them. One was wearing a school uniform that was violet in color. Her skin tone was a pale orchid, with curly purple hair and grayish brown eyes, and she wore a blue plaid ascot around her neck. The girl next to her was in a similar uniform, except she had a red tie. She had cream colored skin, artic blue hair, and striking blue eyes.

The violet uniformed girl approached Rarity and gave her a hug. “I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry about what happened to Silva and that I’m happy to see you continue on. If there’s anything you need help with just ask, ‘kay?”

“Oh, thank you, but I think we’ll be alright,” said Rarity.

“Uh, Rarity, who’s this?” Sunset asked.

The girl broke off her hug and held out her hand to Sunset. “So sorry, forgot my manners. My name’s Suri Polomare, I’m from Crystal Prep Academy. And this is my assistant, Coco Pommel. She’s a freshman at CPA and I’ve decided to take her under my wing, ‘kay.”

“Hello,” said Coco in quiet tone.

“It’s so great that you’re taking on Silva’s role, don’t worry, you’ll do great tomorrow!” Suri assured.

“Thanks, I guess. I’m just hoping I don’t fall on my face,” said Sunset bashfully.

“Nonsense, once you’re on that stage, I know you’ll shine.” Rarity took out her cellphone. “Goodness, so sorry Suri, but we really must be going, I have some last minute additions to make to my entry! Ta-ta!”

“Ta-ta!”

When Sunset and Rarity left, Suri’s face grew serious. “That slutty bitch, she thinks she’s already won. Well, fat chance of that happening. Coco!”

The younger girl stepped forward. “Y-Yes, Suri?!”

“You’re going to be making some adjustments to the design, I don’t care if it takes you all night!” Suri ordered.

“Um…I mean, I can do that…but…are you going to help too? I mean, I know it’s your design but–”

Suri chuckled and wrapped her arm around Coco’s neck. “Oh, Coco. Listen, hon, this is how it works in the big leagues. Either you’re working or working someone else. Besides, I like, have other things I need to work on before tomorrow, and if I don’t, then it’ll impact my chances of winning. And besides. We wouldn’t want any unfortunate accidents to befall you, ‘kay?”

Coco felt Suri’s arm tighten around her, telling her that she had no choice in this matter. “O-Okay, Suri, w-whatever you say!”

“That’s more like it.”

It was already dark by the time Sunset and Rarity left the Grand Hall. The street lamps were already on and the snow was falling yet again. Sunset stared out the window as Rarity drove the car, thinking about tomorrow and growing more nervous by the minute.

“You’ll do fine, darling,” said Rarity.

“W-What?”

Rarity glanced to Sunset. “I know you’re feeling nervous, but I know you’ll do great.”

“Honestly, I’m starting to doubt I was the right pick. Rarity, I appreciate your confidence in me, but it won’t hurt my feelings or change my mind about forgiving you if you take Prim up on her offer.”

Rarity wagged her finger in protest. “Nonsense. As I said, I know you can pull it off, and if it ends up tanking horribly, well then, it’s a small price to pay to share in an activity with my friend.”

Sunset smiled upon hearing that. She really didn’t want to quit, she was just worried about Rarity’s win, but now, Sunset felt like showing up all those professionals tomorrow.

}}} Stay sharp! There’s something coming! {{{

“What?!”

“What?”

*THUNK!*

Rarity swerved a little as something dropped on top of the car, making Sunset hold on as the icy roads made it hard for Rarity take back control. “My god, what hit us?! Was that pile of snow?!”

I doubt you’d warn us about snow, Sunset thought.

There was more noise coming from above the car, it sounded like movement. Suddenly, whatever was on top of the car made itself known as a head popped down and in front of the window. Rarity and Sunset screamed bloody murder as whoever or whatever it was slid down from the top and was now on the hood of Rarity’s car.

From what Sunset could tell, it was a woman, her eyes were glowing a bright artic blue, and she wasn’t wearing anything. The woman cocked back her right fist and punched the window, fracturing the glass and causing Rarity to jerk the steering wheel in response.

“SHAKE HER OFF!” Sunset yelled.

Rarity jerked the wheel again, causing the woman to falter in her next strike and fall, but somehow she managed to stay on top of the hood. Rarity made another jerking movement, which made the woman lose her grip and slide down. Sunset looked around and saw a lamppost, she then pointed towards it and Rarity understood what she meant.

The other cars on the road swerved to avoid her as Rarity aimed her car right for the nearest lamppost, it was hard to aim as the icy roads made it hard for her to stay in a straight line. Unfortunately, the car swerved the wrong way and ended up striking up against the lamppost, on the passenger’s side.

Rarity felt her head spinning from the impact, she looked around and then to Sunset, who was slumped to her left side after the impact. “Sunset…Sunset are you alright…?”

A low groan came from her friend.

Rarity hurriedly unbuckled herself and carefully got the driver’s door open. Once she was sure she could still walk, Rarity hurried to unbuckle Sunset. She slowly dragged Sunset out of the car and onto the road, within seconds Sunset was coming around, feeling like she just got hit with a truck.

“Dammit, that hurt!” Sunset exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Sunset! The road was so icy, I-I couldn’t aim right!” Rarity apologized. “Are you hurt?!”

Sunset felt a small amount of pain, but thanks to the Witchblade, that was going away fast. “I’ll live, but where’s that thing?”

The girls looked around, but could see no sign of the woman who attacked them.

}}} It’s still here, I sense ill intent aimed towards us. {{{

Sunset realized that she may be forced to make a decision that she wasn’t sure she wanted to make. The fiery haired girl stood up and took Rarity’s hand. “We need to run, now!”

“B-But, Sunset, we need to call the police!”

“That thing’s still here! Don’t ask me how I know, we just need to get somewhere safe!”

Sunset pulled Rarity along, forcing her to keep up. Both girls ducked down an alley, Sunset glanced behind them and saw that the woman was still after them, but this time doing some kind of horror movie spider-walk on the walls as she gave chase.

Dammit, it’s going to chase us no matter where we go!……Fine then!

Sunset stopped and put Rarity behind her. “Rarity, there’s a way I can save us, but I need you to promise me that you won’t tell the girls what you’re about to see!”

“Sunset–!”

“Swear it!”

Rarity looked back down the alley, the woman jumped off the wall and was now walking towards them, eyes still glowing in the dimly lit alley. “Yes! I swear, whatever it is, I’ll keep it a secret!”

Sunset wasn’t sure if she was happy about that, mostly because she was about to show Rarity something scary. But right now, a little scary was needed to fight this thing. The Witchblade began to glow bright red, heat swelled in Sunset’s body, rising, filling her with an ecstasy that energized every cell in her body. In the next second, the bracelet exploded out into metal strands that slashed and tore through all of Sunset’s clothing, covering her in the armor of the Witchblade.

Rarity gasped in shock at what she saw, and blushed. She could feel a heat coming off of Sunset’s body, visibly creating steam in the cold night air. She didn’t know what she was looking at, the person before her was Sunset Shimmer, but her outfit, the armor, it barely covered anything of her friend, she was practically half naked. On top of that, her hair and changed to something sharp and metallic. Rarity watched as Sunset turned her head to look over her shoulder, showing off her glowing turquoise eyes.

“I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

The mystery woman widened her stance as Sunset formed a long forearm blade. Sunset dashed down the alley and towards her opponent, she thrust forward with the blade but the mystery woman jumped out of the way, bounded off the wall, and made her way towards Rarity.

“What the hell?!”

Rarity’s body froze as she watched the creature approach her at great speed, preparing to kill her. Sunset turned around and fired off several chains from her armor, each chain flew through the air, quick as a sparrow, and wrapped themselves around the mystery woman’s arms and legs. The mystery woman struggled to get closer, stretching out even her neck to try and bite Rarity. It was at this time that Rarity managed to get a good look at her assailant’s face, and when she did, she clasped her hands around her mouth in shock.

Sunset reeled back the attacker, moving the chains to her left hand as she pulled back as hard as she could, the assailant sailed into the air as Sunset brought her back down, slamming her against the cold, unforgiving pavement. Sunset didn’t waste any time as she quickly pounced on the mystery woman, she drew back her right arm and thrust the blade right into her heart. However, the mystery woman did not stop moving, it still fought and struggled to get free.

“How did that not work?!”

}}} I sense no life in this body. A malevolent power is making it move. {{{

“SUNSET!” Rarity yelled. “T-THAT’S SILVA!”

Sunset’s eyes widened, she looked down at the still struggling corpse as the realization hit her. “You mean…I’m fighting the girl who was killed! I…”

The corpse of Silva took advantage of Sunset’s stunned state and punched her hard in the stomach, making Sunset back off enough for Silva to get free. The living corpse jumped up and began spider-walking on the walls, it gazed upon them, trying to figure out the best way to attack her prey.

“Rarity, are you sure it’s her?!” Sunset asked.

“It is…It’s Silva Evergreen!” Rarity answered in tears.

Sunset looked upon the corpse of Silva and growled with fury. They’d go so far as to desecrate her corpse like this! Using it as a weapon to kill someone?!

}}} It’s only a husk, the spirit has long departed, you needn’t fear harming the true owner of that body. {{{

“Even so…I don’t want to damage her body anymore than I have already! She deserves a proper burial and I’m not going to slice up her corpse!”

Silva’s body lunged towards them, but Sunset managed to deliver a spinning kick to Silva, sending her flying out of the alley and into the streets. Sunset gave chase and watched as her body bounced off the ground, and, under the light of the lamppost, she could see something shimmering, it was long and thin, almost like a thread.

“Hey, did you see that?”

}}} I did. {{{

“Could that be the source of their control?”

}}} Only one way to find out. {{{

Sunset concentrated, and into her hands, formed two boomerang blades. Silva’s body got back up and dashed towards Sunset, at the same time, the slayer of evil threw both boomerangs just as she grappled with Silva. The twin blades whistled as they cut through the air, and in the next moment, sliced through the thin shimmering thread before dissolving into ash. The moment they did, the glow of Silva’s eyes disappeared, and the body went limp, falling to the ground.

Rarity walked out of the alley, slowly, she approached Sunset who was kneeling before Silva’s body. “Is she…?”

“She was already dead long before we saw her…whatever monster is behind this used her body like a puppet to try and attack us.” Sunset carefully pushed down on Silva’s eyelids and placed her hands over her chest. “You didn’t deserve this…I’m so sorry.”

Rarity knelt next to Sunset and placed her own hands into a prayer position. “Silva, I’m sorry…please, find peace.” After her prayer was over, Rarity looked to her friend. “So…it was you, wasn’t it. You’re the one who saved Pinkie Pie from that monster.”

“Yep.”

“And Rainbow Dash, and pulled that demon spirit from Lightning Dust.”

“Also, us.”

Rarity blinked. “Us?”

“Long story…look, I need to go, the police will be here soon.”

As Sunset was about to get up, Rarity fished out her car keys and popped the trunk of her car. “You need to stay here, it’ll be hard to explain how you were at my house or yours when I’m sure they’ll find out that we came from the same place.” Rarity walked over to her trunk and showed off a few clothes. “Fortunately, I have spare clothes, you never know when you’ll need a wardrobe change.”

Sunset smiled, thankful that she wasn’t going to have to go around naked. “Thank you, Rarity!”

“One question…does your…armor…rip apart your clothing every time you bring it out?”

“Every. Single. Time,” Sunset deadpanned.

Rarity winced. “Oh my…well then, I guess you came to the right girl.”

Case File 3-4 (The Widow): Showtime!

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The following day was a little more relaxed. After the accident, the police were all over the scene, Shining Armor and his partner were there, and of course, Shining Armor knew that Sunset had taken care of the body. He thanked her for not doing too much damage to Silva’s body, knowing that her family would at least still be able to bury her properly.

Rarity had insisted that Sunset come to her home, and when they did, her parents and Sweetie Belle were extremely worried when they heard the news, and were relieved that she was alright. Thankfully, her parents were fine with letting Sunset stay over, they didn’t really think it was a good idea, plus, now that Rarity knew about Sunset’s abilities, having her around made her feel much safer. Strangely though, Sweetie Belle was very skittish around her.

Thanks to this latest incident, it was clear to both Rarity, Sunset, and Shining Armor, that someone was definitely targeting Rarity, and whoever it was, was most likely someone connected to the contest taking place later that night. A protection detail was put on the Belle house while Rarity finished up her latest additions to the outfit, having been doubly inspired to make this a tribute to Silva.

During that time, Sunset told Rarity about the night when she got the Witchblade, as well as the times she has used it to battle the Wendigo possessed people. Of course, Rarity had some disdain for the Witchblade, mostly because it saw the need to rip apart her friends clothes and leave her bare for almost everyone to see like some exhibitionist.

“Really though, is it completely necessary for that thing to do that all the time?! What if you’re wearing some truly fetching outfit?” Rarity asked.

“Gone.”

}}} Pardon me if I feel that protecting my bearer is more important than clothing. {{{

“Yeah, well, I’m not made of money, and the amount of underwear and wearable clothes I have is starting to run low thanks to you,” Sunset shot back.

“Pardon?”

Sunset shook her head. “Oh, no, the Witchblade is sentient, he talks to me in my mind.”

Rarity eyed the piece of jewelry dubiously. “Oh, so it’s a he. The stripping makes more sense now.”

}}} I feel as if I should be insulted by that remark. {{{

“Down boy.”

Hours passed and soon the night of the event came. As expected, security was increased dramatically, police were stationed at every entrance, and were present backstage and out in the aisles where the audience would be. This was due to two reasons, obviously, because of the attacks that have happened around two people connected to the competition, and also because the mayor of Canterlot City was attending.

Backstage was utter chaos, people moving about, people yelling out directions, and asking for this and that. Thankfully, Rarity managed to snag a private room where she could work on the final touches with Sunset in privacy. While working, the two girls heard knocking at the door.

You sense anything?

}}} No hostile intent is behind that door. {{{

Sunset nodded that it was okay. Rarity walked over to open the door and saw Shining Armor.

“Detective Armor, pleasure to see you,” said Rarity.

“Thank you, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve got the area covered, there should be no disruptions to the event tonight,” said Shining Armor.

Sunset walked up to Shining and extended her hand to shake. “Thanks for doing all of this.”

Shining Armor smiled and shook her hand. “No problem, protecting people is my job. I hate to say this, but if things get too hairy…”

“I’ll armor up and take care of it.”

“Figured.”

*knock, knock*

All three turned around at the sudden knock, and then they straightened up, and in Sunset’s case, her mouth hung open. Standing in the doorway was the mayor of Canterlot City, her skin was a light amber color, with silvery-gray hair, grayish-blue eyes, and a pair of gold color rimmed glasses resting on her nose. She wore a formal mayoral suit, and carried herself with the authority of a woman in power. But what was most surprising was who was next to her.

It was Celestia, she wore a beautiful white dress and had her hair tied back in a ponytail, making her look a little younger than she actually was. She wore a gold necklace, and bracelets, and a pair of diamond earrings.

“C-Celestia?!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Madame Mayor,” said Shining Armor as he saluted.

“Detective Armor, it’s good to see you again,” said Celestia.

“Ah, so this is the detective you mentioned who helped Sunset.” The Mayor extended her hand towards Shining. “I’d like to thank you personally for your courageous work, Detective Armor. Especially in regards to keeping my Celly’s young ward safe.”

Shining Armor shook the Mayor’s hand, but during this time, Sunset was still trying to figure out how and why Celestia was there with the Mayor.

“Um…Celestia…w-what…how do you know the mayor of the city?” Sunset asked.

“I must also say that I am curious myself, Principal Celestia,” Rarity added.

Mayor Mare chuckled at their confusion. “Oh it’s not that much of a secret. Celly here used to intern for me a long time ago before she got into public school business.”

“Oh, so you’re friends,” Shining commented.

“Something like that,” said Celestia with a slight blush. Mayor Mare smirked and managed to snake her hand around Celestia’s waist, making them bump hips together. “Maria, please.”

“Oh come now, Celly, one way or another Sunset was bound to figure this out, she’s a smart girl,” said Maria.

Shining Armor, Rarity, and Sunset glanced between the two women, the gears in their brain slowly turned as they pieced together what they were seeing.

“Holy crap, you’re dating the mayor of the city!” Sunset exclaimed.

Celestia’s blush deepened, confirming it to those in the room.

“So far we’ve managed to keep it from the media. I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to Celly and have the media hover around her. As far as they know, she’s just a long time friend who I occasionally invite to social functions, like this one. And of course, when she told me that you, Sunset, were going to be a model in tonight’s competition, well, I just had to come out and see for myself,” said Maria.

One of the mayor’s bodyguards leaned in close to Maria and whispered something into her ear. “Celly, our seats are ready.”

Celestia nodded and then turned to Sunset, the older woman stepped forward and embraced her ward. “Good luck, Sunset. I’m happy you’re doing something like this.” She then turned to Rarity and smiled at her. “And thank you, Ms. Belle, for giving Sunset another chance.”

“Really, don’t mention it, Ms. Celestia. If anything, I owe Sunset a bigger apology than I can ever hope to make up for,” said Rarity.

“I guess we won’t take up more of your time, good luck out there,” said Shining Armor.

With that, the adults left the room. When they did, Sunset and Rarity’s faces morphed into shocked expressions.

“Did you know she was dating the mayor?!” Rarity asked.

“No! I never asked! I didn’t even know she was into other women! But…damn she shot high and scored,” said Sunset. “…wait…could that be how…?”

“How what?” Rarity asked.

“Nothing.” Sunset cleared her throat. “So, you still think this is going to work?”

Rarity smirked. “Have a little faith, darling. I may not be a genius, but when it comes to fashion and how this works with that, I’m second to none.”

The competition began, each of the designers showcased their old work from the previous competitions and each one was about to unveil their newest creations. As far as the line up, Sunset and Rarity were going last, with Suri Polomare going on before them. It took a couple of hours, what with the Q&A with the designer after each run. But finally it came down to the final two.

Sunset wore something similar to the dress Rarity had shown her, but the color scheme had changed. Instead of arctic blues and whites, it was green with some faded browns.

“I don’t suppose that that little item can come off for the time being?” Rarity asked.

}}} Absolutely not. {{{

“He said no.”

Rarity rolled her eyes “Fine then, the gloves will keep it hidden anyway.”

Sunset still felt nervous, she watched each of the girls who did their walk on the runway, studying their movements and getting the timing down for when she was to be up there. Suri’s model walked up, her dress was white, with red accents that gave it a Christmas-y feel to it. Sunset could tell that the judges, Prim among them, were taken at the stunning vibrancy of the red accents as if they flowed with a life of their own and only added to the beauty.

}}} The scent of blood in the air. {{{

What are you talking about?

}}} There is blood in the air, and it’s coming from that woman walking down that stage. {{{

Sunset’s eyes widened as she looked upon the model who was still doing her walk. Could that be the one behind this?

}}} Hard to say, so long as these Wendigos hide in a human body, detecting them is difficult. However, use caution around that one. {{{

A few minutes later, Suri and her model ended their Q&A and walked off stage. The CPA student stopped for a moment and said, “Sunset, Rarity, good luck to you guys.”

“Thank you, Suri,” said Rarity.

As Suri walked away, Sunset heard Suri whisper, “Good luck, you little slut.”

Sunset narrowed her gaze and was about to say something, but Rarity hurried Sunset to the starting point.

{Our final entry is by Rarity Belle. With her couture, Wynter Fyre.}

Sunset took a deep breath as the curtain rose, she never thought about stage fright, being with the Rainbooms allowed her to perform a few times in front of crowds, and before that when she was crowned Princess of the Fall Formal, she had to get up on stage multiple times and give a little speech to the students. But those were just her peers, these were fashion moguls, judges, and magazine photographers that were going to be silently judging her every move. Not to mention, Celestia was somewhere in that crowd, along with her – apparent girlfriend – Maria Mare, the mayor of Canterlot City. And while we’re at it, if Sunset failed to do this right, Rarity’s reputation as a designer would take a hit.

No pressure…

The music began and Sunset started her walk, calmly, and with a purpose, not too fast, and not too slow. Three steps forward and then pose. Five steps forward, pose again. Her eyesight was bombarded with the flashing of many camera bulbs, and the sounds of a hundred camera shutters going off at different intervals. It was an assault on the senses to say the least, but still, Sunset endured. Seven steps forward, stop.

The crowd and judges were confused as to why Sunset stopped in the middle of the stage. Sunset could tell upon exiting that the judges were surely wondering why Rarity went with the color scheme she did, this was supposed to be winter themed, and yet Sunset’s dress was clearly in spring colors. Well, time to show them the truth.

Sunset took a deep breath, she stepped forward and then began to spin. One turn, a second turn, a third turn. The crowd began to murmur as to why Sunset was pirouetting in place, some were even joking that the novice was panicking. But some noticed, and when the rest did, they hushed up. The dress seemed to catch fire, burning blue. With each twirl, the flames rose up the dress, and as they did the color scheme changed to that of the original arctic blues and white. With one final spin, Sunset flared out her arms and struck a confident and dramatic pose, sending the remaining blue embers flying from her body and letting them snuff out in the air.

A round of cheers erupted from the crowd as Sunset continued her walk, and struck one last pose at the end of the runway, giving the judges a bold expression, as if saying, “I dare you to tell me you didn’t like that?” The crowd still clapped and cheered, and Sunset was fairly certain she heard a catcalls among those cheers.

Prim Hemline stood from the judges table; taking up the microphone she said, “Now we will begin the Q&A portion, Miss Rarity Belle, please come to the stage and stand by your model.”

Rarity walked out to the screams of hundreds of cheering people. The fashionista spotted her family in the stands, her father, mother, and little sister all cheering their heads off. Rarity was glad that Sweetie Belle was able to put aside her dislike of Sunset for this event at least. When Rarity stood next to Sunset, she gave her friend a big smile of thanks, to which Sunset smiled back.

“Now, Miss Belle, tell us what inspired you to do this,” said Prim.

Rarity was handed a microphone and then spoke, “Well, as some are aware, the original model I had asked to wear this ensemble had been…tragically, killed not too long ago. I made some last minute adjustments to the dress to show off the color scheme of spring at first, in memory of her name, Silva Evergreen.”

“I see, and what did you do to create that dazzling display?” Prim asked.

“That was a tougher thing to do, through some late night research and experimentation with some fabrics and some non-hazardous chemicals, I was able to create a color dye to change the color scheme of the outfit. It reacts with the air once you spin and generate enough air friction to ignite it and start the change. The flames are a feature that can be added on or left off, the choice is up to the wearer. Plus, I say it really goes rather well with my friend’s flaming locks, don’t you think?”

Sunset blushed.

“Indeed, Miss Belle, you not only displayed great workmanship, but also great showmanship! Well done!” Prim stated.

The crowd cheered again, Rarity took a bow, and Sunset curtsied in the dress. Once they were done, they were dismissed and walked down the runway to the backstage area, upon arrival, several of the other designers were praising Rarity’s work, at the same time, Sunset was getting plenty of compliments from the professional modeling men and women who were there.

“Rarity!”

Sunset pricked at the sound of that voice.

Suri came walking towards Rarity, smiling as she gave the fashionista a hug. “That was fantastic, really, girl.”

“Thank you, Suri, I–”

Sunset separated the girls and glared at Suri. “I think an apology is in order.”

Suri feigned ignorance. “Sorry, apology?”

“I heard what you called Rarity before I went out. You can trash me, but you do not get to say that about my friend, competition or not! Now, apologize to her!” Sunset demanded.

Rarity looked between Sunset and Suri. “Sunset, what do you think she said that was so bad?”

“She…she called you a…a slut.”

The designers and models all looked at Suri with shock, Suri on the other hand, looked unfazed. “Wow, petty much? Trying to tarnish me with salacious stuff like that is pretty low, ‘kay.”

“Oh, that, yes I heard her.” Rarity stated in a nonchalant tone.

Suri, Coco, Sunset, as well as the others all looked at her with surprise.

“W-Wait, you did?!” Sunset asked.

“Sharp ears are just as important as sharp eyes in this industry, and yes, I heard her. But, honestly, I don’t care,” said Rarity. “Believe me, I’ve been called worse things behind my back other than a slut, I’ve also been called a bitch, a tease, and whore before. But, in the end, I do all my talking on the runway. And I don’t believe there’s more to be said, don’t you think, Sunset?”

The former unicorn mare blinked in surprise. “Um…”

Rarity smiled and looped her left arm around Sunset’s right. “Now come, Sunset, they’ll want us all on stage for the results announcement.”

The designers assembled on stage, along with their models. The crowd waited with bated breath as the judges made their deliberations. Unfortunately they were lined up in the same order, so every once and awhile, Suri would shoot a quick glare at Rarity and Sunset, a glare that Sunset was happy to shoot back with greater intensity.

Prim finished up her talks with the other two judges and stood up to give the result. “After much deliberation, we have made our decision. The winner of this year’s Fashion Week is…” Prim paused for dramatic effect. “…Rarity Belle, and her model, Sunset Shimmer, for Wynter Fyre.”

The crowd once again erupted into massive cheers. Rarity and Sunset both stepped forward to center stage and took their bows as Prim approached to hand them their prize, but…

“THIS IS BULLSHIT!!!” Suri yelled at the top of her lungs.

Silence fell upon the hall as all eyes fell on the CPA teen.

“Miss Polomare, I will ask that you exercise some decorum!” Prim warned.

“Oh the hell with that! I went through all that, and yet she wins because of the memory of some dead bitch model!”

“Young lady, that is enough! Please leave the stage immediately!” Prim ordered.

“I mean,” Suri reached for her model and torn off one of the pieces of red cloth, “what was the point in using that bitch’s blood to make this if I wasn’t even going to win?!”

Several eyes widened upon hearing that, Sunset slowly put herself in front, keeping Rarity at her back. The police in the hall began to slowly move in, their hands resting on their weapons.

“Are you saying…you killed Silva Evergreen?!” Sunset demanded.

“YES! For all the damn good it did me!” Suri ranted. “I forced her to cancel and leave Rarity in the lurch! But then she picks up this, bad girl, wannabe tramp and she’s back in the game! Then I use her damn body as a puppet and try to kill you both, but surprise, that didn’t work either! So, you know, I tried to take you down here! Guess, what? THAT DIDN’T WORK EITHER!” Suri screamed.

The model next to Suri looked at her dress with horror. “Wait…are you saying this was made with Silva’s…?”

“Yes, her blood, I made the thread that made that fabric, out of her blood! Weren’t you fucking listening?!”

The model screamed in horror as she ripped the dress off her body, not even caring that she was now in her underwear. She was about to run away, that is until something akin to a spider leg appeared out of Suri’s back and impaled her through the chest as she was running away. The model looked at her chest, at the long spider leg jutting from her as she struggled to stay alive despite the damage.

“Now I guess…I’ll just have to go for the direct approach.”

Suri’s body was enveloped in a silver aura, in a matter of seconds her flesh began to fall as the true form of the monster within began to make itself known. The creature was a half-human, half-spider, with the bottom half showing off the cephalothorax, and the abdomen. It’s exoskeleton had a violet, almost porcelain-like sheen to, with gray, almost see-through grooves etched into its body. The upper half was human-like. Its arms were long, and had four long claws. At the center of the creature’s body was an hourglass shaped red mark, matching the one on its abdomen. The creature’s hair was long and silver colored, with six fuchsia colored eyes, and a wide mouth.

“Don’t worry, Rarity, I’ll make sure to turn you into a something befitting of you. Perhaps some really slutty lingerie? Would you like that?!”

Suri, or rather, the Widow, brought the dead model close to her, she then bit down on her neck, sinking her fangs into the girl’s flesh. Blood drained from the corpse as the gray lines began to glow red, her body converting the blood inside her own body. In less than a few seconds, she was done. The claw tips slid up and released the red thread, which poked into the back of the dead model’s neck. When Widow released her, the corpse was now standing on it own, but still had the gaping hole in her chest.

“Freeze! CCPD!” yelled some police officers.

Widow rolled her eyes as she made three more threads shoot out, they slithered and struck like vipers, hitting the backs of the necks of three officers. Their body’s went stiff, then they started to jerk about as if they were fighting something.

“Don’t struggle, it only hurts more!”

The officers’ eyes began to glow the same eerie blue color as before, along with the now undead corpse of Suri’s model. The officers pointed their weapons towards Rarity and Sunset, preparing to fire, however, a barrage of gunfire pelted Window repeatedly, causing the demon possessed human to raise up her arms to protect herself.

Sunset took this as her opportunity to grab Rarity and run. Both girls jumped off the stage and continued to run, but when Sunset looked back, she could see at least two of the puppet officers giving chase.

}}} We can take them! {{{

“I am not going to kill police officers who are acting against their will! And Rarity will kill me long before those guys do if you tear up this dress!”

“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT I WILL!” Rarity confirmed.

}}} Killjoy… {{{

Sunset spotted a girl's restroom and shrugged. Both she and Rarity ducked into the restroom, Sunset rushed towards the biggest stall she could find and got inside it with Rarity. Once inside, Sunset hurriedly began to strip. Her pace quickened when they heard the door slam open. Rarity assisted as best she could, finally getting the dress and arm sleeves off.

}}} Now may I? {{{

YES!

A flash of red light went off in the stall, when the cop puppets saw this, they opened fire right on the stall, riddling it with bullet holes until their clips were empty. The stall door was then kicked off its hinges, from that stall emerged Sunset in her Witchblade armor, in front of her was full body shield, showing that the gunfire never harmed them.

Sunset dismissed the shield and charged for the two officers, she struck one in the gut, making them double over. With the back of their neck exposed, Sunset made her fingers turn into sharp claws as she swiped at the spot where she saw the thread enter. After that, she backhanded the second officer, sending them slamming into the wall front first. Sunset quickly pinned the officer to the wall and cut at the same spot that she did on the other.

The two officers went limp and fell to the ground. Sunset glanced back towards the stall and said, “Stay there, Rarity! Don’t come out until Detective Armor or myself come to get you!”

Rarity held out her arm and gave a thumbs up.

Sunset dashed out of the restroom and back into the hall. There she could see some of the officers trying, futilely, to stop Window, but some were already getting controlled by the monster, while others were hesitant to attack their fellow officers.

First thing’s first, free the hostages.

Sunset jumped high into the air, from her armor she shot out a spike tipped chain. The chain struck the ceiling and gave Sunset a good aerial view of the situation, Shining Armor was okay, trying to keep his fellow officers from falling prey to the Widow’s threads. Thinking quickly, Sunset created six boomerang blades into her hands, she took careful aim and flung her weapons towards her targets.

The boomerang blades flew swiftly as they sliced through the thin red thread that granted Widow control. One by one the officers fell to the floor unconscious, with Widow looking confused. Sunset pulled herself up until she was on the ceiling, and then spring boarded off of it, propelling herself straight towards Widow. The monster realized too late as Sunset barreled into her, sending the both of the tumbling across the stage.

Widow managed to get her hands on Sunset and threw her off. Sunset twisted around in midair and came down with both heels of her metallic boots, cutting grooves into the floor as she came to a stop.

“You’re the one who cut off my connection to Silva’s corpse, aren’t you?!”

“I am, and I won’t let you do that to another person!”

The Widow snickered sinisterly at that declaration, the threads began to come out of her claws again, and this time they weaved together to form crimson swords in both her hands. Sunset matched her by forming a katana in her right hand, and bastard sword in her left. Both women charged for each other, Sunset came in swinging, their weapons clashed as sparks flew from each impact, the hall rang with the sounds of their blades.

Sunset managed to knock both swords out of Widows hands, sending them into the air. But Widow merely smiled as the blades came undone and turned into threads that lashed out towards Sunset. One of the threads tried to attack her at the back of her neck, however, the Witchblade armor quickly covered that area.

Widow hissed but managed to do one better. Sunset came in for an overhead strike with her katana, but the threads managed to wrap around her arm, keeping her from completing attack. Sunset willed the armor to release several razor sharp blades, which managed to slice through the wire threads on her arm. Unfortunately another set of threads wrapped around Sunset’s left leg, pulling it out from under her and making her collapse onto the floor.

The spider monster tugged at the string and dragged Sunset back, when she was far enough away, Widow released more strings, each one whipping out and latching themselves onto Sunset’s arms, legs, torso, and neck. The crimson threads wrapped tighter and tighter around her limbs and neck, cutting off her air and making it hard for Sunset to concentrate.

Widow approached Sunset, releasing more thread from her claws that shot out and went straight for her heart. The threads wrapped around Sunset’s heart, making her scream in pain, but then the threads wrapped tighter, and in the next second, a small pop sound went off, like a water balloon.

Sunset spat up blood as she went limp, her head hanging forward. Widow smiled at her work as she retracted the threads and released the body. “Now that that’s done, I need to find that bitch, Rarity, and make good on my promise!” As Widow began to scurry away, something sharp pierced her back. “FUCK!” she screamed. “WHAT WAS THAT?!”

Widow reached behind her and dug out a shuriken which dissolved into ash a moment later. The spider creature turned around and watched as Sunset stood back up, her left hand clutched at her heart as the ruby jewel on her gauntlet glowed bright red.

“Dammit…that’s the second time…I’ve nearly died,” said Sunset.

“What the hell?! I crushed your heart! You should be dead,” said Widow.

Sunset took a deep breath as she calmed herself, her heart having fully regenerated. “Yeah, I’m hard to kill. Listen, Suri, you need to stop this! You’re possessed by a Wendigo spirit, I don’t know what it promised you, but all it wants is to take control of your body and use you to kill! You can fight it, just fight it, Suri! I promise I can destroy it!”

The six eyes of Widow blinked, and then, she laughed. She laughed loud and wickedly, holding her sides as if Sunset had made the most hilarious joke in the world. When Widow stopped she looked directly at Sunset and said, “You stupid bitch, I know that, ‘kay.”

Sunset stared at the monster in confusion. “W-What?!”

“The fashion industry is cutthroat. If you’re not at the top, then you’re nothing. And getting to the top sometimes means doing some things that aren’t exactly becoming of a law abiding citizen. Sabotage, blackmail, and, yes, sometimes killing. If you’re not willing to step on or take a few lives to get what you want, then you’re never going to get anywhere in life!”

Widow moved quickly and rewrapped Sunset in the wire threads again. “So, no, I don’t want to give this power up! We have a mutual agreement! I get what I want, and it gets what it wants! And with this ability to make beautiful dresses out of the bodies of those I kill, I’ll never run out of material! Speaking of which, I think I’ll use every part of you! Skin, hair, blood, all of it!”

Sunset couldn’t believe it, this girl was a student, the same as her, and yet, she wanted to be possessed, she wanted the power and delighted in the killing of other people. She completely lacked any empathy or compassion for anyone, only acting the part just to make people think she was sincere and honest. Sunset tightened her fists as she gritted her teeth.

“Guess I was a little naïve…”

“Yeah, to think you can stop me!”

“No…” flicker of flame released from the crimson ruby. “I was naïve to think that every person possessed was going to be innocent!”

Flames erupted around Sunset’s body, engulfing her and burning away the threads that held her captive. Sunset fell to the ground, but quickly recovered, the flames dissipated after a moment, with the former Equestrian looking over her body in surprise.

“Wait, you can make fire?! Since when could you do that?!”

}}} I always could. You just never asked. {{{

“We're going to work on our communication. But first…”

Widow snarled as she released more threads at Sunset, but Sunset held out her right arm, and from her hand she released a jet of flames that burned the threads to cinders. The spider creature began to panic as she started to realize that her primary attack weapon was being rendered ineffective, with each thread attack she used, Sunset’s flames would burn them to ash before they got near her.

Sunset jumped into the air and released a flame blast down on Widow. The creature shrieked in pain as the flames burned its body. Sunset came down right in front of Widow, forming two long forearm blades. She then slashed upwards, leaving behind a trail of light in her wake. Widow ceased her movement, and in the next moment, her arms fell off, and from them sprayed black blood that coated the area.

“YOU BITCH, MY ARMS! MY ARMS!”

“There’s no saving you! You were already lost before the Wendigo!”

Widow collapsed to the floor, now staring up at Sunset and gave her a pleading look. “Please, I’m sorry! I was just drunk on this power! You understand right?! You’re powerful too! Surely you can understand! Please, I’ll go to jail, just don’t kill me!”

Sunset hesitated for a moment, this wasn’t like Underwood, she was a teenage girl like herself, and, well, it wasn’t like she was innocent either, for Sunset nearly killed six people months ago while drunk on the power of the Element of Magic.

“Renounce the Wendigo inside you first!”

“Okay…Okay…” the arms of Widow began to crawl around on the ground, connected by the same threads she used to control others. The arms got into position behind Sunset, floating just behind her and poised to strike. “I just need…to tell you how stupid–!”

Suddenly, Sunset spun around and slashed the threads that connected the arms to Widow, making them fall back to the floor, motionless. “I’m sorry, what was that about how stupid you are?”

Widow’s eyes narrowed in rage as she stood up and opened her mouth wide to bite down on Sunset. But she never got that chance. Sunset whipped around and held out her right hand, fire gathered to the center of her palm, condensing at a rapid pace, until Sunset released it in a powerful blast that engulfed all of Widow in one shot. The spider creature shrieked in pain, as it flailed about on the stage, its body completely on fire. Widow continued to flail about on the ground until her movements completely ceased, and her wailing went silent. Sunset narrowed her gaze, despite what Suri was, she didn’t like what she had to do.

Widow’s body began to morph back into the body of Suri Polomare, now charred to the point where she was unrecognizable, Sunset looked over her shoulder and watched as her severed arms went back to normal, probably the only pieces left of the girl she once was.

Do you sense the Wendigo?

}}} The malevolent presence died the moment she did. It would seem killing them in this state kills the Wendigo at the same time. {{{

Why don’t I feel as good about this as I did when I stopped Underwood…?

}}} I understand she was young like you, but understand. Her heart was blackened long before the Wendigo claimed her. In this case, you should focus on that which is positive. The fact that you saved many lives. {{{

Sunset glanced about the hall, seeing that the police who were released by from Widow’s control were coming to, and seemed to be alright. You’re right. Sunset spotted Shining Armor, who nodded towards Sunset. With that cue, Sunset dashed up to the ceiling and into the rafters. Once she was sure the officers were moving towards the stage, Sunset descended and made her way back into the restroom.

“Rarity?”

“Sunset? Is it…Is it over?” Rarity asked.

Sunset walked towards the stall and sighed heavily. “Yeah…it’s over.”

Rarity could tell that the battle weighed on Sunset, the fashionista opened her arms and embraced Sunset, granting her friend some comfort. “Let’s get you dressed before the police come in here.”

There was good news and bad news to what happened tonight. The good news was that Silva’s death was avenged, and the police found Suri’s freshman assistant, Coco Pommel. Apparently the CPA senior had confessed much about what she had done to Coco, knowing that the young girl could not retaliate against her, and with Suri possessing demonic powers, her life was in constant danger, so she would not be charged.

The relative bad news was that the event made the news, from beginning to end. Some cameras were rolling and caught the entire fight, which meant that now Sunset’s Witchblade form was now being blasted all over the news channels and social media. As well as the events that led up to the fight, so Suri’s confession and transformation were also shown, and that also meant that now people knew that the Mystery Murders were being conducted by people who could transform into monsters.

Sunset figured that this was going to cause more hell tomorrow and down the road, but for now she focused on what was happening currently. The police had finished questioning Rarity and Sunset, both of them were in the lobby, and after a few minutes, Rarity’s family, along with Celestia and Mayor Mare, entered.

Celestia wasted no time in dragging Sunset into a tight hug, with Rarity getting the same treatment from her mother and father, and little sister.

“I’m so glad you’re alright, Sunset,” said Celestia.

“Are ya alright pumpkin?! Do you need to go to the hospital?!” Rarity’s mother, Cookie, asked.

“No, Mother, I’m not hurt at all. A little rattled…but, physically, I’m alright.” Rarity glanced to Sunset and smiled. “Thankfully, Sunset managed to get me out of there before things got worse.”

Rarity’s father, Hondo, walked over to Sunset and gave the teen a great big hug. “Thanks for keepin’ my daughter safe! You’re alright in my books, kid! And yer welcome anytime in our home!”

“T-Thanks! Oh, boy, you’re strong!” Sunset strained.

“Daddy, please, release Sunset, going through one near death experience is more than enough,” said Rarity.

Hondo released Sunset and chuckled.

Sweetie Belle hated to admit it, but if it wasn’t for Sunset, Rarity might’ve been killed by the spider monster. The young teen walked up to Sunset, and looked up at her. “T-Thank you, for saving my sister…and…sorry about what I said last time you were at our house…”

Sunset smiled and patted Sweetie on the shoulder. “It’s alright, I’d never let anything happen to her. She’s one of my best friends. She’s kind of like family to me.”

Sweetie visibly flinched when Sunset uttered the word “family”.

“Well, I’d say we’ve all had a rough night. Let’s all head home and get some sleep,” said Maria.

“If it’s okay, do you mind if I stay with Rarity tonight?” Sunset asked.

Celestia looked as if she wanted to protest. After what had happened she wanted to keep the girl close to her. But, the danger had past, and Rarity and Sunset seemed to have put the whole Anon-A-Miss thing behind them. “Okay, but please call me later so that I know you got there safely.”

“I will.”

“Well c’mon, let’s all head home,” said Hondo.

Celestia watched her young ward walk away with Rarity’s family, letting out a sigh as she did.

“You should have more confidence in her, Celly, even I can tell that girl is stronger than she looks,” said Maria.

“I know…but, with all that’s happening at school lately, I worry about her more,” said Celestia.

Maria wrapped an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders. “You know, I think I can help relieve you of your worries, if for at least one night.”

Celestia blushed. “Maria…”

Maria Mare glanced towards the officers and spotted Shining Armor. “Detective Armor.” Shining Armor walked over to the two women and saluted the mayor. “I want to thank you and your fellow officers for their work tonight.”

“Thank you, your Honor. But, in all honesty, we weren’t exactly that effective against that creature,” Shining confessed.

“I see. Detective, I want you to make a full report to me about these creatures, don’t leave anything out. There’s going to be a shit storm hitting us come the next morning, and I want the full facts of what’s going on,” said Maria.

“Yes, your Honor, I’ll get to work on it!”

“Carry on.”

Maria and Celestia walked outside to a limo that was awaiting the both of them. Once inside, Maria wasted little time, she pressed her lips against Celestia’s mouth, snaking her tongue in the other woman’s mouth as she began to grope Celestia’s body.

The fair skinned woman broke the kiss and breathlessly asked, “M-Maria…please, can’t you at least wait until we go to your home?”

Maria raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Really, Celly, after all I’ve done for that girl? You know, getting those records forged wasn’t easy, I had to cash in a few favors.”

“A-And I’m very grateful for that…”

“So…” Maria’s right hand landed on Celestia’s inner right thigh, and slowly began to travel along it. “I don’t think a little of this and that is uncalled for…don’t you think?”

“I…no…” Celestia answered.

Maria used her other hand to make Celestia look her in the eyes. “I do love you, Celly, so at least let me show you from time to time, alright?”

It took most of the night, but Shining Armor finally returned home. He had called Cadence earlier that night to not wait up for him, even though she said she would, the Dean of Students would try at least until she got too tired and went to bed.

However, when he opened the door, Shining Armor spotted a light on in the kitchen/dining room area. The detective walked into the room and spotted a teen girl sitting at the table in front of a laptop. She wore pale blue pajama bottoms, and a navy blue shirt. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, and was a dark purple color, with a streak of pink and violet running through it. Her skin was lavender colored, and her eyes were like two amethysts, which were hidden behind a pair of corrective eyewear that reflected the light of the laptop she was typing away at. Her name, was Twilight Sparkle, his little sister.

Shining Armor smiled, he knew who this girl was, and he was happy to see her, and saddened too. “Hey, Twily.”

“Shiny? Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you get in!” Twilight apologized.

“Don’t be, but what are you still doing up?”

Twilight pushed her glasses up her nose and said, “Cadence said you’d be in late, she got a little tired and I told her to go to bed and that I’d wait for you.”

Shining Armor walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a sports drink. “You didn’t have to do that, you should get your sleep.”

“I know, but I’m still working on my little project, and I thought I do something productive while I waited.”

“Oh yeah, something about ‘strange energy signatures’.”

Twilight smiled. “Yes! I’ve narrowed down the location of where the energy might be coming from! By my calculations, it should be located somewhere in the vicinity of Canterlot High School!”

Shining Armor spat out his drink upon hearing that. Of course Twilight would figure that out, she was a freaking genius.

Twilight looked at her big brother with worry. “Shining Armor, are you alright?!”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine! I just remembered something funny Spearhead told me! A-Anyway, that’s great, but I don’t think you should go poking around that school,” said Shining Armor.

“But why?! If I can get more data from that school, I can practically guarantee myself a spot in the Everton Independent Study Program!”

How was he to explain this? Twilight wasn’t allowed to go because there was a girl who looked and sounded exactly like Twilight there, and the people at the school may mistake this Twilight for that person? Oh yeah, that’ll go over well. Twilight wasn’t allowed to go because there was some cyber bullying incident going on at the school that was winding up the students of the school and seeing a person that they might think that Twilight was there to stop it? Even worse.

“Look, there’s just a lot of dangerous stuff going on right now, and I’ve been to CHS, there’s some things going on there, cyber bully stuff. I’m just afraid that if they see a new person there, they might get suspicious,” Shining explained.

“Oh…I see, I didn’t know that…” Twilight bit her lip as she thought. “That would make it hard for me to get any viable readings if I’m likely to get jumped like that.”

“Maybe you could just wait until the Friendship Games start? I mean, they’re going to shuttle students from CPA to CHS anyway, you could do your data gathering then?” Shining suggested.

Twilight groaned. “But that’s still months away! What if the energy readings dissipate, or vanish altogether?! I’ll have lost my chance by then!”

Believe me, Twi, with what Sunset told me, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. “Just be patient, Twily. You yourself have told me that science can sometimes be a waiting game.” Shining Armor sat down next to his little sister and patted her shoulder. “And, who knows, you may make another discovery before then that’s bigger than that energy thing.”

Twilight huffed in annoyance, like a child who didn’t get the toy she wanted. But then she sighed and nodded. “I understand, and you’re right. I guess I’m just too eager sometimes.”

“Twily, just to ask, but are things alright at Crystal Prep?”

Twilight flinched. “Y-Yeah, everything’s okay. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, it just seems like you’re trying to get out of there as fast as possible. I know the school can be a bit stressful, but you’d tell me or Cadence if you were having any trouble, right?” Shining asked.

Twilight looked away for a quick moment, how could she tell her big brother, or her former babysitter about what went on at CPA? They already had enough to deal with, Shining Armor with his murder cases, and Cadence helping to manage the other students of the entire school. Burdening them with her problems wasn’t an option. Plus, she’d managed to find a way to make it through, somehow.

The genius teen turned to her brother and shot him a reassuring smile. “I’m really alright, I just want to further my research, and as great as CPA is, if I want to make any headway, I’ll need to get into that program, or if Principal Cinch could fast track me to Canterlot University of Science, I’ll be much happier.”

Shining Armor eyed his sister wearily, his years of being a detective taught him how to read people, and he could tell something wasn’t right. But Shining figured it wasn’t best to probe too deep, lest Twilight retreat into her shell and shut down about whatever was really happening.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” Shining Armor got up and was about to head to his and Cadence’s room, but stopped. “Oh…that reminds me…”

“What's wrong?”

“I thought it best that you heard it from me,” Shining Armor rubbed the back of his head as he said, “The event I worked tonight, the monster attack, it involved one of your classmates.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “Which one?”

“Suri Polomare…she’s dead, Twi.”

Twilight turned away and began typing away at her computer, the light of the monitor reflected off her glasses, making it hard to see her eyes. “Oh…I see…I’m sorry to hear that…”

“I don’t know how close you were to her, I just thought it was better I told you than finding out on the news or at school, goodnight, LSBFF,” said Shining.

“Goodnight, BBBFF.”

When Shining Armor walked away, Twilight went back to work for a little bit, she remembered Suri. She remembered all the times she criticized her looks, how she would go out of her way to humiliate her by making modifications to her uniform that caused it to fall off her and leave her exposed to her underwear in front of the other students. How she’d steal her undergarments when gym class was over and forced Twilight to go commando, leaving her to the mercy of a certain tomboy who took delight in flipping her skirt and giving everyone a show. Oh yes, she knew Suri Polomare.

Twilight stopped her typing and sighed as she closed the laptop. “Good riddance.”

Case File 4-1 (Midas): Forbidden Fruits

View Online

As expected, a shit storm hit the city that very next morning. The news ran the footage of Suri Polomare’s confession of murder and then her subsequent transformation into a demonic spider-human hybrid creature. Along with the fight between Suri and a woman who wore metal “bikini armor”, it was kind of – and by “kind of” I mean completely – graphic to the point that the news couldn’t blur out most of it and just stated repeatedly “Viewer Discretion Advised”.

Of course, this sparked the media and every would-be reporter to hound the police and the mayor’s office regarding the existence of these monsters and what exactly they were doing to stop them. Not only that, but the parents of Suri Polomare were also hounded about their daughter and about how long they knew she was a demonic monster. The Polomare family couldn’t really react to this, there were whispers of the family suing the city or demanding the arrest of the woman who killed their daughter.

But to that, many argued that their daughter was far gone, the footage had clearly shown that the armored woman had stopped and was going to show mercy, until she attacked her from behind, but to no avail. Some wondered if this was a disease that was spreading through the city, if the people should be wearing any kind of protection or if they should be fleeing the city?

This persisted for about a day before Mayor Maria Mare announced that she would be holding a press conference at Canterlot City Hall. Many news stations showed up to get answers, as well as every online news site ready to capture her words and analyze her answers later. They had all gathered within the rotunda of the building, a podium had been set up along with many different microphones lining the top of it, each baring a different logo from the news stations.

The CCPD and the mayor’s personal bodyguards had created a perimeter around the podium and the double doors from which she would exit from. Finally, after several minutes of waiting, Maria Mare exited the double doors, hundreds of camera flashes littered her vision, but she did not let such a thing deter her, it was commonplace to expect a blinding wall of light. Along with that came the roar of several people yelling out questions left and right, barely even waiting for her to reach the podium to start talking.

Maria wore a beige business suit with a white shirt, and a blue-green tie, her hair was perfectly combed and treated for today. In her right hand she held several papers and placed them upon the podium, once she was standing before it, Maria lifted her hands and motioned to signal to the reporters to quiet down. After the roar finally died down to nothing at all, she began.

“Good afternoon, to the people of Canterlot, and to those watching from other neighboring towns and cities. I know you all have a plethora of questions for me, but I ask that you wait until after I’ve given my report on the incident from two days ago.”

Maria paused and waited to see if anyone would defy this request. So far, no one did.

“In regards to the incident with the young woman, Suri Polomare, let me first say that my heart goes out to the Polomare family, it is a sad and terrible thing to lose one’s own child, and I ask that everyone grant them time to grieve. That being said, I have reviewed the footage with the officers of the CCPD Task Force, and I can confirm that what you saw was one-hundred percent real. There was no altering of any footage, nor was this a staged performance.”

Murmurs started to rustle up from the reporters.

“As you may know, our city has been in the grips of what the media has dubbed the ‘Mystery Murders’. For the last few months the identity of the killer hasn’t been identified, until now.”

“Are you saying that Suri Polormare is responsible for all the killings?!” a reporter asked.

“Please hold all questions until after,” said one of the police officers.

Maria sighed. “No, Suri Polomare has confessed to the killing another woman, as far as we know, that was her only victim. However, I am afraid to say that these Mystery Murders are not being conducted by a single person, but rather, by multiple suspects. The strange and savage circumstances of which each victim was killed indicates that there is more than one person with Miss Polomare’s ability to change their form.”

“Let me assure you, that this is not due to some disease, illegal experimentation, or whatever conspiracy theory is being propelled through the internet at the moment. Currently, we are trying to ascertain who or what these creatures are, and if this is a disease. So far, all indications to that point to nowhere, as well as experimentation. We are still investigating, but with this revelation, we now have a better idea of who and what we are dealing with, as much as this incident was a tragedy, it was a blessing. The enemy has made itself known, so now it is a matter of time before we find the rest. I will take any questions you have now.”

Yet again, the roar of the reporters was deafening. Maria glanced about the room and pointed to a random reporter, a woman who stepped forward and asked, “Many people are wondering what the police and city government’s thoughts are regarding the woman who was seen combating the creature. Is her identity known and if so, is she an ally or another potential murderer?”

Maria knew that was coming sooner or later. “We don’t know this person’s name, but she has gone by the alias of ‘Witchblade’. This is coming from sources within the police who have encountered her and have seen her slay, as of right now, three of these creatures. For now, we are taking a wait-and-see approach with her. If she continues to show that she is an ally to us, we shall treat her as such, if not, we will treat her as we will the very creatures who threaten us.”

Another reporter asked, “What kind of message does it send that this woman is running around in such revealing clothing and fighting these creatures? Aren’t you afraid that standing with this vigilante will set a bad example for young woman, and possibly taint your office?”

Maria chuckled a little. “I must admit, I am very much NOT a fan of this young woman’s choice in attire. Whether this is her choice or something she is forced to wear is something completely unknown, however, I don’t see it as too bad an example. After all, a strong woman slaying monsters and being confident in her body to fight them with all she’s got – fashion choice aside – I think she sets a good example for young women who feel powerless sometimes.”

A third reporter said, “The Polomare family has been requesting that the city arrest Witchblade for the murder of their daughter, monster or not, you have to admit Madam Mayor, that what we witnessed was cold blooded murder.”

Maria raised an eyebrow at that. “Really, is that what you saw?” The crowd paused. “What I saw was a young lady who changed into a monster, killed someone on stage, made puppets of our police officers, and confessed to another murder at her own hands. I know not what changed that young woman, whether she was possessed or willingly became what she was, but in that moment, I saw Witchblade offer her mercy, and she declined it. I truly feel sorry for the Polomare family, but the creature she became was what she was when she was killed, and at that time, she was a threat to everyone. I would rather she capture rather than kill, but at that moment, Witchblade made a judgement call.”

A fourth reporter asked, “How many of the Mystery Murders do the police think are caused by these creatures?”

“As of right now, all of them. My hope is this conference will make it harder for them to operate now that the public is aware of their existence. Let me make it clear, this is no way means anyone should start accusing their neighbor, or suspecting one another of being a monster in disguise. Before you start doing so, ask yourself, ‘Is this person that I’ve known for years really a monster in disguise?’ The police are working hard to find the cause and perpetrators of these crimes, please do not make their jobs harder by calling in false claims, I will not have this city devolve into a witch trail of old.”

Maria spent the next five minutes answering more questions before she deemed the briefing to be over. Once that was done, Maria headed back to the sanctuary that was her office space. It rested on the top floor of City Hall, and gave a magnificent view of Canterlot City, as if she was the queen of the city. Maria stared out into the city, her territory, the queendom that she had forged for herself and had kept for a good number of years, she was the longest running mayor to hold the seat, a whole seven and a half years.

There was no way Maria was going to let some monstrosities run amok in her city, but from what Detective Shining Armor informed her, the situation was worse than she let on. Indeed, Canterlot City was swarming with unseen demonic spirits, lurking in the shadows and waiting to possess its citizens and turn them into living breathing murder machines. Witchblade was the only one, it seemed, who could really hurt and kill these creatures. Maria didn’t like having to associate herself, or her office with some girl who dressed like some fantasy warrior slut, but perhaps, if she stood up for Witchblade, she might continue to keep killing these monsters. Well, only time would tell.

Just then, Maria got a call on her office line. Her receptionist answered, {Madam Mayor, you have a call.}

“I thought I asked not to be disturbed after the conference?” Maria asked with annoyance.

{Yes, Ma’am, but it’s a Miss Abacus Cinch on the line.}

Maria sighed heavily. What does that uptight bitch want now? “Send it through.” Maria sat down at her desk and picked up the phone. “Abby, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

{You know damn well what this is about?! Suri Polomare was a student of my school! Do you know what this will do to Crystal Prep’s reputation?!}

Maria rolled her eyes. “How tragic, one of your uptight rich kids turned into a monster. I mean, some of them will become metaphorical monsters, but I didn’t think you were teaching them to become literal monsters, Cinch.”

{Do you find this amusing?!}

“For the parents, no. For you, oh so very funny,” Maria giggled.

{Did you forget the amount of money I injected into your campaign during the last election?! You should be more faithful to your constituents, especially when they throw over a 2.5 million dollars!}

Maria played with the phone cord for a second and then replied, “I know what you gave me, and I’m very grateful. However, I wouldn’t be making demands if I were you. Or should I bring to light the numerous cases of hazing and abuse that go on in that school of yours?”

Cinch made a strangled noise on the other end.

“Oh Abby, you really turned that place into a viper pit. Students trying to outdo each other, either by sabotaging their fellow students, or by abusing them verbally, physically…sexually.” Maria let that hang in the air for a few seconds. “How many settlements did I have our DA help sweep under the rug for you? And all to make sure your precious Crystal Prep Academy had the best, most outstanding reputation in the city so that all our wealthy residents would sink money into you and your school. Hmm?”

No response came from the other line, but she could definitely hear Cinch making some grumbled noises.

“Don’t get me wrong, you do get results. I have it on good authority about how many times your school has dominated our lovely little public school of CHS. But I digress, do not threaten me, Abby, do not demand anything of me, or you’ll have more than just a murder spider woman student to worry about. Are we clear?”

An incoherent answer was muttered through the phone.

“I’m sorry, what was that? Speak clearly, Abby, you are a teacher after all,” Maria teased.

{Yes…}

“Yes, what?”

{Yes…Ma’am.}

“Good. Now, if you’re really worried about your image, have that Dean of Students of yours prepare a statement, she looks like she actually gives a crap, so the media will believe her more over you. She just oozes big sister vibes, and you…well…you radiate the image of someone who has a stick up their ass and is waiting for the right time to beat someone with it,” Maria stated.

{Y-YOU–!!!}

Maria hung up the phone, her lips spread into a grin. Abacus Cinch was always easy to rile up, ever since she got to the position of Principal of CPA, she was always striving to make that school bigger and better than all the other private schools in the city. To her credit, she was doing that, and the students’ abilities proved that she was getting results. However, there was an excessive amount of hazing and abuse from the students against other students, and the teachers’ neglect and sometimes indifference towards it. At some point Maria would have to nip that problem in the bud before something really bad happened, the last thing she needed was for one of those rich brats to kill someone and start an investigation into all the cases that were kept under wraps.

Maria massaged her temples, she loved her job, but sometimes it could be a real bitch. “Oh well, I’ll be having some ‘stress relief’ later tonight anyway.”

Sunset couldn’t stop her cheeks from burning red the entire day yesterday and today. The fight had been streamed to every news media outlet on the net, and not a moment went by when Sunset didn’t see someone watching the footage of her battle with Suri and hearing a boy or girl say how hot she looked in her armor.

And since the mayor gave her a name, it took all that Sunset had not to jump when someone other than Rarity said the word “Witchblade”.

}}} Should you not feel more joy that there are people speaking of you positively? {{{

In truth, yes. But not when every boy – and girl – I catch watching that is commenting about how much they want to bang me! Or, well, skimpy-armor-version-me! And in the same breath, saying that they want to kick my ass for being Anon-A-Miss!

}}} Human social quarrels are tiresome. {{{

I second that!

Sunset reached her locker, which was once again covered in all manner of profanity. Luckily the inside was vacant of any pranks so that was a plus. Just as Sunset was about to close the door, she felt a change in the air. She glanced about and saw that many of the students were murmuring about something.

Shit, did Anon-A-Miss post something else?

Sunset took out her phone and checked the MyStable page. She scrolled through the postings and found the most recent one, and what she saw nearly made her tear out the locker.

[Pinkie Pie, the secret stealer extraordinaire:
You dumbasses been wondering how I’ve been getting all the shit on you thus far? Well, seeing as my girlfriend and I are becoming more serious in public, I think it’s best to just come clean with it.
Yeah, Pinkie Pie’s been the one who’s been supplying me with your dirty little secrets. I mean, how stupid are you people? She acts like a loon, so you don’t bother to think about what comes out of your mouth around her, all the while, she’s been listening closely, been feeding me my daily nourishment of your little backstabs and shit talking.
Why am I telling you this now? Because I think my GF has done more than enough and we thought it’s time she took a break, but don’t worry, I have so many more ways of getting what I want from you bunch of plebeians.
So sorry to anyone who thought they had a chance in hell of hitting that pink plump plot of hers, that’s all mine. ;P
Sincerely yours, Anon-A-Miss]

Sunset gritted her teeth and squeezed on her cellphone to the point that she was about to crush it in her hands. I’m going to kill ‘em. I’m seriously going to murder Anon-A-Miss! Heh, ha, yep, no doubts! I’m going to use you to rip Anon-A-Miss open and spill their guts all over the fucking school!

}}} I’m not following. How is this bad? I thought you had feelings for the pink one? {{{

Sunset slapped her forehead with her left hand. I find all my friends attractive, but yes, I do like Pinkie Pie for her optimism and her bubbly attitude, and her…Sunset shook her head. Getting off topic! This is bad because now Anon-A-Miss has made her a target! And because of that, if I go and defend her, it’ll only give validity to this post!

}}} Does that mean you won’t come to her aid? {{{

Like hell I’m not!

Sunset put away her phone and mad dashed through the hallways, she looked around for Pinkie Pie, hoping that she wasn’t getting crowded by some students, or worse. Sunset made her way around the next corner, only to smash into someone and send both of them sprawling onto the floor.

“Ow…” Sunset groaned.

The former Equestrian sat up and gasped. Pinkie Pie was on the floor as well, holding her head as she was still in a bit of daze due to the impact.

“Ooooh boy, what hit me?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I did, sorry!” Sunset got up and reached down to help Pinkie Pie up.

The party planner accepted her hand and let Sunset hoist her back up. “No harm done! But, what’s up?!”

Sunset grimaced. “You haven’t seen it yet, have you?”

Pinkie Pie tilted her head to the side. “Seen what?”

Sunset would’ve taken the time to find that cute, but there was a more pressing matter. The flame haired girl took out her cellphone and opened it to the MyStable site, she pulled up Anon-a-Miss’s profile and showed Pinkie their latest post. Sunset bit her lip as she watched Pinkie read the post, her smile before reading was as big and wide as it always was, but afterwards, it shortened a few centimeters.

“Oh…well…that’s, wow,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, I’m so sorry…”

Pinkie Pie looked at Sunset with confusion. “Why, you didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Anon-A-Miss is targeting you, that’s why I’m apologizing!” Sunset clarified.

“Did you post it?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Of course not!”

The pink girl happily shrugged and handed the phone back to Sunset. “Then you don’t have anything to be sorry for. Sunset, you told me a while ago that Anon-A-Miss was probably going to attack me somehow, and I told you I didn’t care if she did. I’m not going abandon you like I did before.”

Sunset felt like her heart was going to break. “Pinkie…”

The pink party planner rubbed the back of her head as she giggled a little. “But, wowie, Anon-A-Miss thinks we’re going out! I mean, you are smoking hot, but I didn’t think I was ship worthy enough to be paired with you. I could see you and Rarity, maybe Rainbow Dash, definitely Princess Twilight…and maybe I guilty ship you and Adagio Dazzle a little…hehe…”

Sunset blushed as she shook her head trying to contemplate all that. “First off…I’m not going to argue the Princess Twilight bit. But, you seriously could see me and Adagio Dazzle together?! She’s a manipulative, domineering, sea-witch!”

“Buuuuuuuut, she’s also got hips for days, and has a voice like a grade A porn star,” said Pinkie matter-of-factly.

Sunset raised a finger and was about to argue that point, but then she remembered the Dazzlings’ little musical number in the cafeteria, and the way Adagio swayed her hips so hypnotically, and that husky voice of hers, their mind controlling magic aside, that was a voice that could arouse any boy or girl.

The former unicorn crossed her arms and grumbled, “Y-Yeah she is kinda hot…”

Pinkie Pie booped Sunset’s nose, making her scrunch her face in a cute manner. “Told ya! But, me and you…” The pink haired girl trailed off for a moment. “I mean, you’re smart, beautiful, and just amazing and I’m…”

Sunset placed her hand over Pinkie’s mouth. “I’m going to stop you right there, because I do not want to hear you belittling yourself, understand?” Pinkie nodded. “Good. You’re one of my best friends, Pinkie, you’re an amazing, positive person. Don’t ever say you’re not good enough for anyone or anything, understand?”

“Mmm-Mmm,” she answered.

“Good.” Sunset removed her hand from Pinkie’s mouth. “I hate to say this, but I think it’s better that you stick as close to me as possible.”

“But…won’t that just make Anon-A-Miss’s message true?” Pinkie asked.

“Let them think what they want. I don’t want you getting hurt like I almost was. That’s the last thing I want,” said Sunset.

Pinkie Pie blushed a little. “Okay, but if it gets to be too much trouble…”

“It’s not any trouble, but you promise to call me if anything happens, got it?”

Pinkie swiftly hugged Sunset and said, “Got it.”

WITCHBLADE

The rest of the week hadn’t been that much better from there, due to Anon-A-Miss’s post, all of CHS had its sights set on Sunset and Pinkie Pie. It pissed Sunset off, thanks to that post, most of the events that Pinkie Pie was assigned to plan, she was taken off of them. She was effectively shunned out of the Party Planning Committee, and everyone gave her the cold shoulder. Thankfully no one wrote anything on her locker, that was the last thing they needed.

There were rumors flying around that Sunset probably duped Pinkie into helping her get dirt on people, or threatened her. As much as it ticked her off to hear that, it also made her hopeful that the students might be willing to forgive Pinkie if Sunset played along to those rumors. It was a thought, but the only real way this would end was if Anon-A-Miss was taken down for good.

Now more than ever, Rarity’s theory was ringing in her head more. The thought that one of their friends could be behind all of this was gnawing at her. Although it could be just a coincidence, but still, the only way to know for sure would be to investigate them. Rarity was out and so was Pinkie, that only left Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and–

“Sunset,” came a voice with a southern drawl.

Sunset turned around and saw the cowgirl in question. “Applejack.”

The two girls stood there in the hallway, tension filling the air as the rest of the students around them walked around them, afraid to get anywhere between them should a brawl break out.

Out of the five, Applejack was probably the most level headed of the group. When the girls would sometimes spout wild ideas and solutions to problems, Applejack usually brought them all back to Earth, acting as the voice of reason. However, when all this started, she was quick to accuse Sunset of being Anon-A-Miss after the second posting.

“We need to talk, ya got a minute?” Applejack asked.

“I can spare a couple,” Sunset replied.

Applejack motioned for Sunset to follow. The flame haired girl did so, following Applejack to an empty classroom. The farm girl walked in first, letting Sunset enter second, Applejack went to the other end of the classroom, near some windows. Once there, Sunset closed the door behind her, not once showing her back to Applejack.

“Okay, we’re alone, what is it?” Sunset asked.

“Do ya still wanna work?”

Sunset blinked. “What?”

“Ah said, ‘Do ya still wanna work?’ Before all this started, you asked me if Ah could use some help on the farm and Ah could pay ya some money to act as a temp ranch hand,” Applejack explained.

Sunset thought back on it, she did recall telling the girls that she was looking for a job. But with her lack of credentials, something in the food or retail industry wouldn’t be viable. Although she had some paperwork that showed her as a legal citizen of Canterlot City, Sunset was afraid that if a company did a thorough enough background check, she’d be found out. This of course made finding a job difficult, even though Celestia paid for her home and would restock her groceries once in a while, Sunset didn’t want to be too reliant on her former mentor’s counterpart.

It was in that conversation that Applejack had brought up the idea of having Sunset work on their farm temporarily as a ranch hand. After Anon-A-Miss and their fall out, Sunset had believed that the offer was rescinded.

“I mean…yeah, but, wait, are you…?”

“Ah haven’t made up my mind on rather ya are or aren’t Anon-A-Miss, yet. To be honest, there’s a lot of things that aren’t addin’ up, and at the same time are linin’ up. Pinkie Pie bein’ one of ‘em.” Applejack released a sigh. “Regardless, Ah gave ya meh word that you could work on our farm. Ultimately, the decision lies with Granny, but right now we need a bit of extra help, and if yer willin’, well, Ah’m not one to go back on mah word.”

Sunset didn’t want to admit it, but she could use the extra money. And at the same time, this presented an opportunity, a chance to cross off a potential suspect. “If Granny Smith says it’s okay, then yes, I’d like to work for you.”

“Alright, since my place is a bit far for ya, you’ll be stayin with us. Is that okay?” Applejack asked.

Sunset nodded. “I’m fine with that.”

With that hashed out, Sunset and Applejack left the room. As she was walking, Sunset spoke to the Witchblade. Did you sense anything from her?

}}} There was no malice in her words, if anything, I would say it was more indifference. {{{

It looks like she’s trying to keep a level head, maybe she’s had time enough to cool down and figure out I may be innocent.

}}} Is regaining the friendship of these girls who betrayed you truly that important to you? {{{

Sunset stopped walking. “Yes, it is. They’re the only thing I have that’s close to family here. I’ve been gone from my world for years, my parents were barely there for me, if at all, and the first time I felt like I was being accepted as part of something bigger, it was taken away from me. Finding out Anon-A-Miss’s identity is a goal, but the real victory is getting my friends, my family, back.”

}}} I see, I won’t press on this matter again. Although, I’m still confused though. Are you and the pink one together or…? {{{

Sunset blushed. She’s my best friend!

}}} Yet you expressed that they are all attractive and have spoken of being aroused by them. {{{

Sunset groaned, wishing she had never thought that.

Surprisingly, Granny Smith agreed to having Sunset work on the farm. Despite the turmoil going on at school, Granny Smith wasn’t about to say no to a willing ranch hand. It was no secret that Granny Smith wasn’t as young as she used to be, and that the winter was taxing on her old body, this winter was especially hard on her. Although she had three strong grandchildren to help out, even they needed an extra hand.

Sunset had packed up at least two days worth of clothes, and was allowed to bring Ray with her. She didn’t like having her lizard friend wait up for her, so she decided to bring him along this time. Plus, with the suspicious glares she’d get from Apple Bloom and Big Mac, it would be nice to have someone who wouldn’t look at her like that.

Applejack had picked her up on Saturday, driving through the snow covered roads in her pickup. The ride was silent, with Applejack just focusing on driving and Sunset just staring out through the window, watching the scenery change from the vast urban landscape, to the wide open fields.

After about a forty minute drive, Applejack pulled up to the opening of their orchard ranch. The Apple Family had been in Canterlot City practically since its inception, their family history stretched all the way back to the founding when it was called “Ponyville”, and then eventually grew bigger and bigger until it was so large it was renamed “Canterlot City”.

Being a family with such a long standing history meant that the Apples did have some sway in the way things ran in the city. Their business hadn’t changed, being an apple based farm and known for their delicious, organic, juicy apples. They made all their products locally, and while they didn’t have the big production abilities like some other businesses, the folks in the city would say that’s what makes their product worth more. The fact that it was made with great care and backed by years of history.

Of course, now that the winter had set in, the apple trees were fruitless at this time. But that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a lot to do on the farm regardless. They still had chickens, cows, pigs, and some other crops that they grew, and there was no shortage of things that needed fixing on the farm. Usually the winter time allowed the young Apple children time to look over the farm and see what needed fixing, at the same time, it also required them to look after the apple trees and make sure that they survived the winter. If one died that was one less tree to provide product, which meant no revenue for the family.

Upon getting to the house, Applejack stopped at the front and sighed in annoyance. “Got dang it, Granny.”

Sunset looked and saw that Granny Smith was carrying a bale of hay towards the barn. Applejack got out of the truck an rushed over to her grandmother.

“Granny, what in tarnation do ya think yer doin’?! You should be restin’ inside,” said Applejack.

“Yer brother’s out on Wildfire checkin’ the trees, and yer little sister is feedin’ the pigs, and you were out getting’ Sunset, someone needed do it,” said Granny.

“Yes, but Ah said Ah’d take care of it when Ah got back! Ya know this cold hurts ya more right now,” said Applejack.

“Pish-posh, why I – Ack!” Granny released the hay, letting it plop to the ground as she hunched over, placing a hand on her lower back. “Okay, Ah might’ve overdid it a little bit.”

“Granny…”

Before either of them realized it, Sunset had appeared next to them. She bent over and easily lifted the hay bale, making both Apple women blink in surprise. “You just need this to go to the barn, right?”

“Yeah, just set it inside while I get Granny back in,” said Applejack.

Sunset nodded and carried the hay into the barn, thankfully the added boost in strength and stamina from the Witchblade made this an easy feat, but Sunset pretended to struggle as to not arouse suspicion. When she entered the barn, Sunset felt uncomfortable. There were stalls that had some horses, four in total, one of which was already gone with Big Mac.

Sunset remembered that Wildfire was a stallion, which left the last three, two mares, Scarlet and Calypso, and the second stallion, Brutus. Looking upon these creatures made her feel uneasy, although they were essentially the same species, they were vastly different beings. For one thing their muzzles were more elongated than a normal pony’s muzzle, and there were no unicorns or pegasi in this world, so all of the horses here could technically be counted as Earth Ponies.

The other thing was their lack of sapience. While Sunset learned that horses could feel and understand people to a degree, they were far from being able to carry on conversations. Not only that…but their privates were far larger. Seriously, Sunset saw a mare flagging one time she visited Applejack’s farm and gulped at how wide it was, thinking that she could fit her arm in there. Oh, and then there were the stallions.

The stallions back in Equestria were pretty well endowed, but these guys put them to shame. Any one of these monsters could tear a mare in half, hell, they could beat a pony to death with those things. Oh, and of course, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t stop with the stupid horse sex jokes.

“Hey, Sunset, if you ask, I’m pretty sure that AJ will let you spend some alone time with her stallions. Or mares, no judgment.”

“No, Rainbow Dash, these guys are so alien to me, that I can’t get aroused by them! No offense.”

The horses gave a light snort as if saying, “None taken.”

“So, is like, watching a documentary of horses fucking considered porn for you?”

“No, I consider porn to be actual porn. Did I find your weird, hairless, squishy bodies to be sexually arousing at first? Yes, on a xenophilic level, and in time I started to see the attractiveness of the human body, and its advantages.”

“Hey, Sunset, bet you wish you were that mare right now, right?”

“No, because nopony – unless that was your fetish – would openly screw another pony out in public for children to see!”

“Just asking, but since you were a pony once, do you think you could fit all of that inside you? ‘Cause that’d be, like, crazy hot.”

“Pony me couldn’t fit that inside her, humanized me could very well have her vag torn apart you perverted dolt!”

Sunset set the hay with on the ground, letting it plop in frustration as those memories were dredged up. Despite the jokes, Sunset did have fun with the girls, she always did find a way to throw those jokes back at Rainbow Dash, saying that she projecting onto Sunset and that it was Rainbow Dash who wanted to get ridden by those stallions.

“Faust, she couldn’t form a coherent sentence after that,” said Sunset.

“Sunset Shimmer?!” The girl in question turned around and spotted Apple Bloom standing in the entrance to the barn. “What in the Sam hill are you doin’ here?!”

Sunset turned around and tried to look as nonthreatening as she could, but given her attire and history, that was easier said than done. “H-Hey, AB, I’m actually here to work.”

Apple Bloom was nervous, for more than one reason. First Sunset was at Sweetie Belle’s place, and now Sunset was at hers, did she know that they were Anon-A-Miss and was trying to dig up dirt on them? Or was this all just one big coincidence and if she misspoke now she’d completely screw herself over?

Nonetheless, Apple Bloom decided to play it cool and went with the latter. “What do ya mean, ‘work’? Since when?”

“Since Ah asked her to.”

Apple Bloom turned around and watched as Applejack walked towards them, she then gave her big sister and indignant glare. “Are you kiddin’ me?! Why would ya do that?! After she posted that story about you?! And after everythin’ she’s been doin?!”

Applejack crossed her arms and released a deep sigh. “Ah’m not sayin’ Ah forgive her or anythin’.” The cowgirl’s eyes landed on Sunset. “Fact is, Ah don’t know what to believe anymore. Till Ah see some proof, Ah’m remainin’ skeptical, but that don’t mean Ah completely trust her.”

Sunset felt a sting in her chest, but tried not to let it show on her face. The middle Apple child turned her attention back to the youngest.

“That bein’ said, Ah gave Sunset meh word that she could work as a ranch hand and help us out for a spell. Granny’s not doin’ so good with this cold weather, and we can use the extra help,” said Applejack.

Apple Bloom turned around and glared at Applejack. “Then why not ask Rainbow Dash, or hell, anyone else other than Sunset Shimmer?!”

Applejack shook her head as she gave an exasperated sigh. “Look, Apple Bloom, it’s done. Granny said yes, so stop yer belly achin’ and just accept that Sunset’s workin’ with us. Ya don’t have to like it, but ya do have to work with her if we want get anythin’ done.”

“Oh yeah, what about big brother? Ya think he’s goin’ to like this?!” Apple Bloom asked.

“Don’t you worry about Big Mac, Ah’ll have a talk with him. Now there were a few more hay bales to bring in, give Sunset a hand with ‘em once yer done puttin’ that up,” said Applejack.

“AJ,” Sunset interjected, “it’s okay, I can take care of it myself. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, AB.”

Applejack shook her head. “Nothin’ doin’, she’s goin’ to work with ya, whether she likes it or not.” Applejack leaned down and met her little sister’s eyes. “Got it, missy?”

Apple Bloom made a few grumbling sounds but then nodded her head in agreement.

With the tension still there, Apple Bloom and Sunset began moving the last of the hay bales into the barn. And as expected, Big Macintosh came riding in on Wildfire and saw Sunset, his stoic expression didn’t change much, but if one looked closely enough, you could see the micro changes in his brow and jaw, indicating his displeasure as well.

Applejack seemed to talk her big brother into letting Sunset stay, but he seemed just as reluctant about it as Apple Bloom was. Sunset went to work, somehow managing to keep up with all three Apple siblings, she mostly went with Applejack around the farm itself, doing handiwork and fixing anything that seemed broken, splintered, or otherwise off.

It seemed like a lot of micromanaging, but Sunset understood, Applejack had said that maintaining a farm required a lot of work, you couldn’t leave something broken for too long as it could either hurt someone, the livestock, or cause something to break off later that was important. So everything had to be replaced or patched at the first sign that it was broken.

Sunset spent most of her day like this and by the time night fell, she was exhausted. Even with the Witchblade providing her with extra strength and stamina, it took all she had to keep from collapsing.

}}} We need to work on your stamina. {{{

Bite…me!

The great thing about coming to work for the Apples was that Granny Smith would make a copious amount of food, to which Sunset shoveled most of it into her mouth. Granny Smith was actually happy to see Sunset eating like that, the girl didn’t look scrawny, but she wasn’t muscular either, but it was great to see she had a healthy appetite.

Despite the tension that still existed, Sunset felt…at peace. This was what she missed, what she wanted. To feel like part of a family, to sit down and have a meal together and just enjoy the company of one’s family members.

Once they were all done eating, Sunset volunteered to help with the dishes. While they did that, Applejack and Big Mac went back to the barn to check on the animals and make sure the horses didn’t buck off their blankets.

As Sunset began washing Granny Smith walked up and began giving her hand. “Oh, Ms. Smith, you don’t have to–”

“None a that ‘Miss’ stuff, call me Granny.”

Sunset blinked. “Oh, okay.”

“How’re you doin’ dearie? Things gettin’ so bad at school, haven’t had the chance to talk to ya,” said Granny.

“You’re…concerned about me?” Sunset asked.

“Course Ah am, Ah don’t know much about all this internet cyber bully mess, but Ah do know that you wouldn’t do somethin’ like what my grandchildren, and what all the other children at school are sayin’.”

Sunset stopped washing and looked at Granny Smith with amazement. “You don’t believe I’m Anon-A-Miss…how? Why?!”

Granny Smith stopped her scrubbing and glanced to Sunset. “Because, Sunny, anyone who smiles like that, knows the value of family. Ah’ve seen the way you and my granddaughter interact, you think of her as family. Something precious like that, someone’d have to be a damn fool to throw it all away. And Ah never took ya fer a fool. A bit misguided, kinda ornery, but a fool? Nope – whoa now!”

Before Granny Smith had a chance to react, she found herself getting hugged by Sunset Shimmer. The elderly woman smiled as she patted Sunset’s back.

“Thank you, Granny Smith,” said Sunset.

“This storm will pass, Surgarcube, don’t you fret. When it’s over, you all will be able to laugh and smile again, I promise.”

It had been almost an hour since dinner ended, and Granny Smith was getting noticeably antsy. Neither Big Mac nor Applejack had returned from the barn.

“Dagnabit, the horses givin’ them trouble again? They’ve been out there awhile now,” said Granny.

Sunset got up from the couch and said, “I’ll go and see if they need any help.”

“Thank you, Dearie.”

Sunset put on her jacket and hat then walked out into the snow. She turned on her flashlight and made her way to the big red barn. The smaller door was ajar, making Sunset feel a bit edgy.

You sense anything?

}}} Nothing dangerous…however… {{{

What?

}}} Hmm…I could be misinterpreting, but there is no danger, you can proceed. {{{

Sunset shrugged and carefully opened the door, the oiled hinges allowed the door to move without creaking too much. The moment that Sunset got into the barn she stopped, her heart rate accelerated and a knot formed in her stomach. There was a sound, a distinct sound that was not easily confused with much other than…sex.

Sunset swallowed hard, she could hear the sounds of girl moaning in pleasure, and the sounds of a flesh slapping against flesh. It was faint, but it was definitely there. Sunset turned off the flashlight and took a cursory glance about the barn, none of the horses were out of their stalls. Even if two were in the same stall, there wasn’t enough room for either of them to do the deed.

Sunset had an idea who it was, but she prayed it wasn’t. Slowly she walked through the barn, checking each of the stalls to make sure it wasn’t her second fear, thankfully, or not depending on your point of view, it wasn’t the horses. Sunset continued walking until she made it to the last stall at the far end of the barn, and as she got closer, she put her hands over her mouth to keep from making a sound.

In the stall, she saw Applejack. Her flannel shirt was unbuttoned, allowing her large C-cup breasts to bounce freely for all to see, Further done, her jeans and panties were dropped to the floor, the only thing she had on her lower body was her boots. She was bent over a bale of hay, her eyes shut as continued to pant, grunt, and moan as boy behind her continued to pound away at her.

The boy in this case being her big brother, Big Mac. His shirt was still on, but like his sister, his pants and underwear were lying on the barn floor and only sporting his boots. From what Sunset could see, Big Mac was currently ramming his phallus repeatedly into his sister’s tight asshole, again and again.

Applejack steadied herself on her forearms, she wanted to probe her womanhood with one of her hands, but if she didn’t prop herself up, Big Mac’s thrusting would make her fall forward and both of them would end up falling over each other. But it wasn’t a problem, it felt too good, her brother’s large dick pounding away at her tight pucker was driving Applejack crazy.

Big Mac was definitely enjoying himself, grunting like the stallions in the stalls around them as he continued to fuck his little sister, making her moan like a whore for his continued ministrations. Big Macintosh leaned down, bringing his weight onto her back as he reached under Applejack. His left hand snaked down to her pussy, slipping two of his large fingers into her dripping wet cunt, the other gripped her right breast and squeezed the firm orb of flesh hard.

Applejack cried out louder, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as her brother pleasured her. They had been at it for a while now, and both were close, oh so very close.

“Mac…Mac, oh fuck, Ah’m…Ah’m…!”

“Same here…!

Big Mac ramped up his thrusts, making Applejack’s knees nearly buckle, but the blonde haired cowgirl stayed standing, this wasn’t her first rodeo and she’d be damned if she was going to be brought down that easily. Applejack tensed as Big Mac’s fingers thrust in and out of her sobbing went cunt, in rhythm with his thrusts into her ass. For good measure, Big Mac moved his right hand up to Applejack’s throat and wrapped his large hand around it, applying a gentle amount of pressure.

It was all brought to a head as Applejack cried out in ecstasy, her ass and pussy clamping around her brother’s digits and dick. Applejack then began to release strangled, choking sounds as Big Mac squeezed his hand harder around her throat, making Applejack’s eyes roll to the back of her head.

Big Mac gave a loud grunt as he thrust into Applejack one last time, flooding her backdoor with copious amounts of thick cum. The two siblings held that position for a good long minute, afterwards, as if practiced, Big Mac brought Applejack forward, going down until he sat on his rear, bringing Applejack with him.

Big Mac removed his hands from her loins and throat and wrapped them around Applejack’s waist. Both siblings panted heavily from their forbidden activities as Applejack’s ass oozed out her brother’s cum the moment it slipped out. It was something that they had to do, they had to finish this way or else risk Big Mac’s spoils to spill over Applejack’s pussy, and get her pregnant.

Sunset was stunned by what she had witnessed, she had heard of ponies back in Equestria who engaged in this sort of thing, hell, acts of incest were well documented throughout all three tribes’ history. Double hell, there were rumors that Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna, were secretly engaging in such things behind closed doors.

Now those two were immortal alicorns, so…there was some wiggle room in regards to that. But these were two blood related siblings.

“Sorry fer not talking to ya about bringin’ Sunset on, but we needed the help, Mac,” said Applejack as she leaned into his embrace.

Big Mac sighed. “Ah really wish ya did, with all this Anon-A-Miss stuff, do ya really think bringin’ her here was the best idea? Especially after what happened last time?”

“Ah–”

Sunset tripped forward, hitting a bucket next to the stall. Both siblings froze in place as fear gripped their hearts. Neither knew what to do at this point, if either sibling said anything, they’d be exposed, and right now, they didn’t know if it was Granny Smith or Apple Bloom behind that stall door.

For Sunset, she didn’t know what the right course of action here was. Should she confront them about this? Should she just walk away and pretend that she didn’t see any of that? Yeah right, there was no way that image was going to leave her mind any time this century. Her relationship with Applejack was shaky right now, if they knew that she knew…

I’m fucked no matter what…

“It’s me…AJ, Big Mac,” Sunset slowly walked from behind the door, her hands were up as if surrendering herself. “…….it’s Sunset.”

Applejack quickly closed her shirt and closed her legs to preserve what amount of modesty she could. At the same time, Big Mac hurriedly grabbed his pants and underwear and put them on, turning his back to her as he did so.

Applejack looked like she was on the verge of tears, of all the people to have seen her and her brother like this, it just had to be Sunset Shimmer. The freckled face girl did the only thing she could in this desperate situation, she begged.

The farm girl tried to get up, but the moment she did the strength in her legs left her, a combination of the farm work and the intense sex she just had. Sunset rushed forward and caught Applejack before she could face plant, bringing the both of them to their knees on the floor.

“AJ, are you alright?!” Sunset asked with concern. The flame haired girl felt Applejack grip Sunset’s shoulders hard, and she was shaking. “AJ…?”

“Please…Ah’m beggin’ ya…” Applejack looked up and showed her face, which was now streaked with tears. “Please don’t tell anyone about this!”

“AJ…”

“Please, Sunset! Ah promise Ah’ll do whatever ya want, WE’LL do anythin’ ya want! Right Big Mac?!” Applejack asked in a frantic manner.

Big Mac just stood there, still stunned by this whole situation and unsure what he should do.

“Applejack sto –!”

“You can screw me if ya want! Or Mac, whichever ya want! I’ll do whatever ya want Sunset! Just…p-please…” Applejack buried her face into Sunset’s chest as she sobbed heavily. “Please don’t tell anyone…don’t tell the school…Ah don’t want to…Ah don’t want to lose my family…!”

Sunset made Applejack release her, she then wrapped her arms around Applejack, making the cowgirl gasp in surprise. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I swear to you, on my life, AJ, Mac, I won’t tell a soul about this. Look at me.”

Applejack was afraid to.

“Look at me, Applejack!”

The farm girl swallowed hard as she finally looked up into Sunset’s turquoise colored eyes.

“Look into my eyes, Applejack, tell me that I’m lying to you right now.”

Applejack looked into her eyes as if she was diving into Sunset’s very soul, trying to find any kind of hint that Sunset was being untruthful in this moment. They stayed like that for well over a minute before Applejack stopped shaking and released the tension in her body.

“Yer…Yer not lyin’…”

“No, I’m not,” said Sunset.

Applejack chuckled as she turned to Big Mac. “She’s tellin’ the truth…Mac, she ain’t goin’ to tell anyone…”

Just then, Applejack fell unconscious in Sunset’s arms.

“Applejack!” Big Mac exclaimed.

Hey, is she?!

}}} She is fine, overstimulation, in more ways than one. However, it is best to get her out of his cold. {{{

“Mac, help me get her dressed and we’ll take her back to the house.” Big Mac still looked hesitant. “Look just do what I say or do you want Applejack to get sick?!”

Big Mac sighed heavily as he nodded, both teens worked together to get Applejack dressed. Once she was, Sunset told Big Mac to let her do the talking about why she’s out like a light. Big Mac walked out first, with Sunset following behind him, Sunset gave one last look inside the barn and then to the two siblings.

What the hell did I stumble onto…?

Case File 4-2 (Midas): Revelation

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Shining Armor was called to yet another 303. This time this was not a particularly new one, although the victim was, the modus operandi wasn’t. The victim was a man in his late thirties, and he was…gold. Literally, he had been turned to gold.

Shining Armor was on the scene, along with Spearhead and Dr. Blueheart, the entire CSU team was already collecting evidence, but there wasn’t much to collect. The crime was done in the victim’s mansion, a spacious home with lots of rooms. He had no family, and was known to bring a few women home from time to time, a wealthy bachelor. The man was in the middle of his living room, no signs of forced entry, but the victim was there.

Shining Armor grimaced upon looking at the victim. He was frozen in a moment of pure terror, the fireplace was still burning and added an eerie glow to the glimmering metal for which he was encased in.

How did they know that it wasn’t just a statue? Because they had hooked up a heart monitor to the statue and found that there was a heartbeat inside of it. The truly horrible part about this was that each person they found was alive inside, but there was no way to free them.

Shining Armor walked up on the scene where Dr. Blueheart was already monitoring the victim, and Spearhead was right beside him.

“Midas again?” Shining asked.

“Yeah, the bastard got another one.”

Dr. Blueheart adjusted her glasses as she read the vital signs. “He’s definitely alive…for what it’s worth. His heartbeat is erratic, but that’s to be expected given his situation.”

Shining Armor grimaced as he laid eyes on the statue. “And you’re sure there’s no way to get him out?”

“Oh there’s plenty of ways, but they all result in our dear victim here dying instantly. Which is probably a mercy considering the alternative,” Dr. Blueheart answered.

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his head as he sighed heavily. “How many does this make it now?”

“Twenty, and counting. This is getting ridiculous,” said Spearhead.

Shining Armor never mentioned this to Sunset, but there were at least three different Mystery Murder killers that had been long standing since this all began. One of them was affectionately given the name “Midas”, for the supposed “Golden Touch”. No one knew how Midas was able to do this, but with the recent discovery of the Wendigos and their demonic power, it was more likely that this was part of their strange powers.

“Think it's time to have Witchblade take out another one,” said Spearhead.

Shining Armor didn’t want to admit it, but Spearhead was probably right. Up until now, Sunset has dealt with three Wendigo possessed people, two were recently changed, and one was active for a short time. It might be time to bring her up to speed. I thought these guys might go underground once people knew, but we might’ve just given them incentive to accelerate whatever plans they have, if any.

It was morning on the Apple Farm, and Sunset was staring up at the ceiling of the guest room she was in. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Applejack getting pounded on by Big Mac. Whenever she tried to concentrate on the silence, the sounds of their lustful lovemaking returned to her ears. And as if to add further insult to injury, she was aroused and it did not make for a good night’s sleep.

“I am never going to get that image out of my head,” said Sunset.

}}} I can tell you of far worse things, or show you. Would that help? {{{

“Oh no, compared to what I just saw, I don’t even want to imagine what eldritch horrors you’ve possibly witnessed. While I’m confident it would replace the current imagery in my mind, I’m more than certain it would drive me insane.”

}}} Fair point. {{{

The worst part of this was how she was going to face those two this morning. Applejack was always the straight shooter of their group, the most level headed, the voice of reason, and the most steadfast person Sunset had ever met aside from Princess Celestia. To think that she had been hiding a secret like this from them, it was unbelievable, or it would be if Sunset hadn’t just saw what she saw.

“How long have they been doing this for? That didn’t look like something that was spur of the moment, not the way they were holding each other after…so then…?”

*knock, knock*

Sunset groaned, the farm life meant that you woke up at the crack of dawn, or even before it, and it was still kind of dark outside. Not like Sunset could get back to sleep anyway. The former unicorn walked to her door and opened it, only to tense up when she saw who it was.

Applejack stood outside her door, her face was neutral, but her eyes told a different story. They were staring straight at her, watching her, taking in any detail that she could.

Sunset gulped, hard as she put on a nervous smile. “G-Good morning, AJ…”

“Mornin’.”

Sunset scratched the back of her head. “Y-You uh…feeling okay?”

“Ah am.”

Silence filled the air between them, the tension so thick that you could cut it with a blade. Sunset wasn’t sure what the right protocol here was. Should she address what she saw last night? Act like it never happened?……Take AJ up on that offer about joining them? Bad brain! This is no time for gutter thinking!

“We need to talk,” said Applejack.

“Oh, um, y-yeah…I guess…that is if you don’t want to, then that’s perfectly fine by me!” Sunset stated as she gave a thumbs up.

Applejack’s neutral expression didn’t change in the slightest. “Get dressed and head down fer some breakfast. After, Ah’ll take out Scarlet and we can go fer a ride.”

“S-Sounds great,” said Sunset with all due nervousness.

Applejack nodded and headed downstairs to help Granny Smith. Sunset closed the door and slumped against it as she released a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. Her heart thumped in her chest, that was more intense than the Wendigo battles thus far.

“Talk about a damn poker face! I couldn’t get a read on her at all!” Sunset exclaimed. “And what was that ‘goin’ for a ride’? Was that the country version of a mafia hit job?!”

}}} I sensed unease, but no hostility. Either way, you needn’t fear, so long as I am with you, there’s nothing she can do to harm you. {{{

“Thanks, but I really don’t want to have to raise my sword to a friend, even if it’s in self-defense…” Sunset ran her hand down her face and sighed heavily. “Guess I’ll go and face the music.”

Breakfast was…interesting, to say the least. With the two siblings’ incestuous relationship exposed, the dinner table was a little tense. Sunset mostly kept quiet unless asked a question by Granny Smith, but would just focus on her meal instead of making eye contact with Applejack or Big Mac. Applejack didn’t seem too out of the ordinary, she was carrying on a conversation with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, but every once in a while would glance in Sunset’s direction, and the flame haired girl could feel those emerald eyes upon her.

Big Macintosh was silent, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for him, but Sunset could definitely feel a strong aura of protection coming off of him. The eldest of the Apple kids, the biggest and strongest of them, he was their protector, the only male of this family, and you could see it in his actions and in his eyes that he’d do anything to protect his family. Sunset wasn’t a pushover, she was a good fighter, but if you asked anyone in the school who Sunset might have trouble beating up, it would be Applejack and Big Mac.

It wasn’t because they were trained in combat, they didn’t take any martial arts classes. To Sunset’s credit, neither did she, being self-taught, but they had greater endurance, stamina, and strength from years of working on their family farm. That kind of raw strength was dangerous, back in the day, Sunset had thought of different ways to fight them, her conclusions always came down to hitting them fast, hard, and in spots that would cause the maximum amount of pain in a short time. If she somehow got into a battle of endurance with them, it was no contest, Sunset would lose, and a couple of good blows from them would put anyone on their ass.

If Sunset didn’t have the Witchblade, yeah, she would be terrified, but right now she was just nervous. Applejack finished up first and headed out to the barn to get her horse. Sunset gulped again. After breakfast was had, Sunset headed outside where she saw Applejack saddling up her horse. Sunset found it funny how saddles were a fashion statement back in Equestria, but here they were things that people used to ride on top of other creatures.

“Hi,” Sunset awkwardly greeted.

Applejack nodded to Sunset, acknowledging her presence before going back to her black coated quarter horse. “You gonna be alright ridin’ atop Scarlet here? Ah know you were once a pony, but Ah wasn’t sure if this’d be uncomfortable fer ya.”

Sunset looked over the large, muscular mare. She did feel a bit uneasy, but considering the overall atmosphere, this was going to be uncomfortable no matter what.

“I’ll be fine, but I’ve never ridden before…” Sunset blushed as the scene from last night played in her mind. “A horse! I-I’ve never ridden a horse before!”

Applejack blushed and then cleared her throat. “Ah know what ya meant, and ya ain’t ridin’ another horse. You’ll be doublin’ up with me.”

“Greeeeaaaat…” So my only means of escape will be the horse, and since I don’t know how to ride or where the trails go...

}}} You seem to be forgetting about me. {{{

Sorry, but this is really nerve wracking right now!

Once Applejack was done with her preparations, she got up on Scarlet and hoisted Sunset to sit behind her. Sunset used her hands to hold onto the saddle from the back, but Applejack told her not to do that or she’d fly off and break her neck. Awkwardly, she wrapped her arms around Applejack’s waist, not unlike the way that Big Mac had last night.

Throughout the ride, Sunset was finding it hard to concentrate on where they were going, or where they have been. As was stated before, she found all her friends attractive, and that included Applejack. The image she saw last night didn’t help matters any, cause now she knew how Applejack looked in the throes of ecstasy. Sunset tried to distract herself by looking at the scenery, despite the trees being barren, their snow covered branches and landscape did make for a beautiful sight. Some of the trees were wrapped in some kind of specialized blankets, Sunset figured that these were some techniques that helped keep the trees as healthy as they could be to survive the winter. Every once in a while, Applejack would stop and take out her phone, marking certain points along the way.

“Why are you doing that?” Sunset asked.

“Some of the wrappins’ look like they’re comin’ undone, Ah’m markin’ the spots on meh GPS so that we can come back with some proper supplies to fix ‘em. See that?” Applejack pointed towards one of the trees.

Sunset noticed that some of the wrappings were coming undone.

“The wraps are a special blend of plant food that’s absorbed through the bark, and what falls off litters the ground and serves to nourish the roots. If they’re comin’ too loose we gotta tighten it up.”

Sunset nodded, and with her question answered, they continued. They rode for a few more minutes before they stopped near a creek, letting Scarlet get drink as the girls stretched their legs. Sunset noticed that the trees were thicker here, and that they might be deeper into their orchard, far enough away that none of the other Apple siblings or Granny Smith would be able to find them unless they knew exactly where she was.

The former Equestrian mare sighed as she turned to her friend. “I know you didn’t just bring me out here just to check on your trees.”

“……Yer right, Ah didn’t.”

Sunset a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Tell me, how long has this been going on?”

Applejack had her back to Sunset, but then turned around to face her. “About two years now.”

Sunset’s eyes widened, she didn’t think it was going on that long, but at the same time, she was kind of glad it wasn’t longer. “Okay…is Big Mac forcing you or…?”

Applejack looked insulted by that. “Big Mac ain’t forcin’ me do anythin’ Ah don’t want! Despite what you saw last night, he knows how to treat a woman!”

“Okay, okay, I wasn’t insulting him,” said Sunset as she held her hands up. “I guess my next question is, are you two in love?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, you are?”

“Ah meant yes to your no!”

Sunset blinked. “What?”

Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let me be clear. Big Mac and Ah are not in love with each other, we do love each other, but not in love. If anythin’, we’re…in lust.”

Sunset shook her head in confusion as she said, “Excuse me?”

“Ugh…we like havin’ sex with each other, but we don’t do it because we’re in love with other or nothin’…guess another way to say it is ‘Siblin’s with Benefits’?”

“You’re saying you two fuck…just for fun?!” Sunset asked with a twitching eye.

Applejack lowered her Stetson hat a little and said, “Yeah…pretty much. We mostly do what you saw last night to avoid gettin’ me pregnant, and if Ah’m honest Ah’ve kinda got a thing for takin’ it up the backdoor.”

“Give me a second.

Applejack watched as Sunset walked towards the creek that Scarlet was drinking from. Scarlet watched in confusion as Sunset knelt down beside her, and then dunked her face into the water for about a second before pulling back her face screaming, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT’S COLD!”

Scarlet looked to Applejack who awkwardly shrugged, and then looked back to the strange human and shrugged as well.

Sunset grabbed a towel from Applejack’s saddle bags and rubbed her face vigorously. “Okay…sorry, I needn’t to cool down a little.”

Applejack blinked as her cheeks tinted red. “Didn’t know we got ya so hot and bothered like that.”

“Never tell the girls this, but I find all five of you attractive, so you can imagine how ‘hot and bothered’ it makes me to have to hear what you just said, and then have a visual reference to it!”

This time it was Applejack’s turn to rub the back of her head nervously. “Sorry…”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for…just help me understand.” Sunset took another deep breath and asked, “Does Apple Bloom or Granny Smith know?”

“HELL NO!” Applejack yelled loud enough to startle Scarlet a little. “Sorry, girl. No, they don’t. Granny would have a heart attack, and Ah sure as hell don’t need Apple Bloom imitatin’ what we’re doin’! Much less askin’ to join us!”

Sunset nodded in agreement. “Is that why you were begging me last night not to tell anyone?”

Applejack hugged herself as she leaned up an apple tree. “When my parents died…the only ones around were me, Mac, AB, and Granny. Mac and Ah weren’t but eight years old when they died, and AB was four, when that happened the state wanted to put us in a group home or foster homes, they wanted to split up our family.”

Sunset’s brow furrowed upon hearing that. “Wait, why the hell would they do that?”

“Because Granny’s old, and they didn’t think that it was in our ‘best interests’ or Granny’s to saddle her with three kids. It ain’t a secret that Granny’s old and not that much of a spring chicken, couple that with runnin’ a farm, it didn’t exactly scream child friendly environment. But, we proved ‘em wrong, however, they gave us a warnin’. If anythin’ happened to us, they wouldn’t hesitate to investigate.”

“That’s bullshit, but now I get it. You were afraid that this would do more than humiliate you, this could tear apart your family. But, you and Mac are eighteen now, you’re legally adults,” said Sunset.

Applejack smiled sadly. “Don’t rightly matter, siblins’ screwin’ is against the law. Ah’d be fine if it would just only fall on me and Mac, but Apple Bloom’s only fourteen, she can still be taken away…and we can be thrown in jail. Then the farm would go and we’d lose all our business…”

Tears started to form in Applejack’s eyes as she started to think of all the worst case scenarios at once. Sunset quickly approached Applejack and brought her in for a hug. “Shh, shh, it’s alright.”

“Ah’m so damn stupid, both of us are! We’re riskin’ destoryin’ our family just so we can get off! Mac’s got a girlfriend for god’s sake…”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Wait, he does? I didn’t know that.”

Applejack nodded. “Her name’s Sugar Belle, she goes to a different school but we make deliveries to her parents’ bakery.”

Ooh, there are going to be a lot of broken hearts at CHS.

“You thought I’d post it as Anon-A-Miss…?”

Applejack sighed heavily as she separated herself. “Honestly, Sunset, after what Ah saw you do for Rarity up there, sportin’ her dress, and then protectin’ her from that monster…it’s been like a bee in mah hat that won’t stop buzzin’. The things Anon-A-Miss does, and the things yer doin’ are in total contrast…”

Sunset reached into her jacket pocket and produced her cellphone, holding to Applejack. “Check my phone.”

“What?”

“I don’t want you to have any doubts. Look through it and make sure that I didn’t record anything. Because, if I can be frank, I was too shocked out of my mind to even think about it. But, if you want some peace of mind, go ahead,” said Sunset.

Applejack looked at the phone and then to Sunset. Slowly she began to reach for it, but stopped midway. The cowgirl then pushed the phone away and said, “Ah believe ya…Ah wanna start believin’ in you again.”

“Thanks, Applejack.”

The two teen girls made their way back to the home, as they exited the orchard, they watched as a car came up the driveway. The moment Applejack laid eyes on it, her hands gripped the reins hard, and her jaw tightened.

}}} Now I sense hostility. Surprisingly, not directed at you, for once. {{{

“AJ, what’s wrong?” Sunset asked.

“That car belongs to a couple of the worst swindlers in the city, and at this point are just askin’ fer a country ass whoopin’,” said Applejack in a stern voice. “Hiya!”

Scarlet neighed as she broke into a gallop, Applejack’s steed stopped in front of their house as the car stopped in the driveway and its passengers walked out. Both were men, who looked to be in their late thirties. The first was clean cut, and wore a jacket that had blue and white stripes, his hair was red and white, with jade green eyes, and had smoothly combed hair. The second, a twin brother, possessed a handlebar mustache, and his hair was done in a neat, yet shaggy state.

“Flam,” Applejack addressed the twin with the mustache, “Flim,” and then addressed the one without facial hair, “What the hell are y’all doin’ on our property?”

“Oh-ho-ho, little miss Apple, we’re here on business of course!” Flim stated happily.

“Indubitably, we’re here to offer you all a sweetheart of a deal,” said Flam.

“Not interested,” Applejack hopped off of Scarlet. Sunset did the same, to which Applejack handed the reins over to Sunset. “Ah’m gonna ask nicely this one time. Kindly get off our property.”

Flim and Flam chuckled, mockingly, at Applejack.

“Ah, that’s cute, but you’re not the boss,” said Flim.

“Unless Granny Smith is otherwise incapacitated, in which case maybe we are talking to the boss? You’re certainly the most level headed of your family,” said Flam.

Scarlet snorted, obviously agitated by these two men, and Sunset understood the sentiment. She didn’t know these guys, but Sunset already figured out these guys were no good, she had seen plenty of their type before. A couple of fast talking, crooked salesmen, before she was taken in by Celestia (the human one) she had seen guys like him on the streets, looking to use people, con them, whatever they could do make money off of someone else or to get what they wanted from someone.

“Granny’s just fine, Ah don’t know why ya want our land so much, but –!”

“Then allow us to enlighten you!” Flim and Flam said in unison.

Flam appeared on Applejack’s right side and said, “You young miss, you’re land has something that not many around here can lay claim to!”

“And that would be history, rich history my dear!” Flim added as he appeared on Applejack’s left. “You family’s been doing business with the city for years, and we thought it’s time to expand your horizons! Modernize and innovate!”

The twin brothers zipped from either side of Applejack and then appeared in front of her. Flim brought out his cellphone and showed a few images of Sweet Apple Acres, but drawn up differently. The rustic visage of the farm was gone, replaced by warehouses and factories that would, more than likely, produce more of the Apple Family’s products at a much faster rate than anything they currently could produce.

“With our resources and your product, we’ll all stand to make a large amount of money,” said Flim.

“Flim & Flam Inc. and Sweet Apple Acres, working together to take the city by storm,” said Flam.

Applejack crossed her arms in front of her chest as she glared at them. “And lose the thing that makes this farm what it is? The people of this city trust our product because they know we take care of our trees and take our time to ensure all our products are of the highest quality. That comes from experience and hard work, tradition, it’s kept us in good stadin’ this long, it’ll keep us goin’ in the future.”

Flim and Flam looked at each other and then back to Applejack, their expressions changing from one of charming salesmen to scheming ones.

“Surely you don’t want to do this for the rest of your life?” Flam asked.

“Caring and tending to this farm? Chained to this place until you’re as old as your grandmother? Not exactly an ideal future,” said Flim.

Applejack flinched ever so slightly, but it was enough for the two brothers to see that they had found a chink in the armor.

“C’mon, Applejack, surely you want to branch out – no pun intended – and do more than just work day in and day out on this farm. No time to pursue your own dreams,” said Flim.

“No time to find love, a lover, or even see the world? What kind of future is that? If you signed up with us, you can just sit back and let the money flow into your bank account. You can go anywhere you want, any college, any university, hell, you can even take off a year and go see the world!” Flam stated.

The two brothers stepped a bit closer and said together, “And think about your little sister, do you really want this to be her life when she gets old enough?”

Sunset had had enough, the former unicorn strode over to the pair of con men and put herself between them and Applejack, taking a few aggressive steps forward to make them back away from Applejack.

“I think you guys need to get your ears checked, she said no deal, no selling, no nothing,” said Sunset.

Flim and Flam looked upon Sunset, giving her a scrutinizing glare. “And you are?” they asked.

“Someone who’ll kick you off this property if you don’t,” Sunset warned.

Flam looked over Sunset’s shoulder and directly at Applejack. “Does she speak for you?”

Applejack was about to answer that, but the door to the house opened up and revealed Granny Smith. “If it had anything to do with gettin’ ya two varmints off our property, then yes she does!”

Scarlet came around to Sunset’s side and snorted, stomping her front hooves as she gave her own warning to the twin brothers to leave the farm. Flim and Flam assessed the situation and decided that it wasn’t wise to provoke this girl, she had the look of someone who had no qualms with beating up another person, adult or not.

“Very well, but we’ll be back,” said Flam with a charming smile.

“Ta-ta, Apples,” said Flim.

The twin brothers entered their car and took their exit of Sweet Apple Acres.

Granny Smith came walking down the porch and released a few curses, some Sunset knew, and others that were more country based, but more or less meant the same thing. “Every time they come ‘round my blood pressure goes up, Ah’m goin’ to go feed the pigs!”

Both girls watched as Granny Smith walked off, still grumbling the whole way. Sunset and Applejack walked Scarlet back into the barn and back into her stall. The flame haired girl found an apple and held it to the black horse , Scarlet took the apple and began munching on it happily while Sunset petted the side of her head, happy to have the backup. While these creatures weren’t like ponies, they were still able to sense feelings and understand them.

Sunset took a moment to regard Applejack and asked, “You alright, AJ?”

“Ah’m such a fool…the moment they talked about meh future and Bloom’s…Ah faltered, and they saw it…” Applejack admitted.

Sunset shook her head. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, guys like that know how to get under your skin, that’s what they did.”

“It’s not like they were wrong, sometimes Ah have thought about takin’ off and goin’ places,” said Applejack. “And Ah do worry for Apple Bloom, Mac and Ah can take care of the farm well enough on our own, but Ah want Bloom to do better than us.”

Sunset smiled and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder in comfort. “That’s not a bad thing either, thinking of your little sister’s future is the sign of a good big sister, however, you don’t have to rely on people like that. Trust me, in the end, all they want is what you have.”

Applejack smiled and wrapped her arm around Sunset’s shoulders. “Ah’m glad you were here, Sunset, and Ah’m sorry you…you saw what you saw.”

Sunset tried to shrug it off, but the blush on her face was prevalent. “Don’t worry about it………by any chance can I see you without your clothes again?”

Applejack moved her arm from Sunset’s shoulders to around her neck, she then hooked it around and began to squeeze ever so slightly. “Now Ah know Ah offered to do things in the heat of the moment, but Ah know a good friend like you wouldn’t ever ask her friend to strip in front of her, right?”

Sunset tapped against Applejack’s arm quickly as she said, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Bad joke, bad joke!” Applejack released Sunset as she took in a few gulps of air, but it was in that moment that Sunset realized what she said. “Good friend, huh?”

“Did Ah stutter?” Applejack walked towards the barn door and smirked at Sunset. “C’mon, we got work to do.”

Sunset smiled happily, somehow, she had made up with Applejack. With a wide grin on her face, Sunset caught up to Applejack and the two teens walked out of the barn, unfortunately, neither one of them noticed how Apple Bloom was watching them from the window of her bedroom, seeing her big sister and the girl who once caused them and others torment acting all friendly. It made her angry.

It was late at night when Apple Bloom awoke, about midnight to be exact. During dinner, the tension between her big sister, big brother, and Sunset seemed to have vanished, they were even cracking jokes and laughing like Anon-A-Miss never happened. Hell, even Granny Smith was chummy with her.

“It won’t mean nothin’ if our sisters like her again!” Apple Bloom muttered in the darkness. “There’s gotta be somethin’ Ah can do…?”

The trio had uploaded that post about Sunset using Pinkie Pie as her information gatherer, hoping that would drive a wedge between Pinkie and Sunset, and more effectively turn the rest their sisters against Sunset. But somehow that had the opposite effect, according to Sweetie Belle, Rarity didn’t seem to care about what was written, although she was more worried about what everyone else would do to Pinkie Pie.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Pinkie Pie hadn’t distanced herself from Sunset at all, in fact, all last week Sunset would walk Pinkie to her classes, acting like a bodyguard for the girl. From what Scootaloo told her, Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated, but she didn’t buy into that post as much as they had hoped.

Apple Bloom had to admit, she did feel bad about that one more than the others. Pinkie Pie was hyper and random, but she did it all for the sake of making someone happy. The thought of the students going after Pinkie like how they did Sunset made her worried for Pinkie’s safety. But, in the inverse, she was glad that Sunset was acting like Pinkie’s bodyguard, at least with her around, people were less likely to attack Pinkie if they knew that Sunset would come down on them like white on rice, in a paper plate, in a glass of milk, in a snowstorm.

The young teen tossed and turned in her bed, they needed something, anything to help break this weird bond or control Sunset had over their sisters.

“Well lyin’ here ain’t goin’ to get much done,” said Apple Bloom.

The young redhead threw off her blankets and took her cellphone, hoping that maybe she could capture something, or anything for that matter. The youngest Apple girl carefully made her way down the hall, creeping ever so quietly. Granny Smith slept downstairs, which left the three siblings to take the upstairs rooms, which meant that they were mostly alone up there.

Apple Bloom was going to make her way to Sunset’s room, which was at the other end of the all. However, as she crept, she stopped in front of her brother’s room. She could hear noises, which was weird because Big Mac wasn’t a snorer, but these weren’t snoring sounds, more like…grunting.

“Weird…”

Apple Bloom was about to keep going, until she heard another voice.

“That’s right…more…aahh~”

Apple Bloom froze in place, she couldn’t make out the second voice too well, but it was definitely female, and it most definitely sounded like that female voice was moaning. Apple Bloom blushed as red as one of their Apples, was her big brother…doing the dirty with…Sunset?

No…No, it can’t be. T-There’s no way that Big Mac would…*gulp*…Bang Sunset Shimmer of all people! He’s datin’ Sugar Belle for cryin’ out loud!

Apple Bloom turned towards her big brother’s door, part of her was afraid of what she’d see behind that door as she reached for the doorknob, but…at the same time, maybe this was a good thing? She didn’t want to think of her sibling as a cheater, but if Sunset forced Mac into it, then she could use this as evidence to her sister and their friends that Sunset Shimmer was truly a she-demon.

With a bit of reluctance, Apple Bloom switched to the camera app on her phone, making sure that the light was turned off as she steeled herself for what she was about to see. Seeing her brother and Sunset naked wasn’t going to be pleasant, but it had to be done.

Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom slowly twisted the knob, with great care she cracked the door open, little by little to allow herself some room to look inside without being noticed. When Apple Bloom finally got to look inside, what she thought she was going to see would’ve been far more preferable to what she was currently seeing.

The dim light of the moon reflected off the snow covered fields outside, giving off just enough illumination so that the eye could make out details, as well as Apple Bloom’s camera.

Big Mac had his hands on Applejack’s bare hips, her hair was completely undone, allowing her golden locks to drape over her shoulders. The cowgirl looked down at her older brother, feeling his girth inside her womanhood.

And yes, he was wearing a condom, they might be a couple of horny teens, but they weren’t stupid……well, depending on your point of view that is.

Applejack slowly raised her hips up and down, letting her big brother enjoy the pleasure she was giving him, and the pleasure she was receiving. She knew this was wrong, both of them did, for a brother and sister to be as one like this. At one point they did feel shame over their unions, but over time they stopped caring about how wrong it was and how good it felt.

Big Mac looked up at Applejack’s face, her body was beautiful, her breasts perky, round and voluminous as they bounced with each movement. The way her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her lean, muscular form, reminded him of the Amazons of myth. Did he love his little sister? Yes, with all his heart. But Big Mac made sure not to associate it with romance, no, this was lust, and that was all, and it was in these moments of lust that he could see just how captivating his little sister was, especially when she had her eyes closed and had an expression of pure rapture.

Applejack ramped up her hip movement, piston-ing herself up and down his impressive length. She leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of her brother’s head as she looked down at him. Applejack had practiced to make sure her voice didn’t slip, but dammit if this didn’t feel too good not to. The middle Apple took a moment to admire her brother’s physique, broad, muscular shoulders, large pics and abs sculpted from years of working on the farm since childhood, and of course, Big Mac’s impressive member, a whole eight inches of made to completely fill her most intimate spot and stretch it to its near breaking point.

The Apple girl loved her big brother, he was protective of her, and she him, and both of them were like that towards Apple Bloom. They were all each other had, the stress of their parents dying, looming fear of the Child Services looking to take them away, and the daunting task of keeping the farm going on their own. Applejack believed this is what pushed them into doing this, the stress of it all, they needed something to relieve it, and what was once stress relieve became something that they just enjoyed doing together.

Big Mac was thrusting his hips upwards in rhythm with Applejack’s movement’s, making the blonde cowgirl pant and release small moans.

“Are ya…getting’ close, AJ?” Big Mac asked.

“Y-Yes, so close…!” Applejack answered.

With that said, Big Mac lifted Applejack up with ease, making Applejack release a cute squeal. Big Mac quickly, and a bit roughly, threw his sister onto the bed. Applejack landed on her back, bouncing a couple of times before finally settling.

Big Mac, phallus glistening with the juices of his sister’s cunt, hurriedly pounced on top of her, and gave her a deep kiss. She fought back a little, trying to push him off, but the whole time she was smiling. It was all part of their play, Applejack didn’t like to make it too easy to be dominated, she wanted him to work for it, a bit of playful sibling fighting.

Big Mac knew all of this, and it only made the end result all the better. The two of them grunted as Applejack broke the kiss and tried to reverse their positions, again, but Big Mac would always force Applejack back to her position. With each failed attempt, her efforts lessened as she slowly started to give into him.

Big Mac managed force Applejack’s legs open and swiftly penetrated her tight pussy yet again. Applejack stiffened up, no matter how many times they did this, every time he thrust into her was enough to make her pass out, but Applejack wasn’t about to admit that to his face. But with that move, it was over, Big Mac grabbed both of her wrist, holding them firm in his large hands as he pinned them over Applejack’s head.

Both sibling’s smirked as Big Mac began to fuck Applejack in earnest now, the bed creaking with each powerful thrust into her wanton womanhood.

While this was going on, Apple Bloom kept recording, her mind had seized up and her mouth hung open. Her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks as her mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Although, it would be more accurate to say that she was trying not to believe it. After all this couldn’t really be happening right? This had to be a dream, just a sick, sick dream brought on by her teen hormones and Scootaloo cracking some joke about how hot Rarity was, and Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and at some weird point, both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but that’s all this was right? Right?

“Oh Mac…!”

“AJ, Ah’m gonna…!”

“Do it! Blow it inside meh big brother!” Applejack nearly shouted.

Big Mac’s thrusts were becoming stronger and faster, he released Applejack’s wrists so that she could hold onto him, at the same time, her legs wrapped around his waist, anchoring him to her. Both siblings were close, and after two more strong thrusts, Big Mac cummed hard into the condom. Applejack bit her lip to keep from screaming out her orgasm as she felt the condom swell up with her brother’s hot seed, pushing her further over the edge as she sprayed her juices out profusely onto his bed sheets.

Applejack and Big Mac panted heavily, sweaty and satisfied from their forbidden activity. Big Mac kissed his sister’s forehead before slowly pulling out of her. Applejack reached down and pinched off the end of the condom, when she pulled there was a low popping sound as the condom was pulled out.

The middle Apple child looked at the spoils of her brother’s balls and gave a low whistle at how heavy it was. “Damn, Mac, if this was in me, you woulda flooded my oven. Was it that good tonight?”

Big Mac rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, but then he smirked when he looked down at the mess Applejack caused. “Don’t think ya have the right to say that when ya made this kinda mess.”

Applejack sat up a little, just enough to see what Big Mac was talking about. The cowgirl blushed when she saw the large wet spot that she had made on Big Mac’s bedsheets, she then fell back on her back and tossed part of the evidence of their activities into the trash can. Big Mac lay next to her, the younger sibling cuddling up next to him as they basked in the afterglow.

Apple Bloom was shaking now, having seen her siblings finish committing their act of incest. The youngest of the Apple siblings slowly closed the door, taking great care not to make them aware of her presence. Once the door was closed, Apple Bloom rushed as quickly and quietly as she could towards the bathroom.

Apple Bloom locked the door, opened the lid, and started retching into the porcelain throne. Again, and again she heaved out the contents of her stomach, the image of her older brother and sister having sex was burned into her mind’s eye, never had she wished so hard that “brain bleach” actually existed.

The young teen panted as she wiped her mouth, letting up against the bathtub as she flushed most of her dinner down the toilet. What was worse, she had proof of it, video evidence of her brother and sister screwing each other. There was no scenario that she could think of that would make this better if it was Mac forcing Applejack, or vice versa, neither one was a good alternative. However, there was no forcing, despite how rough it looked, she could clearly see it, both in person and on the footage, they were enjoying it, both of them.

Apple Bloom placed her face into her hands as she said, “Oh god…Oh god what did Ah just see?! Ah…Ah need to tell someone – tell Granny!”

No, if Ah do, she might send one or both of ‘em away! A-Ah don’ t understand what’s goin’ on, but Ah know Ah don’t want that! She might call the police and send ‘em sent to jail!

“Okay…Okay…uuuuhhhh, confront them? Y-Yeah, just talk to ‘em about it?”

But what if they get angry that you saw what you saw? They might…might d-do somethin’ to me…maybe even…

Apple Bloom shook her head, no, no she would not, could not let her mind go down that line of thinking. She knew her big brother and sister loved her very much, and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. But this was different, she just caught them doing something that wasn’t only just plain wrong, but also illegal. And dammit all, if anyone found out about she’d never hear the end of it, none of them would.

How many times had Apple Bloom bopped someone in the face for making some sick joke that the siblings were hick lovers, that they were inbreeding with each other, and other such stereotypical crap? And now her two oldest siblings just made all of that true.

However…there was a light, a dark light. Apple Bloom regarded her phone, within this device lied the recording of siblings’ sinful act. Sunset Shimmer was here, in their house, and as far as anyone was concerned, many at CHS believed she was Anon-A-Miss. If…If she uploaded this video, if she put it on the Anon-A-Miss page…then this would do it. This would end Sunset Shimmer. Whatever blind trust her sister and the others would be shattered, and there was no doubt in Apple Bloom’s head that Applejack might just kill Sunset if that happened.

But this was a double edged sword, if she put this up, then her family would be ruined. The hate towards Sunset wouldn’t be nearly enough to justify using this footage. Apple Bloom brought up the thumbnail of the video file, her mind at war with her fear, hate, and jealousy off Sunset Shimmer. This one file could both bring down the former Queen Bee of CHS, and tear apart Apple Bloom’s family, this file was a nuclear bomb and would bring about mutually assured destruction.

Without thinking, her thumb hit the thumbnail and opened the file. The video played and the events of a moment ago were replayed in front of Apple Bloom again. The young girl wanted to hurl again, but only managed to dry heave. She quickly closed it and was about to delete it, that is until she received a video call.

“W-What the hell does she want this late? Ah’m so not in the mood right now,” said Apple Bloom.

The young Apple accepted the call, once again the video feed showed a dark room, with a silhouette of their mysterious benefactor just barely visible. {Good evening, Apple Bloom.}

“Listen, it’s late and ain’t got time to talk, can’t it just wait until tomorrow or somethin’,” she asked.

{Oh no-no-no, we have to address this now while it’s still fresh and raw in your mind.}

“What?”

{You have something good on your phone, don’t you? Perhaps something dirty? Something…incest related?}

Apple Bloom nearly dropped the phone, her eyes practically bulged out of her skull when she heard this mystery person say that. “W-What?! H-How did you know?!”

{Trust me, you don’t want to know how. But the important thing is, I do know, and you have something that can very easily help us completely vilify Sunset Shimmer. All you have to do is upload that to our page.}

“If ya know what it is, then ya know why Ah can’t! It’ll destroy my family!” Apple Bloom stated.

{Haven’t your brother and sister done that already? The very thing they are doing is destroying your family, and who knows how long it’s been going on. You can’t risk going to them, what if they try to silence you? Or worse, try to bring you into their illicit activities.}

For a brief moment, her overactive imagination managed to construct a scenario where she was tied up by her two siblings, both with lecherous and devious looks in their eyes as their hands descended upon her. Apple Bloom shook that image out of her head.

“They’d never do that to me! A-A-Ah can’t do this…”

{Listen, this would be for the greater good, and for the health of your family. But we don’t have to do anything right now, sleep on it, and discuss it with the girls. Till then, goodnight.}

Apple Bloom’s arm fell onto her lap, she then brought her legs to her chest and hugged them close to her chest. She didn’t know what the right thing to do was, one thing was for sure, sleep would elude the young Apple this night.

Case File 4-3 (Midas): Decisions

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Sunset found that morning to be interesting. It was the start of another school week, and since she was still at Applejack’s home, they needed to get up early in order to make it to school on time, that and Granny needed to get there early to help with the breakfast rush.

The interesting thing that happened this morning was when she went to the bathroom and found Apple Bloom sitting against the tub, she looked like she had slept there the entire night. With concern, Sunset slowly approached the youngest Apple child and knelt beside her.

“Apple Bloom, hey, are you okay?” Sunset asked as she lightly shook the young teen.

Apple Bloom stirred awake; she blinked a few times before realizing that she wasn’t in her room. “What the…” She turned to her right and saw Sunset Shimmer beside her. “Sunset?! What are you doin’ in here?!”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, I came in here and found you sitting up against the tub, are you alright?”

“Ah…” Just then, memories of last night’s events replayed in Apple Bloom’s mind again, the weight of the decision that rested on her shoulders, and the evidence that laid within her cellphone.

It all came rushing back to her, and with it all the anxiety and fear that came with it. Without a word, Apple Bloom scrambled to the toilet and once again found herself praying to the porcelain god. Sunset winced upon hearing the heaving sound she was making, but she quickly pushed down her own queasiness and hurried to Apple Bloom’s side.

The former unicorn took ahold of Apple Bloom’s long red hair, keeping it away from the toilet and her mouth as fourteen-year-old emptied her stomach for the second time. Once she was done, Sunset helped Apple Bloom lie back against the tub again, this time more concerned than ever.

“Apple Bloom, what was all that about?! Are you sick?!” Sunset asked.

Apple Bloom glanced at Sunset, she hated that look on her face. That look of concern and of caring was in such contrast with the image of the girl she had known to be a mean spirited person, who tormented not only the high school kids but even the middle school kids as well.

She knew this girl beside her defeated the Sirens along with her sister and their friends, but how does that undo years’ worth of torment and pain? She helped save the world once, and so now they were supposed to forgive her? Were they supposed to believe that someone like that could mend their ways so quickly?

Right now though, Apple Bloom was too weak from two throw up sessions to care. She just wanted someone to care about her. “Y-Yeah…kinda…”

“I’ll go and grab Applejack and then Granny, you can’t go to school after that,” said Sunset as she readied to head down the stairs.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened upon hearing her big sister’s name, and with what strength she had, grabbed ahold of Sunset’s sleeve and held it tight as she pleaded, “NO, DON’T!”

Sunset was stunned by how Apple Bloom had said that, and the look in her eyes, it was as if she was afraid. “But, Apple Bloom, if you’re sick–”

“Ah’m fine! I just felt a little queasy is all, just please don’t tell my sis or bro, not even Granny! Please?!”

Sunset didn’t like this, something was clearly wrong with Apple Bloom. “Okay, but first, I need you to let me check something before I agree to that.”

Apple Bloom tensed, her eyes briefly flashing to her cellphone that was still on the floor and then back to Sunset. “W-What?”

“I want to check and see if you have a fever, is that okay?”

Apple Bloom released a small sigh of relief. “Y-Yeah, that’s okay.”

Sunset placed her right hand against Apple Bloom’s forehead, while placing her left hand against her own forehead. So, what do you think, is there anything you can do?

}}} There isn’t anything wrong with her, physically that is. Whatever made her the way she was is most likely psychological in nature. {{{

I see…well…at least that’s somewhat good.

Sunset removed her hands and nodded to Apple Bloom. “Okay, I won’t say a word.” Apple Bloom was about to leave the room but then Sunset called out to her. “AB, wait up!”

Apple Bloom wanted to growl, but her throat hurt. “What?”

Sunset bent down and picked up Apple Bloom’s cellphone. “You forgot this.”

Apple Bloom nearly had a heart attack, how in the world could she leave that behind, especially with what was on it. If Sunset saw it, that was it, game over, not just for her family, but for Anon-A-Miss too.

“Oh, t-thanks,” said Apple Bloom with a nervous tone in her voice.

Sunset let Apple Bloom grip her phone, but she didn’t let it go just yet. “Hey, I know we’re not on the best of terms, and I know you don’t have any reason to trust me. But, I just want you to know, you can talk to me, AB.”

Apple Bloom’s heart stung for some reason. “T-Thanks…” She then took the phone back and headed to her room.

Sunset watched the young teen leave the bathroom, her mind still wondering why she was like that. It continued to bother Sunset all throughout the time she was getting ready. After washing up and getting dressed, everyone began to file out of their rooms, and the moment that Applejack went to pat her little sister on the back, Apple Bloom flinched and backed away as if Applejack was going to stab her.

Apple Bloom played it off and Applejack wasn’t concerned, but Sunset was as the stark realization hit her. Shit…Oh shit…She knows!

The day was miserable as far as Apple Bloom was concerned. She couldn’t concentrate on the lessons her teachers were giving, no, all of that was background noise. How was she supposed to think about something as ridiculous as Algebra, or when in the hell would she need that on the farm? No, there were bigger things to worry about, mainly that her big brother and sister were screwing each other, and the evidence was on her phone.

Depending on your point of view, it didn’t take long before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo noticed that Apple Bloom was distracted, and looked really gloomy, “Apple Gloom” as Scootaloo joked. Normally that would make Apple Bloom give her a punch to the shoulder, but she didn’t.

During one of their passing periods, Scootaloo asked, “Okay, what the hell is up with you, Bloom?! You’ve been distracted and looking depressed as all hell, and it’s honestly starting to worry me.”

Apple Bloom remained silent.

Sweetie Belle placed her hand on Apple Bloom’s shoulder, trying to offer some comfort. “Apple Bloom we’re your friends, you can tell us anything, we’re here for you.”

“This…” Apple Bloom relented. “This is somethin’ that’s way too bad fer me to tell you girls…”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged concerned looks, that answer did not ease their worries, if anything it just made them worse.

“Did…Did your family find out about us and that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “No, not that. Somethin’…worse than that…Somethin’ that that Shadow Gal thinks I should do to bury Sunset.”

The other two girls gulped.

“S-She’s not asking you to…” Scootaloo made a motion with her left index finger, running it across her neck as if slitting her throat.

“No, no, nothin’ like that!”

Thank god, Sweetie and Scootaloo thought at the same time.

“Then what is it? If she’s not asking you to do that, then what is it?” Sweetie asked.

Apple Bloom debated telling them all morning. It wasn’t like she was condoning it or anything, but she wasn’t sure how they’d react. Sweetie Belle only had a big sister, but it was possible she could understand her discomfort with this. Scootaloo…Apple Bloom loved Scootaloo like a sister, just like Sweetie Belle, but sometimes, she could do and say the most perverted things that honestly made her wonder about her moral compass.

She knew for a fact that Scootaloo had a thing for both girl-on-girl porn and brother-on-sister porn, add to the fact that she would on occasion make some comment about how she found Rarity or Applejack hot.

Ah swear, she’s spendin’ too much time around Rainbow Dash, thought Apple Bloom.

Still, despite that, Apple Bloom was certain that even she could sympathize with her trauma. Written word and videos were fiction, this was real life, and this was happening under Apple Bloom’s own roof, surely she could push aside her inner pervert and see how much this upset her, right?

The redhead took a calming breath and was about to speak, but was beaten to the punch.

“Apple Bloom.”

All three girls turned around and froze, standing right behind them was Sunset Shimmer. Their minds went into panic mode then and there.

Scootaloo reacted first as she put herself between Sunset and her friends. The spikey haired girl knew she had a snowball’s chance in hell of protecting her friends from Sunset should she attack them, but she was hoping that she could at the very least serve as a human shield for a few minutes.

“W-What do you want?!” Scootaloo asked with a trembling voice.

“Hey, hey, easy girls,” said Sunset calmly. “I just want to talk to Apple Bloom privately.”

“Like hell you are! I’ve seen this movie before, you get her alone, and you hurt her and leave her for dead or something!” Scootaloo accused.

Sunset’s left eye twitched. “First, what the hell kind of movies are you watching? Second, no, I have no intentions of hurting anyone. I just think that…what I want to talk about is something sensitive enough that it’s best that only we speak about it.”

Apple Bloom was steadily coming to the horrifying realization that maybe Sunset knew what was going on with her, and if she did, then this really wasn’t the place to talk about.

“It’s alright…Ah’ll go with her.” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom as if she grew a second head.

“Are you insane?! This is Sunset Shimmer here?!”

“Wow, standing right here ya know,” Sunset murmured.

“Bloom, you don’t have to do that, we can walk away,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Ah said it’ll be alright! She won’t do anythin’, will ya?” Apple Bloom asked as if daring her.

“I won’t, swear on Faust herself,” said Sunset.

“Faust who?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It’s an Equestria thing…”

Apple Bloom shrugged and began walking with Sunset, much to her friends’ protests. Sunset and Apple Bloom began walking down the hall, heading to a restroom that was seldom used at this hour. Once inside, Sunset turned around and showed Sunset her cellphone, on it the numbers “911” were dialed in.

“Try somethin’ and Ah swear Ah’ll push the call button and run like the wind outta here, understand?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I got it.”

“So…w-what is do ya think Ah know?” Apple Bloom dreaded what the answer was.

“I watched you this morning, you were acting like Applejack was a leper or something, then I found you in the bathroom and you threw up not long after that. I really hope I’m wrong, but…did you see something, Apple Bloom? Something so bad that it’s made you afraid of your sister?”

“N-No, Ah didn’t see anythin’!”

“Ah, so you didn’t see Mac and AJ in bed together?” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as her stomach became queasy again. That was all the confirmation that Sunset needed. “I did too.”

“Wait, ‘too’?! When did you see that?! And they’ve done this before?!” Apple Bloom asked frantically.

“Yes…it was Saturday night…Apple Bloom, you don’t have to be afraid of them, they aren’t bad,” said Sunset.

“Ah don’t know what Ah’m supposed to believe right now! Ah just saw my two older siblin’s doin’ the dirty in our house!…”

Sunset approached Apple Bloom, but the young teen raised her cellphone up as if it was a holy cross to keep Sunset away. The flame haired girl stopped where she was, not wanting to provoke her.

“Apple Bloom, I don’t want to speak for AJ, but you should talk to them, she explained it to me, and while I find it a little weird– ”

Apple Bloom glared at Sunset. “A little weird?! There ain’t nothin’ ‘little’ about this! This is my own brother and sister! They’re…They’re screwin’ each other! How long will it be before they ask ME to do things like that?!’

Sunset narrowed her brow at that accusation. “They would never do that Apple Bloom, they love you too much to do something like! If there’s anything you can believe, believe in that! If you didn’t, then you would’ve said something already!”

Apple Bloom felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out. The moral obligation was to tell an adult, to tell her grandmother about what her siblings were doing, and maybe get them some help to stop. But the other part of her, the part that still loved them, was telling her not to, because there was a good chance that her family would be broken apart, Mac and Applejack might get sent to jail, even Apple Bloom knew that what they were doing was illegal, even if they were eighteen and legally adults.

Then…there was the darker side, the side of her that disliked the girl before her, the girl who was trying to defend her big brother and sister’s actions, she looked upon her with eyes that were kind, and yet she had no idea what Apple Bloom, her friends, and their shadow, were doing to her behind her back. Guilt was rising, and now Apple Bloom had no idea what to believe.

Sunset could sense the turmoil in Apple Bloom, and unfortunately, with how skittish she was around her, anything Sunset said wouldn’t be enough to convince Apple Bloom of anything. “Look, all I can tell you to do is think calmly and rationally. And I urge you to just talk to Applejack about this before you do or say anything.”

Apple Bloom just stood there as she began to walk away, but the redhead then said, “Wait.” Sunset halted. “You’ve known sense Saturday…and ya haven’t said a thing…why?”

Sunset balled her fist, but answered anyway. “Because…AJ’s my friend. All I have here, are the girls, and Principal Celestia. They’re my family now…I’ll help my family, and I want to believe in my family.”

Apple Bloom was glad that her back was to Sunset, because she didn’t want to let her see how much those words stung her in the heart. Sunset continued walking until she left the girl’s room. When she did, Sunset noticed that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were hiding – poorly – just around the corner.

“You guys might want to go in there, Apple Bloom needs you,” said Sunset.

Before either of the girls could ask why, Sunset walked down the opposite way and disappeared around the corner. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo rushed into the bathroom and saw that Apple Bloom was sitting on the floor, tears in her eyes as she cried silently.

“Apple Bloom, what’s wrong, what did she do?!” Scootaloo asked.

“She didn’t do nothin’…”

“Bullshit! You’re crying!” Scootaloo stated.

“It’s somethin’ else, Ah promise it wasn’t her…”

Sweetie Belle put her hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder and gave her a look that said to not push it any further. The curly haired girl sat beside Apple Bloom and wrapped her arm around her in a half hug. Apple Bloom leaned into that hug and continued to cry. Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head and then sat down on Apple Bloom’s left, putting her arm over her shoulders.

Apple Bloom was starting to understand what she meant by friends as family, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were like sisters to her, even now, they were sitting with her in this restroom, comforting her. Still, this didn’t ease the turmoil in her heart, Apple Bloom still had a decision to make.

The day dragged on as per usual, but something did occur which gave some pause to that. Principal Celestia called in Granny Smith to her office, and when the elderly lady arrived, she found that she wasn’t alone. Standing next to Celestia’s desk was a woman in a business suit, she had a clipboard with her and a no-nonsense look on her face.

“What can Ah do ya fer, Principal Celestia?” Granny asked.

“Mrs. Smith, I think you should sit down,” said Celestia.

Granny cocked an eyebrow, but did as Celestia instructed. Once seated, the other woman came around and said, “My name is Gerta, if you need to know, I was once a resident of Griffonstone.”

“My condolences,” Granny muttered. “To what do Ah owe the pleasure of this meetin’?”

“Ms. Gerta is a…well…she’s from Child Protective Services,” said Celestia.

The moment that Granny Smith heard that name, her eyes narrowed into slits. “That so, and why in the world would ya need to talk to me of all people.”

“We’ve received an anonymous tip that two of your grandchildren have been engaged in explicit sexual activities,” said Gerta.

Granny Smith crossed her arms. “Don’t see how that’s a problem. Mac and Applejack are both eighteen and consintin’ adults, so long as they ain’t doin’ somethin’ too wild and isn’t illegal, can’t much blame them for bein’ like that. Though Ah am a bit miffed that they didn’t say nothin’ to me.”

Gerta adjusted her glasses and said, “If it was something like that, I wouldn’t be here, Mrs. Smith. No, the tip we received was that your two eldest, Macintosh Apple and Applejack Apple, are engaging in sexual acts, with each other.”

The vein on Granny’s forehead was prominent as she stood up quickly and glared angrily at Gerta. “What in the name of all that’s holy are ya talkin’ about?! What kinda sick shit – pardon meh Prench – is that?!”

“Like I said, Mrs. Smith, it was an anonymous tip. We must take such things seriously, especially when there’s risk to a younger member of your family,” said Gerta.

Granny eyed the Social Worker. “Oh please, ya’ll been lookin’ fer any excuse to take my grandbabies away. Ah’m all they have, and they’re all they have! Ah’ve done everythin’ Ah can to make sure that they grow up healthy, strong, and smart enough to get by in this world! So that way when Ah am gone, they’ll still keep goin’! But Ah ain’t plannin’ on kickin’ the bucket anytime soon either!”

“I assure you, Mrs. Smith, no one at CPS is actively trying to take your children away. We only seek what is best for the children, that is all. As such, I would like to interview them, all three, to determine if this is true or not.”

“Absolutely not!” Granny stated.

Celestia stood up and walked towards Granny Smith. “Mrs. Smith, I know it’s frustrating, but I think it best to cooperate. It will only look as if you have something to hide and they might follow up on it later one way or another. An interview now will at least assuage their suspicions.”

Granny didn’t like giving them that kind of power over them. This wasn’t the first time they tried to take them away, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. However, she admitted that Celestia had a point, better to get it over with now and avoid the headache of them coming to see them on their farm.

“Fine then, do what ya want,” said Granny Smith.

Gerta nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith.”

“We’re fucked!” Applejack exclaimed as she paced the music room.

Sunset stood at the door, her back leaning against it as she watched her country friend have a panic attack. For some reason, a CPS Social Worker was here in the school to talk to Applejack and Big Mac, Sunset had a gut wrenching feeling she knew what it was regarding, and somehow Applejack had the same kind of feeling she did. With what just happened this weekend, it wasn’t a stretch to think that that was the reason.

Currently, Big Mac was being interviewed by the Social Worker, Gerta, which left Sunset and Applejack alone to talk. Sunset hoped it wasn’t Apple Bloom who said something to them, not after the talk they had, for what her word was worth to her, she had hoped that Apple Bloom would’ve talked to her siblings first before going this far.

But why would she? As messed up as this situation is, she wouldn’t want her family destroyed…right?

}}} I’ve seen many things, Sunset. And unfortunately, I’ve seen the depths to which humans will go to hurt another, or to self-destruct. {{{

Not really instilling me with a whole lot of confidence.

}}} All I am saying is that you should prepare for the worst. {{{

“I’d rather hold out hope…”

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing! But, seriously, relax AJ. They’re probably not here for…that. It’s probably something else,” said Sunset.

Applejack sat on the steps to the conductor’s podium and sighed heavily. “Ah know, Ah know…but with all that’s happened this weekend, meh brain’s just a little frazzled right now.”

*knock, knock*

“GAH!” Applejack yelped as she jumped a little.

Frazzled is an understatement right now. “I’ll get it.”

Sunset walked to the door and opened it, on the other side was someone she both was expecting and at the same time not expecting.

“Is…Is, Sis, in there?” Apple Bloom asked.

“She is, did you say anything to anyone?”

“N-No! Ah swear on my parents’ graves!”

Sunset studied the youngest Apple, but in the end decided to trust that she was telling the truth. The former unicorn opened the door and let Apple Bloom inside. Once she was, Apple Bloom stood in the middle of the room a good distance from her big sister and said, “Hey, Sis.”

Applejack put on a sad smile. “Hey, Sugarcube.” When Applejack got up to walk over and give her a hug, Apple Bloom reflexively took a step back, which made Applejack look at her with concern. “Bloom, what’s wrong?”

Apple Bloom rubbed her arm as she turned her gaze away from Applejack. “Why are ya doin’ that with our brother?”

Applejack’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “W-What do ya mean?”

“Don’t lie to me right now!” Apple Bloom accused as she glared at Applejack “Ah know what you and Big Mac are doin’ at night! Ah…A-Ah saw you two in bed together last night! You two were havin’ sex!”

Applejack stumbled, as if someone had just given her a punch across the face, several times did Applejack try to speak, but each word died in her throat before it was given the chance to leave her lips.

“Just tell me… ‘cause Ah don’t know what to think about you two…!” Apple Bloom began to cry. “Ah still love you two…despite knowin’ what Ah know, Ah can’t bring myself to hate you two! Please…”

Applejack looked to Sunset, the flame haired girl sighed, but gave her a nod, silently telling her that it was time to tell the truth. Applejack sat back down on the steps and looked up at Apple Bloom. With little recourse, Applejack told her everything, when they started their little activities, and the reasons behind it. She assured Apple Bloom throughout the explanation that they weren’t in love with each other, this wasn’t about being romantic.

Apple Bloom had sat down, listening carefully to her sister’s words, the whole time this was happening, Sunset was watching her expressions. Although Apple Bloom was trying to maintain a neutral one, she couldn’t help let slip a few faces here and there.

When it was done, Applejack looked exhausted. “That’s it…Ah swear to ya, Bloom, we never meant to hurt ya. We certainly never meant fer ya to see us like that. If you never want to speak to us again, Mac and Ah’ll understand.”

Sunset a few tense seconds passed as she watched Apple Bloom and Applejack. The young Apple girl stood up and walked towards her big sister. Applejack didn’t dare look up at her, afraid of what she might see in her little sister’s eyes. But then, she found herself getting tightly embraced by Apple Bloom.

“B-Bloom…?”

“Ah’m sorry…Ah’m sorry Ah ever thought you’d hurt me! Ah didn’t know what to think…but…Ah’m just sorry!” Apple Bloom cried.

Applejack, now snapping back to her senses, smiled and cried too, hugging her little sister just as tightly as Apple Bloom was. Sunset felt a weight lift from the room, perhaps, hopefully, this will just be something they can work through.

The rest of the afternoon went on without much trouble. Gerta didn’t manage to see through the two siblings, not even when she questioned Apple Bloom. So, for now, the crisis was averted. All three siblings took some time to speak privately in one of the music rooms to clear the air with Big Mac, and once all that was done, a lot of hugs were had all around.

Sunset was currently walking down the hallway with Pinkie Pie at her side. The pink party planner couldn’t help but notice that her friend had a nice smile going on right now.

“Something good happen, Sunset?” Pinkie asked.

“Something like that, I got to see a touching family moment,” said Sunset.

“Oooh, that’s really nice! How was working at Applejack’s farm?”

Sunset chuckled nervously as she scratched at her chin. “Well it was…tiring, and kind of fun. At least I didn’t have to hear Rainbow Dash make any horse sex jokes.”

Pinkie Pie blushed when she remembered those jokes, but then got a devious look on her face. “Sunset, you didn’t try and seduce any mares while you were there, did you?”

“No, Pinkie, I did not try to ‘seduce’, any of the mares in Applejack’s stable,” said Sunset with a deadpan expression.

“Well that’s good, I’d have been very disappointed in you Sunset! You can’t just go dating any random mare you meet, especially if she’s not into you,” said Pinkie Pie with a straight face.

Just then, Sunset had her own devious look. She brushed her shoulder against Pinkie Pie’s and gave her a smoldering look. “Oh, then does that mean this mare next to me is up for some seducing?”

Pinkie Pie began to stammer for a moment, but then put her hands on her hips as she said back, “If you want this, you gotta put a ring on it.”

“Shoot, I’m broke.”

Both girls began to laugh at their little back and forth as they exited the school. Across the way she could see Apple Bloom talking with her friends, she didn’t see Applejack yet, which meant she was probably getting the truck and bringing it around. As they walked, the sound of tires squealing echoed around them. The students paused, hearing the same noise. Down the street a white van was hurtling towards the school.

The van paid no mind as it jumped the sidewalk, making many of the students jump out of the way to avoid getting run over. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were among those that did, unfortunately, the van came to a halt right before them. The side door slid open as a man clad in black jumped out and grabbed Apple Bloom by the arm. The farm girl yelped from how hard the man grabbed her, she tried to fight back, but he was pulling her quickly.

Scootaloo’s mind finally kicked in as the situation hit her. The spikey haired girl threw caution to the wind and rushed towards the man, aiming a punch straight for the only part of him she knew would make this guy let Apple Bloom go. However, the kidnapper saw it coming and swiftly backhanded Scootaloo, sending the fourteen-year-old flying onto her back.

“SCOOTS!” Apple Bloom shouted.

The man had had enough with the stalling and just hoisted up Apple Bloom and tossed her like a ragdoll into the van. Sunset narrowed her gaze, dropped her backpack and books and dashed straight for the van.

The man in black saw Sunset running towards them and hurriedly jumped into the van, shutting the door. Once inside, the van’s tires dug into the dirt and grass, tearing it up as they took off towards the road.

Sunset stopped next to Sweetie Belle for a moment and yelled, “CALL THE POLICE!” After that, she ran in the direction of the van.

The Witchblade bracelet’s ruby jewel glowed as it imbued Sunset with more strength and stamina, allowing her to run faster. The van was still in her sights, but it’s speed was reduced slightly, thinking that they had no one tailing them. They were wrong.

}}} You won’t be able to catch up to them, at least in this form. {{{

Sunset looked around, she was not going to get naked out in the middle of a neighborhood, especially during the day. Sunset looked around and headed down and adjacent alley, once she was down there and free from prying eyes, she focused all the strength into her legs as she jumped straight into the air, clearing several feet and appearing as a speck in the sky.

“Okay, now!”

Heat rose in Sunset’s body, exciting her, and sharpening her senses. The ruby jewel on the bracelet shined brighter as the metal strands of the Witchblade shot out, expanded, and multiplied as it shredded through all of Sunset’s clothes, replacing it with its mystical, revealing armor. Once fully clad, Sunset willed the armor to create her wings. The bat wings flared from her back as she shot back down towards the ground.

The white van was in range, and with the precision of a diving bird of prey, Sunset landed hard atop the van, causing it to swerve on the road. Sunset willed a chainsaw blade to extend from her right forearm, once it was out, the blades spun at a rapid pace. Cocking back her right fist, Sunset thrust the blade forward, cutting into the roof of the van as sparks flew off.

Sunset worked her claws under the lip of the makeshift hatch she created and ripped it straight up, peeling it like a can of sardines. Inside she could see Apple Bloom tied up, her wrists and ankles bound. From what she was able to see, Apple Bloom didn’t look like she was harmed, physically anyway.

“I’ll say this once! Pull over and let the girl go! Either that or I’ll come in there and rip off your heads!” Sunset made her fingers turn into bigger bladed claws for intimidation. “What’s it going to be?!”

The man in the back looked to the driver, the driver then nodded back to the man behind him. As if given the green light for something, the man stood in front of Apple Bloom, placing himself between Sunset and Apple Bloom.

}}} BE ON GUARD! {{{

The man was suddenly enveloped in a silver aura, the man’s clothes ripped apart as the aura overtook him. Sunset had to close her eyes for a second, but in that second, she found herself getting struck by something blunt that sent her into the air. Sunset flared her wings to stop her momentum, she shook her head free from the daze and glared at the new opponent before her eyes.

The creature before her was bulky, his body made of some sort of rough, metallic, exoskeletal armor. The color was dark bronzy gold color, with the few gaps in its armor, she could see its muscly arms, legs, and neck. The creature’s head had two large, curved horns, and rows of sharpened teeth. On each of the creature’s forearms were rounded shields that were attached to its armor and bore strange writing along the edges.

“Wendigos?! What the hell’s going on here?!” Sunset forged a large claymore sword in her right hand and flew straight down towards the demon possessed human. She raised up the long sword and brought it down in an overhead strike. The demon raised his right arm up, bearing the shield. The blade struck against it, managing to block the blade from piercing through. “Answer me! What do you want with the girl!?”

The shield wielder said no words, he only took a step forward and pushed back against Sunset, making her have to fly back to avoid getting thrown into something. The shield wielder was stronger than he looked, and was able to fight on top of the van with ease. The van took a sharp turn into an empty lot, screeching to a halt.

The Shielder jumped off the van and banged its shields together, challenging Witchblade. Sunset glared at the monster and landed on the ground a couple of feet away. Sunset concentrated, recalling a few of those anime that Rainbow Dash got her into. She started forming a mental image of the sword she wanted, and into her hand, the Witchblade did form this weapon. When it was finished, Sunset let the blade slam down onto the ground with a great “THUD”.

The blade was at least seven feet long, and three feet wide. The sword itself was double edged, and along the middle of the blade were three jewels, one yellow, another red, and the last blue. To anyone else, such a weapon would be impossible to wield, but for Sunset, it was lighter than air.

The Shielder looked a little nervous, but quickly shook it off and once again banged its shields together in challenge. Sunset grasped the sword hilt in both hands and dashed towards the monster. Shielder raised both arms as it dug its heels into the dirt just as the sword struck against the two shields. A loud “CLANG” reverberated in the air upon impact, the force that it generated made both combatants skid to opposite sides.

Sunset saw that Shielder was further from the van and took this opportunity to take back Apple Bloom. She used her right hand to rip the door off the side of the van. Apple Bloom looked upon Sunset, or rather, Witchblade, with shock. She had seen the video of this woman killing demons like the one that was outside. Despite the danger she was in, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but blush at just how revealing her armor was up close.

“Kid, don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here!” Sunset then looked to the driver and aimed her left hand at him. The armor around her knuckles began to form spikes that had detached slightly, showing that they were ready to launch. “First you –!”

Sunset was then tackled by Shielder and thrown across the dirt. With that distraction taken care of, the second kidnapper unbuckled his seatbelt and went to the back. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened when the man knelt next to her, he then reached out towards her, and she feared the worst was to come. She flinched when he reached into her pocket, Apple Bloom shut her eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable to happen, but…strangely, it didn’t. The man pulled his hand out of her pocket and took out her cellphone.

“H-Hey, what are ya goin’ to do with that?!” she asked.

The man said nothing as he went back to the driver’s seat. Back outside, Sunset was striking repeatedly, wailing on the defending demon. His thick armor was hard to cut through, but Sunset wasn’t about to let them get away, she had kept an eye on the van the whole time, and so far she hadn’t seen any signs that the second kidnapper had moved Apple Bloom.

“Why!”

*CLANG!*

“Won’t!”

*CLANG!*

“You!”

*CLANG!*

“GO DOWN!”

Sunset backed up and dismissed her giant sword. Both of her hands flared up with infernal fire, Sunset brought them together, and thrust her hands forward. A torrent of flames roared towards Shielder, striking the demon’s shields as he held his ground. Just then, Sunset watched as a silver flash went off inside the van, making Sunset worry as to what was happening.

The second abductor came walking out of the van, only this time he was in a demonic form as well. His body was slender, his exoskeletal armor was much more smoothed out and polished than the rugged version of his partner. His forearms from the elbow down were four-foot-long blades, and his legs from the knee down were similarly length blades. How the creature kept its balance, Sunset had no idea.

The creature didn’t show teeth, but had a smooth, angular mask. The exposed sections were white in color and showed more lean muscle in comparison to his partner. In the crook of its left arm was Apple Bloom.

Sunset ceased her attack and waited to see what he would do. The Shielder shook off her flames, he looked like he was in a bit of pain, but if it was worse he didn’t let on. The Shielder nodded to the Blader and then he tossed Apple Bloom straight up into the air.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

“NO!!!” Sunset shouted.

She forgot about the two demons and shot up straight for Apple Bloom as she flared her wings. Thankfully she was able to catch her in midair, however, after she did, an explosion went off down below. When the two girls looked down, they spotted the van, which was now burning and the demons were nowhere to be found.

“Dammit, they got away,” said Sunset. She then turned her attention to Apple Bloom and asked, “Are you alright?”

Apple Bloom blushed, more out of embarrassment of being held bridal style by a strange girl in revealing armor. “A-A-Ah’m alright, aside from tyin’ me up, they didn’t do anythin’ to me.”

Sunset sighed in relief.

Apple Bloom began to squirm in her grasp and asked, “If ain’t too much trouble, could ya, maybe, let me go…you’re kinda naked-ish.”

The flaming redhead blushed and then cleared her throat. “S-Sorry, but I need to get you back to your family. Could you…put up with this for a little longer?”

“Y-Yeah, Ah can.”

Sunset gave a flap of her wings, propelling her through the skies at incredible speeds. It didn’t take long before Sunset found herself above CHS. Inside her mind she was grappling with the idea of dropping down and letting the students get an up close look at her body in the armor, but she needed to get Apple Bloom back to Applejack.

Time to bite the bullet.

The warrior woman descended from the sky, and of course, it caused a spectacle as several students were already whipping out their cameras and taking pictures of her. Thankfully, Rarity was among the people she saw down there and her face was just as red as hers, feeling the embarrassment vicariously. Applejack and Big Mac broke through the crowd and were now at the head of it.

Seeing this, Sunset descended further and touched down on the lawn of the school. She released Apple Bloom, upon which the youngest Apple ran into the waiting arms of her siblings. Sunset couldn’t help but smile, happy that she was able to save Apple Bloom. Although, it did make her wonder why two Wendigo possessed people went and kidnapped her like that?

Not only that, but they let her go and torched the van…

“Hey, you’re Witchblade!” a raspy voice called out.

Oh shit…

Approaching from her right was Rainbow Dash, she was starry eyed upon meeting the hero, and if Sunset didn’t know any better, probably crushing on her.

“Hey, I just wanted to say thank you!” Rainbow Dash realized she sounded like a fangirl for a sec before straightening up and adding. “Y-You know, for saving me and Lightning.”

Sunset chuckled nervously and said, “N-No problem, it’s what I do…heh, heh…”

Amazingly, Pinkie Pie broke through the crowd as well and managed to get beside Rainbow Dash. The pink curly haired girl bounced in place as she said, “Wow, it’s you! You’re the one who saved me and Sunset from the creep! I never got the chance to thank you, but since you were in the middle of fighting, and making your mysterious exit, I guess it wasn’t the best time to tell but now you’re here so I thought I’d go ahead and say thank you! Again!”

Sunset blinked, leave it to Pinkie Pie to vomit out words like that, nonetheless, Sunset smiled. “You’re welcome, both of you. Now I need to get going, bye!”

With that, Sunset jumped into the air and took off at supersonic speeds, while everybody was looking in the direction Sunset flew in, Rarity was busy, yet discreetly, looking around to see if Sunset was going to double back. And just as she thought, she did. Rarity spotted Sunset flying around the backside of the school while everyone was distracted looking where she went. Not long after that, Rarity received a phone call. With a knowing smirk she picked up the phone.

“Hello, Sunset, I take it you’re in need of a wardrobe change?”

{“Wardrobe change”, try a whole new one!}

“I figured as much, fortunately, I made it a point to have extra clothing packed in my car’s trunk and in my locker, along with some tennis shoes. I don’t normally like to buy cheap ones, but given how many you go through, quantity over quality.”

{You are a life saver, I swear I’ll repay you for this.}

Rarity looked at the three Apples, now reunited and happy. “Believe me, Sunset, what you’re doing, is more than payment enough.”

Case File 4-4 (Midas): Ultimatum

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The kidnapping was foiled and Sunset was able to get dressed, thankfully everyone was too preoccupied with the blatant kidnapping in front of a public school to notice that Sunset had changed her outfit. A lot of the students, however, did watch her go after the van that kidnapped Apple Bloom. Some questioned why she did that, but others, say the Apples, were grateful for Sunset trying to chase after them.

The police came, and with them, so did Shining Armor. At this point, the young detective thought it best to respond to anything having to do with CHS. Once they were on the scene, Shining Armor made it a point to question her alone, just in case there was some sensitive information.

“I’d like to think that this was a simple kidnapping, but with you I doubt it,” said Shining Armor.

“Ouch, sounds like you think I’m a magnet for weird shit,” Sunset commented with a smirk.

Shining Armor shrugged. “If the skimpy armor fits.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and then sighed. “Well, you’d think right. The two who kidnapped Apple Bloom were people possessed by Wendigos.”

Shining’s brow furrowed. “What did they do to her?”

“That’s the weird part, she said they didn’t do anything to her. Not that I’m ungrateful, but it’s weird. While I was fighting one of them, the other walked out of the van and tossed her into the air. They knew I’d go straight for her and used that time to get away…” Sunset cupped her chin as she started to think it over more. “Then they torched the van.”

“Was it likely that they were targeting you? Or rather, targeting Witchblade?”

Sunset thought about it, and the more she did, the less she was convinced that that was what they were after. If they just wanted to face her, there were many different ways to get her attention. It wasn’t as if they knew she sent to Canterlot High School, the odds of finding her here were one in a million. Plus, they had no guarantee that she’d care enough to go after a kidnapped random middle school kid.

“No, if fighting me was all they wanted, they would’ve kept fighting me, not run away. I think Apple Bloom was their target, for what purpose though, I don’ t know,” said Sunset.

“Well, whatever is was, you saved her from a fate that was probably worse than death. I’ll interview her and see if she recalls anything. On that note though, good job out there, kid,” said Shining as he gave her a light punch in the arm.

Sunset smiled and gave him a punch back, after that, Shining Armor walked away and to where the Apples were.

}}} Something is not right about this situation. {{{

I know. First some social worker comes around and suspects Applejack and Big Mac of committing incest. Which they are but that’s beside the point. Now Apple Bloom gets kidnapped and the ones who did were Wendigo possessed. I don’t like this, feels like we’re being set up for something.

}}} Trust in those instincts, and be on guard. {{{

After Shining Armor was finished talking to Sunset, Pinkie Pie rushed to Sunset and looked her over. “Are you okay?! Did those guys hurt you?! Are you bleeding?! Are you –?!”

“Pinkie!” Sunset gently interrupted. “I’m fine, a little tired from running after that van, but alright.”

Pinkie Pie quickly hugged Sunset tight, an action that didn’t normally surprise her, but this one did, because she was shaking. “Oh thank god, I-I didn’t know if you were coming back! After what happened last time I was…was…”

Sunset understood what she meant; Pinkie was afraid that she was going to die. The trauma of the night must’ve scarred her, making her afraid that Sunset was going to be taken from her again, and after almost getting choked to death by Lightning Dust, she couldn’t blame her for feeling scared for her. Sunset hugged her pink friend back and rubbed her back with calm and soothing motions.

“It’s alright, Pinkie, I’m not going anywhere,” Sunset assured.

“Please don’t do that again, when I saw you running after them, I thought I’d never s-see you again!”

“I couldn’t just let them take Apple Bloom, not without doing everything that I could to try and stop them.” Sunset parted from Pinkie Pie and looked into her eyes. “But I’m sorry that I worried you.”

Pinkie Pie smiled and said, “I know…and I know that it’s just who you are. I always had a feeling that you were like a superhero deep down. Once you got past all that mean stuff you were carrying around with you, I knew you’d be the kind of person who’d rush in to help someone without even thinking.”

Sunset blushed upon hearing this. “Y-You think I’m that kind of person…? I don’t know about that…”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Please, Sunny, you just ooze bad girl superhero.”

}}} ………The pink one is scarily perceptive. {{{

Oooooh yeah.

The following day the police were still looking into Apple Bloom’s kidnapping and her kidnappers. Until they were found, Applejack and Big Mac were assigned escort duty whenever Apple Bloom was outside of school, even Sunset was brought into it. Apple Bloom had made the argument that she didn’t need someone looking over her, especially Sunset Shimmer, but Granny Smith put her foot down and that was that.

Sunset was helping out, yet again, at the farm after school. Although, today would not see much work done. When the Apple Family and Sunset arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, they were annoyed to find out that they had visitors waiting for them.

Big Mac parked near the garage of their house, and all five occupants exited the truck with scowls. When they did, the car that was there opened its doors and out popped Flim and Flam.

“Hello, and salutations Apple Family, and girl whose name I don’t know,” said Flim.

“What the hell are you two swindlers doin’ on my property?! At this point, yer trespassin’ and Ah have the right to shoot ya, ya know!” Granny Smith stated.

Flam raised his hands and said, “Now, now, Granny, there’s no need to get violent. We’ve merely come with a proposition.”

“Another one, you two are more stubborn than a couple of mules,” said Applejack.

“Yep,” added Big Mac.

“Whatever it is, all Ah can say is yer better off shovein’ it where the sun don’t shine,” said Granny Smith.

Flim and Flam both had devious looks on their faces. Sunset knew that look, she had the exact same face whenever she had the upper hand in something, either knowing something the other person didn’t, or when she was about to make a power play of some sort.

Sunset put herself between the Apple Family and the FlimFlam brothers and said, “I know that look, what do you know?!”

The twin brothers looked upon Sunset with intrigue, while the Apple Family looked at Sunset with confusion.

“Seems that aggressive girl has some street smarts, dear brother of mine,” said Flam.

“Indeed,” said Flim. “For she is correct, we have with us some pretty damning evidence that your family is engaging in some illicit activities, to be more precise, those two over there.”

Flim pointed directly at Mac and Applejack. The two oldest siblings froze in place, their blood turning to ice. There was no possible way that these two knew about what they were doing, right? They’ve never done anything at school, or anywhere in public. Their activities were restricted to the safety and privacy of their farm, away from prying eyes, where the only people they had to worry about were Granny and Apple Bloom, and both were easy enough to dodge after years of knowing their routines.

Sunset didn’t like this, she could see in their eyes, they weren’t bluffing, but how did they know?

“Hogwash, ya can’t bribe us, now yer resortin’ to slanderin’ us? That’s it, Ah’m gettin’ meh rifle,” said Granny as she began to walk towards their house.

Just then, the sounds of two people having sex filled the air. Everyone paused, as if time had frozen still, the sound of Sunset, Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom’s heartbeats echoed unnaturally loud in their ears alongside the familiar sounds. Their eyes all fell onto Flim’s cellphone, which was currently playing a video of the two oldest Apple siblings having sex. Granny Smith didn’t bother to turn around, she merely just stood there at her stoop.

Applejack began to visibly shake, legs turning to jelly and threatening to let her collapse onto the cold ground. But Big Mac managed to grab ahold of her, preventing that from happening, although, he was just as shell-shocked as Applejack was. Apple Bloom had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with realization, that video on Flim and Flam’s phone, it was hers, even from where she was standing, she could see that it was shot at night, and the angle of which the camera was being held was the same height and angle that was on hers. It wasn’t like she could forget something like that.

“My, my, my, this is truly not a good look for you. A brother and a sister both willingly engaging in sex, oh the immorality of it all,” said Flim.

“As siblings ourselves, we find it greatly appalling, disgusting, just downright wrong! How could anyone allow something like to occur under any roof is beyond me,” said Flam.

“Shut that off, now!” Granny ordered.

Flim turned off the video, he then eyed Sunset, who looked about ready to rush the two men. Flim raised his index finger and wagged it back and forth. “Now don’t go and get any bright ideas, little missy. This isn’t our only copy, you didn’t think that it’d be that easy did you?”

Sunset growled and gritted her teeth, the former Equestrian gave a quick, angry snort, a habit of her pony life long ago.

“What do ya want?” Granny asked.

Flim and Flam approached her and spoke in unison, “It’s very simple, Granny Smith. Simply sell your property to us, all the land, all the rights, and this video and all its copies will never see the light of day. Unless of course you wish for us to bring it to the local authorities? We’re sure CPS will have more than a few words for you.”

Granny Smith’s eyes widened and then they narrowed into dangerous slits. “It was you two! You called that Social Worker to the school yesterday and had her question my grandchildren!”

The twin brothers feigned innocence, appearing insulted that she would accuse them of that.

“Perish the thought, Granny,” said Flim.

“We have no idea why they would come to see you that day,” said Flam.

“But given what we have here, we can’t exactly blame them,” they said together.

Granny Smith looked as if she was about to break their necks and bury them so deep in the orchard it would take a search team years to find their bodies. Although, right now, Granny was seriously considering killing these two con men, but that also presented its own set of problems for her family.

“We know this is a big decision for you, Granny,” said Flam.

“We’ll give you until the end of the week to make up your minds. If we don’t hear anything by then, we’ll have no choice but to take drastic measures,” said Flim.

Granny Smith only nodded. The two brothers glanced back to the children, The Apple kids were still in states of shock, and Sunset still looked ready to throw down with the twins, like an attack dog that was just waiting to be let off their leash. With that, Flim and Flam entered their car and took off down the road, leaving the farm and the Apples with the biggest decision of their lives.

Nothing was said as the snow fell from the sky, the kids were frozen in place. Sunset was the only one who dared to look in Granny Smith’s direction, but she couldn’t get a read on her. Years had honed the elderly woman’s poker face, wearing a mask of neutrality as she just gazed ahead into the distance, not saying a word.

Sunset knew that Applejack and Mac weren’t going to speak, and Apple Bloom still looked too stunned to do any kind of talking. “Granny Smith, I don’t know what’s going through your mind, but–!”

“Ah take it you knew?” Granny interrupted. She then turned her gaze upon Sunset. “Am Ah right in assumin’ ya did? ‘Cause ya don’t look like you’re bothered too much by what ya saw, much like my two grandchildren, ya look shocked that they knew.”

Sunset knew she couldn’t lie her way out of this one, and in any case, what would be the point? “I did…know, I mean.”

“How long?”

“I…just found out a few days ago…” Sunset answered.

Granny nodded her head slowly. “Ah see.” Her eyes then fell on her two oldest grandchildren, and they could feel the weight of that gaze. “Ah need to speak with you two inside.”

Mac and Applejack flinched, but nodded.

“Sunset, Bloom, Ah want ya to wait upstairs in yer rooms. When Ah’m done, AJ, yer gonna drive Sunset back home,” said Granny.

“Granny, wait, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but just let them explain!” Sunset pleaded.

Granny Smith held up her hand as if to stop her from going on. “This isn’t because of you not tellin’ me. With what’s goin’ on, it’s best that ya don’t get caught up in it. Ya already have enough troubles at school, if people found out that you were here when all this went down, kids at school might think yer responsible. Ah’ll still pay ya fer the week, don’t you worry. Now, all ya, come on in.”

The walk inside was like a death march.

Granny sat in her rocking chair, while Applejack and Big Mac sat on the couch across from her. Both siblings left a gap between each other, although, right now, the only thing that they wanted was to comfort each other. The silence was deafening, neither of the two Apple children could decide which was worse, Granny Smith yelling at them or this long silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Granny Smith released a heavy sigh. “Ah knew Ah shoulda nipped this in the bud awhile back.”

Applejack and Big Mac looked at Granny with wide eyes.

“Granny, you knew?!” Big Mac asked.

“Of course, Ah did! Ah’m old, but Ah ain’t senile, or dumb. Not much happens on this farm without me knowin’, and Ah knew about what you two were doin’,” said Granny.

Applejack ran her right hand through her hair as she asked, “Then…Then why didn’t ya stop us?! If ya knew what we were doin’ that, then why didn’t you?!”

Granny Smith kept rocking as she looked at the fireplace. “To tell ya the truth, Ah figured it was on account of all the stress you two are under.” Applejack and Big Mac’s eyes widened, and Granny knew she hit the bull’s-eye. “Helpin’ me run this farm, havin’ to grow up before yer time. Ya don’t get that many chances to just be teenagers, to be kids. Plus, leavin’ all the way out here don’t exactly help matters.”

“Granny, we don’t blame you fer that!’ Applejack stated.

“She’s right, we love bein’ here with you!” Big Mac added.

Granny smiled. “Ah know ya do, but ya also can’t say that life here’s been easy. The only people here who know how much is on yer shoulders is each other, ya took solace and comfort in that, it made ya grow closer. And then…ya decided to find relief in each other. Now don’t get me wrong, if you two weren’t bein’ as careful as ya have been when doin’ yer deeds, Ah’d ‘ve smacked ya both with the biggest apple tree branch Ah could find!”

The two siblings gulped. That was not an empty threat, they knew very well that Granny Smith would do just that.

Applejack looked down at the floor in shame, gripping her pants as tears streamed down her face. “Ah’m sorry, Granny…we’ve…we’ve messed up real bad…we’ve disgraced the farm, our family…Ma and Pa…”

Big Mac fidgeted in place, he wanted to go to Applejack and comfort her, but was afraid of inciting his grandmother’s anger.

“Go on, Big Mac. Ain’t no shame in comfortin’ yer kin,” said Granny.

Big Mac nodded and brought Applejack in his arms, she cried into his broad chest, letting it all out. The brawny teen wanted to cry too, but right now one of them needed to be strong, because what was coming next was going to be bad, he could feel it. But this did beg the question…

“Granny, why don’t ya look angry at us?” Mac asked.

A sad smile formed on her lips. “Be dang hypocritical ‘o me to pass judgement on you two.”

Applejack stopped crying and looked at Granny Smith, her eyes wide once again upon hearing her grandmother’s words. “Granny…are you…are ya sayin’ you’ve…?”

“Not with one ‘o my brothers, but one of our cousins, yes.” Granny Smith’s expression changed to one of remembrance, to days long past but were still filled with fond memories. “My cousin, Apple Rose and Ah were thick as thieves, we were each other’s favorite cousin. No matter what, ya could never tear us apart. We’d get in and out of trouble so fast it’d make yer head spin. Course, that closeness came with some unforeseen developments.”

Granny looked back at her grandchildren. “Now, mind you, back then, people weren’t as acceptin’ of girls bein’ with other girls, or fer girls who liked both. We were young, tryin’ to understand ourselves, findin’ out that we found ourselves starin’ at girls as much as we were starin’ at boys. So, we came to the smart conclusion that we should just have a roll in the hay and see what we thought. Needless to say, we like it. Probably more than we wanted to admit.”

Applejack and Big Mac were at a loss for words, they had no idea that their grandmother had done something like that. Nor did they know that she apparently swung that way back in the day.

“Anyway…time passed, and, just like you two, we would sneak off to someplace private and have at it again. Now, Ah loved cousin Apple Rose, and she loved me, but deep down we both knew, it wasn’t love, it was lust. But that didn’t mean we cared less fer each other. Ah was kinda afraid of what she’d think when Ah told her Ah met yer grandfather, but during one of our nights together, she said that she was happy fer me, and that she had met someone too. Needless to say, when were engaged, we stopped. To this day, Ah don’t regret doin’ what we did.”

“Granny…Ah had no idea,” said Applejack.

Granny stopped her rocker and said, “Child, there are some things that ya don’t talk about, and other things that you do when ya need to impart some life wisdom. This bein’ one of those moments. Ah’m not goin’ to tell ya to stop, yer both eighteen and old enough to make yer own choices in life. Ah’ll leave it up to you two to decide when ya want to stop.”

Big Mac scowled as he smacked the armrest. “Fer all the good it does us…either we sell to Flim and Flam, or we get thrown in jail, and Bloom gets put in a foster home, and they get the farm.”

“What can we do…?” Applejack asked.

Granny Smith stood up from her chair and said, “We get ready. We get everythin’ ready to leave, Ah don’t trust those two rattlesnakes worth a damn. As soon as they get what they want, they’re under no obligation to protect us, they’ll just release it anyway. Today’s Tuesday, we have two days to get some bags ready and bolt the day that we sign the papers. Ah won’t have you two live the rest of yer lives in prison, nor will Ah have Apple Bloom live in a house full of strangers.”

Applejack and Mac stood up as well, both with panicked looks on their faces.

“Granny, if we do that, and they release that information to the police, they’ll put out a warrant for our arrest, they might even accuse us of kidnapping Bloom!” Applejack stated.

“Granny, there has to be another way,” said Mac.

Granny Smith shook her head. “Frankly, children, Ah can’t see one. It’d take a miracle at this point…”

Unknown to them, someone else was listening in. Apple Bloom sat at the top of the stairs, hearing everything that they said. Her eyes watered and her heart felt like it was being crushed, it was her fault, all of this was her fault. But how? How did Flim and Flam get their hands on that video? There had to be someone who can find out, or…

“Sunset…”

Sunset paced the room, her brain was on fire as she tried to figure out how Flim and Flam got ahold of such a video, and how in the world they got in the first place?

“I know I sure as hell didn’t have my cellphone out. Unless those two have a thing about recording themselves......Nah, they’re more careful than that, so then…?”

Just then, Apple Bloom came barging into Sunset’s room, closing the door behind her and locking it. Her eyes were red from crying, and her chest heaved from her labored breaths. “Sunset…Ah…Ah…Ah need yer help!”

Sunset blinked. “W-What?”

“Ah…Ah f-fucked up! Ah fucked up real bad!”

“What?”

“That night that Ah saw them, Ah accidentally recorded everythin’ on my phone!” Apple Bloom confessed.

“WHAT?!” Sunset exclaimed.

“The video that Flim and Flam have is the same one on my phone! Ah went to check on it in my video files, it’s still there, but Ah don’t know how those two got it too!”

Sunset sat down on the bed, trying to wrap her head around what Apple Bloom just told her. “So, wait, you’ve had that on your phone this whole time, and you didn’t delete it?!”

“Okay, first, Ah was havin’ a bit of a crisis that day! Second, Ah was kidnapped, so it was kinda low on my list of priorities,” said Apple Bloom.

“Fair point. But that still doesn’t explain how they got the file, was there any point that you didn’t have your cellphone?” Sunset asked.

Apple Bloom tried to think back, between the night it happened and when she… “Oh my damn…the kidnapper…the one who was in the van with me, he reached into my pants and grabbed meh phone! Ah thought he was goin’ to do somethin’ dirty to me, but all he did was take my cellphone and then put it back…he…he must be workin’ with Flim and Flam! Both of ‘em!”

Sunset cupped her chin as she thought about this. She couldn’t deny that that might be the case, Flim and Flam looked like the type to hire help of that sort, but then again, Sunset was there, did they really have enough time to copy the file? If Apple Bloom hid it away somewhere in her phone, it would’ve taken them a long while to find it, and the second kidnapper came out of the van about a minute later after they stopped and Sunset engaged the first one.

“The video file, is it hidden in your phone?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I made a whole bunch of dummy folders and buried it deep in there, Ah wanted to make sure that even if Ah lost it, no one would be able to see it without knowing how to,” said Apple Bloom.

Sunset kept thinking, they didn’t have much time before the deal, and Sunset needed to find out if her phone was hacked somehow. Might be time to ask Shining Armor for a favor.

“Apple Bloom.” Sunset’s tone was serious enough that Apple Bloom gave the former unicorn her full attention. “You might be right that those guys are working for Flim and Flam, but we need proof. I may know someone who has the resources to find out, but you have to give me your cellphone.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened with fear. “What?! No, Ah’m not given ya my phone! Just tell me where to go and Ah’ll take it to ‘em!”

Sunset shot up from her bed, standing to her full height and towering over the young Apple. “Apple Bloom, if there’s one time where this Anon-A-Miss bullshit needs to be put on pause, it’s right fucking now!” Sunset advanced on Apple Bloom, making her back up with each step. “Your home, your family, all of that is resting on whether or not you can trust me enough to let me do this! Do you think I want AJ to be put in jail?! For any of you to be put in jail?! Besides, Flim and Flam already threatened to release it if Granny doesn’t do anything, what could I possibly gain from outing you all before they do?!” Apple Bloom’s back hit the wall as Sunset pressed her index finger into Apple Bloom’s chest. “I won’t let that happen; I will not lose a part of the only family I have here! So one way or another, either you give me that cellphone, or I’m going to turn into the Old Sunset Shimmer, and take that thing from you!”

Apple Bloom was once again at a crossroads, on her phone was the video, but also the incriminating evidence needed to reveal to Sunset that she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were in fact Anon-A-Miss. If Sunset found that evidence while she was looking for who hacked the phone, everything that Sunset said would be thrown out the door. Because, why would she help one of the people who was making her life a living hell right now? Even if Applejack, Mac, and Granny were put in jail, Sunset could still get her revenge by letting it all happen and just watch them burn. However, that part of Apple Bloom that cared about her family was steadily overriding her fear that Sunset would find out the truth, and reasoned that if it saved her family, it was worth whatever hell fury that Sunset would rain down on her later.

With a bit of reluctance, Apple Bloom raised her phone to Sunset. The flaming redhead sighed in relief and happily took ahold of the device, but then Apple Bloom wrapped her other hand around Sunset’s and made her look the young girl in the eyes.

“You promise me! Promise that no matter what, you’ll save them! Promise me, Sunset!” Apple Bloom demanded.

Sunset gently put left hand over Apple Bloom’s and gave it a confident squeeze. “I will, on my life.”

Apple Bloom stared into Sunset’s eyes for a long minute before she finally released the grip she had on her cellphone.

“Alright, head back to your room, I need to make a call.”

Apple Bloom unlocked the door, took one more look at Sunset and then left the room.

Now that she was alone, Sunset took out her cellphone and brought up her list of contacts, once she found the number she wanted she dialed. The phone rang for a couple of seconds and then was picked up.

{Sunset? What’s up?}

“Sorry, I don’t know if you’re busy – what am I saying, you’re a homicide detective, of course you are. Anyway, I need your help, I need to see you tonight, ASAP,” said Sunset with a serious tone.

{Whoa, that bad? Is it “you-know-what” related?}

“It might be…that’s kind of why I need your help. I’d rather talk in person; can you meet me at my place? I’m going to be dropped off there here after a bit.”

{No problem, I’ll head that way now.}

“Thanks, Shining Armor.”

The car ride back to Sunset’s was bleak, Applejack didn’t say a word to her the whole time, and the cowgirl looked as if she was already dead. They had just gotten back into town and were now in the neighborhood where Sunset lived.

“AJ, I don’t know how they got that video, but I promise I’ll figure it out,” said Sunset.

“Sunset…Ah…”

“You don’t have to believe me, but I didn’t take that video of you and Mac.”

“……Ah do believe you. Despite all that, Ah still do. If Ah let myself go down that rabbit hole again, Ah’m sorry to say it may take me down a dark place Ah don’t want to go. You don’t have to promise me anythin’, we’ll…we’ll figure somethin’ out.”

Applejack pulled up next to Sunset’s home and parked. Sunset got out and pulled out her suitcase from the backseat, along with Ray’s terrarium. “AJ, try to get some sleep at least. The girls will worry tomorrow if they see you like this.”

Applejack nodded and bid her goodbye before heading back down the road. Once she was gone, Sunset spotted another car pulling up to the sidewalk. She recognized it as Shining Armor’s car, once he was parked he got out and walked around to the other side.

“Guessing it’s worse than I thought?”

“Good guess…Mind helping me get my stuff back in?” Sunset asked.

Shining Armor offered her a hand, carrying her bags into her home. Sunset walked up her stairs and put Ray back at his normal spot. The little lizard gave a quirky smile, happy to be back home, and admittedly, Sunset was too. Shining Armor took a moment to look over Sunset’s home, noticing that she did indeed live alone.

“Not a bad place, Sunset,” said Shining Armor.

“Thanks, but it’s mostly paid for by Principal Celestia, I’d like to repay her, but as you know, I’m not exactly a legal citizen, even with the papers I have, so finding a job is kind of hard,” said Sunset.

“That sucks.” Shining Armor sat down on her couch and asked, “So what was so important that you needed to talk to me?”

Sunset at down in the opposite chair, her expression changing into one of seriousness. “Someone is blackmailing one of my friends and their family, and threatening to take everything away from them unless they get an answer by the end of this week.”

Shining Armor sat up straight as his cop mind began to kick in. “Has your friend’s family contacted the police regarding this?”

“No, the information they have on them is…bad, to say the least. If they did go to the police, it would just bring it to light and in the end, they’d lose no matter what,” Sunset explained. “And just so you know, it doesn’t involve anything like murder or anything that you see on the cop shows.”

Shining Armor took a moment to ponder Sunset’s words. Something that wasn’t bad enough to be a high crime, but still bad enough that if it got out, it would destroy the family even if they went to the police. “That’s a big problem, Sunset. Whatever this secret is, it can’t be worth losing everything that they have.”

“It isn’t, but they have no choice. Worst part is, the ones responsible are sleazy enough that they just might release the information anyhow.” Sunset’s fist tightened, turning her knuckles white from the anger of this situation. “I think that they might’ve hacked one of their phones, and that there might be a clue on it as to where the file went to, as well as maybe finding a way to destroy it so that they can’t use it against them. I came to you because I was hoping you could do something off the books, or new someone who’s good at hacking and computer stuff?”

Shining Armor did know someone, but was weary of getting them involved in something like this. But, he definitely couldn’t take it to any of his tech guys in the unit, if what Sunset said is true, even if they did find out how they did it, it would end up harming the people she’s trying to help.

“Sunset, before I even think about doing this, I need you to be honest with me, who’s in trouble? You don’t need to tell me what happened, but I need to know I’m not helping someone I shouldn’t be, even if it’s you asking,” said Shining Armor.

The flame haired girl sighed, she knew that there was no way of getting this to happen without dropping a name, but at least she tried. “It’s the Apple Family, Applejack, my friend. Apple Bloom forgot something, but remembered it when the people we think are responsible came to their place today. She said that the kidnappers, the driver, took her cellphone away from her for a minute and then gave it back before he transformed and tossed her out.”

“You think those guys are working for ones who are blackmailing your friend’s family?”

Sunset knitted her brow. “I know they are, but I need your help to make sure. If your guy can find out if Apple Bloom’s phone was hacked, and find out where the information leads to, if it’s who I know it is, then I’ll know it was them.”

Shining Armor thought about it some more, someone went to a lot of trouble to kidnap Apple Bloom, and then release her just as quickly to Sunset during their battle. Something was fishy about this whole thing from the start, and now Shining Armor’s instincts were telling him to follow this lead and see where it goes.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll contact my guy, but I can’t guarantee that they’ll do it, I’ll try, but no promises,” said Shining Armor.

“Please try, and if you can get it done by tomorrow, it’d better, we only have two days,” said Sunset.

Sunset reached into her pocket and took out Apple Bloom’s cellphone, she paused for a minute before taking her cellphone out as well. “Say…can you see if your guy can look into my phone as well?”

“I can, were you hacked too?” Shining Armor asked.

“Mine’s more related to the Anon-A-Miss thing. I’m wondering if my phone was hacked, if it was it would explain how Anon-A-Miss learned about AJ’s story, and how the pictures of one of our Slumber Parties got taken off my phone and put onto her page,” said Sunset.

Shining Armor reached out and took both phones in his hands. “I’ll have them look into it.”

Twilight managed to survive another day at Crystal Prep. She couldn’t wait to get into the Everton Independent Study Program, once there, she’d be alone, alone to do whatever she wanted, research and develop whatever she wanted. However, the end of the school year was still a bit off. For now, she’d have to endure it, the snide comments, the open abuse of being shoved around in the hallway, ignored and/or getting targeted.

Today was one of those days where she was targeted. The school’s top female athlete, Indigo Zap, got real handsy with her. The girl didn’t know that “no” meant “no”, and would constantly flirt with her. When she didn’t reciprocate, Indigo would grab her by the rear and force her tongue down Twilight’s throat. In all honesty, Twilight wasn’t sure how to feel about her, if she liked her, why couldn’t Indigo just come out and say it? But then again, Twilight doubted that’s why she did it, a girl like Indigo wouldn’t waste her time with a mousy, smart girl like her. The last thing she wanted to was to embarrass herself by presuming that Indigo wanted a relationship, not that Twilight was adverse to a same sex relationship, but she also didn’t want to find out that the only thing that Indigo wanted from Twilight, was something that she wasn’t prepared to give her.

The school didn’t reel as much from the death of Suri Polomare, Twilight will admit, she felt bad for her parents, but – and she hated to say this – she didn’t care for Suri at all. The girl was just one of many students at CPA who decided to take pleasure in tormenting her. Suri was a good seamstress, so she knew exactly how to tamper with Twilight’s uniform.

More than once did the uniform come undone while she was walking in the hallway, exposing her to the rest of the students. Despite not attracting any male attention, they were certainly eager to snap pictures of Twilight in her half naked state. Now that Suri was dead, Twilight no longer had to worry about that happening, no more checking her uniform to make sure it wasn’t going to fall apart, nope, not now, not ever again.

Although, Twilight had to admit, this business of people turning into monsters was…strange. She didn’t know how to process this, a lot of people were saying that they were some government experiment, some said aliens, others say it was a virus that mutated people, and a few said it was evil spirits possessing people. Twilight relegated most of them to fiction, about the only one she gave any credence to was the virus theory. There were instances of viruses causing physical mutations, but the scale in which Suri was transformed was on a whole different level.

If I wasn’t still trying to locate the source of this strange energy, I’d probably be looking into this, thought Twilight.

Then there was the person who killed Suri, Witchblade. Twilight had to admit, she was grateful to her for getting rid of bad person like Suri, but she didn’t really approve of her choice in wardrobe. However, from the footage, it showed that this Witchblade person was able to conjure weapons from the armor, and in fact, it seemed as if the armor was reacting to its bearer.

Truly fascinating…Canterlot City’s becoming a hotbed for strange phenomena all around!

Twilight paused, she looked at her phone and saw that her brother was calling. The gloom of today vanished as she happily answered the phone. “Hello, Onii-sama!”

{Twilight, what did I say about doing that?}

“Right, right, sorry, I know you prefer onii-chan,” Twilight corrected.

There was an audible groan coming from the other end. {That’s not any better…}

“Oh, but Twilight love’s calling onii-chan 'onii-chan’.”

Twilight could already see her big brother squirming on the other end of the line. It was no secret that the two were big comic books and anime nerds, when Twilight learned of those anime shows with the brother and sister as the main focus, she would always tease him like that, and still does.

{Twi, please, I really need to talk to you right now.}

Twilight stopped her little giggle fit, noting that her brother’s tone was serious. “O-Okay, what’s wrong?”

{*Sigh*……Look, I need your help with an unofficial case, off the books.}

Twilight practically shot out of her desk chair when she heard that. “Y-Y-You want me to help?! With one of your cases?!”

{Shhh! Don’t let Mom and Dad hear you!}

Twilight clamped her left hand over her mouth and waited to see if she was heard. She was not. “Thank you, thank you! I promise I’ll do everything I can to help!”

{Now hold one, just listen. This isn’t an official case, I’m kind of doing this one under the table.} Shining Armor explained what the situation was, keeping some small details out so as to not arouse suspicion, but just enough to make sure Twilight was interested. {That’s about it, do you think you can do it?}

Twilight blew a raspberry. “Please, it’s not any harder than hacking a defense satellite to get a better view of a comet………Not that I’ve ever done that…”

{I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Thanks again, Twily.}

“Anytime, Shiny.”

Case File 4-5 (Midas): Golden Apples

View Online

Shining was waiting, a bit impatiently, for his little sister’s progress. Twilight had a lot of time in-between classes at CPA, with her grades, she was able to ace most of the classes and earn herself some free periods where she could do what she wanted, most of those times were spent researching or reading different topics, but most likely, he assumed, she was using that time to work on his request. Either that or she’d work on it feverishly once she got back home.

The young detective wanted to give Sunset a call to see what the status was now regarding her friend’s family, but remembered that her cellphone was in Twilight’s hands right now. He did think about swinging by CHS and speaking with her, but thought against it. It would raise a lot of questions about why a detective with the CCPD was contacting a high school girl, especially when it wasn’t related to any ongoing cases.

So here he waited, in his office, pouring over older cases and compiling some information to give to Sunset regarding the three major Mystery Murder cases that were still open. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long, Shining Armor received a call around three ‘o clock from Twilight, informing him that she was done and could come home to see her about what she had found.

Shining asked Spearhead to cover for him as he rushed out the door and into his car. He felt a sense of urgency in this whole matter, not just because there were Wendigos involved, but because of how Sunset looked when she told him about this. A family could be destroyed, and Sunset felt that fear as her own. Family was important to Shining Armor, his bond with Twilight, his parents, and his girlfriend, all of it was precious to him, and the idea of losing all of that to some lowlifes was unthinkable.

When Shining arrived he put on a poker face used the house key to enter. “Mom, Dad, Twily, I’m here!”

“Arf! Arf!”

A small purple dog came running around the corner and leaped straight up at Shining Armor. The detective caught the small canine, which then proceeded to lick his face.

“Spike, c’mon now! I’m happy to see you too!”

A middle aged woman walked from same corner. If one wasn’t paying attention, one would mistake this woman for Twilight’s older sister, instead of her mother. Although, given that the two women had the same first name, her father, and everyone else, just referred to his mother as Velvet.

“Shining, dear, you’re home? I didn’t know you were stopping by,” said Velvet.

Spike finally stopped licking him as he approached his mother. “I was just stopping by to see Twilight, she wanted to show me something she was working on.”

Velvet sighed. “Now, Shiny, you don’t have to drop everything at the drop of a hat for her. I know you love your little sister, but I don’t want you to get in trouble with your boss.”

“It’s no trouble, really.”

“If you say so, will you be staying long? I could set an extra place at the dinner table,” Velvet suggested.

Shining Armor waved off her gesture. “No, that’s alright, I’ll be in and out. I have to head back to follow up on some leads, this was just a little break from the bleakness.”

Velvet loved her son, and loved that he had such a strong sense of justice. She and her husband were so proud of their son when he joined the police force, and even more so when he made detective. Of course, with that pride came worry. Being a homicide detective meant that he was having to hunt down violent criminals, sometimes taking him down to places that were more dangerous. When he was just a uniform cop, Shining could just do his job and then not have to worry about following it up and go out on patrol again. But as a detective, he had to work a case all the way through until it was solved, which meant having to revisit murder scenes and having to think about those cases even when he was off the clock.

Through it all though, he remained positive. Velvet imagined that Cadence had a hand in that, and she knew for a fact that Twilight did as well. A strong family bond, and that’s why Velvet and Night Light made sure to keep this home as a safe place for either of their children to come back to. Whether it would be to unwind or to just feel safe for a while.

Shining Armor walked over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs with Spike in tow. Once upstairs, Shining knocked on the door to Twilight’s room, and he sighed in dismay.

Twilight was nose deep into her computer, she was only halfway out of her school clothes. Her socks, skirt, and jacket were lying on the floor, her backpack was set on her bed, and the two cellphones that he gave her were sitting on the same desk, connected to said laptop.

“Twily, you really should finish getting dressed before you get into your stuff,” said Shining Armor.

“Sorry, I just wanted to get to work on your request as soon as possible. I did work on it while at school, thankfully it was slow today. I’m just giving it one last look through before I finish up,” said Twilight.

Shining Armor set Spike down and picked up her clothes. Twilight was normally a neat freak, but when she was laser focused on a project, some things tended to be thrown to the wayside, like remembering to fully dress herself.

I swear, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen her in her underwear. Thank god I don’t have a sister complex, thought Shining Armor. “So, what did you find?”

Twilight turned around in her chair and said, “This phone, the one belonging to the friend of your friend, it was definitely hacked.”

Shining Armor stopped and looked to Twilight. “Are you sure?!”

Twilight nodded. “One-hundred percent. They used a backdoor program that allowed them access to the cellphone’s files. There was a video file labeled ‘X’, and it was hidden amongst a whole lot of a dummy folders. Whatever it is, the person who owns this phone didn’t want anyone to find it.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Just to ask, you didn’t look at it…did you?”

Twilight scratched the back of her head. “I was tempted to, but I figured that whatever’s happening to this person, it’s better if less people know why it’s happening. So, no, I didn’t.”

“Okay…So, we know it was hacked, do you know where the files went to?”

Twilight smiled as she turned around in her chair and brought up a program. “I traced the path of the hack, where the file was copied to, and found it led to a company downtown. Someplace called ‘Flim & Flam Inc.’ I did some digging on them, it’s run by a couple of businessmen, twin brothers of the same name.”

Twilight got out of her chair and let Shining Armor go through the information, she had gathered. While he was doing so, Twilight thought it best to finish changing. Shining scrolled through the plethora of information Twilight had found, apparently the FlimFlam brothers were shrewd businessmen, and, it seemed, con men. There were several articles that Twilight pulled up of the two brothers swindling people out of their money, or taking over businesses in town, but doing so in such a way that it was hard to build a case against them. Shining Armor was starting to understand now, whatever this “X” file was, it was something bad enough to force Sunset’s friend’s family into a corner.

Twilight finished changing into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and walked around to Shining’s left. “These guys are really bad, I don’t get why the police haven’t arrested them.”

“Guys like these know how to cover their tracks, or get information damning enough that it makes it impossible for people to try and go against them, ‘cause that would mean exposing themselves,” said Shining Armor.

“And you’re saying the owner of this phone is in that situation…I know it’s not right to pass judgement, but…how good can this person be if they have something that’s bad enough that they can’t go to the police with it?’

Shining Armor gave a small sigh. “In this job, it’s not all black and white, Twily, it’s all grey. A person can be good, but sometimes good people make a mistake, something that they wished they had never done and are genuinely sorry for doing so, and try to bury it and do more good to make up for that mistake. Kind of like a lot kids your age, how they do something now that they think was cool at the time, but come later on in life, they realize that it was the stupidest thing they ever done and wish to take it back. I don’t know what’s on the video file, but I trust the person who’s asking me to help them.”

“I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have said that,” said Twilight with a shameful tone in her voice.

Shining Armor grinned at Twilight and patted her on the head, she groaned in annoyance, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s alright, but what else did you find?”

Twilight’s smile returned as she walked over to her backpack and pulled out a flash drive. “I could only get so far into their systems from my end, but I engineered a virus that, once jacked into their system, will fry their hard drives and erase all content, no matter how deep it’s buried. However, I can’t guarantee that they might’ve made copies of the file by now and are hiding it. On that note though, the virus has a secondary feature that will hunt down any video files that are copies and connected to the same network. Cellphones, servers, whatever it may be.”

Shining Armor had to admit, sometimes his little sister scared him with how smart she was. Not only did she get all this information, but she also made a computer virus that could effectively shut down these guys. He was glad that Twilight’s ambitions for science were focused on the benefits of humanity and not its destruction. “Thanks, Twily, my friend will appreciate this. I’ll head to them now and give ‘em an update. Oh, what about the other phone?”

Twilight shook her head. “There was nothing. Nothing showing that it was tampered with, externally or internally. Nor could I find any viruses that would allow someone remote access, sorry.”

Shining Armor grimaced a little, he was hoping to bring Sunset some good news on the Anon-A-Miss front, but it seemed that he was only going to come through for her regarding her friend. “Alright…well, one out of two isn’t bad.”

Twilight fidgeted in place and asked, “Shining, I know you can’t tell me about that second phone, but the first one, the one belonging to your friend, who is it? Maybe I can still help?”

Shining Armor debated about telling her about Sunset, she went to CHS, which was already in Twilight’s crosshairs due to the energy her instruments detected, and with what Shining Armor knew occurred there, and was still occurring there, he really didn’t want her to be at CHS. Although, come time for the Friendship Games, he’d have no way to prevent that. But, maybe he could give her something, for when the day of the games happened, maybe Sunset could watch over her?

“The owner of that phone, she goes to CHS.”

“CHS! Canterlot High School! The same place where I’ve been getting all my–!”

“Twily, focus,” Shining Armor interrupted.

“Sorry.”

Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Her name’s Sunset Shimmer, she wasn’t exactly a nice girl in the past, but I can tell she’s got a good heart and is trying to make up for her past misdeeds. However, someone’s trying to harm her, using MyStable and going by the name of ‘Anon-A-Miss’. This person is telling the secrets of the students in that school, and pinning the blame on Sunset. Now, she gets harassed every day, is singled out or ignored, she was even attacked not too long ago by a couple of her classmates. What’s worse, she lost her friends because of it, that girl’s alone, but persevering through it all, trying to bring Anon-A-Miss into the light. I want to help her, but I don’t know what I can do…Twilight?”

Twilight’s eyes were wide, this girl, Sunset Shimmer, she sounded exactly the same as her. Harassed every day, shunned and targeted, physically abused, and no doubt psychologically. She was alone, just like her, alone in an environment full of enemies with not a friendly face in sight. No, it was probably worse, this Sunset Shimmer had friends, but they abandoned her, Twilight was alone from the beginning, but this other girl had friends and lost them. Twilight wasn’t much for friendship, but still, she could only imagine the pain that caused this girl.

“Twily, you okay?” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight snapped herself out of her thoughts and said, “Y-Yes, I’m fine. I just…I just can’t believe someone would do that to another person…” Twilight’s fist tightened and her brow furrowed. “Shiny, let me help too! No one deserves to be treated like that, and no one has the right to do that to another person. I’ll do whatever I can, so, please, let me help!”

Shining Armor was surprised by how adamant Twilight was, it was almost as if she felt a connection to Sunset without even meeting her. The young detective took up Sunset’s phone and went to her pictures, she found one of Sunset and her friends and showed it to Twilight. “The one with the red and yellow hair, that’s Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight looked upon the picture. The girl in the photo looked happy, and strangely attractive to Twilight. With her flaming hair, intense eyes, that smile…Twilight snapped herself out of her thoughts, again. “She looks happy…You don’t have to tell her that I’m helping out, but let her know that she does have someone who is.”

Honestly, I hope you two don’t meet, ‘cause that’s going to get all kinds of awkward. “I will, and thanks again, little sis.”

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!”

Shining Armor had come by to Sunset’s home and took her out of the house to give her the rundown. They stopped by a fast food restaurant and got something to eat. Shining figured it was better to think on a full stomach than an empty one.

“So you knew it was them?” Shining asked.

“They came by on that same day, I didn’t know if those kidnappers were in on it, but now with what you found out, it confirms it.” Sunset then held up the flash drive that Shining Armor brought. “And this is the key to getting rid of it all?”

“My contact says we need to plug it into their computers, once it’s in, it’ll hunt down all the files and delete them, along with frying their systems to make sure nothing survives,” Shining explained.

Sunset smirked. “Tell your friend I like their style. You’ll have to introduce us some day.”

Yeah, again, rather prolong that meeting. Shining Armor looked at Sunset, and he could tell she was formulating a plan. “Sunset, I can see that look in your eyes. You’re planning on hitting their place aren’t you?”

Sunset furrowed her brow. “It’s either now or never. Time’s running out for my friend, and if I don’t do this, we’ll lose them, and they’ll lose everything. I’m not going to ask you to help me out with this, you’re a cop still, and it’ll be bad if they find out you did something like this.”

Shining Armor held his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of his car. “I don’t know…I just might be passing by that place on my way home…and, you know, if I so happen to see something suspicious…like say, a break in? Then that’s probable cause for me to go in and investigate.”

“Shining…”

The young detective put on a serious expression and said, “If these guys are using people possessed with those demon spirits as hitmen, then I have to bring them down. Guess we’re partners tonight, kid.”

Sunset brought up her right fist and said, “Then let’s get to it, partner.”

Shining Armor smirked and bumped his fist with Sunset’s, sealing their partnership.

It was late at night when their “mission” started. The clouds had rolled in and it started snowing. Sunset and Shining Armor had staked out the facility where they would be infiltrating. It was the main headquarters of Flim & Flam Incorporated, a warehouse located in the city, complete with corporate offices and a shipping and receiving warehouse. They waited for hours, watching as the last employee drove out of the place, and the lights shut off. At the same time, they watched the security guard make his rounds, timing how often they did so.

It was now midnight, and the snow was still falling. The guard was a no show, and the time was now. Shining Armor and Sunset nodded to each other and exited the car. Shining was wearing his bullet proof vest, and had a small, tactical shotgun, a Remington V3 Tac-13, holstered on his back. Not exactly standard issue, but it packed a punch, and so long as he didn’t use it on a normal human, he could justify using the weapon.

There was a chain link fence, as far as they could see, there were no cameras in that area. The top of the fence had barbed wire, and if they went any further down to the left, they’d just end up at the front of the building, however, if they went further down to the left, they’d hit the guard’s station around the corner.

“How do we get in, if you don’t mind me asking?” Shining asked.

Sunset took a few steps back and closed her eyes. The heat rose inside her, filling her body, and filling it with a rush of power and ecstasy. The ruby of the Witchblade shined brighter and brighter, and then, it came alive. The metal strands of the bracelet expanded and multiplied, tearing through Sunset’s clothes and leaving her bare for a moment before wrapping around her and cladding in the supernatural armor.

Shining Armor blushed and looked away when he saw the clothes being ripped apart, but even after, it was still kind of hard to look at her. “Does it have to rip your clothes off every time?”

“I’ve had this conversation with someone else, and the answer is yes. Now,” Sunset’s back flared with bat-like wings, “are you afraid of heights?”

“No.”

“Good!”

Before Shining Armor could ask why, Sunset jumped up, grabbed Shining Armor from under his pits and took off into the air. It took everything in his being to keep from screaming from the sudden acceleration, and then there was the height. But before Shining Armor could fully process that, Sunset flew them back down onto the roof of the warehouse. She gently descended and let Shining Armor down first, and then landed beside him.

“Not bad, huh?”

“Blaaaagggh!”

Sunset winced when she saw Shining Armor throw up next to her. After a couple of seconds, Shining Armor said, “Never…do that…again…!”

“S-Sorry, but you said you weren’t afraid of heights!”

“Yeah, but I do…get airsick…”

“Oh…” Sunset blushed in shame for not taking that into consideration. “I’m really sorry!”

Shining Armor waved it off. “It’s over, we’re here, let’s get going.”

Sunset and Shining Armor made their way to a skylight. The bearer of the Witchblade concentrated, making the ends of her hair snake towards the glass and turning the tips into razor sharp blades. The blades cut a large, perfect circle, while other strands slipped through the cuts and gripped the cut glass. Once she was done, the strands pulled the cut piece off, and gently placed it to the side. Sunset peered inside first, her enhanced vision cut through the darkness of the warehouse, allowing her to see everything as clear as day.

“Coast seems clear,” said Sunset.

“Let’s move,” said Shining Armor.

Sunset concentrated, forming a grappling hook into the palm of her left hand. She then fired the hook, letting it hook itself onto the edge of the roof while also forming a chain. “This might be a bit awkward, but you’re going to need to hang onto to me while I lower us down.”

Shining Armor gulped, his eyes briefly scanning Sunset up and down before looking away again. “Can’t you just…make another chain and lower me first?”

“If those two guys are here, I don’t want to lower you down and have you end up getting killed before I can get to you. I can just jump down and be okay, but you can’t, so…this is a slightly better option…” Sunset noticed the awkward look he was giving her. “This isn’t exactly fun for me either! Let’s just hurry up and get down there!”

Shining Armor gulped, but decided to bite the bullet. He hugged Sunset and Sunset did the same, the first thing that struck him was how warm she was. Those times they were outside he could see steam wafting off of her body, but he just thought that was just a trick of the eye, but no, her body was really warm, it was no wonder Sunset didn’t feel cold out in the open. And of course, the second thing he felt was her sizeable lady pillows that were just barely being covered by the armor.

God this so awkward! Shining thought.

“Get ready, and please don’t throw up on me.”

Sunset jumped and took them both through the hole she made. The chain that came from her arm was being made longer, allowing them to descend further down into the warehouse. From their vantage point, they could see rows upon rows of pallets stacked with containers, what was in them was anyone’s guess.

They stayed suspended there, allowing Sunset to rotate them and look around. She spotted some offices on the far end of the warehouse and nodded in that direction. Shining nodded back in acknowledgement and Sunset resumed their descent. Once they were on the ground, Sunset took point and led Shining Armor around the rows of racks. Sunset spotted a few security cameras, but swiftly took care of them with a well-placed shuriken or dart.

Thankfully, they managed to get to the other end undetected, but with the cameras destroyed, but knew it wouldn’t take long before the security guard would be coming in to check and see what was happening. When they got to the offices, they saw that it was locked with a padlock.

“I know you could cut it, but we don’t want to draw too much attention to what we did, best if we pick it,” said Shining Armor. “It’s been a while, but I don’t think I’m too rusty.”

“You know how to pick a lock?”

“It can come in handy depending on the situation, it’s a skill, not good or evil.”

Sunset smirked. “Keep that in mind when you see this.”

Shining Armor watched as Sunset’s armor released small metal strands that slithered their way towards the lock, a couple held it in place while two more entered the lock itself. Sunset closed her eyes, concentrating and feeling the actions of the armor as she mentally commanded it. After a couple of seconds, the lock disengaged allowing Sunset to take it off.

“I wasn’t a nice person, and before that I was on the streets. I had to learn some skills to survive, and others to get what I wanted from people…”

Shining Armor reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Like I said, it all depends on how you use your skills. We’re using them to help your friend and their family, you’ll get no judgement from me.”

Sunset smiled and opened the door. They moved towards one of the computers in the back corner, far from the windows. They huddled around it to make sure the light of screen didn’t shine too brightly for someone to see. Sunset retracted some of the armor around her finger tips, allowing her to type without destroying the keyboard. Shining Armor watched as Sunset’s fingers flew across the keyboards, already gaining access to the computer systems of Flim & Flam Inc.

Shining Armor watched this with confusion evident on his face. “I thought you didn’t know how to hack?”

“I may not be a super hacker, but I never said I didn’t know how to hack,” said Sunset. “I’m just good enough to get into places and cover my tracks, to a degree. Do you have that thing?”

Shining Armor reached into his pocket and took out the flash drive, he then handed it over to Sunset who took it into her hand.

“Time to fry these…wait, what’s this?” As Sunset was going through the files, she noticed there was one hidden deep inside about Sweet Apple Acres. “Okay, let’s see what these asshats are planning to do with AJ’s farm.”

Sunset cracked the file open and delved deeper into what the con men had in store. Shining Armor watched as Sunset brought up a lot of geological surveys, as well as…mining permits?

“What the hell is this?” Sunset asked. “I thought these guys just wanted to take the farm? But with all this it looks like they’re going to gut it all!”

“Sunset…I think there’s more to this than what either you or your friend thinks, see that symbol there?” Shining Armor pointed to a scientific symbol that read “Au”. “I remember that from my geology class, and periodic tables, that’s the symbol for gold!”

“GOLD?!” Sunset clamped her mouth realizing she had spoken too loudly. “Gold! These guys want their farm to dig up gold?! How’s that possible?!”

“Hey, there’s a lot of privately owned land from way back in the day during the founding of Canterlot City, land that was never properly looked into, or had restricted access since it was owned by some influential families, at least back during that time. So who knows what they might be sitting on top of.”

Sunset looked around the room, she dug through some of the drawers until she found what she wanted, another flash drive. Without wasting a second, Sunset plugged it into the computer and began downloading everything the FlimFlam brothers had found about the gold under the Apple Family property.

“What are you doing?!”

“Helping a friend, with this information, AJ, Bloom, Mac, and Granny can live a life without worrying about their futures! This is their golden apple, and I’m sure as hell not letting these guys take it from them!”

The download took a couple of minutes, but Sunset finally got all the files she needed to help Applejack, she then took the flash drive and let the ruby on the Witchblade absorb the device into itself for safe keeping, she couldn’t wait to show her. “Alright, now for the payback.” Sunset took out the first flash drive and inserted the second, the moment it was in the virus inside went to work. It wormed its way through everything, corrupting the computer and everything else, including the files on the gold. “Damn, glad I got them when I did.”

Shining and Sunset watched as the virus continued its work, destroying everything that made up the company. Shining Armor felt guilty about this, the bosses of this workplace were miserable human beings, but the employees who were oblivious to this whole thing were about to be out of a job come tomorrow, or at the very least wouldn’t be able to work for a long while. Still, one way or another, if this was able to have been found out the legal way, the employees would still be in the same boat.

“Damn, your friend is scary good at making a virus. Remind me never to piss them off,” said Sunset.

“Sometimes they even scare me,” Shining replied.

}}} I sense a them. {{{

“Sense who?”

}}} The “asshats” you spoke off. I sense them, up those stairs. {{{

“I know you’re talking to that thing, what’s it saying?” Shining Armor asked.

Sunset’s glowing eyes narrowed as she looked towards the stairs. “They’re here, Flim and Flam.”

Shining Armor watched as Sunset began to go up the stairs, prompting Shining Armor to ask, “What are you doing?!”

“I thought I’d put the fear of God into them, wanna join?” Sunset didn’t wait for a reply as she ascended the stairs.

“Grrgh!” Shining Armor growled. He looked to the computer and saw that the virus had done its work. He quickly took out the flash drive and hurried after Sunset.

Sunset waited at the top of the stairs; a playful smirk was on her face as she saw Shining Armor approach. “You didn’t think I’d go that far, did you?”

Shining smirked back. “It crossed my mind, a little.”

The duo stealthily made their way to the offices of the FlimFlam brothers, they could hear voices the closer they got. Sunset recognized the twin brothers’ voices, but there was a third voice she couldn’t identify. Once there, Sunset stood against the left side of the door, and Shining Armor the right.

“So, how goes our ‘acquisition’ of the Apple Farm?”

“It’s going perfectly,” said Flim.

“By the day after tomorrow, we’ll have the farm, and they’ll be in jail,” said Flam.

“Heh, heh, ha! Good, good! The more gold Ah get, the stronger Ah become. Wasn’t easy gettin’ them folks to do those surveys all stealth like, but we got what we needed.”

“And they got what they wanted,” said Flam.

“All the gold they could want, too bad they were trapped in it all,” said Flim with mirthful tone.

Shining Armor’s eyes widened upon hearing that. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“What?”

Shining Armor took out his pistol, checked the clip, and then cocked it. “Look, I wanted to tell you sooner, but I couldn’t find the right time. There are at least three ongoing cases, three possessed people that started the Mystery Murders. One of them turns people into gold, and that one is probably behind this door!”

Sunset narrowed her gaze, her eyes piercing through the door to the enemy that waited behind it. “Again, the Wendigos are trying to mess with my friends! Trying to hurt more people! They’re going down, now!”

“Ah, shit…” Shining Armor put his pistol away, and took out the shotgun. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Sunset didn’t waste any time with subtly, her hair extended into metal blades and swiftly slashed through the door, turning it into wooden blocks as it fell to the floor. “Knock, knock.”

Inside the office was Flim and Flam, but there was a third person behind the desk. He was a slightly portly man, with a grayish blue complexion, light gray, pompadour styled hair, and jade green eyes. His suit was purple, with rhinestones decorating the lapels, as well as his orange bowtie.

“My, my, my, to what do we owe this pleasure, my dear?” the man asked.

“I know who you are, I know what you are.” Sunset’s right arm created a forearm blade, while her left arm formed a crescent blade. “So, either you fess up now, or I’ll take your heads, your choice.”

Flim and Flam looked a bit afraid, however the third man did not look as scared.

Just then, Shining Armor came from around the corner and pointed his shotgun into the room. “CCPD, nobody move!”

“Officer? Thank god you’re here, this crazy woman came in and threatened to kill us!” Flim stated.

Flam looked at the officer with suspicion. “On that note, that was pretty fast, since we didn’t call yet.”

Shining Armor shrugged. “I saw someone enter the premises and decided to investigate. Lo and behold, I stumbled onto something bigger. Right, Gladmane.”

Sunset looked to Shining Armor. “You know this guy?”

“He’s been on our radar for money laundering, blackmail, assault, running illegal casinos, and prostitution. A lot of people who were going to be witnesses, or were connected to him, were mysteriously spirited away. I had my suspicions that you were behind it, but I didn’t think you were also another culprit, Midas!”

Gladmane rose up and clapped slowly. “Well, look at the brains on this one boys. Although, y’all might regret findin’ me out, ‘cause now Ah can’t let ya leave here alive.”

}}} Sunset! {{{

“Shit!” Sunset turned to Shining Armor and yelled. “GET OUT!!!”

Three silver lights shined inside the room, Shining Armor quickly did as she said and ran out of the room. At the same time, a crashing sound went off behind Shining Armor, when he looked back, he saw a big gaping hole in the wall, and a lot of dust.

Sunset found herself being shoved through multiple layers of drywall, metal, and concrete before finally ending up in open air. That was short lived as well as Sunset found herself hurtling towards some racks and slamming into them, what happened next caused a domino effect, making the rest of the racks fall down one after the other, slamming and slamming until an entire row was collapsed. Sunset hurt all over, but managed to get herself back up. Shaking off the damage, she glanced towards her newest opponents. Two of them she recognized, the Shielder and Blader, but the third one, which she assumed was Gladmane, was less appealing.

His body was completely made of gold, with a round belly, and muscly arms and legs, like that of a sumo wrestler. His ears were pointed, and sported two horns on his forehead, his beady eyes glowed red in the dim light of the warehouse. Two fangs protruded from his bottom row of teeth, extending past the lip. His hair was a sleek silver color and reached down his back, to which he also had a hefty tail that clanged on the ground every time he moved. The hands of the creature were large, sporting spikes on the knuckles, sharp nails, and one spike coming out of each shoulder. At the center of the palm was a topaz jewel, or what looked like topaz anyway.

Compared to his lackeys, Gladmane, or rather, Midas, stood about seven feet tall, towering over everyone. Sunset got into a defensive position, readying herself to fight these creatures.

“You picked a bad day to come and snoop around, Witchblade,” said Flim (Blader).

“Now we’re going to have to kill you, and your cop friend, can’t very well have witnesses who know our secret,” said Flam (Shielder).

“Answer me this, I took a look through your computers. You seem to be interested in a possible gold mine on some farm, what could you possible need gold for?” Sunset asked.

The large demon chuckled, which echoed in the warehouse already gave his demonic appearance a more ominous feel. “Simple, I want gold. It fuels me, makes me stronger. There’s so much hate swirling around such a precious metal, people have committed the most horrible sins just to get a piece of gold. They’ve murdered, stolen, kidnapped, raped, and hell, destroyed entire nations for it alone! So what do you think will happen when Ah bring all that out into the light, all that gold just sittin’ there?”

Sunset’s eyes widened as she connected the dots. “You’re going to leak the information once you’ve gotten ahold of that property.”

Midas slapped his knee. “Exactly! People are gonna be linin’ up to try and stake a claim, I’ll add a little fuel to that fire myself, but with every person trying to fight over it, people will try every underhanded trick to get it. Killin’ and stealin’, all with malice and greed in their hearts. See Ah’m special, kitten, hate is one aspect I draw off of, Ah can also feed on greed! And greedy people are so much fun to mess with! That bein’ said, like the boys stated earlier, we can’t let ya live.”

Blader and Shielder jumped out of the way as Midas rushed towards Sunset. The wielder of the Balance was caught off guard by how fast the portly monster could move, but thankfully managed to bring up her arms to form a shield. Midas cocked back his right fist and threw a punch with his large fist, striking the shield and sending Sunset flying in the opposite direction.

Sunset released her shield and spun in midair, she then slammed her feet into the concrete floor, stopping her momentum and bringing her to a halt. Her turquoise eyes shone as she took off straight for Midas, forming a claymore sword into her right hand.

Just then, Shielder intercepted, blocking her warpath. Sunset brought her sword down, hitting his shield with enough force to make the floor fissure. At the same time, Blader zipped around to her left side and slashed with his right arm blade. Sunset yelped in pain as she felt the blade slice through her side, feeling the warm blood leave her wound, she jumped away and clutched at the wound.

The attack had cut through several organs and intestines, but thankfully, the Witchblade repaired the damage in a matter of seconds. “I think we need to get serious.”

}}} Agreed. {{{

The Witchblade’s jewels began to glow, the armor expanded, covering the exposed parts of her body, forming the same armor that she used to fight Harpy a few weeks back. Sunset lowered herself, bending at the knees and getting into an attack position that was more akin to a wild animal. Shielder and Blader readied themselves, but Sunset was going to smash that shield and break that blade.

Sunset took off once again, aiming for Shielder. As expected, Shielder readied to absorb the attack, just what she wanted. Sunset formed a new weapon around her forearm, it was blocky, with a spike tip, and the rest of said tip was pulled back, which measured at about six feet in length. The bringer of Balance smashed her fist into the shield, and upon doing so, activated her weapon. The spike shot out like a bullet, hitting the shield with a concentrated strike, forcing Shielder back. When he skidded to a halt, the strong forearm shields showed a dent and cracks from where the spike had struck.

Blader used its speed and tried to rush Sunset from behind, but Sunset’s hair extended, turning into blades that began slashing at Blader. Sparks flew as Blader parried and countered as many of the strikes as he could, but some managed to cut him, spilling some of his black blood onto the floor.

Sunset prepared to attack Shielder again, but noticed that a shadow covered the area. Acting quickly, Sunset jumped to the right just as Midas landed on the spot she was standing at before, the large demon swiped his large left hand and backhanded Sunset into another rack. Midas chased after her, cocking back his fist yet again and slamming it into her, sending the heroine flying again.

Shielder dashed across the way and got right into Sunset’s path, he then dashed forward and smashed his shield into Sunset, sending her into a spin. Blader appeared before her and thrust his blade straight into her chest, the blade couldn’t pierce, but it did manage to send her straight into the ground. A thunderous boom echoed through the warehouse, making more of the racks fall over.

A body sized crater formed from the impact, and Sunset slowly dragged herself out of it. However, Midas appeared at the edge and grabbed her by the leg, he then began to slam her into the ground repeatedly, again, and again, and again before tossing her like a ragdoll.

Shielder, once again, used his shield and stopped her from going farther as her back hit his shield. Some of the armor was retracting as Sunset’s concentration wavered from the constant assault of the three demons. Unfortunately, it wasn’t over.

Midas now stood before her and grabbed Sunset by the head, she struggled to make him release her, but the beating she had taken disoriented her. “Now don’t worry, kitten, ya ain’t gonna die.”

Suddenly, a flash of yellow light went off in Midas’ hand. Almost immediately, Sunset’s body went still, gold started to grow around her, forming around every inch, every curve of her body until she was completely covered in it. When Midas released his hand, she was shown to have been in mid-scream before the flash.

“You’ll live, until you die in there, that is,” said Midas.

Shielder and Blader gathered around their boss and marveled at his handy work.

“Shame, she was quite the looker,” said Blader.

“I think you mean, hooker,” Shielder joked.

Just then, Blader was hit in the face with something fiery that exploded in his eyes. Before Shielder could ask what happened, he too was hit with the same fiery explosion to the face. Midas looked around, hearing the sound of gunfire each time that happened.

“Well now, it looks like our cop friend is trying to play hero! Y’all are wastin’ yer time! Yer little gun can’t kill us, and the only one who can is now a livin’ statue. Best to come out and let us kill you, believe me, that’s us bein’ merciful!”

Shining Armor hid behind rack, reloading his shotgun with incendiary rounds. Yeah, he knew full well the rounds wouldn’t kill them, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still feel pain. Sunset was turned to gold, he couldn’t believe it, but he had to believe that she could get out of it, unlike Midas’ other victims, she had the Witchblade, that had to count for something. In the meantime, Shining could at least make sure that they stuck around long enough for her to get out.

Inside the gold, Sunset was panicking.

Oh, shit! Oh, shit! I’m trapped! I’m trapped in this thing! There’re no holes, I’ll suffocate in this thing!

}}} Calm yourself, Sunset! I’m here with you! {{{

Sunset slowed her breathing, yeah, she wasn’t alone, the Witchblade was with her, she was trapped in the gold with a powerful weapon.

}}} Concentrate, this pitiful excuse for a prison can’t hold the likes of me, the likes of you! Do not forget, your friend is in need of your help! She will lose her family and her home if we are not successful in slaying these creatures this night! {{{

Applejack…Apple Bloom…Big Macintosh…Granny Smith…I won’t…I can’t let them down! No, that fat fuck is not beating me, is not going to take everything away from them!

}}} Yes, Sunset, let your righteous fury swell inside you, and let me be the weapon which delivers that fury to your foes! {{{

The three demons were preparing to give chase to Shining Armor, but that was stopped when they saw that the gold around Sunset was beginning to bubble and heat up.

“Uh…boss…what’s happening?” Blader asked.

Midas hurried back to the statue and released another flash of light. The gold solidified, and Midas released a sigh of relief. However, the metal began to bubble again. Midas hurriedly recast his gold flash, but each time he did, the metal continued to boil not a second later, each application wearing off faster than the last time. Midas took a few steps back as the metal finally reached its breaking point, plasmatic red flames shot out of the metal, burning it into nothing.

From the ashes of the gold, Sunset stood, panting and taking in fresh air. Her armor, strangely, was shifting in color, it was a black obsidian color, and then would shift to a crimson red color. When Sunset looked up at both of her opponents, her eyes were doing the same thing, but this time shifting from turquoise to gold, back and forth, back and forth. Even her hair was changing colors, some of the edges were silver instead of the red and yellows.

“What…are you?” Midas asked.

Sunset didn’t answer, instead, she charged straight at the demon trio. Shielder readied to block yet again, but this time, Sunset had something more in store for him. She reformed her pile driver and struck his shield, but this time, she layered the spike with crimson flames, superheating the metal spike as it shot forward, piercing straight through the shield and through Shielder’s heart. The spike was retracted, allowing Shielder’s body to collapse onto the floor, with a cauterized hole where his heart used to be.

“FLAM!!!” Blader’s eyes shined with fury as he glared at Sunset. “YOU BITCH! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!!!”

Sunset formed two swords, but these two had a serrated design to them. She got both of Blader’s blades as the two struggled for dominance. “I see, so you’re like her. You willingly merged with the Wendigo, which means you’re in complete control of your actions.”

“What does it matter?!”

“It matters, ‘cause now I don’t have to feel bad about killing you!!!”

Sunset focused her crimson flames into the blades, superheating them as well. She deflected Blader’s arm blades and then slashed the two blades in half. Sunset dismissed her swords, grabbed the two pieces in midair, and then stabbed them into his stomach, Sunset formed a katana and slashed across his chest, twice, forming an “X”. Black blood sprayed from the wounds, and after, Blader fell to the ground dead.

Midas got into a defensive position, he didn’t like this, whatever was going on, the color transitioning of Witchblade’s armor was behind it, she had gotten stronger somehow, and because of that she had dispatched his two subordinates. But he couldn’t be beaten, he was one of the three, he had to kill her or else he’d never hear the end of it from those two. Midas charged for Sunset, but in a flash, she was gone. He looked around but didn’t see her, that is, of course, if he bothered to look up.

Sunset descended down atop of Midas’ broad shoulders, piercing his left right shoulder with a sword that went down about four feet into his body. Midas spat up black blood as he tried to buck her off, but Sunset quickly jumped off of him and landed a few feet away. Then Sunset revealed that her right hand had a chain in it, and that chain was connected to the sword embedded in his shoulder.

Midas looked from the weapon and then back to Sunset and shouted, “NOOOO!!!”

Sunset gave a tug at the chain, the sword expanded inside him, turning into a fan blade that tore itself out of Midas, lobbing off his right arm in the process, once again the ground was stained with black blood. Midas howled in pain as he clutched at the wound, dropping to one knee as he continued to release his painful cries. The color change had finally stopped, her armor settling on the obsidian black, her hair no longer had the tinges of silver, and her eyes were a solid turquoise color. When that stopped, Sunset felt exhausted, but otherwise alright.

She dismissed the fan blade and reformed her claymore, slowly walking over to Midas to finish him. “It’s over, no more killing for you.”

“You think so…kitten?!”

Midas placed his left palm against the floor, and when he did, yellow light began to shine and gather to that spot.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Ya got about ten seconds to get yer ass and that cop’s outta here before I turn the entire building, and everything inside it, into gold!” Midas threatened.

“No way?!”

“Seven seconds, kitten! Six…! Five…!”

Sunset couldn’t risk that Midas was bluffing. She spotted Shining Armor and dashed towards him, when she got to him she said, “I know you said you get airsick, but throw up when we’re on the ground!”

The bringer of Balance flared her wings and soared straight for the skylight, smashing through the window just as a bright yellow flash went off inside the warehouse. From up above, Shining Armor and Sunset watched as the entire warehouse was turned into solid gold, there were several police outside, no doubt their brawl was reported, and both were thankful none of them had entered.

Sunset flew down from the sky and landed before the police officers, all of whom aimed their weapons at Sunset. She released Shining Armor and put her hands up. “Hey, hey, we’re cool, right guys?”

“Blaaarggh!”

The officers and Sunset winced when they saw Shining Armor throw up, again. After doing so, Shining Armor said, “Stand down! She helped me get out of there, this was a 303 incident, do not shoot her!” The officers lowered their weapons, when they did, Shining Armor looked to Sunset. “Go on, I can take it from here.”

Sunset smiled and saluted Shining. “Officer.”

The police watched as Sunset spread her wings and took off into the sky, disappearing into the night.

“Damn, she is hot,” said an officer.

Shining Armor face palmed. “For crying out – secure the perimeter already! And call CSU!”

Applejack could hardly sleep, none of the Apple Family could really. The looming threat of their entire lives about to be upturned, losing the farm, possibly going to jail, and the very real idea of having to get out of town. None of this was fair, of course, Applejack had no one to blame but herself. They wanted to do what they did, knowing full well what being found out would do to their family, but in the end, it turned out so much worse than what either Applejack or Big Mac imagined. Sunset had told her she’d take care of it, that she’d help them somehow.

She knew Sunset was resourceful, and scary good when she was serious, but Applejack didn’t hold out any hope. Flim and Flam were shrewd con men, as smart as Sunset was, there was no way she could get a leg up on them.

*tap, tap*

“Maybe it ain’t too late to talk to them…offer ‘em somethin’…me, maybe?”

*tap, tap*

“No…hell, they could get anyone they wanted, they’d just say yes, use me, then do what they were planin’ on doin.”

*tap, tap, tap!*

“Goddammit if that crow’s back, Ah’m goin to shoooooo…”

Applejack was rendered speechless when she saw what, or rather, who was at her window. Hovering just outside was a girl, clad in obsidian black armor, with glowing eyes, and bat-like wings. It took everything in Applejack’s body to not scream bloody murder right now. Instead, though, she chuckled hysterically.

“Heh…well…guess that’s about right, a demon is at meh window, probably goin’ to spare me the trip and just take me straight down…sure, why not,” said Applejack.

The farm girl cautiously walked over to the window, she knew it was a sin to sleep with your own sibling, so a demon coming to visit her wasn’t out of the question. With trembling hands, Applejack opened the window and stepped back. The demon grabbed the edge of the window and retracted her wings as she entered Applejack’s room. She hated to admit it, but this demon looked really hot, no pun intended.

“Are ya…are ya here to take me to hell…? If ya are…can Ah at least say goodbye to my family first?” Applejack asked.

“What? No, I’m not here to take you to hell!”

“Oh…then…are ya one of those succubus demons then? Ah mean…Ah don’t know how this works, but aren’t y’all supposed to be visitin’ guys instead of girls?”

Sunset’s left eye twitched. “No, I’m not a succubus! It’s me, Sunset! I’m Witchblade!”

Applejack’s eyes went wide with shock. “Okay, now Ah know I’m dreamin’.”

Sunset sighed, walked up to Applejack, and lightly pinched her cheek. “Still think this is a dream?”

“Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, it ain’t a dream!” Applejack relented.

The bringer of Balance released her friend and said, “Good, there’s some things I need to talk to you about, let’s have a seat. And, do you have an extra shirt?”

“Uh…y-yeah.”

Applejack went into her dresser and pulled out a baggy t-shirt, handing it to Sunset. Once she had it, Sunset released the armor and was now standing nude in Applejack’s room. The farm girl turned around, her face as red as her apples. Sunset put the shirt on, which reached past her waist and halfway down her thighs.

“Okay, you can look I’m decent.”

Applejack turned around and said, “‘Kay…now, what in the blue hell is goin’ on here?!”

Sunset went to Applejack’s bed and sat on it, she then patted the spot next to her and said, “Have a seat, it’s a bit of a long story.”

The next couple of hours were spent with Sunset retelling the story of how she obtained the Witchblade, how she saved Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, freed Lightning Dust from the Wendigo that possessed her, learned that her actions during the Fall Formal broke the seal that kept the Wendigos locked up, saved Rarity, and about what she just did tonight. Through it all, Applejack’s expressions changed up and down at different parts, but the main expression that was seen throughout was astonishment. During the tale of tonight’s events, Sunset willed the Witchblade to produce Apple Bloom’s cellphone, and the flash drive that contained the information on the gold.

“Yer sayin’… there’s gold on our property?” Applejack asked.

“From what I read, yeah. In your hands, is the future for you and your family, AJ. The better life for Apple Bloom, yourself, Mac, and Granny Smith, it’s all right there, and it’s out there.”

Applejack looked upon the flash drive as if it were the most precious thing in the world, and held it so gently as if it was also the most fragile thing in the world. Sunset had done all of this, fought monsters, saved her little sister, and in one night saved their home and family. Applejack couldn’t hold back the tears started to flow down her face as she hunched over, trying to sob quietly as to not wake her siblings. Sunset wrapped her arms around her, hugging Applejack as she let her cry. These weren’t tears of sadness, these were tears of relief, of joy, and of regret. Regret that she ever had any doubts about how much Sunset valued their friendships, valued any of them, and of how they treated her, how she treated her.

“Can…Can ya ever fergive me, fer actin’ like such a fool all this time?” Applejack asked between sobs.

Sunset teared up a bit. “Applejack, I forgave you a long time ago.”

Both stayed like that for a minute before separating, both wearing warm smiles. Applejack wiped her tears and asked, “Guess ya better get goin’ before it gets too much later. Got school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, oh, and I’ll come up with something to explain how I got that, and don’t be too harsh on Apple Bloom when you see her. Oh, better give me back her phone, I’ll give it to her tomorrow,” said Sunset.

The farm girl huffed a bit as she handed it over. “Ah’m still a mite ticked that she had that on her phone and didn’t delete it. But…since it’s all over, Ah won’t.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Sunset stood up and took off the shirt, making Applejack look away again. In a matter of seconds, the Witchblade once again covered Sunset’s body, Applejack still couldn’t believe that Sunset fought in such revealing armor. Sunset peeked over her shoulder and struck a sexy pose.

“Like what you see, AJ?”

“Get off it, and fly on home,” said Applejack playfully.

“Your loss, they say a life or death fight can really boost the sex drive,” Sunset teased.

“If yer that hot and bothered, go visit Rainbow, Ah’m pretty sure she’s got a thing for this version of you.”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled. “If I did, and she found out it was me, she’d probably never speak to me again for tricking her. Anyway, goodnight Applejack.”

“Night, Sunset.”

Applejack watched as Sunset leapt out of her window and flew through the sky. The farm girl went back to her bed and placed the flash drive in the drawer of her nightstand, she almost couldn’t wait until tomorrow, her family was in for a big surprise.

Down in the sewers, Midas was hiding. Now that his identity as Gladmane was exposed, showing his face up top was going to be troublesome. Jumping bodies was an option, but Gladmane and Midas were in sync with each other, he was a good host and Midas didn’t want to risk giving that up for something less. Just then, he sensed the Call, the two were wanting to speak with him.

Before his eyes, the ghostly apparitions of his two high ranking Wendigos appeared. One was pink and had a female form, the only thing visible were the eyes, which were crystal blue. The second was gray, with piercing red eyes, but this one was only a mist.

“Wow, you look like shit,” said the pink apparition.

“Your kindness is much appreciated, you glorified slut,” Midas shot back.

“Enough you two. What happened?”

Midas filled in the two Wendigos, both of whom seemed agitated that the Witchblade was once again interfering with them. “And that’s how Ah’m in this sorry state right now!”

“That is a bit unnerving, this Witchblade is easily dispatching us, some of our minor servants that come into being are one thing, but to see this kind of damage done to a higher rank…”

“Indeed, not only that, but when she kills, it’s oblivion. She can kill us in spirit form and in a host as well. Normally, we can jump from body to body, so losing a host body is no real loss. But this Witchblade, when she kills our hosts, she can kill us too.”

“We can beat her if we had more numbers, somethin’ Ah thought you were workin’ on, Nihil!” Midas accused.

“In due time, human children are not complex, but can also be contradictorily complex as well. The epicenter of the magic which freed us is the key to giving us the power we need to fully manifest. The school is the key, I just need to rile them up a little more.”

“Well, you have your way of doing that, and I have mine. By the way, ‘Midas’, jeez, these humans and their names for us, what are you going to do about that body?”

“Keep it, duh! Ah ain’t lettin’ that bitch take what’s mine so easily! Ah can’t go through with my plan now those two are dead…” Midas grunted in pain as he felt the sting of his lost limb. “Ah’ll have to wait until this grows back.”

“Guess I’m picking up the slack then. Very well, suppose I can get a little more aggressive with my followers.”

Case File 5-1 (Ishtar): The Goddess Beckons

View Online

Fluttershy paid a visit to Saint Pureheart church, she didn’t openly show her religious side at school, or around her friends as she didn’t want to cause a rift between them due to her beliefs. But in the recent months, Fluttershy had found herself seeking refuge here, praying before the altar for the school, her friends, and more recently, Sunset Shimmer.

Before Anon-A-Miss, when the “Old Sunset Shimmer” was around, Fluttershy was a constant target of her verbal and physical abuse. In all honesty, the physical never went beyond a shove, but her words cut deeper and hurt more than a punch or kick ever could. In those days, this was her sanctuary, well, here and the Animal Shelter.

Now though, she prayed more for Sunset than before. She prayed that Sunset would be alright, and that Anon-A-Miss would stop. With the recent events that have happened at school, Applejack and Rarity have seemed to have cleared the air with Sunset. Perhaps they had come to the same conclusion she had, but was too steeped in her anger and feelings of betrayal to see it clearly.

After taking a step back, Fluttershy could see that this was all ridiculous. Sunset obviously had nothing to gain from any of this, for god’s sake, she was nearly strangled to death in the middle of the day, in school, in front of a mob of students. That, more than anything, was enough for Fluttershy to see the light, but again, her fears of causing more of a rift between her friends kept her from completely joining Sunset.

Two weeks had passed since Apple Bloom’s kidnapping, and now Applejack and Sunset were friends again, if anything, it seemed that they were even better friends now than before. Fluttershy was happy to see this, however, there was still one among them that wasn’t.

“Rainbow Dash…”

The prismatic haired girl still had doubts, but Fluttershy knew better. Out of all their friends, Fluttershy and Rainbow had been friends for far longer than the others, so Fluttershy knew that Rainbow’s reluctance to accept that Sunset may not be Anon-A-Miss, was due to her pride. She had been harsher on Sunset than the others, she was a girl who believed in loyalty, and upheld that loyalty when it came to her friends.

So, when a friend betrayed that loyalty, Rainbow reacted harshly. But if it came to light that Sunset wasn’t guilty, then it would turn out that Rainbow Dash was the one who dishonored and betrayed that loyalty. She knew, eventually, hopefully, that Rainbow would swallow her pride and apologize to Sunset in some way that doesn’t look like an apology on the surface, but really is in her own way.

“Fluttershy, how nice to see you,” said a woman with a Cajun accent

Fluttershy glanced to her left, standing next to her pew was a Nun. She was dressed in her habit, with a rosary wrapped around her waist. The Nun had an ocean blue complexion, and despite her habit’s best efforts, it couldn’t completely contain her frizzy, red hair.

“Sister Meadowbrook,” said Fluttershy, “I didn’t know you returned!”

The Sister opened her arms and let Fluttershy come in for a hug. Sister Meadowbrook was the Nun who helped Fluttershy when Canterlot High School was being ruled by Sunset, listening to her worries and offering her advice and words of encouragement. Over time she had become her friend and would often take time out of the day to speak with Fluttershy.

“How was your trip to Rome?” Fluttershy asked.

“Splendid, although it was more business than pleasure, but it was still nice. How y’all been, Suga?” Meadowbrook asked.

“Not so good…”

Sister Meadowbrook and Fluttershy spent some time sitting in the pew, the Sister listened to everything that had happened with her friends, and how things seemed to be looking up. Meadowbrook could see that this was weighing on the young girl’s mind, but she would say that Fluttershy had become a stronger girl compared to the previous times they have talked.

“Sounds like a lot is happenin’ at your school, but don’t let it rattle ya, trust in the Lord and in your heart, and you’ll see the right path,” said Meadowbrook.

“I do trust Him, sometimes…it’s me I don’t trust. I let myself get blinded by my anger and failed to see the obvious!”

“But ya know better now, don’cha?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Then you’re already on the right path, you just need to take the first step, and ask forgiveness from this friend of yours.”

Fluttershy smiled, she always felt good talking to Sister Meadowbrook, in some ways she saw her as the actual big sister she never had. “I should get going, I have homework to do.”

“Go with God, my child.” Fluttershy waved to the Sister and Meadowbrook waved back as she exited.

When she left, the priest of the church came up behind her and asked, “What news did the Vatican have?”

Meadowbrook’s face became serious. “They’re wonderin’ whether or not to classify this as a true demonic attack, I urged them to release the weapon.”

The priest’s eyes nearly bulged from his skull. “Surely you don’t mean that?! The happenings around the city are extreme, but I don’t think that they are dire enough to warrant the use of such a powerful weapon. Besides, she’s not ready to wield it.”

Meadowbrook crossed her arms as she stared at the doors, or rather, to the person beyond those doors. “I brought it with me, it’s safely in storage until the time is right, or those old fogeys realize that we’re at war, but by then it may be too late.”

The priest stroked his beard and said, “Perhaps we won’t need to, that woman seems to be dispatching the demons.”

“We can’t rely on that person, we don’t know if they even are a demon or an actual person, plus, have you seen the way she’s dressed?” Meadowbrook sighed. “I’ll pray that she’s on our side, but I still have faith that Fluttershy will come around.”

Rainbow Dash sat on the bleachers of the soccer field. The snowfall was heavy today, so the field was a blanket of white. It was fine though, she didn’t come out here to play, she just needed to think.

Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, three of her friends were now on Sunset’s side. Rarity she could understand, she was saved by Sunset during that fashion show, so maybe she won her over that way. Not that she was ungrateful to Sunset for doing that, the last thing Rainbow wanted was for Rarity to be killed by that monster.

Applejack was another story, Sunset had only spent a week or two with the Apple Family and yet somehow she was chummy with them again, well except for Apple Bloom, her and Sweetie Belle still didn’t trust Sunset it seemed.

Pinkie Pie was the first to get on the “Sunset Shimmer is innocent” bandwagon, and to this day, her words still echoed in her head. “She ponied up, Rainbow! You know, the Magic of Friendship kind of ponying up! If Sunset was really the mean, cruel girl that everybody’s saying she is, then how would that happen?! If anything, she would’ve demoned up instead of ponying up! Shouldn’t that be reason enough to think she may be telling the truth?”

“I don’t know dammit!” Rainbow exclaimed into the cold air. “Because now you’re on everyone’s shit list because of what was posted! But that’s bullshit! You’d never do anything like that!……Dammit all…”

Rainbow hunched over and held her head, things were too confusing, too chaotic. She thought she knew what was up, that Sunset was secretly reverting back to her old ways, but in the back of her head, Rainbow was starting to see the pieces that weren’t fitting into place. There was even a dark part of her mind that hoped that Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, because if that wasn’t true, then Fluttershy was right about abandoning their friend when she was most in need. Rainbow made that mistake back when Sunset divided them all, and she swore she would never break those bonds of loyalty again. The Sirens tested that, and Sunset was the one to bring them back, now…

“Hey, Cap, what’s up?”

Rainbow Dash looked up, somehow one of her teammates had gotten closer to her without realizing it. The girl before her had a grayish purple complexion, with blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and sandy yellow colored eyes. Rainbow knew this girl, her name was Cloud Kicker, one of her soccer teammates. She had come onto the team not long after Lightning Dust was kicked out, and quickly found her place on the team, she was really likeable, and always brought the team’s spirits up. That, and she was the second biggest pervert on the team.

“Hey Cloud…”

“You look stressed, got a hockey game coming up?” Cloud asked.

“No, nothing like that…it’s all this Anon-A-Miss crap…” Rainbow confessed.

“Oh…” Cloud Kicker sat down next to her captain and said, “I guess it’s harder on you than most of us, Sunset was your friend right? But then again, I guess she really wasn’t if she’s doing all this.”

Rainbow Dash growled in frustration. “That’s just it! I don’t know if it is her anymore! It’s her style, but she’s the one getting all the crap! I keep trying to think about what the endgame of this whole thing is! But I keep drawing a blank, and in between all that shit, she goes and does things that make me think otherwise! Like what happened at the fashion show!”

Cloud Kicker nodded. “Oh yeah, I remember watching that on the news, that was some crazy shit! Didn’t Sunset save Rarity?”

“Yeah…the thing is, as much of a bitch as Sunset was in the past, I don’t think she’d let any of us die if she could help it,” Rainbow confessed.

Cloud Kicker rubbed the back of her head as she said, “Weeellllll, she did turn into a she-demon and nearly incinerated you and Twilight Sparkle.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “That was different, she was overwhelmed with magical power, it just…brought out all the bad stuff in her and made her into that. Like being trapped in your own body kind of thing.”

“Did Sunset tell you that?” Cloud asked.

Rainbow nodded.

“Wow…that’s messed up.” Cloud Kicker stood up and stretched. “You know…there is a place I go to just forget about school and everything else, someplace that doesn’t care about titles, money, or anything. Just fun.”

Rainbow scoffed. “Great, drop me a brochure.”

Cloud Kicker dropped to the next row and stood in front of Rainbow Dash. “I’m serious Cap, if you’re feeling this stressed out, maybe you should join me. I’ve been thinking about asking you for a while now, but I think now’s the best time to take you. What do you say?”

Rainbow looked into Cloud’s eyes, she didn’t look like she was joking, she looked fully serious about what she was saying. “Does it involve any kind of drugs or alcohol?”

“Oh, there’s a drug, but it’s one that the human body naturally makes, so we won’t need to ingest anything. Alcohol dulls the senses, and we’ll need all of them for where we’re going,” Cloud answered.

Rainbow Dash sighed and relented. “Alright, when do you want to do this?”

“Let’s go tonight, since it’s Saturday we can stay out later, unless your folks don’t let you then we can go now?”

Rainbow thought about it for a minute and decided that now was as good a time as any. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Great! I promise you won’t regret it!”

Deep down in the ice caverns stood a colossal dragon, it’s body was made of platinum blue ice armor, with silvery scales protecting it’s more vulnerable areas. The dragon’s eyes shined red as it bared its many rows of sword-like teeth, and then gave a mighty roar that blew with all the force of a raging snow storm.

The beast’s name was Cocytus, the dragon of the Netherworld Tundra, none dared to strike at this mighty creature, no one, except two. A warrior woman with flaming red and yellow hair which gave off sparkling embers and crackled like a fireplace. Her armor shined like the sun, gold, and engraved with rune markings and sun symbols. In her right hand she held the mighty Sol Gladius, the Sword of the Sun. Its blade was made entirely of pure magical fire, so hot and intense that it hummed. It was essentially a laser sword. Connected to her armor was red, tattered cape, around her left hand was a spell circle, primed and ready to cast.

To her left was another warrior, a cat girl. Her pink curly locks went down her back, where her tail swishing side to side in anticipation. She wore blue armor, but not as heavily armored as her partner, allowing her better mobility, for her abilities called for speed, agility, and strength. Attached to her belt was a dagger, and in her left hand she had three kunai, each attached with a red paper tag.

“We finally found it, Cocytus, let’s bag us a big one, Pinkie!”

“Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun, Sunset!”

Cocytus roared with all its might, flexing its boney wings into the air, and casting a shadow that looked as if giant claws were about to rend the two heroines to pieces. What happened was almost like that, Cocytus flapped its wings forward, and from those several ice shards were launched at them. Sunset got out in front, twirling her sword around with master skill. Each time an ice shard came close, Sol Gladius’ intense heat evaporated the shard before they could reach their target, and with each evaporated ice shard, steam would appear and gradually conceal the duo. Cocytus continued to pelt them with ice shards, but Sunset would just move faster, continuously destroying them.

After a minute, Cocytus ceased its barrage, a thick cloud of steam obscured the area where the heroine duo once stood, Cocytus snarled and prepared to launch itself towards the cloud, but then…

“Searing Soul Flames!”

The cloud of steam was suddenly, and violently blow away as a column of fire roared towards Cocytus. The ice dragon opened its mouth and fired off a stream of cryo flame to match it. The two flames met in the middle, and at that moment, exploded upon contact, creating a steam explosion.

Cocytus skidded backwards, but managed to stop itself by digging its claws into the ground. At that moment, Pinkie Pie appeared overhead and threw three kunai right at the monster’s face. All three managed to stick into the monster’s face, not that it caused it any harm. However, the red tags that were attached to the kunai began to glow brighter and brighter, until all three of them exploded in the monster’s face, right close to its red eyes. The beast roared in pain, thrashing about and trying to strike at the one who caused it harm.

Pinkie Pie, while still in the air, made some strange hand signs and cried out, “Inferno Technique: Red Spiral Sparrow!”

Pinkie Pie dove down straight for Cocytus as her body was enveloped in flames. Those flames took on the form of a fiery red sparrow, and at the tip of the construct’s beak, a fire tornado formed. The sparrow continued flying downwards until it impacted Cocytus, once again, in the face. The flames wrapped around the ice dragon’s head, making it thrash even more.

Pinkie Pie appeared next to Sunset, skidding to a halt. “Those flames will burn for at least thirty seconds; he won’t be able to attack while that’s happening so hit him with a good one!”

“On it!”

Sunset prepared to unleash a powerful attack, but at that moment, a blizzard erupted around Cocytus, and in an instant, the flames of Pinkie’s attack were instantly turned into ice, and in the next moment, shattered like fragile glass.

“That’s not fair! How did it do that?!” Pinkie asked.

Sunset looked upon the creature for a second, and cursed when she saw why that happened. “Netherworld Ice Guard, it’s a special ability that nullifies lingering flames, so we can’t gradually damage this thing with our other fire attacks!”

“Well that sucks, so what –?!”

“PINKIE, LOOK OUT!” Sunset shouted.

Cocytus spun around and whipped its long tail in their direction. Sunset dove for Pinkie Pie and forced her friend down to the ground, but unfortunately, managed to get struck by the enormous tail. The knight was sent flying before striking up against the ice cave wall, Sunset coughed up some blood as she hung there in her body sized crater.

“SUNSET!”

Cocytus roared again and this time unleashed another cryo flame attack. Pinkie Pie used her amazing speed and agility to move out of the attack path. The ice dragon strafed its flames across the ground as it tried to hit Pinkie Pie, but she was too quick for it. When the flames hit the ground, they didn’t burn, they just froze, creating glaciers the longer Cocytus held the flames on a single spot. Pinkie Pie had to keep dodging, she excelled in hit and run tactics, Sunset was the tank, if anything, Pinkie was a glass cannon, powerful, but if she took a good hit, she was down and out.

I won’t let Sunset down!

Pinkie made another hand sign and cried out, “Shadow Technique: Army of One!”

Suddenly, the room was filled with hundreds of Pinkies, each one running or bouncing off the walls in random directions. Cocytus didn’t know which one to attack, but lashed out at the ones it could get, but each one that it hit only faded into mist.

“Shadow Technique: Binding Soul!”

Ten of the Pinkie clones suddenly had purple glowing kunai in their hands. With great precision and timing, all ten threw their kunais at the same time, each one striking a point on the ground, more specifically, the dragon’s shadow. The ice dragon suddenly found itself unable to move, it struggled with all its might, but the creature was bound by the mystic kunais that Pinkie threw.

The copies disappeared and only the real Pinkie Pie was left standing before the behemoth. She made another hand sign and shouted, “INFERNO TECHNIQUE: HELLFIRE TIGER!!!”

Pinkie Pie got on all fours, the pupils of her eyes turning into slits as she growled fiercely at Cocytus. In that moment, roaring flames swirled around her, growing larger by the second until they were half as big as Cocytus. The flames then took on the form a large tiger, with black flames for its stripes, yellow flames for its eyes, and white flames for its teeth. The tiger construct gave a mighty roar, overlaid with Pinkie’s own voice giving a battle cry.

The tiger charged for the ice dragon and swiped at it with its claws, leaving a trail of orange gashes across its armored hide. The gashes glowed intensely until they detonated a second later. The tiger swiped again, and again, and again, with each successful swipe more and more explosions erupted from the dragon’s body, and with its shadow bound, Cocytus could only stand there and take it.

The tiger jumped into the air landed on the ceiling, and spring boarded off the ceiling to land on Cocytus’ back. The tiger opened its mouth, and bit down on the monster’s neck, and dug its claws into it’s back. The core of the tiger began to glow, an orb of bright light was building up, during this battle, and it was now shining intensely. In the next moment, the orb of light detonated, pouring flames all over the Cocytus and making the beast thrash about in pain. However, just like before, its ability activated, turning the flames into ice.

However, the process was slower than before, as the flames were of a higher power, like that of the ice, so the burn damage this creature took was lingering longer than it would like. However, it came with a cost, the burn damage only lasted so long as the caster remained in the flames to fuel them. Pinkie Pie knew this was a suicide attack, but if it meant taking down the beast, then so be it.

Unfortunately, the flames didn’t just burn the monster, it also burned the binding spell. Now free, Cocytus bucked and thrashed, jumping up and slamming itself into the ceiling and walls. Pinkie Pie tried to hang on for as long as she could, but that was it. She lost her grip and flew off the dragon’s back, landing in a heap on the floor some twenty feet away.

Her fur was singed, and her armor was cracking, Pinkie Pie could barely get up, but she managed to get onto her hands and knees. She looked over at the dragon, but the flames were already turning into ice and about to shatter.

“I’m sorry…Sunset…I wasn’t able to finish it…”

“No, you did more than enough,” said Sunset.

Pinkie Pie looked to her left and watched as Sunset walked to her side. The knight twirled her sword around and stuck it into the floor. The sword then created a barrier of light around them, keeping them safe. “Sunset, you can’t, if that thing hits you again, that’s it!”

“Well, that’s fine, cause thanks to you, I’ll only need one powerful hit to finish it. No one hurts my friends! Activate: LIMIT BREAK!!!”

Sunset’s armor began to disengage, the parts that limited her mobility disappeared, leaving only her shoulder pauldrons, bracers, chest plate, plated skirt, and boots. The small grooves in the remaining pieces of armor began to open up, and glow white. Golden particles wrapped around Sunset’s body, making her eyes shine a bright turquoise, while her hair exploded into a majestic wildfire.

The knight charged for Cocytus, the ice dragon unleashed a torrent of cryo flame on Sunset, but the aura around her body acted like a barrier, protecting her from its freezing effects.

Sunset’s hand started to glow green as she yelled out, “These hands of mine, shine, and ROAR!” Bringing her hands together, Sunset focused the emerald light, transforming it into a sword of pure energy that reached almost to the ceiling of the nearly one-hundred-foot-tall cave.

“Take this! My love!”

Sunset slashed from the left at the dragon, carving an emerald gash into the Cocytus.

“My anger!”

Another slash, from the right, forming a second gash and creating a glowing “X” mark.

“And all my sorrow!” Sunset slashed horizontally through the “X” mark, and raised her energy sword high as she yelled out, “SHINING SWORD DESTROYER!!!”

Remarkably, the sword tripled in length and size, piercing through the cave ceiling.

“GOOOOOO!!!”

Sunset flew straight for Cocytus and brought down the dreadnought slaying sword. Cocytus could do nothing as the giant killer blade struck its head and cleaved it all the way down, leaving a huge, blazing gash on the ceiling, walls, and ground. Sunset continued to cut downwards until she landed on the ground, at the same time, the blade shrunk in size until it faded into particles of green light. She looked up and watched as the red glow of Cocytus’s eyes faded and the two halves of the dragon exploded into diamond dust. The panels of Sunset’s armor returned to their normal state as the Limit Break’s time was up.

Sunset dashed back to Pinkie and knelt before her. “You okay?”

Pinkie Pie looked at Sunset with stars in her eyes, her tail swishing back and forth. “THAT WAS SO, COOL!!!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I didn’t know you could do that in the game!”

~*~*~*~

Sunset and Pinkie Pie sat in front of Sunset’s TV, in their hands were a couple of controllers, and on the screen, their avatars had just completed a quest to slay the Netherworld Ice Dragon.

“It’s just a Limit Break technique, your character could learn it too, if you want, I can show you,” Sunset suggested.

“Yes, yes, yes! I want to go all golden!” Pinkie Pie abandoned her controller and swiftly stood up on the couch and began imitating Sunset’s avatar’s final attack. “‘My love, my anger, and all my sorrow! Shining Sword Destroyer!’ That was so epic, it gave me chills!”

Sunset blushed embarrassment as she looked away from Pinkie Pie. “I just got caught up in the heat of the moment and just…got into character…ugh…that was embarrassing.”

Pinkie plopped back down onto the couch. “Why? I think it was neat how into it you were! Maybe you should start a gaming channel on ViewTube?”

Sunset glanced to her pink friend and asked, “Do you think so…? I mean, I have gotten good at them, but I was mostly using them to help me build better hand-eye coordination. Flash’s guitar lessons helped, but I needed something else to help it along.”

“Oh, so that’s why you fumbled a lot when you held things,” said Pinkie in realization.

“Yep, and somehow I became a pretty good guitar player and gamer.”

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow and smirked. “ ‘Pretty’ good?”

“Don’t stroke my ego, I’m not Rainbow,” said Sunset.

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Eh, I could ‘stroke’ something else, seeing as the whole school thinks we’re together after all.”

Sunset’s face heated, knowing full well what she meant by that. Unfortunately, Anon-A-Miss’s post about Pinkie and Sunset being together, and that Pinkie was secretly getting dirt on everyone, had alienated her from most of the student body. She didn’t it show much, but Sunset could see that this weighed on her, and it wasn’t like this was unexpected, but still, Sunset wished that this hadn’t happened.

“It’s all my fault…”

“What’s your fault?”

“You getting involved with me…if you hadn’t, you’d still be party planning, and hanging out with the other students…” Sunset put her controller down and sighed. “Now Anon-A-Miss has made it so that I can’t not be around you, if I’m not, I’m afraid someone’s going to do something to you.”

Pinkie Pie smiled, scooted closer, and brought Sunset into a hug. “It’s alright, honestly, I think this is some sort of cosmic punishment for leaving you like we did. And besides, it’s not all bad, I get to be around the person I like – EEP!”

Sunset and Pinkie froze up, the flame haired girl glanced to her right and saw that Pinkie Pie was blushing a little. “Um…Pinkie…when you say ‘like’, h-how do you mean it?”

“Uh…um…I-I meant it…I meant it like I like…I…what I mean is…” Pinkie, amazingly, found herself at a loss for words.

“Did you mean it as if to say…you like-like me, maybe?” Sunset asked.

Pinkie Pie, realizing that she was still holding onto Sunset, released her and turned away slightly. “Um…I-I think I-I might…”

Sunset smiled a little as she rubbed the back of her head. “Wow…I…wow.”

“But I don’t…I don’t think I should.”

The former unicorn mare looked at Pinkie Pie with confusion. “Why not? Is your family…like, not cool with same sex relationships?”

Pinkie Pie held her hand out and gave a little wavy motion. “My Mom and Dad were raised old school…but, I don’t think that they’d disown me or anything.”

“Then, why do you think you shouldn’t like me like that?”

Pinkie turned around and sighed, having a dejected look on her face. “I’m not…I don’t think I’m good enough.”

Sunset furrowed her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Pinkie, I thought I said never to talk about yourself like–!”

“Sunset, please, you and I both know I’m out of your league!” Pinkie interrupted. “I could see you with any of the other girls and making it work…even Princess Twilight! Because they all have something to work towards, Rarity with her fashion, Rainbow Dash and sports, Fluttershy’s either going to be a doctor or veterinarian, and Applejack’s going to get into her family business!”

And she’s going to be filthy stinking rich come close to graduation, thought Sunset.

“Princess Twilight, well, c’mon, it’s in the title! Me? What do I do other than plan great parties?!” Pinkie continued.

“You do more than that, you bring laughter to those who need it the most, you lift the spirits of others just by smiling, your smile puts people at ease and allows them to smile too!” Sunset countered.

“And don’t even get me started on my figure.”

“Oh hell no.”

“Hell yes!” Pinkie Pie stood up and struck a pose with her hip out. “I’m not lean like Rainbow, our curvy like Rarity, or chiseled like AJ, or a bombshell like Fluttershy!”

“Ugh, so you have a little pudge, not a big deal!” Sunset stood up and met her gaze with Pinkie’s. “Pinkie, I’d have to be pretty damn shallow to care about how you look, and honestly, having you back in my life has kept me sane believe it or not!”

Pinkie blinked. “I…I have?”

Sunset sat back down and stared at the floor. “I get frustrated…Anon-A-Miss, all these demon attacks, it weighs on me y’know? Not only that, but I made the choice to stay here and make this world my new home. I don’t regret my decision, but sometimes…I keep looking at the statue and wonder if I should just say ‘FUCK IT ALL!’ and just head back to Equestria!”

Pinkie’s eyes widened with shock, she had no idea Sunset had contemplated leaving their world. Really though, Pinkie couldn’t blame her, with everyone in the school hating her, and after they abandoned her, what else was left on this side? At least back in her world, she’d be with Princess Twilight, with someone who cared about her, and could live her life surrounded by magic and wonder. Honestly, Pinkie wouldn’t blame Sunset at all for choosing to do that, not everyone had that kind of option.

“But every time I thought about it…I thought about how sad I’d make you…so soon after getting you back as my friend, and really, I’m glad you were the first. You were the first one of the girls to approach me after the Fall Formal and Princess Twilight left.” Pinkie Pie sat down next to Sunset. “I complained, I cursed at you, and even threatened you a little.”

“Yep, but those weren’t as impressive as your cursing, I think you’d make a sailor blush,” said Pinkie with a chuckle.

Sunset chuckled as well. “You managed to bring me out of my darkness, and allowed me to open up to you and the girls. That’s why I was so happy to have you back as my friend, the person who made me smile again, the person who brightens my day…” Sunset looked to Pinkie, she saw that Pinkie’s hands were resting on her knees. The former unicorn carefully moved her right hand and placed it over Pinkie’s left. “…was you.”

Pinkie’s blush was even more intense than it was before, her heart was racing in her chest, her mind more of a jumbled mess than it normally was. Sunset liked her, and she liked Sunset, was there really more that was needed other than that?

“Are…A-Are you sure you’d be okay with…with someone like me?” Pinkie asked with a shaky voice.

Sunset slowly interlocked her fingers with Pinkie’s left hand and scooted closer. Words weren’t enough, and to be honest, Sunset had been wanting to show Pinkie how much she meant to her. Using her left hand, Sunset turned Pinkie’s head to face her, the redhead leaned closer and planted her lips onto Pinkie’s.

The pink party planner was shocked, but only for a moment before she decided to stop thinking about it and just enjoy the moment. Pinkie pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around Sunset, pulling Sunset towards her. Sunset took the initiative and moved forward, making Pinkie Pie lie down on the couch with Sunset on top of her. Sunset prodded at Pinkie’s lips, asking for permission to enter. Pinkie Pie happily granted her entrance, allowing Sunset to slip her tongue into Pinkie’s mouth. Both muscles vied for supremacy as both girls moaned pleasurably.

Sunset’s senses were becoming hyper aware of the girl beneath her, the cotton candy scent of Pinkie’s hair, the sugary sweet taste of Pinkie’s mouth, the plumpness and warmth of her impressive mounds, all of it excited Sunset to her core. She lifted her body up just a bit, allowing her hands to roam over Pinkie’s shoulders, and then to her chest, Pinkie released small squeaks once Sunset got a handful of clothed mammary and gave them gentle squeezes. Those hands continued downward, feeling Pinkie’s stomach before resting at Pinkie’s hips. Sunset broke the kiss, a cliché strand of saliva still connected them.

Pinkie Pie was panting, her face still red, her body hot and excited. Sunset looked down at her friend, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she straddled her. Neither of them knew where they wanted this to go, they simply just stared at each other, looking over each other’s bodies. Sunset was wearing a teal tank top and black pajama pants, while Pinkie Pie was wearing a white button up blouse and powder blue skirt with leggings. Pinkie, without a word, slowly brought her hands to her shirt and began unbuttoning her blouse one after the other.

By the fourth button, Sunset was able to see the white bra that was underneath the shirt, and that’s when she reached out and grabbed Pinkie’s hands, stopping her from continuing.

“I-I’m sorry, did you…did you want to do it?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset swallowed hard. “I want to…I really want to. But…”

“But…?”

Sunset released Pinkie’s hands. “I don’t want to move too fast, you’re not about to tell me you’re ready to have sex with me, are you?”

Pinkie sheepishly brought her arms across her chest. “I…I’m a little nervous…but…i-if you want to…I don’t really mind…”

Sunset sighed and shook her head. “No, if you’re not ready, then there’s no point.” The former unicorn lied down atop Pinkie again and snuggled up to her.

“Sunset…?”

“I don’t want to push you just because we’re excited. When you’re ready, we’ll do this properly after a nice date.”

Pinkie’s nervousness faded as she wrapped her hands around Sunset again, hugging her new girlfriend. “I’d like that, a-and I promise I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

“Good.” A pervy grin formed on her lips. “Because on that day, I’m going to screw your brains out. I got a lot of build up sexual tension and I plan to unleash it all on you. You’ll probably won’t be walking right for a few days.”

“Oooh, kinky,” said Pinkie happily.

Both girls settled on the couch, enjoying the moment.

“Pinkie.”

“Yeah?”

“I like you.”

Pinkie smiled.

“I like you too.” Pinkie Pie glanced to her right and said, “Sunset.”

“Hmm?”

“We forgot to save the game.”

Sunset looked at the TV and saw that a random horde of enemy monsters had spawned and killed their avatars.

“Oh, fuck me!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Sorry, not today, maybe sometime down the road.”

Sunset looked at Pinkie Pie, who only grinned and chuckled. The flaming redhead let her head plop back down onto Pinkie’s chest and stated, “You’re lucky you’re boobs are too comfortable.”

“Guess that’s why they call ‘em–”

“Don’t say it!”

“–dirty pillows!”

“Ugh…”

Rainbow Dash rode in Cloud Kicker’s car, they had been driving for about thirty minutes and were about to enter the old warehousing distract. Rainbow didn’t like it, not much was here, some of the warehouses were abandoned, and some were in the process of closing up, about the only thing most of them were good for were for people looking to shoot Indie films, skateboard, free run, or just to do drugs where they know the police were less likely to spend the extra manpower to patrol.

“Cloud, where the hell are you taking me, seriously?” Rainbow asked.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, just trust me, Cap,” Cloud answered.

The prismatic haired girl didn’t want to distrust Cloud Kicker, she never gave her a reason not to trust her, still, she wondered, what would Cloud Kicker be doing in a place like this?

Rainbow’s answer would come sooner than she thought, as Cloud Kicker stopped in front of one, of many, abandoned warehouses. Both girls exited the car, Cloud Kicker led the way with Rainbow Dash following behind. They entered the building, it was musty, and smelled of rust, and dust. Broken windows allowed some of the snow to come in, and the wind that blew through them howled loudly through the large building, Rainbow swore it sounded alive. Cloud kept walking until she stopped at a random red door.

“It’s through here,” said Cloud Kicker as she opened the door. “Or more accurately, it’s below.”

Rainbow was still weary, but proceeded to follow. The girls went down three flights of stairs before finding themselves at the bottom, a basement level.

“What kind of warehouse is this?”

“I looked it up, apparently they used to manufacture bombs down here back during World War II. The place upstairs is just a cover, but when it was over, they sold the rights to use the place to the city, that is after they took back all their bomb making equipment,” Cloud Kicker explained.

“Okay…so, what are we doing in a warehouse that was a front for bomb making?”

Up ahead was a man, he was wearing a black robe, with a golden tassel belt, and a black mask. The mask had a symbol on it, not one that Rainbow recognized either. She only knew of weird magic symbols thanks to the anime she watched, some of which were rooted in real world symbols, but this one, it didn’t ring any bells. About the only thing she recognized was the center glyph-like mark, it was the symbol for the planet Venus, which also happened to be the symbol for females.

Cloud Kicker stopped before the man, she placed the ring and index finger of her right hand in the middle of her pelvis, dragged upwards until it reached her forehead, and in the same motion presented her hand to the robed man. “By the grace of Ishtar.”

The robed man clasped his hands onto Clouds right hand, one on top and one at the bottom, and then bowed slightly. “By her grace.”

Rainbow was now starting to get worried about what she just stepped into. The fuck is this…?

The robed man opened the door and resumed his guard duty. Cloud Kicker waved for Rainbow to follow, “C’mon, Cap, it’s alright, I promise!”

Rainbow Dash, reluctantly, followed Cloud Kicker. When she got passed the door, the robed guard closed the door behind her. Everything went dark for a second before red lights came on, the inside was long, and looked brand new compared to the rest of the facility. Along the right side of the wall were many different cubby holes, Rainbow walked up to one of them and saw that there were clothes inside, some were neatly folded and placed inside, others haphazardly folded, and some that were just thrown in there as if the person was in a hurry. Not just the clothes, but also shoes, jewelry, and electronic devices. There was a break in the cubby wall, that break was an open doorway, above the doorway it read “Bathrooms/Showers”.

Showers? “Hey, Cloud, what the hell is this – HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”

Cloud Kicker was standing at the cubby holes closest to the door at the opposite side of the room, and it was there that the teen was getting undressed. She had already taken off her coat, shirt, and bra and was now working on her lower half.

“W-W-W-What are you doing Cloud?!” Rainbow demanded.

Cloud Kicker stopped, her two thumbs resting on the inside of the waistband of her panties. “What’s wrong? We change in front of each other in the locker room plenty of times before.”

“That’s at school! We’re in some dank warehouse, thirty minutes away from the closest anything, there’s some weird guy in robes standing guard outside that door, and I’m at least three stories underground! Cloud, please, tell me where the fuck I am!”

Cloud didn’t seem concerned at all by Rainbow’s reaction, if anything, she seemed to be expecting it. The blonde continued to undress, kicking off her shoes and pulling her pants and panties off in one movement. She collected her things and placed them into the cubby hole, after she turned around and gave her soccer captain an unabashed view of her nude form.

“Calm down, Cap, I know this is strange, and a little weird, but I promise, this is something you want, something you need,” said Cloud.

“And what is it that I need?” Rainbow dared ask.

“Release. It’s no secret, we’re pretty much the two biggest pervs on the team. I kinda hoped that you’d be up for a friends with benefits relationship, but after hearing what you’re going through, I think you need more than that.”

Rainbow shook her head. “What exactly is more than friends with benefits?! A girlfriend?!”

“Not exactly.” Cloud Kicker walked over to a panel, she then pulled on a lever and made the panel move up.

Although you couldn’t see it due to the red lighting, Rainbow Dash was blushing up to her ears. The panel revealed a one-way window, allowing Rainbow Dash to see what was on the other side of that door, and what she saw, was frying her mind. There were many people on the other side, some in their late teens to early twenties, all of whom were engaged sex. It was like something out of some porno film, one large orgy, girls were doing girls, boys were doing girls, two girls for one guy, two guys for one girl, the sheer amount of debauchery that was going on behind that door was unlike anything Rainbow had ever seen. Unlike the room they were in, the other room was bathed in pink light, there were beds, couches, sex swings, a section for BDSM, and one for pet play.

“W-Wha…I don’t…”

“This is the Ishtar Club, named after the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war. In here, the world out there doesn’t exist, the only thing you focus on in here, is pleasure, nothing more or less,” said Cloud Kicker.

“Y-You can’t be serious…Y-You brought me to a sex club! I…I don’t…know…” Rainbow was having a hard time trying to get her words out, while also battling the growing arousal in her loins.

Cloud Kicker released the lever and shut the panel, she then got closer to Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash backed up. The blonde girl was giving her bedroom eyes and continued to advance on Rainbow, slowly herding Rainbow towards the cubby wall. “I was the same way, Cap. When I was first brought here, I was overwhelmed by what I saw, I mean, yeah I’m kind of a horn dog, but something like that? There was no way I was ready for that.”

Rainbow yelped when her back hit the wall, Cloud Kicker swiftly closed the gap between them and pressed her nude body against Rainbow Dash, keeping her face just mere inches from hers. The sports girl kept her hands glued to the wall behind her, she didn’t know what to do right now, her brain was telling her this wasn’t right and that she needed to get the hell out, and the other part, her libido, was telling her not to pass up a chance like this.

Cloud Kicker could see the warring emotions in Rainbow’s rose colored eyes. She smiled a little as she gently took Rainbow Dash’s hands into her own, Rainbow offered little in the way of resistance as she made Rainbow grab ahold of her breasts. Cloud Kicker gave a low moan and said, “Can you feel my heartbeat? It’s racing, like I know yours is too.”

“Cloud…I…”

“I won’t force you, there’d be no point. All I ask is that you give this a shot, this one time. If after this you never want to come back, that’s up to you. But I promise, this’ll help with everything your going through,” said Cloud in a sultry voice.

Rainbow’s hands massaged Cloud’s breasts, as if they had minds of their own, those same hands slid down Cloud’s lithe figure and found themselves grabbing at her ass. “W-What are the rules?”

“No one is allowed take anything too far, this is a place to fuck and have fun, so things like relationships are left right here. Unless it’s the BDSM section, you’re not to harm your partner, no means no here. If you’re just wanting to have one partner tonight, that’s fine, but you must ask for permission to join, no surprise pokes or licks.”

“W-What about things like condoms? Do the guys wear ‘em? I’m not saying I’m planning on being with a guy, but I definitely don’t want to get pregnant or get an STD,” said Rainbow.

“So long as Ishtar wills it, diseases and pregnancies don’t exist in her world,” Cloud Kicker answered.

Rainbow looked at her in confusion. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Trust me, you’ll understand when you step inside.” Cloud Kicker stepped away, and she could see the look on Rainbow’s face that said she wanted to keep touching her. “The cubby beside mine is open, go ahead and put your clothes in.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe she was considering doing this, she stood before the cubby hole and began to disrobe. With each article of clothing removed, her nervousness went up. She was about to walk into a large room with dozens of people screwing each other left and right, and anyone one of them could proposition her to have sex, there wasn’t any condom use, if what Cloud Kicker said as true, how safe could this be? If even one person had an STD, the chances were one-hundred percent that she was going to get whatever it was. Still, she continued to take off her clothes, even with her brain telling her all the ways this could go wrong for her, she kept going. Rainbow now stood before Cloud Kicker, completely naked, and bare for her teammate to see, she felt even more embarrassed when she saw that Cloud Kicker definitely had more going on upstairs than she did. Not that her girls were nothing to sneeze at, but compared to her friends…

“You look hot, Cap,” said Cloud Kicker.

“T-Thanks,” said Rainbow.

Cloud Kicker offered her hand to Rainbow, “Take my hand, Cap.”

Rainbow Dash did so without question, right now the only person she could trust was Cloud Kicker, everyone there was a complete stranger, but Cloud Kicker she knew.

Cloud walked over to the door with Rainbow Dash in tow. The blonde girl pressed on the panel, and the door immediately slid open. The first thing that Rainbow was hit with was the smell, the inside reeked of sex, and the heat was second. She could hear the sound of the building’s A/C working to keep the air flowing, but it also helped to circulate the smell. The moment it hit her nostrils, Rainbow felt her sex moisten. Cloud smiled and led Rainbow further in as the door closed behind them.

The floor was divided up into a walkway with heated marble slabs, and velvet carpeting. The third thing Rainbow’s senses picked up were the sounds, the sounds of girls moaning, boys grunting, flesh slapping against flesh, and cries from the different orgasms that the different members of this club were having around her. There was something else that Rainbow felt, for some reason, she was gradually feeling less nervous about being in this place, her skin tingled, like she was getting static shocked. The feeling crawled all over her body, and even in her body.

“Do you feel that?” Cloud asked. “That tingly feeling like electricity?”

“Yeah, how did–?”

“It’s the light of Ishtar. I guess you could call it a light of protection, like I said, disease and pregnancy are nonexistent here, only pleasure is allowed. So, you can do it raw as many times as you want and never have to worry about a guy cumming outside or inside, here, it’s always inside!”

Rainbow and Cloud stopped in front of a couple of teens, the girl was on top of the boy in reverse cowgirl, she bopped her hips up and down like a piston until the boy below her cummed. Her face was twisted into a look of pure bliss, Rainbow dared to look lower and watched as the girl’s pussy had cum leaking down from it.

“S-Shit…”

“I know right?”

The inside was bigger than what Rainbow thought, it extended further into the back, with more and more scenes of debauchery taking place. Rainbow stopped when she looked ahead and saw a teen girl sitting on a throne at the top of some stairs as she watched the fun taking place before her. It was hard to tell, but the girl had a white complexion, her hair was pink, and had a body like that of a supermodel. Like everyone else, she too was naked, but had two girls sitting on either side of her throne.

“Who’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, that’s the Vessel of the Goddess. She’s Ishtar’s priestess, she mostly sits there and watches us, but…on rare occasions, she’ll come down from her throne and pick one person to be her lover for the night, and if you’re really lucky, the goddess herself will appear, and when that happens, ooohhh~”

Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that there was wet streak going down along Cloud Kicker’s inner thigh. “Did…Did you cum a little?”

“Trust me, if you’ve seen and felt what I have, you’d cum too.”

Rainbow Dash looked to Cloud Kicker’s right, and saw an open bed. “I’d like to, so let’s get started!”

Without warning, Rainbow Dash flung Cloud Kicker towards the bed. The blonde yelped happily as she bounced on the mattress, and in less than a second, Rainbow Dash pounced on top of her. She stared hungrily at Cloud Kicker and captured her lips with an equally hungry kiss. Their tongues wrestled, but Rainbow was proving to be the stronger as she succeeded in practically shoving her tongue down Cloud’s throat.

Rainbow pulled away, granting them both much needed oxygen. The rainbow haired girl repositioned herself, taking Cloud Kicker’s right leg and laying it across her left shoulder, making her spread her legs and expose her sex. Rainbow scooted forward until her own pussy was pressed hard against, Cloud Kicker. The captain of the soccer team began to grind against Cloud’s pussy, her speed increased gradually, not giving Cloud Kicker any time to process what was happening.

“Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck me, Cap!” Cloud exclaimed.

“That’s the idea!” Rainbow responded.

Rainbow leaned forward and began humping Cloud Kicker in earnest, she lowered her head and latched onto Cloud’s right breast and used her right hand to massage the other. Cloud could only wrap her arms around Rainbow as she cried out in bliss from Rainbow’s aggressive love making. At the same time, unbeknownst to either of them, the Vessel of the Goddess started to take notice of them.

“Cap, I’m…gonna cum!”

“That’s right, cum for me!”

“Aaaaaaah~”

Cloud Kicker’s back arched as her pussy contracted and released her orgasmic fluids. Rainbow didn’t stop, she kept humping and sucking on Cloud’s tit, prolonging Cloud’s orgasm as her eyes began to roll up. Rainbow’s own orgasm crashed upon her, spraying her own girl cum onto Cloud Kicker’s sex. Cloud released Rainbow and fell onto the bed, panting from the intensity of what they just did.

“Oh god…Cap…that was so good,” Cloud panted.

“I’m not done yet.”

Rainbow pulled away and changed her position yet again. Her face was now staring at Cloud Kicker’s sex, while Cloud Kicker stared up at Rainbow’s. Neither needed any words as the two girls went to work on each other. Rainbow used her fingers to spread Cloud’s lips, she stuck out her tongue she started to lick at the vulva and made her way to labia. She took a moment to admire the taste, she could taste herself – yes she knew her own taste, and it was perfectly normal to know what your own cum tastes like – but she could also taste Cloud Kicker, a sweet and tangy flavor, she liked it. Meanwhile, Cloud Kicker was sampling the same taste, she too knew her own taste, allowing her to truly enjoy Rainbows, spicy with slight sour taste to it. Both girls ate each other out in earnest, piercing the other’s pussy with their tongues and scraping at their inner walls.

The Vessel of the Goddess was still watching them, but this time her eyes were focused on the girl with rainbow hair. She watched as that girl hit her second orgasm alongside her partner, and when she did, The Vessel could sense something, a slight surge in power. It wasn’t long before some other girls had wanted to join them, The Vessel watched for a moment as the rainbow haired girl seemed to hesitate, but a moment later she allowed them to join her and her partner. One of the new girls was lying on her back, while the rainbow haired girl sat on her face. The blonde was tribbing on the same girl, while the fourth stood between them. The rainbow haired girl performed cunnilingus on the girl who was standing, while the blonde gave a rimjob.

The Vessel of the Goddess felt a stirring inside her the longer she watched them, and the more she did, the more She stirred. The Vessel watched as the rainbow haired girl hit her third orgasm, but she didn’t seem close to stopping, she straddled the same girl she was sitting on began fingering her fast and hard, at the same time, the girl below her inserted her own fingers and returned the favor. The Vessel’s loins were stirring, and so were Hers, by that girl’s fourth orgasm, she knew she felt it, there was a power in her.

Rainbow lied on the bed, panting as her body dripped with sweat. On either side of her were the two girls who came to join them, while Cloud Kicker lay on top of her. She had never felt that good before, Rainbow will admit, she was hesitant about letting those two twenty something girls join them, but thankfully she threw those fears away and was rewarded with more bliss. The fun thing was, there was still more to enjoy, more girls, and, did she dare ask one of these boys to fuck her?

It would be the first time I’ve ever had a dick in me…

“Well, Cap, what do you think?” Cloud asked.

“I think I like this place,” Rainbow replied.

“Good, cause–”

“Pardon me.”

Cloud Kicker turned her head around and gasped upon seeing who it was, she immediately rolled off of Rainbow Dash and sat on her knees. The other two women beside Rainbow did the same, in fact, everyone stopped their own love making, regardless of how close they were to finishing, and sat on their knees. Rainbow gulped now that this so-called “Vessel of the Goddess” was standing before them, she was taller than she expected.

“What is your name?” she asked.

The girls looked between themselves before they followed The Vessel’s gaze to Rainbow.

Rainbow pointed at herself and asked, “M-Me?”

“Yes, please, your name.”

“R-Rainbow, my name’s Rainbow Dash,” she answered.

The Vessel kneeled before Rainbow Dash and cupped her cheek with her perfectly manicured hand. “Rainbow Dash, you have a spark inside of you that I’ve come to like. You seem to be truly enjoying yourself.”

“Y-Yeah, i-it’s actually my first time. In a place like this I mean! I don’t mean that it’s my first time, it’s definitely not!” Rainbow stated.

The Vessel chuckled and gave a sultry smile. “I choose you.”

Everyone gasped upon hearing this, it was unheard of for The Vessel of the Goddess to choose a newcomer on their first day to the Club, and yet, it happened.

“O-Oh, t-thank you,” said Rainbow Dash.

The Vessel began to move forward, and Rainbow moved back. Something about this girl made her feel small, it wasn’t her height, Rainbow had been up against girls who were taller and bulkier than her when she was on the courts, fields, or in the arenas, and she never let something like that intimidate her. But this girl, she just felt strong, despite the fact that there wasn’t any kind of lean muscle showing, something primal in Rainbow Dash told her that this girl was stronger than her, and if she wasn’t careful, would be swallowed by her.

The Vessel continued to crawl towards Rainbow until the latter was on their back. Everyone else spread out, laying on their backs and closing their eyes. The Vessel kissed Rainbow Dash, the moment her lips made contact, Rainbow felt her body heat up from her core, her pussy squirted a little as a result, and just from a kiss.

Holy fuck, what was that?! It’s like her kisses are pure ecstasy or something!

The Vessel continued to kiss Rainbow, aggressively shoving her tongue in Rainbow’s throat. The kiss was strong, flooding Rainbow with heat, but something told her that this was a test of some sort, and she would pass it, there was no way she was going to cum from a kiss alone.

The Vessel broke the kiss, she smiled down at Rainbow and said, “I see you’re strong, most men and women I kiss end up cumming right away. Not that I mind of course.”

“I really wanted to, but I’m not going to lose that easily,” said Rainbow.

“Mmmm~ I like your spirit. How many times do you think I can make you cum before I have to get serious?”

“I’ll be surprised if you can get past one.”

The Vessel grinned. “I think I like you.”

The Vessel returned to her love making as she trailed kisses along Rainbow’s neck and collarbone. Just like when their lips met, The Vessel’s kisses were exciting her even more, her fingers trailed along Rainbow’s arms, and she could feel electricity, as if The Vessel was somehow coaxing the pleasure sensing nerves in her arms to fire off with just her touch. The Vessel wrapped her lips around Rainbow’s right tit and began sucking hard, while her right hand massaged the other breast.

“AAAAAAaaaAAAAaaaahh~” Rainbow cried.

The duel sensation around her breasts was strong, her breasts weren’t particularly sensitive, but right now, it was as if the sensitivity was dialed up to eleven. Her nipples stood hard and erect as The Vessel used her teeth bite down on the one her mouth, and pinch the other with her left hand. Rainbow thrashed little as her pussy leaked like a broken faucet, but still she refused to cum from this, but dammit all she really wanted to.

The Vessel was starting to enjoy this even more, normally by now the girls she did this to were already squirting out like a water fountain, begging her for mercy, but this Rainbow Dash, while crying out in bliss, wasn’t doing any such thing. She wanted more of her. The Vessel stopped her ministrations, giving Rainbow a brief reprieve, however, that did not last long. The Vessel made her way all the way down until her head was between Rainbow Dash’s legs, she forced Rainbow’s legs apart to allow herself a better view of her prize.

Rainbow Dash was worried, if she ate her out, that was it, she was for sure going to cum, again, not because she didn’t want to, but mostly because she didn’t want to lose a bet. Still, something felt off about this girl, no girl – nobody in general – was this good in bed. Her kisses, her touch, it was on a whole other level, as if sexual energy was pouring out of this girl, or rather, she was sexual energy incarnate.

The Vessel inhaled Rainbow’s scent, it was strong now thanks to her earlier kisses and touches that made her leak so much, there would be no need to tease or build up, all she needed to do was go for the prize.

The moment that The Vessel’s fingers touched her sex, Rainbow’s back arched, her fingers gripping the bed spread and threatening to tear it off. The Vessel spread her pussy lips and stuck out her tongue, without any hesitation she pierced Rainbow’s womanhood with her tongue, eagerly lapping at the juices that were pouring out of her now.

“ooOOooooOoooOOOOHHH, FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUCCCCK!!! Oh god, oh god!!!” Rainbow shouted into the room as The Vessel continued to hit every right spot inside her. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, drooling from the pure ecstasy that was emanating from her pussy. “IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII c-c-can’t h-h-hold it!!! I-I-I’m going to…to…!!!”

She stopped.

Rainbow dropped, the look in her eyes was that of anger and desperation. “W-What?! Why did you stop?! Don’t stop, please! I need it!”

The Vessel wiped her mouth. “I know you do, but you’ve held out much longer than anyone before you. Such endurance deserves a reward.”

A silver aura enveloped The Vessel, and in the blink of an eye she had changed completely. Her arms, shoulders, the sides of her torso and back, her waist, outer thighs, and lower half of her legs were all covered in a kind of dark pink exoskeletal armor. The only parts of her that were exposed was her face, neck, collarbone, breasts, stomach, pelvis, her crotch, and inner thighs, which all had a powder blue color to them. Her eyes were completely blue, like two sparkling sapphires, her lips had the same pink color, and her light pink hair cascaded down her back.

“Behold, Rainbow Dash, as the goddess as descended upon you, I am Ishtar. Rejoice my followers,” said Ishtar.

“Rejoice!” they all repeated.

Ishtar placed her right hand over her crotch, her face blushed a little as a pinkish-violet glow appeared there. When she pulled back, Ishtar revealed a phallus, a real phallus alongside her own womanly parts.

Rainbow Dash just lied there stunned, both by the transformation, and by the fact that this woman just grew a dick.

Ishtar moved closer to Rainbow Dash; her tip kissed the lips of Rainbow’s cunt. “Are you ready?”

“Y-Yes!”

Without another word, Ishtar thrust her dick all the into Rainbow Dash in one go. The sensations she felt before were nothing compared to his, it was as if she was being pierced with pure, raw, sexual energy, making Rainbow Dash release a silent scream as her eyes bulged from her skull. Ishtar began fucking Rainbow in earnest, drawing back and thrusting forward, pounding the girl below her vigorously and without mercy. Rainbow’s breasts jiggled with each thrust, her tongue lolled out of her mouth as her mind was going completely blank, nothing mattered, not the school, not her friends, not anything, just this moment, just this unbelievably blissful moment, she didn’t even care if she got pregnant from this, it would be worth it.

Rainbow couldn’t hold back anymore and let the dam burst as she hit her fifth orgasm of the night. Ishtar didn’t stop though, as tight as Rainbow was coiling around her dick, she didn’t stop fucking her. Rainbow could feel it, her orgasm hadn’t stopped, it felt as if she was trapped in it, and the longer it went on the more intense it was getting.

“I-I-I’m going to die…!!! I’m gonna die like this!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed in a strangely happy tone.

“Mmmm~ no you are not.” Ishtar placed her right hand in the middle of Rainbow’s chest as she leaned down looked her in the eyes. “I like your energy; I can feel it. Your strong in magic somehow, you can’t die, I need you. I can feel your magic flowing into me from our union. And because of that…I’ll give you a gift.”

Ishtar increased her pace, pistoning in and out of Rainbow Dash. There was a glow coming from Ishtar’s phallus as her face began to scrunch up in preparation for what was to come.

“Take my gift!”

Ishtar hilted herself inside Rainbow Dash as she deluged her insides with pure liquid energy. Every vein in Rainbow’s body began to light up pink, all if it leading all the way up until her eyes shined with the same pink light. Ishtar held herself there for a few more seconds to dispense the last of her essence into Rainbow. Her mate had reached her limit, having passed out as soon as the glow faded from her eyes. Ishtar pulled herself out of Rainbow, allowing a small stream of liquid light to pour from her new toy’s pussy.

Ishtar walked away from her conquest and up the stairs until she was at her throne, she picked her two girl throne mates and ordered them to follow her. The three of them disappeared into a room behind the throne, inside was a larger bed, made big enough for many people to sleep in. There was a large bowl like groove in the floor, with a drain at the center.

Ishtar pointed to the girl on her left, “You, to the bed,” and then pointed to the one on the right, “and you to the center.”

The first girl made herself comfortable on the bed, while the second stood at the center of the bowl. Ishtar stood at the edge of the bowl indention, and looked upon her. “That girl somehow replenished me, despite me giving her some of my essence. If I can find more like her, then we can bring forth the rest of my kind. Well, I’ll leave it to her then. Otherwise, I am famished.”

“I give my flesh to you, my goddess.”

“Indeed, you do.”

The first girl looked away as she heard monstrous snarling and screaming coming from where the other girl was, accompanying that was the sound of flesh being torn and bones breaking like brittle tree branches.

Case File 5-2 (Ishtar): The Heat Inside

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Sunset was feeling giddy today, despite the fact that she was meeting Shining Armor for something, unfortunately when he called it normally wasn’t for a social outing. It didn’t matter, she was still giddy, because yesterday, she finally said it, she finally said she liked Pinkie Pie as more than a friend, and Pinkie felt the same way. It was still early, but Sunset was looking forward to deepening their relationship. Of course, the pink ball of hyper-ness couldn’t wait and decided to text their friends the news, and just as quickly Sunset was receiving bombarding texts from Applejack and Rarity, mostly Rarity, a lot from Rarity…a good 90% of the texts were Rarity’s.

[I can’t believe that this has finally happened! Honestly, you were making me wonder if you were ever going to make a move, on any of us!]

That text got Sunset’s attention. [You knew I liked you guys like that?!]

[Please, darling, it’s obvious if you’re looking, and I’ve seen you looking at us from time to time.]

[……>||||< I am so sorry…]

[Darling, it was flattering, at least as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, should you need any advice or just someone to talk to about your relationship, I’m all ears.]

[Uh-huh, if only because you want all the juicy gossip.]

[Well, that is a perk Xp]

[lol later]

Sunset was meeting Shining Armor at a coffee shop that was far enough away from the normal hangouts of the CHS students, and just out of the way enough so that Shining Armor wouldn’t run into any of his colleagues. She had taken the buses to get to this location, the whole ride she was lamenting the loss of her motorcycle, she loved that thing. It was probably one of the best things Sunset found she truly liked in this strange world she was in, the speed, the freedom, and the slight thrill of the risk of riding one, it all just felt right to her. But a certain demon she encountered saw to its destruction, oh well, he was dead now so…payback?

Sunset looked out the window and spotted Shining Armor’s car pulling up. The detective exited and got inside, shaking off the snow from his coat as he approached Sunset’s booth. “S’up, Shining?”

“Hey, Sunset.” Shining Armor sat down, putting a vanilla folder on the table. He then looked to Sunset and smirked a little. “Someone looks happy.”

Sunset blushed a little. “Yeah, I kinda am.”

“Something good happen?”

“Yeah, really good…I, I got a girlfriend now,” Sunset confessed.

“Wow, congrats Sunset, she nice?”

Sunset nodded happily. “She’s the best, she makes me happy, and laugh, that’s kinda her thing. She likes to make people happy and to see others smile, and she can plan one hell of a party.”

Shining Armor smiled upon hearing the news. “I’m seriously happy for you Sunset, you deserve someone like that in your life, especially with everything that’s going on.”

“Yeah, I just hope I don’t mess it up. My first relationship here ended amicably, but to be honest, at the time I was just using my boyfriend because he was popular, becoming more popular by proxy. When I was even more popular, as well as feared, I didn’t need him anymore.”

“Yeowch…harsh.”

Sunset face palmed. “I know…and he was really sweet too. Flash helped me learn how to use my hands better by teaching me guitar, the only reason why I’m any good at all is because of him. I just hope I don’t mess this up.”

“If you want, you can talk to Cadence, she was the love guru back when we were in high school together,” said Shining Armor.

“Did her advice work?”

“Well, she was the most popular girl in school, and I was a nerd, and yet we ended up dating and now are living together as boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Sunset whistled. “Damn, you need to put a ring on that quick, Armor.”

“I know…”

The two of them ordered some hot coffee and some pastries to go with it, it was a cold Sunday. After enjoying their drinks and treats, Sunset looked to her cop friend and said, “I know you didn’t call me just to have coffee, not that I don’t mind.”

“Yeah…” Shining Armor brought the folder to the middle of the table, he scanned the area to make sure that there wasn’t anyone looking in their direction before speaking again. “I wanted to get some information together to give to you, granted it’s all copies, but given the situation two weeks ago, I think it’s time I share this with you. To date, there are three open Mystery Murder cases so far, not counting the ones that have sprouted up recently that you’ve taken care of.”

“Three, so you’re saying that when this all started, there were three Wendigos that began this killing spree? Wait, I’ve killed at least…” Sunset counted on her fingers as she recalled her previous battles. “Counting Flim and Flam, I’ve killed at least five.”

“Yeah, but not the originators of the crimes.” Shining opened the folder and showed the first case file labeled as “Midas”. “Midas, or rather, Gladmane, was one of the first three, he was given that code name within the department for his golden touch, and trapping people in gold statues to die slowly or suffocate to death.”

Shining moved a small stack of paper clipped documents and brought up another.

“This one…This one’s a little raunchy,” he warned. “The second is called Ishtar.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that name. “Wait, ‘Ishtar’, the goddess of love and war from ancient Mesopotamia?”

Shining smirked, impressed at her knowledge. “Wow, not a lot of people know that.”

“Well, when you’re a magical unicorn stuck in a human body, and looking for any way to get your magic back, you tend to look up as much lore about this world as you can, gods, demons, ancient artifacts, sacred locations, Ley lines, everything.”

“Cool. Anyway, it’s been hard to pin this one down, we think that Ishtar is a cult leader, and is having people commit the crimes on their behalf.” Shining moved a few files papers from the clip and showed the times of two different killings. “Two locations, different areas, same M. O. The victims range up and down with age, but don’t seem to go past fifty and no lower than sixteen, the death toll is the same for both male and female victims, like they’re going out of their way not to gender discriminate.”

Sunset briefly looked at one of the crime scene photos, the victim was in a bed, not tied down, nor held down, but what worried her the most was the look on their face. It wasn’t the look of someone dying in agony, it was as if they reached some kind of orgasm during their death. Despite the fact that the victim’s chest was ripped open and their heart removed. From the M. E. report, it showed that the damage was caused by something as sharp as a scalpel blade, but with enough force to break through a ribcage in one go. From what she could make out, they also found traces of crystal fragments in the body, which was made of an unknown substance. Sunset looked through a few more, and each one showed that they died in almost the same way, but each had the same look of bliss on their faces.

“Shouldn’t you guys have been able to find like…DNA evidence or something? Considering how they’ve been killed?” Sunset asked.

“You’d think so, we should, but granted that these are demons we’re dealing with, any DNA we were looking for, somehow just vanished into thin air, we’d collect it, but by the time it went to the labs, it was gone. Like something was erasing their tracks and deliberately making it hard to find them. One day, we did manage to catch someone we thought was related to the crime and held them. Before we could question him, they managed to slit their wrists and write on the wall in their blood, ‘By the light of Ishtar.’”

Sunset didn’t like this; it was one thing to have Wendigos invisibly flying around looking to possess the first person they could find who was willing or weak willed. It was a whole other thing to have a cult made up around one of them. The monsters she could slay with no problems, mostly, but Sunset wasn’t thrilled about possibly fighting people who were brainwashed into following that demon.

Shining moved those papers aside and showed Sunset the last of the three, this stack seemed considerably smaller to the first two. “Last, but not least, the one who started it all, Nihil.”

“Nothing?”

“You know Latin too?”

“It’s as close to old ponish as you can get,” Sunset mock polished her nails on her chest as she smiled proudly. “Back in Equestria, I was recognized for my ability to speak, write, and translate the old languages, they even gave me a plaque and everything.”

“Nerd,” Shining Armor coughed.

“Look who’s talking.”

“Touché. Anyway, this guy…he’s an enigma. We call him Nihil because when he kills someone, nothing’s left. All we come to find at the crime scenes is a big splattering of blood everywhere, like a bomb went off inside the victim. Except there were no body parts, no bomb residue, and no sign of forced entry in the victim’s home. On top of that, we can’t find any evidence that they were there. This one was the first, the first of the Mystery Murderers, the official report lists cause of death as ‘Spontaneous Human Combustion’, yeah, twenty deaths, all the same way.”

}}} This one worries me. {{{

Hate to say it, but me too.

“I’m wondering, if these were the first three…maybe they’re stronger than the others. Midas was for sure stronger than anything I’ve faced up till now, maybe these three are like their leaders?” Sunset thought out loud.

Shining Armor hummed in contemplation. It was a good theory, but who knew what kind of hierarchy these creatures had, if any. “It would put me at ease if that were the case, cause if so, maybe taking them all down means we stop this whole thing once and for all.”

Sunset frowned as she remembered the battle with Midas. “Dammit, I should’ve aimed for his head during that fight…we could’ve had one less to worry about.”

Shining Armor reached across the table and patted Sunset on the shoulder. “Hey, none of that now. You may not have killed him, but at least that things out of commission for a while after what you did, plus, you saved my life, again. We’ll get ‘em next time, partner.”

“Thought you didn’t want me to get too involved with this mess?”

Shining Armor leaned back and sighed. “Whether I want you to or not, weird shit seems to happen around you, I mean, that thing is a prime example.”

}}} Did he just call me weird? I am an ancient weapon meant to keep the Balance between Light and Darkness! {{{

“Down boy,” said Sunset as she patted her bracelet.

“So, it’s better that I try to arm you with as much information as I can, and help you out where and when I can. Despite the fact that you probably could level a skyscraper with ease–”

}}} We can. {{{

“–I’m still an adult, and an adult’s job is to protect kids and make sure you can grow up and have a future.”

“You know I’m eighteen, legally and an adult,” Sunset countered.

Shining Armor reached over and ruffled Sunset’s hair, making her swat his hand away. “Whatever you say, kid.”

“Ugh! Don’t call me a kid! I’m technically older than you!”

Shining Armor chuckled. “Maybe up here because of your magic portal thing,” he pointed to Sunset’s head, “but the rest of you, not so much.”

Sunset crossed her arms and pouted in her seat. “Stupid magic portal, couldn’t just let me be a twenty something woman on this side, nooooo, it had to turn me into some damn teen!”

Rainbow Dash was awake in her bed, it was already noon, and her stomach growled for her to feed it, but her mind was too preoccupied with what happened last night. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it was just a wild dream she had. But every time Rainbow closed her eyes, and thought about that night, the images were so vivid and clear that it was hard to dismiss it as such.

After the events of last night, Cloud Kicker had helped Rainbow get showered and got her back into her car. She drove them back to Rainbow’s place and asked if she could crash there for the night. When Rainbow’s parents asked why Rainbow looked so exhausted and could barely stand, Cloud Kicker said that they were at a gym and played some b-ball with some girls from another school, explaining that they had played hard.

Cloud Kicker had helped Rainbow Dash into bed, removing her clothes and covering her with the blankets before heading to their guest room. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened, what she felt, how her whole body reacted, just the memory alone was exciting her again.

“What the hell did I do last night?”

“Me, two girls, and a goddess.”

Rainbow Dash turned to her left and saw that Cloud Kicker had stuck her head in.

“Can I come in, Cap?”

“Y-Yeah,” said Rainbow.

Cloud Kicker entered and grabbed one of Rainbow’s exercise balls and sat on it next to her bed. “So, what did you think?’

“Cloud…how long have you been there, at that place?”

“A little over a month. I gotta say though, I’ve never seen The Vessel come down from her throne for a newcomer, she at least waits a couple of weeks to see how they do and then decides if she wants them or not, but to also get a visit from Ishtar herself, damn, she must really like you, or like what you did to me and those girls,” said Cloud Kicker.

Rainbow could still remember it, remember how that goddess-like creature made her feel so good, but there was one thing that was making her worry. She needed to tell Cloud Kicker before things got too bad. Rainbow sat up in her bed, keeping the blankets wrapped around her body. “Do you remember what happened to Lightning Dust and her dad?”

“Yeah, I remember hearing about it on the news and word of mouth. She turned into a monster, but Witchblade did something to get rid of the monster inside her, but not before she killed some people and nearly killed her dad, not that he didn’t deserve it after what I heard,” said Cloud.

Rainbow Dash scowled at the memory of the man. “Oh, believe me, he should be grateful that he’s still breathing. There’s something else to that story that you should know.”

For the next five minutes, Rainbow Dash explained the events that led up to that night. Lightning Dust calling her, the scolding that Rainbow gave her, the accidental confession and then the lovemaking that ensued. The moment Wind Rider appeared, ruined everything, and how he killed Lightning, only for her to come back as Harpy, the battle with Witchblade, and the sort of exorcism she performed to get the monster out of her.

“I’m worried, Cloud, worried that this Ishtar is one of them, a Wendigo!” Rainbow stated.

“What? No, how could she be? Those things are monsters who kill people for fun, she didn’t kill you, at least not in the biblical sense, and besides, she’s appeared before other before, me included!”

“Wait, you’ve seen her too?”

Cloud nodded. “As a rule, no one is allowed to see the goddess except those who are worthy. Do you remember how everyone lied down when she approached you and closed their eyes?”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

“Seeing the goddess is a privilege, there’s no telling if she’ll appear even if The Vessel takes an interest in you. Because of that uncertainty, everyone is to stop what they’re doing, look straight up and close their eyes. No one is to see her other than the one she’s come to see. And I was one of them, guess you’re part of the exclusive club.”

“But what if she is a Wendigo?!”

“Well, what if she is? Maybe not all of them want to kill us, maybe some of them actually just want to have a good time and try and coexist in their own way,” Cloud Kicker suggested.

Rainbow Dash looked down at her blanket, what if Cloud Kicker was right? What if Ishtar just wanted to spread some love around and not kill people? What she felt that night, it didn’t feel evil, it felt good, too good.

Cloud Kicker placed her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, a worried expression befalling her face. “Cap, I’m sorry if you were overwhelmed last night. I promise, you don’t have to go there again, if you want, we can just keep it as friends with benefits. Or just friends, I’m cool with either.”

Rainbow Dash turned to Cloud Kicker and brought in for a kiss, Cloud closed her eyes and hummed with pleasure. Rainbow pulled away and said, “The first, if you don’t mind, and…I’m not opposed to going again.”

Cloud Kicker smiled and draped her arms over Rainbow’s shoulders. “Well, they’ll have another session tomorrow night, they typically have them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Gotta give people a day in between to rest up.”

Celestia had picked up Sunset yet again, now that her stint at Sweet Apple Acres was over, the older woman resumed her chauffeur duties. This day, however, she couldn’t help but notice her young wards smile and slight anticipation.

“Eager to get to school, Sunset?” Celestia asked.

Sunset blushed. “That obvious, huh?”

“Well, I can hardly blame you. Some of your friends have come back to you, I don’t know what you did to convince them, but I’m glad that some of you are back together.”

“So am I. And…I’m happy for another reason.”

Celestia arched her eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh, and what reason is that?”

Sunset fidgeted a little. “I might have a girlfriend now.”

Celestia almost slammed the breaks upon hearing that, her eyes went wide and practically sparkled hearing that news. “Sunset, that’s wonderful! Please, tell me who it is, please?!”

Jeez, you got a little Rarity in you, don’t you? “It’s Pinkie Pie, it kind of happened last Saturday.”

“Did you two happen to…? I’m not saying that you shouldn’t. You and Pinkie Pie are old enough to engage in such things, but I was just curious…” Celestia blushed while asking.

Sunset scratched at her chin as she answered, “No, we didn’t really do anything…came close to doing something, but I stopped myself. Pinkie Pie said she didn’t mind if went that far, but I could see it in her eyes, she wasn’t ready, and I really didn’t want to mess it up by forcing her to sleep with me.”

A forlorn look appeared on Celestia’s face. “That’s good, Sunset. It’s great that you take her feelings into consideration, instead of enforcing your desires onto her.”

Sunset noticed the sad tone of Celestia’s words, when she looked at her, she saw the sad look on her face. “Celestia, are you…alright?”

The older woman snapped herself out of her slight depression, and put on her happy face. “Anyway, so long as you remain in that mindset, I have no doubts that you two can be happy together.”

Sunset wanted to probe further about that look and tone, the words that Celestia spoke sounded as if she was speaking from experience. She hoped it was from a relationship in her past and not her current one with Mayor Mare.

Soon the two of them reached the school, Celestia and Sunset parted ways and walked inside to her locker. Upon reaching it, she noticed that there was less graffiti on it than the last few times, perhaps people were starting to wise up about Anon-A-Miss being someone else? Either that or they’re getting tired of constantly redoing their work and decided to just give up. She prayed for the former, but was sure it was the latter.

Anyway, Anon-A-Miss won’t be hiding for much longer, not if what Shining Armor told me was true.

“Seriously?! The person who made that virus and hacked that system, they’re going to help me?!”

“Yeah, after I explained your situation, they were more than willing to bring Anon-A-Miss down. At this point, Sunset, it’s only a matter of time before you know who’s really behind this.”

“And on that day, they’re getting the ever-loving shit kicked out of them by yours truly.”

“As an officer of the law, I highly advise against that, arresting them and making a big display of it will prove your innocence. However, if the suspect were to…say…suddenly make a break for it, and you just so happen to be walking by and had to fight them to assist an officer, that’s a different story.”

“I don’t care what happens today, nothing can bring me down right now,” said Sunset with a grin.

}}} Spitball, nine ‘o clock. {{{

Sunset moved her head back just as the speck of white shot past her and impacted against her locker door.

Thanks for the assist.

}}} Anytime. The pink one is behind your locker door. {{{

Sunset smiled and closed her door, turning her head to see Pinkie, but she wasn’t there. “Wait, I thought you said–?”

“Hi, Sunset!”

“GAH!”
}}} GAH! {{{

Sunset jumped back and assumed a fighting stance, but calmed down when she saw that it was only Pinkie Pie.

}}} Impossible, I sensed her, she was right there! {{{

Trust me, don’t try and figure out Pinkie, you’ll live longer.

“Pinkie, you’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days,” said Sunset.

“Sorry, I was just excited to see you!” Pinkie exclaimed with a big smile on her face. “We’re…We’re really a couple now, huh?”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess we are.” The flame haired girl reached out and gently took Pinkie’s hand into her own. “And I’m really happy we are.”

Pinkie squeaked. “So, what kind of coupley things do we do now?”

Sunset hummed in contemplation. “Let’s see, we could hold hands like we are now, or I could wrap my arm around your waist and we walk around like that, we could make out in public…or…” Sunset gave Pinkie a half-lidded stare. “We could head to the gym storage closet and get the mats all dirty?”

Pinkie blushed and then gulped. “Wow, I think I’ll just go with the hand holding, if that’s alright with you?”

Sunset chuckled and smiled. “It’s more than okay. Just so you know, I’m kind of a flirt.”

“Oh, that’s no problem.” Pinkie Pie leaned closer to Sunset, close enough that her fairly large breasts rubbed against Sunset’s arm. “Cause I’m a flirt too, Sunny.”

The two girls walked hand in hand, and of course, they managed to garner the looks of several students, and it did cause them to whisper. Yes, they knew acting like an actual couple would make what Anon-A-Miss said true, but right now, Sunset couldn’t care less about that. As they walked through the school, they spotted Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the former leaning against the lockers, and she didn’t look too right.

Pinkie Pie let go of Sunset’s hand and rushed over to see what was wrong. “Rainbow Dash, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, but she’s burning up, she has some kind of fever,” said Fluttershy.

“I…I’m fine, I’m just a little hot is all. J-Just give me a minute and I’ll be good to go,” Rainbow assured.

Sunset got closer and said, “No you’re not. You’re sweating a lot, and your panting like you’re out of breath. You might be really sick.”

Rainbow narrowed her gaze at Sunset, “I…I don’t need you diagnosing me, Sunset. Just…Just go away.”

Sunset looked at her wrist, down at the Witchblade, she could heal her, but she needed to get Rainbow Dash alone for a minute to do so. “Let’s take her to Nurse Redheart, you need to at least lie down before you collapse.”

“Bite me…” Rainbow Dash shot back weakly.

Fluttershy knitted her brow and then grabbed ahold of Rainbow’s arm firmly. “Rainbow, you’re going to the nurse’s office, no excuses! There’s something clearly wrong with you, and I’m not going to watch you suffer through the day like this!”

Rainbow Dash could hear the seriousness of Fluttershy’s tone, a tone that she didn’t use unless she meant business. “Alright…I’ll go.”

Fluttershy draped Rainbow’s right arm over her shoulders, while Sunset got on Rainbow’s right and did the same. Rainbow groaned in protest of this. “Sunset…just go away.”

“Yeah, no, not happening. Now quit your bitching and let’s walk, it’s not too far from here. Pinkie, go on ahead and tell Nurse Redheart that we’re coming,” said Sunset.

“Aye, aye!” Pinkie Pie replied with a salute before dashing off down the hallway.

Sunset and Fluttershy helped Rainbow Dash walk down the hallway, and like before, the students were whispering and murmuring to themselves about what was wrong with Rainbow Dash, and why Sunset was helping her and Fluttershy? Sunset looked to her left and met Fluttershy’s gaze, a grateful smile was plastered on her face, which made Sunset smile back and nod in understanding. All three girls eventually made it to Nurse Redheart’s office, the pale woman had already made up a cot for Rainbow, upon which Sunset and Fluttershy laid her down on.

“Okay, let’s see,” Nurse Redheart put her hand to Rainbow’s forehead and immediately felt how hot she was, she then took out a thermometer and said, “Open your mouth dear.”

Rainbow obeyed her instructions and let Redheart slip the thermometer under her tongue. A few seconds passed before the little device beeped. Redheart removed it and checked the readout. “Good lord, one-hundred and fifteen degrees!”

Fluttershy gasped as well as Sunset and Pinkie.

Nurse Redheart hurriedly went to the back and pulled out several ice packs from her fridge. Redheart placed two packs under Rainbow’s pits, one on her forehead, and two close by her neck. “Girls, I need your help, we need to bring her temperature down quickly! Go to the cafeteria and have them give you as much ice you two can carry, try and get someone extra help!”

“I’ll stay here and watch her, Nurse Redheart, you better go with them in case the staff doesn’t believe them!” Sunset suggested.

Redheart didn’t want to leave Sunset alone with Rainbow, not because she didn’t trust her, but because if something went wrong, she needed to be here. But Sunset did have a point, there was a small chance the staff might not give them the ice on the suspicion that it might be a prank of some sort.

“Okay, just try to keep her calm, Sunset, we’ll be back as soon as we can!”

Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Redheart exited the room, the sound of rapidly retreating footsteps echoed outside in the hall, as well as several murmurings from the confused students. Now, Sunset was alone, with Rainbow Dash, which was what she wanted.

Sunset reached for Rainbow with her right hand, but Rainbow quickly grabbed her above the wrist and said, “Don’t touch me…”

“Rainbow, I need you to trust me right now, I can help you, but I need to touch you to do that,” said Sunset.

“Heh…sounds like the set up to some kind of rape scene or something…”

“Ugh, please get your head out of the gutter, you’re sick.”

“So, I have a fever…big whoop…”

Sunset balled her fist and growled, “A one-hundred plus degree fever! Look, just let me do this, you can go back to hating me later!” Strangely, Rainbow’s grip was really strong.

“Hate you…I don’t know what to feel about you anymore…my head’s all messed up…”

“You have a fever, of course it’s hard to think!”

“I want to hate you…for spilling everyone’s secrets…but I’m afraid…afraid that I’m wrong about you…about being Anon-A-Miss….”

Sunset stopped struggling to put her hand on Rainbow, and sighed. “I…It’s the fever talking…you’re delirious, just try and rest. They’ll be back soon with more ice.”

“No…I have to…I have to…have to…” Rainbow couldn’t understand what was happening, she felt as if she had run a marathon, twice, her body was hot and sweaty, and what was worse, she was becoming increasingly aroused for some reason. Her vision tinted with pink as she focused on Sunset Shimmer, she knew Sunset was attractive, but…for some reason, Sunset seemed more attractive to her right now. “You’re hot…Sunset.”

“Thanks, Rainbow, so are you.”

“No…I mean it…you really are…” Rainbow repeated.

Sunset blushed and smiled a little. “Thanks, just rest now, and you can let go now.”

“Let’s fuck…”

Sunset looked at Rainbow Dash with shock. “Sorry, what?”

“C’mon…l-let’s do it, right here, right now, you and me!” Rainbow stated with more vigor.

Sunset managed to rip her hand from Rainbow grip and stood up. “Rainbow that’s enough, and besides I’m with Pinkie Pie now.”

“NO, SCREW HER!!!” Rainbow Dash suddenly launched herself at Sunset, pinning her down to the ground in one fell swoop. “I need you; I need what you have, give it to me Sunset!”

Rainbow Dash reached down and gripped Sunset’s shirt, with all her might she ripped at the garment, tearing the front of the shirt off in one go and exposing Sunset’s chest, Rainbow’s action not only got her shirt, but also tore off her black bra, exposing her breasts. Sunset was stunned by how quick and how strong Rainbow was right now, and then realized that her chest was cold right now.

“RAINBOW, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!!!”

Rainbow Dash tore off her own shirt, exposing her sports bra and bare stomach. Sunset saw that Rainbow was about to dive down at her, but she quickly threw her arms out and gripped Rainbow’s shoulders before she could get any closer. That didn’t deter Rainbow too much as she shot her hands forward and grabbed a handful of Sunset’s breasts. Sunset’s eyes went wide as her pupils shrunk to pin pricks, not just because one of her friends was sexually assaulting her, but because her chest was feeling incredibly good now, as if Rainbow’s hands were radiating electricity that was targeting every pleasure sensing nerve in her breasts.

S-S-Shit!!! Oh F-Faust why does that feel so good???!

}}} Sunset, don’t give in, something is wrong with her, there is power flowing through her, I can feel it! {{{

NO SHIT, ‘cause I feel it too?!

Sunset grunted as she threw herself to the right, rolling on the floor and taking Rainbow with her. They kept rolling until Sunset managed to aim Rainbow right for the wall, slamming her against it. Rainbow grunted from the impact, but refused to let go of her prize. Unfortunately, this just got her closer, allowing Rainbow to get in close and latch her mouth onto Sunset’s neck.

“Gyaaaaaaah~!!!” Sunset moaned loudly.

Sunset could feel her will eroding the longer this went on, the longer Rainbow continued to touch her, the more this strange power she possessed was influencing Sunset’s mind. The will to fight was slowly changing to want, to desire, but she couldn’t give in, something was wrong with Rainbow and she needed to help her.

“Yeah, make more of those sounds,” Rainbow growled.

Rainbow’s left hand released Sunset’s breast and shot towards Sunset’s crotch, and that’s when Sunset made her move. Sunset hurriedly brought her left knee up and struck Rainbow Dash in the gut. Rainbow released Sunset’s neck as she coughed from the blow, Sunset released Rainbow’s shoulders and grabbed ahold of Rainbow’s head. Cursing inwardly, Sunset lurched forward and struck Rainbow in the forehead with her own head. Rainbow finally released Sunset, allowing her to kick off from the wild girl and finally get back to her feet. Sunset panted from both the struggling and the tingling feeling that still lingered from Rainbow’s kiss and touch.

“Rainbow, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to calm down. I can heal you, I can’t explain it right now, but I can! Just sit still!” Sunset stated.

Rainbow recovered from Sunset’s attack and stood back up. Something was definitely off, Rainbow had a different aura about her, she slowly began to circle Sunset, putting a bit of swagger into her step as she swung her hips tantalizingly. It was as if Rainbow Dash was a predator, a beautiful creature that had found its prey and was hell bent on having her meal. This wasn’t some kinky dominance thing, Sunset could see it in Rainbow’s half lidded gaze, something was fueling Rainbow, compelling her to attack Sunset.

Rainbow Dash lowered her body, bending her knees and crouching as if she were an actual predatory beast, even licking her chops as she zeroed in on Sunset. The former unicorn looked behind her, and then her eyes went wide.

“Rainbow don’t you dare–!”

The prismatic haired teen leaped at Sunset, quick as a viper and as strong as a lioness, she barreled into Sunset, sending both of them flying towards the door. The students on the outside barely got out of the way in time as the door came flying off its hinges, with both Rainbow and Sunset riding on it like a makeshift sled. The door continued to slide until it hit the lockers, now their brawl was right out in the middle of the hall, and of course, many already took notice of the half-naked state of both Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer.

Tell me something, just how good is your healing ability?!

}}} I brought you back to life, what does that tell you? {{{

That’s me, I’m asking if I use it on someone else?!

}}} Ah, well then, it’s about the same. {{{

Appreciate it!

Sunset growled as she tapped into the power of the Witchblade to grant her a boost to her strength. In one fluid motion, Sunset threw Rainbow off her, sending the athlete slamming against the opposite wall of lockers. Modesty was short on her list of priorities right now as Sunset entered a fighting stance, unfortunately, if she didn’t get serious, Rainbow was going to do some questionably moral things in front of several students.

“Ooooh~ you like it rough; I can do rough too,” said Rainbow in a sultry voice.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry in advance,” Sunset replied.

Rainbow charged for Sunset again, but this time it was different, Sunset dashed towards Rainbow, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Sunset threw a right hook to Rainbow’s left side, making her opponent grunt in pain, that was quickly followed up by an uppercut to the chin, Sunset backed up a step, and spun forward with for backhand strike.

The blows sent Rainbow back against the lockers, but she recovered and went in again, this time breaking through Sunset’s guard and managing to wrap her arms around the girl’s waist. Rainbow wasted little time in grabbing ahold of Sunset’s ass and giving it a firm squeeze, and once again, Sunset felt that same strange electrical sensation traveling through her, going straight up her spine and nearly making her legs turn to jelly.

Sunset growled angrily as brought up both her hands into a double fisted hammer blow, striking Rainbow square in the back. Rainbow released a gasp upon impact, her arms lost feeling for a second, and a second was all that Sunset needed. She kneed Rainbow in the gut again, forcing the girl upright, Sunset grabbed ahold of both Rainbow’s arms and spun around. Sunset pivoted strongly on her left foot and threw Rainbow Dash back into the nurse’s office, and straight up against the wall. The former unicorn sped into the room just as Rainbow hit the floor, sliding to a stop next to her, she delivered a strong punch to Rainbow’s face, knocking out her friend and ceasing Rainbow’s strange actions.

Sunset panted from the effort of the fight, her body was hot and sweaty, her chest rising and falling, both from the effort and the strange effects of whatever Rainbow Dash did to her. Sunset placed her hand atop Rainbow’s head quickly, the ruby jewel of her bracelet shined a little as it flooded Rainbow Dash with its own energy, healing the damage that Sunset had done to her friend.

“At least she’s stopped…will she be alright?”

}}} Impressive physical damage, your blow earlier cracked a few ribs, broke a couple of them, and nearly fractured her spine. But it’s fixed now, however, I’m sensing another energy lingering in her body. Something malevolent and…lustful? {{{

“Another Wendigo is behind this…I wonder if it’s–?”

“You bitch, what do you do to Rainbow Dash?!!!”

Sunset glanced over her shoulder, just in time to receive a punch to the face, making her fall away from Rainbow. When Sunset got back up, she saw that it was none other than Scootaloo who had attacked her. The young teen had a look of pure rage on her face, seeing her idol on the floor, and the obvious signs of fighting. Thankfully it was around that same time when Nurse Redheart, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie returned with buckets filled with ice, which were then spilled onto the floor after seeing the state of the room, the door, Sunset and Rainbow.

“What in the name of god happened in here?!” Nurse Redheart demanded.

Sunset picked herself up and leaned up against the wall as she said, “Something happened to Rainbow, she started talking nonsense and attacked me out of nowhere, I tried to get her to stop, but…I had to get serious before she hurt herself or someone else.”

“You’re lying!” Scootaloo accused. “Rainbow Dash wouldn’t do that, you just made that shit up just to fight her, didn’t you?! Admit it!”

“SCOOTALOO!” Fluttershy shouted, making everyone look at her with shock, in Scootaloo’s case, a bit of fear, like a child who was about to be scolded by their parent. “Rainbow Dash had a high fever when we lift the room, she probably wasn’t thinking straight and just lashed out in a fever dream, look at Sunset, I mean really look at her!”

Scootaloo reluctantly looked at Sunset, noticing that her shirt was torn to shreds, exposing her chest, her leather jacket showed signs of getting scuffed up and scratched, there were even some shards of glass from the broken window on the door. She then looked at the damaged door on the floor out in the hallway and remembered seeing the dented lockers.

“Did you actually see what happened from the beginning or did you just come in at the last moments?” Fluttershy asked.

“I…I…Just the end…I guess…” Scootaloo admitted as she hung her head in shame.

Sunset zipped up her leather jacket to hide her chest and patted Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, nice punch though.”

Nurse Redheart got down on her knees and felt Rainbow’s forehead. “She’s not as hot as before, perhaps your little scuffle helped to break it, but we can’t relax just yet. I’m calling an ambulance to take her to the hospital, we need to take advantage of this and get her proper medical treatment.”

While Redheart went into her small office to call for an ambulance, Pinkie rushed over to her new girlfriend and asked, “Are you alright?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” said Sunset with a smile.

“When I saw that door, I thought…I thought…” Pinkie Pie was shaking as she tried to get the words out.

Sunset didn’t need to guess to know what Pinkie Pie thought. “You thought another monster attacked me?”

Pinkie nodded a silent yes.

Sunset wrapped her arms around Pinkie and said, “I’m okay, so don’t cry alright, you look cuter when you smile.”

“Dummy.”

“I’m your dummy, though.”

Fluttershy got on her knees and brought Rainbow’s head to rest on her lap, trying to be of some kind of comfort to her best friend. She didn’t understand what was happening, Rainbow had never gotten sick like this before, the worst thing she ever got was the chickenpox, all in all, Rainbow was a healthy girl. But, to have such a high fever and to go into a fever induced rampage. Fluttershy glanced to Sunset, who she noticed was stealing glances at Rainbow Dash, as if she wasn’t telling them the whole story.

Case File 5-3 (Ishtar): Let's talk

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A lot happened in the last thirty minutes, the ambulance arrived and whisked Rainbow Dash away to the hospital, Fluttershy – with permission from Principal Celestia – went with the paramedics so that Rainbow wouldn’t be alone should she wake up. Sunset had gotten a spare shirt from Rarity and informed both her, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack about what really happened in the nurse’s office. Naturally this shocked all three girls, Pinkie Pie looked a little irritated that Rainbow tried to sexually assault her girlfriend.

Of course, this also fueled the rumor mill about what really happened in the nurse’s office, and much to Sunset’s dismay, there were some students who had recorded the fight. From when Sunset and Rainbow burst through the door, and to Sunset’s impressive fighting skills before tossing Rainbow back into the office and knocking her out with a punch. All while her bare chest was visible for all to see.

“Faust…why does this shit keep happening to me?” Sunset lamented.

“It’ll be alright, Sunset…I’m sure it won’t be long before something else occurs and makes this a distant memory,” said Rarity, attempting to console Sunset.

Sunset raised a frustrated eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? I don’t think anyone’s going to be forgetting ‘Kung-Fu Cat Fight Topless’! Look, it’s already effing trending!”

Rarity glanced to Applejack, her eyes silently asking her for help to console Sunset, but Applejack shrugged, she really had nothing for something like this. I mean, it was going to be hard to live something like this down, the internet is not a forgiving creature. Pinkie tried her best to cheer Sunset up, but even she couldn’t see a way around this, that video was going to be floating around for a good long while.

“You know, the sucky part about this, is that everyone else got to see your tiddies before I did,” said Pinkie.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity exclaimed as she blushed.

Applejack tipped her hat and muttered, “Seriously, Pinkie?”

Sunset managed a chuckle as she looked to her girlfriend. “Yeah…sorry. But, hey, I’ll make sure you’re the first to see something better than my tits.”

“You’d better, but, you know, you could always show me them anyway,” said Pinkie with a smile.

Rarity rolled their eyes and muttered something along the lines of, “They’re made for each other.”

Applejack could see what Pinkie was doing, and it made her smile too. Just then, Applejack’s phone vibrated, she took it out and saw that Fluttershy texted her. “Girls, Shy just texted me!”

The other huddled around Applejack and her phone as they read the text.

[The doctors just finished running some tests on Rainbow, as far as they can tell, she’s not infected with anything, and they didn’t find any suspicious substances in her blood work either. She still has a high-grade fever, but it wasn’t like it was earlier, for now their giving her plenty of fluids and monitoring her. Rainbow’s parents are here, but they don’t know what could’ve gotten her like this, they did mention to me that she was out playing basketball with Cloud Kicker on Saturday. I know I’m asking a lot, but could you please go and talk with Cloud Kicker and see if Rainbow was acting strange at all?]

Sunset’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, her gut told her that that was a cover story, something definitely happened last Saturday that made Rainbow do what she did. She must’ve encountered the Wendigo then…but…if that’s the case…

}}} This Cloud Kicker might be the one behind it. {{{

It’s a theory, best to check it out. “AJ, reply to Fluttershy and tell her we’ll talk to Cloud Kicker.”

Applejack looked over her shoulder and asked, “Now when you say ‘we’, you mean you, right?”

“Wait, maybe we should all go or…maybe call the police just in case?” Pinkie suggested.

Sunset shook her head. “No on the cops, and no on the we part. I’m going to question Cloud Kicker, alone. On the off chance that she is what I think she is, it’ll be easier to fend her off if I’m by myself.” That and I haven’t told Pinkie Pie about you yet.

Pinkie Pie didn’t like that idea, if Cloud Kicker was possessed by a Wendigo, then that meant that Sunset might get killed like before. The curly haired teen still didn’t know how Sunset survived getting impaled through the gut, anyone else would be dead, but somehow Sunset survived, honestly that’s all that mattered to her, but Pinkie didn’t want to bank on another miracle happening. She also knew that Sunset was stubborn as all hell and that once Sunset set her mind on something, not many could deter her from her goal, despite the danger.

“Okay…just promise us that you’ll text us to let us know you’re alright,” said Pinkie.

Sunset smiled and kissed Pinkie on the forehead. “I promise.”

“Aww, you two are just too precious!” Rarity gushed.

Their free period ended and Sunset was now on the hunt for Cloud Kicker. It was days like this that she wished she had her network of information that allowed her to keep tabs on the students of CHS, Snips and Snails were part of that system, but eighty percent of it was Sunset’s own leg work. Problem was, with the whole school seeing her as an enemy, it was going to be hard to get information from anybody.

Sunset decided to head for the obvious place, the gym, her next class was P. E., she had never really paid much attention to who was in the class with her, other than Rainbow and Applejack when their class schedules aligned, but now, she hoped that Cloud Kicker was among them. Sunset walked to her locker and pulled out her gym clothes, heading towards the locker rooms, she saw that many of the girls were already inside and getting ready.

As she walked inside, Sunset could feel their eyes on her. The video had pretty much made its way on the social media circuit, so it was a fair bet to say that the entire school had seen her in her topless state. Nevertheless, Sunset walked with her head held high and commanding strides as she made her way to an empty locker.

“Wow, Shimmer, you are not having a good day, are you?”

Sunset groaned, she recognized that voice, she turned around and spotted none other than Trixie Lulamoon. “Trixie…so not in the mood right now.”

“Oh, don’t go acting all tough,” Trixie opened her locker and began removing her clothes. “Everybody in school’s already seen them by now, pretty sure most of the boys are jacking off to it.”

There was some snickering coming from the other girls, Sunset gritted her teeth, Trixie could be a real bitch most of the time, and contrarily, she could also be a nice person when she wanted to be. Right now, the bitchy part was more prominent. Sunset shook her head and began to change as well.

“If you’re going to go that far, then get your facts straight. Rainbow had a really bad fever; it made her delusional and she attacked me because of it. I tried to get her to stop, but she just kept coming at me and saying weird crap. I didn’t want to hurt her, but if I didn’t, she could’ve hurt someone in her fever dream state.”

“So, you’re saying Rainbow’s the one that ripped off your shirt?”

“Yes.”

“Eh, likely story, or it could be you and Rainbow Dash were having some sort of under-the-table affair and got a little too rough with each other,” Trixie suggested.

A locker door slammed, gaining the attention of the girls in the room. The girl who did it was blonde with her hair done up in a ponytail. “Cap’s got a lot on her mind; I know for a fact that’s not what’s happening. If she’s sick she’s sick, they took her out in an ambulance for Christ’s sake!”

“Okay, okay, don’t bite Trixie’s head off, Cloud,” said Trixie as she raised her hands in a placating manner.

“Cloud?” Sunset looked at the girl who spoke up. “Are you Cloud Kicker?”

Cloud nodded her head wearily. “I am…why?”

Sunset closed her locker and walked over to the girl, she grabbed her wrist and said, “We need to talk.”

“Let go of me, I don’t have anything to say to you!” Cloud Kicker stated.

“You do when it involves one of my friends, and,” Sunset leaned in close and whispered into her ear, “when it involves something related to Wendigos!”

Cloud Kicker’s eyes went wide, her body tensed up, but she showed no signs of resisting Sunset’s hold. “O-Okay, let’s talk.”

Sunset guided the girl to the far side of the locker room, once they were alone, Sunset sat Cloud Kicker down on the bench and leaned up against the locker as she looked down on Cloud Kicker. “Start talking, what happened last Saturday?”

“Look, Shimmer, that’s not…that’s not something that’s easy to talk about…”

“My friend’s in the hospital with some unknown affliction and tried to rape me due to whatever is wrong with her. Honestly, I could give two shits if it’s easy or hard, you’re going to tell me what you two did that day, or so help me I’m going to beat it out of you!” Sunset threatened.

Cloud Kicked stood up and glared at Sunset. “‘Friend’?! Since when are you two friends?! Last I checked, you burned that bridge, Anon-A-Miss!”

*SLAM!*

Cloud Kicker nearly fell on her rear when she jumped back and almost hit the bench. Sunset had struck the locker behind her with her right fist, causing the door to bend inward and crunch at the point of impact.

“Anon-A-Miss took my friends away, despite everything that’s happened, I still care about them, even Rainbow! Don’t you dare question how much I value them; I would die for them!” Sunset stated with full conviction.

Cloud Kicker was taken aback at how fiercely Sunset said those words, she didn’t understand, why would someone who was Anon-A-Miss act like this? Was she acting? Was this a trick to use on them later? Her questions ceased when she saw a tear fall from Sunset’s left eye.

“Okay…I’ll tell you.” Cloud Kicker sat back down on the bench and sighed heavily. “You think whatever you want about me, but don’t think badly about Cap.”

“Just tell me.”

“Last Saturday, we went somewhere…we went to a club.”

Sunset crossed her arms in front of her chest and asked, “Was it some kind of dance club, a rave, or something else?”

“Something else…” Cloud fidgeted where she sat. “It’s a…a sex club, we…we went there to have sex with each other…and other people.”

Sunset’s face lit up from hearing that, she knew Rainbow had a bit of a perverted side like herself, but she never thought she’d go that far. “Uh…wow…o-o-okay, so you two… had sex there. Were there drugs or anything? Spiked drinks?”

“No! And just to be clear, I convinced her to come to that place! She was hesitating the whole way, and nervous as well, I pushed her into going!” Cloud stated, feeling the guilt build up inside. “I…I took her there, but no one’s ever gotten sick there, no one’s ever gotten hurt!”

“Okay, did she…did she sleep with anyone else besides you at that place? Was she out of your sight at all?” Sunset asked.

Cloud Kicker shook her head. “No, she wasn’t, we did have sex with two other girls who joined us, but she never left my sight until…” Cloud Kicker stopped as if coming to a realization. “It couldn’t have been…?”

Sunset noticed this change and pressed on it, “Been what? What is it?”

“There…There was a point where she was out of my sight, but I was still in the room! The Vessel of the Goddess.”

Sunset blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s what we call her, she’s this really hot girl, about our age, she’s like the queen in that place, watching over us. If she takes an interest in you, she’ll come down from her throne and pleasure you, and if you’re really lucky, the goddess herself will appear,” Cloud Kicker explained.

“And what’s the name of this goddess?”

“Ishtar.”

Sunset froze, Ishtar was the name of one of the Original Three, the name of a Wendigo possessed human who brainwashed people into killing others. Was…Was that what was happening to Rainbow Dash? Was she trying to bed Sunset just to kill her soon after?

Cloud Kicker looked up at Sunset and noticed that she had gone pale as if she had spoken the name of something evil. “Hey, Sunset, you alright – HEY!”

Sunset grabbed Cloud Kicker by the shirt and hoisted her up, the action was done so quickly that Cloud Kicker wasn’t able to get her footing. “Tell me where Ishtar is! She’s dangerous, a killer!”

“Ishtar wouldn’t do anything like that! She wants to grant us pleasure,” said Cloud Kicker.

Sunset whirled Cloud around, slamming her into the lockers. “Listen to me, very carefully. This thing, it only wants one thing, and that’s to kill as many people as it can. The people in this club of yours, she’s using some of them to kill other people! Now I don’t know if she’s just body hopping, or if she’s controlling them, but whatever the case, she needs to be stopped now!”

“H-How?” Cloud Kicker asked.

“By killing her, that’s how!” Sunset stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. “You’re going to take me to this place, and then I’m going to end her myself!”

Cloud Kicker shook her head. “Please, Sunset, don’t do this! She’s not a bad person, or thing, or whatever she is! I’ve been visited by her, and I’m perfectly alright! I haven’t had a fever or anything! I’ll take you, but let’s just talk to her first, we don’t need to go that far, maybe she can even heal Cap!”

Sunset didn’t want to take that chance, but perhaps she could be reasoned with.

}}} You don’t really believe that, do you? {{{

Not a chance in hell, but if it gets me closer to Ishtar, then I’ll play along, I might even be able to get some answers out of her.

Sunset released Cloud Kicker and calmed down. “Alright, we’ll talk. Where is she?”

Cloud Kicker sighed in relief. “The Club is open all day and night today. We could head there right after school is over.”

“Great.”

Rainbow Dash felt like she was in a haze, her mind was clouded and it made it hard to think. She remembered going to school, and the moment she stepped foot into the building, something happened to her. Her body began to heat up, her pulse quickened, and even more strange, she was getting aroused. All around her, she could see the faint outlines of an…aura?…around different students. It was pink colored, for some it was faint, and others, it was glowing. It wasn’t until she met up with Fluttershy that the strange feelings she had gotten stronger. The pink aura around Fluttershy was shimmering so brilliantly, and for whatever reason, it only further aroused Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow didn’t know why she was feeling that way, she was attracted to Fluttershy back in middle school, she even made a move on her once, but Fluttershy declined, saying that she didn’t feel that way towards girls. Rainbow respected that and made sure to never get handsy with her, so why did she feel such an urge to rip off Fluttershy’s clothes and take her in the middle of the hallway?

She vaguely remembered when Pinkie Pie and…Sunset arrived. It was humiliating, of all the people to get help from at that moment, it had to be Sunset Shimmer. Rainbow was still confused on how to feel about her, she didn’t want to get burned again, not after trusting the former queen bee and bully of CHS, but at the same time, she wanted to. After that, things got hazier, the heat was building in her body, becoming almost unbearable, she needed to have someone, anyone. Then she saw her, she saw Sunset, her aura shined even brighter than Fluttershy’s, she was beautiful, and Rainbow wanted her.

Then things went black, they were still black. Rainbow slowly opened her eyes and realized that she wasn’t in the nurse’s office, her eyes scanned the new room she was in and saw that there was an I. V. line leading straight to her left hand, with a heartbeat monitor next to her bed showing that it was going at a steady pace.

“Rainbow?”

The girl in question blinked and saw that Fluttershy was on her right, a look of worry on her face. “Shy…?”

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re finally awake! I need to go and get the doctor!” Fluttershy stated as she readied to rush out.

Rainbow caught her friend by the wrist and asked, “Wait, Shy, what happened? Am I in the hospital?”

Fluttershy stopped, she knew she needed to go and get the doctor, but she could also see the confusion in Rainbow’s eyes, and the last thing Rainbow needed was to panic. Fluttershy sat back down and said, “Yes, you are.”

“How…why?”

“Rainbow, you ran a really high fever, high enough that Nurse Redheart, Pinkie, and me, ran to the cafeteria to get as much ice as we could to try and bring it down. We left Sunset to watch over you while we did so,” Fluttershy explained.

“Sunset…she was alone with me? She watched over me?” Rainbow whispered, as if the idea of Sunset keeping an eye on her sickly state was strange.

Fluttershy grasped Rainbow’s right hand and gave it a light squeeze as she asked, “Rainbow, I don’t know how much you remember, but…Sunset said you attacked her.”

Rainbow snapped her eyes wide open and nearly bolted upright. “I what?!”

“She said you were in the middle of some fever dream, and attacked her out of nowhere. She tried to calm you down, but she said you were too delirious to listen to her. Your fight spilled out into the hallway and…a lot of the other kids saw you two fighting…it wasn’t pretty.”

Rainbow shook her head. “How ‘not pretty’ could it have been?”

“You, um, you ripped Sunset’s shirt off and exposed her.”

Rainbow’s face went flush. “Oh shit…seriously?!”

Fluttershy nodded.

Rainbow took her right hand back and dragged it over her face. “And I’m guessing everyone saw her tits and shit, right?”

Again, Fluttershy nodded.

“What about me?” Rainbow asked.

“Your shirt was off, but you had your sports bra on. If anything, Sunset looked like she got it worse than you did,” said Fluttershy.

Rainbow face palmed herself. “How did she stop me?”

“She, uh, punched you and knocked you out, you were kind of relentless, from what I heard. There’s also a video of the fight too…”

“Of – fucking – course there’s video of it! Shit…” Rainbow wanted to just bury herself right now, no matter how much she was pissed off at Sunset, she’d never go so far as to humiliate her like that.

Fluttershy leaned forward and asked, “Rainbow, I need you to try and remember what happened. I don’t want to think badly of Sunset, but I don’t think she was telling us the whole truth, or at least she didn’t tell me. What do you remember happening, did you do or say anything to her? Or did she do or say anything to you?”

Rainbow wracked her brain trying to remember that moment before she blacked out, then it finally clicked in her mind, the pieces of memory falling into place as she started to feel sick. “I attacked her…I…I…”

“Rainbow, just tell me. You can trust me, I won’t tell anyone,” said Fluttershy.

“You don’t understand…I tried to have sex with her! Fuck that, I tried to rape her!” Rainbow confessed.

Fluttershy felt like the world went still, eyes widening as her hands clasped together over her mouth. Rainbow was a bit of a pervert, brash, crude, a tomboy, but also loyal, trustworthy, and never hurt anyone unless they hurt her friends or threatened her directly. So, to hear that Rainbow tried to do something as bad as rape, was something that Fluttershy was having a hard time grasping.

“M-Maybe it was the fever? The kind of fever you had could have had an effect on your brain’s ability to think clearly,” said Fluttershy in an effort to rationalize what Rainbow attempted.

“I don’t know why, but I did try! I ripped off her shirt and everything! I don’t understand…! I just felt so hot, it was like I was so laser focused on getting with her that I was like ‘Damn everything!’ The worst part is…I still feel like that! I feel like I want to jump you right now!”

Fluttershy flinched, but she didn’t move from her spot.

Rainbow looked to her best friend and started to cry. “What’s wrong with me, Shy…?”

Fluttershy grasped Rainbow’s hand firmly again. “What happened, something must’ve happened to you to make you this way! Please tell me everything that you did between today and yesterday!”

Rainbow hesitated.

“Rainbow, the doctors and your parents are going to ask you the same thing, especially the doctors because they want to cure you! This is not the time to lie to me!” Fluttershy insisted.

Rainbow looked away from her best friend and said, “I…I think I know what might’ve done this to me…”

“What?”

“I…I went somewhere with Cloud Kicker last Saturday…” Rainbow had a look of shame on her face as she continued. “She took me to some…some sex club.”

Fluttershy’s face went red. “A…s-sex club?”

Rainbow only nodded.

“Rainbow…I…I know you can be a bit, um, horny, but you shouldn’t just go to some place like that! Did…Did they give you any drugs or alcohol?” Fluttershy asked with dread.

“No…but, there’s something else.”

Sunset tapped on the armrest of Cloud Kicker’s car, anxious to arrive at their destination. Just as she promised, Cloud Kicker drove Sunset to the meeting place of this Ishtar Club, the whole way, Sunset hadn’t said a word to Cloud Kicker. Cloud figured that Sunset blamed her for taking Rainbow Dash to that place, and in all honesty, Cloud Kicker felt guilty. Something was wrong with Rainbow Dash, and it all started after she had visited the Club. Cloud didn’t want to believe that Ishtar could’ve had a hand in doing that to Rainbow, after all, she was visited by Ishtar once before and nothing like this happened.

However, that didn’t mean everyone had a good reaction to Ishtar giving her essence to another. Perhaps it was some kind of drug-like substance? Either way, Cloud Kicker wanted answers too, Rainbow was her friend, and now her friend was in the hospital, if there was something that could shed some light on what happened to Rainbow, then Cloud Kicker was going to find it with Sunset.

One thirty-minute drive later and both girls found themselves at the abandoned warehouse. Cloud Kicker led the way inside, down the three flights of stairs, and right past the creepy looking guard. Sunset looked around the room, feeling a bit uneasy about the setup.

“We need to take off our clothes here before entering the Sanctum. I know you may not be comfortable with doing that after what happened today but–?”

“Fine by me.”

Sunset walked to one of the cubby holes and began taking off her clothes, Cloud Kicker was a bit surprised to see that Sunset so easily accepted getting nude right away.

“Wow…I…I thought you’d have some reservations about this,” Cloud commented.

“I’m originally from a dimension where clothes were optional and mainly used to make a statement. About 99.9% of the population didn’t wear clothes, so this doesn’t bother me.”

Plus, it’s going to make it a whole lot easier to transform, for once I don’t have to worry about you tearing up my clothes!

}}} Still hung up on that are you? {{{

You’re lucky I have Rarity now, or we’d have to have a serious conversation about it.

Cloud Kicker quickly disrobed as well, once they were done, both girls stood at the entrance to the Inner Sanctum. Cloud looked down and noticed that Sunset still had on her bracelet. “Um, sorry, but you need to put that in the cubby as well. No jewelry of any kind is allowed in there.”

“The bracelet stays.”

“But–”

Sunset stepped closer and stared seriously into Cloud’s eyes. “The bracelet stays. Understand?”

Cloud Kicker smiled nervously and nodded. “I do! And, uh, your chest is kind touching mine.” Sunset looked down and pulled away, blushing a little. “You know, you are hot as hell, maybe we could…?”

“Finish that sentence and I swear to Faust almighty; I’m going to throw you through this door!” Sunset warned.

“Right then, in we go! …Just be warned, you’re going to be seeing some…things.”

Sunset watched as Cloud Kicker opened the door, and Sunset was immediately hit with the scent of sex and the humid heat of it all. The moment they stepped inside, she could feel something was off, there was a strange energy permeating the entire room, as if something was enforcing its will upon everything inside.

Dammit…I’m feeling really aroused right now…what’s going on?

}}} This strange energy is the reason behind it. Try to focus on why we are here, I will be here to keep you on that task. {{{

Sunset’s inner pervert was practically doing backflips right now, all around her, she was treated to scenes of graphic sexual happenings, guys with girls, girls with girls, and guys with guys. Everywhere she looked all she could see was people having sex with each other, moans of pleasure, and of course the distinguishable sounds of orgasm throughout the room. One, of many, things that Sunset noticed was that none of the males in attendance were wearing condoms at all, and nearly all of the occupants were doing it raw.

“So, is no one concerned about getting pregnant here?” Sunset asked.

“The light of Ishtar keeps that from happening, no diseases and no pregnancy can occur in this place, so we can all just enjoy having sex without any consequences,” Cloud Kicker explained.

That explains this slightly oppressive feeling, this pink light is actually connected to that Wendigo, thought Sunset.

Sunset and Cloud Kicker walked further into the room and eventually found the one they were looking for.

“That her?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, The Vessel of the Goddess, she’s not Ishtar herself, but someone that Ishtar can appear through,” Cloud Kicker explained.

Sunset readied to storm the throne atop the stairs when Cloud Kicker grabbed her by the wrist.

“Wait! You can’t just go up there and get in her face!”

“Rainbow’s messed up because of something she did, and I want answers,” said Sunset.

“Trust me when I say that no one here is going to let you hurt her. I’m not even sure I want you to hurt her, but I do want answers. I was blessed by her presence, so she’ll let me approach her, just stay behind me and we’ll do this properly.”

Sunset didn’t want to wait, the Wendigo responsible for hurting her friend was sitting right above her, all she needed to do was cut her down and everything would be fine. Although, with so many people around, there was a chance that Ishtar could start killing everyone here, or use them as hostages. None of them knew what she was, to them, she was an actual goddess instead of a murder happy monster.

“Okay, we’ll do this your way, for now,” Sunset relented.

Cloud sighed happily, she then led Sunset up the stairs until the two of them now stood before The Vessel of the Goddess. “Greetings Vessel, I’m–”

“Cloud Kicker,” said The Vessel in a posh accent. “I remember you, have you come to ask for a private session?”

Cloud blushed. “I would love that, but…unfortunately, my coming to you isn’t for that. Do you remember Rainbow Dash?”

The Vessel nodded. “Indeed, I do, and I must say, she was the best fuck I’ve had in quite a bit. Not that I’m diminishing our time together, mind you.”

Sunset tightened her fist, the knowledge that this thing violated her friend was making her burn with anger. “Well, something happened to her, she attacked me today and tried to rape me in the process. Now she’s in the hospital because she has some kind of strange fever. She’s not that kind of person, and she didn’t act like that until she came to this place.”

The Vessel put on an apologetic face. “I’m sorry to hear that, truly, I had hoped to see her again today. But you must understand, diseases are not able to survive in this place, it’s probably the most sterile environment you’ll find outside of a medical facility. No viruses or harmful bacteria can exist in this space so long as the goddess deems it so.”

Sunset pushed past Cloud Kicker and got right in the Vessel’s face, making her two attendants gasp at her brashness.

“Hmmm, I like your forwardness~” The Vessel let her hand hover over Sunset’s arm. “And who might you be? Perhaps we could–?”

The name’s Sunset Shimmer, and I know what you are, Wendigo!”

The Vessel paused.

“I know that this girl you’re in is just your host, whether you’re willingly or unwillingly doing all this is another matter. Right now, I want answers to what you did to my friend, or should I spill your little secret to everyone here? I wonder how they’d react knowing that their ‘goddess’ is just a demonic monster getting their rocks off to killing people?” Sunset threatened.

The Vessel put on a neutral expression and said, “Very well, then let us talk privately, all three of us.”

Sunset backed away and let The Vessel stand up. The host of Ishtar then walked behind her throne and led Sunset and Cloud Kicker through a door that opened up into a large room. When the door closed, The Vessel walked over to her bed and sat on the edge. “So, what is your first question.”

“What’s your real name, none of this ‘Vessel’ crap,” Sunset demanded.

“My name is Fleur de Lis, I’m a student of Crystal Prep Academy,” she answered.

Cloud Kicker’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you’re from CPA?!”

“Indeed, and you two are from CHS, I take it?” Fleur asked.

Sunset looked between the two women and asked, “Am I missing something?”

“CPA and CHS have had a rivalry going for years! They always beat us during the Friendship Games!” Cloud Kicker huffed.

“Honestly, it’s kind of hard to keep calling them the ‘Friendship Games’ when CPA has no intention of becoming ‘friends’ with CHS. But then again, that doesn’t matter here, we leave all that at the door,” said Fleur.

Sunset crossed her arms and continued her interrogation. “Okay, so, did you let the Wendigo possess you? Or is it forcing you to do what it wants?”

Fleur chuckled a little, it sounded hollow. “Honestly, there wasn’t much inside for her to take over.” Fleur moved her right hand and placed it over her chest. “I’ve been groomed sense birth to be the best, I was to pursue a modeling career, and while I enjoyed it, over time, I saw just how cut throat it really was, and what it takes sometimes to get what you want.”

Fleur looked to both girls and asked, “Have you ever known what it’s like to feel like you have no say in your life? To let every one of your choices be made for you?”

Sunset and Cloud Kicker shook their heads.

“No, I suppose not. Wealth and power are what my family values, if it doesn’t bring money or power, then it’s a worthless pursuit. They enrolled me in CPA to better help my academic career, as well as show to others that I received the best of the best in education. But that place wasn’t just a place of learning, it was a regular viper pit.”

“Yeesh, I hear rumors that CPA, despite all its best stuff, the students there were pushed, and that there’s a lot of hazing done by students to other students,” said Cloud Kicker.

Fleur nodded. “The rumors are true. I’ve had my hand in a fair number of them, especially to this one girl with glasses, quite the genius. I don’t rightly enjoy it, but you can’t show weakness. Even my romance is predetermined, I’m to marry a man called Fancypants. He’s in his early twenties, and heir to his family’s fortune.”

Sunset cringed upon hearing that, it sounded a lot like the Equestrian nobility back in her home. She remembered how some of the nobles, while cursing the fact that a commoner like Sunset was Celestia’s personal protégé, they also weren’t stupid. They saw an opportunity to gain favor with the Princess in Sunset, and so some of them had their children write letters to her, professing their deep feelings of love and adoration for her, mares and stallions alike. Then again, Sunset wasn’t stupid either, she could see through their plans, and she wasn’t going to be used as some kind of tool to manipulate the one pony who gave a damn about her. Some of them even tried to petition her mother and father to try and get her to accept their courtships. That ended poorly as well, Sunset’s destiny – she believed at the time – was to rule Equestria alongside her beloved mentor and mother figure, and if she chose to have a lover, it would be one that she deemed worthy.

Damn I was so conceited back then, Sunset thought. Glad I have Pinkie now.

“That’s…That’s just fucked up! Arranged marriages?! What is this? Medieval times or some shit?” Cloud Kicker asked in indignation.

Fleur actually smiled a little, hearing someone feeling anger on her behalf was welcoming. “When you have so many choices taken away from you, it leaves you hollow inside. I spent a night with Fancypants, and it ended up with us in bed. I had hoped that there was love, but there wasn’t, I was just his trophy-wife-to-be. Someone he could brag to the socialites to, and bed when he felt like it. It was after such a night that I was visited by her.”

Sunset narrowed her gaze.

“She told me what she was, what she could do, and what she needed from me. But for the first time in my life, I was given a choice. She said I could decline or accept her offer, and that if I accepted, I could be freer than I ever was in my current situation.”

Sunset shook her head. “And you accepted.”

“Yes, but it was my choice, my first real choice. And I have no regrets,” said Fleur.

“That Wendigo doesn’t care about you, Fleur! It’s using your body to commit murder and all kinds of other things! You can’t trust it!” Sunset argued.

“I never said I did. Sunset, I’m hollow inside, I have been for a long time. Until I let Ishtar enter my body, that’s how I felt. Sure, the killings are appalling, but everything in-between that is fun,” said Fleur with a smile

Sunset rushed towards Fleur, grabbing her by the right shoulder and cocking back her right fist. “What you did to my friend, you call that fun?!”

Fleur showed no signs of fear. “I don’t see why not? I made Rainbow Dash feel pleasure, the likes of which she has never felt before and shared my essence with her. I created a place where people can forget their troubles and just delve into the pleasures of the flesh, a few deaths here and there to satiate Ishtar seems like fair payment to me.”

“To what end?!”

“Well, for one thing, those whom I’ve shared Ishtar’s essence with act as her eyes and ears. And Rainbow Dash has shown me a few girls in your school that are positively radiant with magical energy, and so are you,” said Fleur.

“That’s it!” Sunset was about to deck Fleur, but a hand swiftly shot out and grabbed Sunset by the wrist, stopping her from doing so. When she looked to see who it was, she was shocked to see that it was Cloud Kicker. “What are you doing?!”

“I…I don’t know! My body’s moving on its own,” said Cloud Kicker in a panic.

Wait, multiple killings happening at almost the same time, with the same M. O. in different locations! That’s how she does it! “They’re not possessed, you’ve just taken control of them!”

Fleur nodded. “You’re very smart and perceptive, Sunset Shimmer, and quite beautiful and powerful, too.”

Suddenly, pink crystals began to form over Cloud’s right hand, encasing it in a clawed crystal gauntlet. More crystal began to form, covering her forearms, lower legs, chest, and crotch. Cloud’s eyes changed as well, the color in her irises was now pink, but sparkled as if they too were made of crystals.

Cloud Kicker pulled back and tore Sunset off of Fleur, putting her into an arm lock while wrapping her other arm around her neck, putting her into a choke hold.

“Cloud, snap out of it!”

Cloud didn’t respond, her face was plastered with a seductive smile, and a half-lidded gaze.

“You see, Ishtar gains more power from those she mates with. Draining their sexual energy, or lust, to make herself stronger. But some people have just a bit of magic in them, and that makes her even stronger. Like when I slept with Cloud Kicker, I could sense she was touched by magic, it lingered on her, but it wasn’t her own. But, when she brought Rainbow Dash, I could see it, she could see it. And when I was with her, I could feel it, she radiated magic.”

Fleur snapped her fingers. Cloud Kicker threw Sunset against the large bed and made her land on her back, she then jumped up and landed on top of it. With inhuman speed, Cloud closed the distance and grabbed ahold of Sunset’s arms, pinning her to the bed and letting her lower half dangle off the edge. Fleur made her way towards Sunset, running her hand from the center of her chest down towards her pelvis.

“And you, Sunset, radiate a very strong magic. Don’t resist, I promise you’ll only know pleasure,” said Fleur.

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks!”

Sunset snapped her head upwards and nailed Cloud Kicker in the face with a head-butt, she then jerked her legs and hips upwards, catching Cloud Kicker off guard as Sunset flung herself over Cloud’s head and landed against the headboard. Sunset winced when she landed, her arms bleeding from the sharp crystal claws that cut into her from her escape. Sunset stood up on the bed and raised her right arm up, showing off her bracelet.

“You know, I do have to thank you for one thing,” said Sunset.

“And that is?” Fleur asked.

“You saved me some money in new clothes!”

At that moment, the bracelet came alive and began wrapping Sunset in the supernatural armor of the Witchblade. When it was over, Sunset assumed a fighting stance as her turquoise eyes shined in the dim lighting of the room.

}}} I would like to point out, my deployment was far quicker than normal. {{{

Yeah, I’m not going to walk around naked just to make it easier for you. Not that I wouldn’t mind, but we’re not in Equestria.

}}} Just making an observation. {{{

As soon as Fleur saw this transformation, the demon inside reacted. Fleur’s body was enveloped in a silver aura, and not a second later, she was transformed into the Wendigo known as Ishtar.

“There you are,” said Sunset.

“So, you’re Witchblade, you’ve become a real thorn in our sides,” said Ishtar.

“Well, that’s kinda my thing, that and slaying demons, I’ve gotten really good at that.”

Sunset sprang into action, dashing straight for Ishtar. However, Cloud Kicker tackled her at the last second, sending the both of them flying towards the opposite wall. Sunset growled in anger, but knew that Cloud Kicker wasn’t doing this of her own volition.

“Cloud Kicker, wake up! Try and fight it!”

Cloud Kicker gave no response, other than cocking back her right fist to smash it into Sunset’s face. Sunset ducked just in time for Cloud’s fist to strike the wall, she then drove her knee into the girl’s chest, the crystal armor cracked from the impact, the blow also sending the girl skidding across the room and into the bowl indention in the floor.

Sunset summoned her blades and readied to attack Ishtar, but the monster held up her index finger and wagged it. “Now, now, Sunset, I don’t think you want to continue this brawl, do you?”

“If it means my friend is free of you, then yeah, I do!” Sunset dashed towards Ishtar; her forearm blades ready to cut the seductress of a monster.

“Mmm-hmm, and what about the people outside this room?”

Sunset stopped, her blades resting just mere inches from Ishtar’s neck. “You bitch…!”

“Out of the dozens of people in that room, there are about thirty-four of them in there that are my servants. That’s including dear Cloud Kicker over there. Perhaps you should go and look outside and tell me if you think killing me with worth all their lives?”

Sunset bolted for the door, smashing it down and reentering the Sanctum. Inside she could see the thirty-four people, the chosen few of Ishtar, blocking the entrance to the Sanctum, the only way in or out. All of them, male and female alike, were clad in the same crystal armor, all ready to kill at the command of their master. Some already had hostages at the ready, having transformed during their activities, some of those victims found themselves in a very compromising position.

The bringer of Balance gritted her sharp teeth as turned around and glared at Ishtar.

“You could go down there and kill them all, I’m certain with your speed and strength you could easily do it. But then, you’d be killing thirty-four innocent people, who have no idea what they’re doing. Can you live with that, Sunset? Killing me, a monster, is one thing, but can you live with yourself knowing that you spelt the blood of the innocent? Some of them have families, brothers and sisters, children, parents who care about them. Are you willing to kill them all just take me down?”

Sunset growled fiercely as she looked back and forth between the hostages, the crystal guards, and Ishtar. If she acted quickly enough, she might be able to kill Ishtar before the crystalized people killed anyone. That was a big gamble, and then there was Cloud Kicker, it was clear that Ishtar was going to use her like a shield. Sunset released the tension in her fists and made the blades disappear.

“What do you want?”

“Hmmm, let me think?” Ishtar walked up to Sunset, her body towering over her as she leaned down and lifted Sunset’s chin with a claw tipped finger. “I could have you get down on all fours and let me take you right here in front of everyone.”

Sunset felt a twinge of fear.

“But that’d be too easy. I want a buffet, not just a meal. So, you will gather the others who possess magic like you, and bring them here,” said Ishtar.

“NO! T-Take me! Do whatever you want to me, but not them!” Sunset pleaded.

“I think you’re misunderstanding me, Sunset.” Ishtar snapped her fingers.

Sunset heard a scream and quickly turned around, she spotted one of the crystal slaves grab a woman, the slave’s right arm gauntlet transformed into a crystal blade and aimed it directly for the woman’s stomach.

“This isn’t a negotiation; this is a demand. You are going to bring the rest of the girls who possess strong magic to me, and you will prostrate yourselves before me while I ravage your bodies and take in all the power you possess! With that, I’ll be able to bring forth the rest of my kind. But don’t worry, I’ll save you for last, Sunset, because I want you to watch as each of your dear friends faces twist with pleasure, while the others curse your name for betraying them.”

Ishtar walked around until she was standing in front of Sunset.

“You have four hours to bring them here, for every minute that you go over that limit, I will kill one person until they are all dead or until you arrive.”

Sunset shook with rage, she wanted to kill this demon so bad right now, but she knew that there was no way around this.

“Tick-tock, Sunset, better get moving.”

Case File 5-4 (Ishtar): Lust, Light, Witchblade!

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Sunset flew through the night sky, she didn’t know what she was going to do. There was no way she could bring her friends to Ishtar, especially not Pinkie Pie, not after what she went through. But if she didn’t do anything, all those people were going to die, and with Rainbow Dash still under her influence, she could have the girl killed at any time, or worse, have kidnapped the others and make her run around for nothing.

}}} There is an easy solution, go back and incinerate them all. {{{

That’s not a solution! That’s not even an option! They’re not possessed they’re just being mind controlled!

}}} The only other option is for you to bring your friends before that monster and let her have her way with them. In one scenario, you kill the demon and some lives may be lost, but your friends will live and never know of the impossible decision you were forced to make. {{{

You know, the old me might’ve agreed with that plan, but that’s not me anymore. There’s got to be a way to get them out of this, save Rainbow, Cloud Kicker, those people, and kill that demon whore! I can’t call Shining Armor, he’ll bring a police army, and for sure they’ll all get killed. There’s only one way in and one way out, and it’s underground so no one can see what they’re doing…

Sunset hovered in midair, she then placed her hand over the ruby jewel of the Witchblade and conjured her cellphone. She willed the armor to retract from her fingers so she could send a text.

[Emergency meeting at my house! I need everyone there now, there’s something I need to talk to you all about!]

Pinkie Pie arrived at Sunset’s place, having been driven there by her big sister, Maud. The whole way, Maud was a little worried about her little sister, Pinkie didn’t often ask to be taken to a friends house at this hour, on a school night at that. She thought about asking why, but decided if it was urgent enough, Pinkie would’ve told her.

The Pie sisters pulled up to Sunset’s home, and when they did, they already saw Applejack and Rarity there. Pinkie got out and said goodbye to Maud as she drove off, she then joined her two friends and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Ah don’t know, but Sunset said it was urgent so somethin’ bad must be goin’ down,” said Applejack.

“I hope not, but I fear you may be right,” said Rarity.

Rarity’s phone went off and she quickly brought it out to see that she got a text from Sunset.

[Is there anyone around besides you guys?]

Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity took a moment to scan the area, the only people out on the streets were them.

[No, just us darling. Where are you?]

[Look up.]

All three girls looked up and watched as a winged being descended from the sky. Sunset landed on the ground before them and had her wings retract into the armor. Pinkie Pie gasped upon seeing that Witchblade had appeared before them, but didn’t understand what was happening.

Sunset walked up to them and sighed as she looked at Pinkie Pie. “This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out…” Sunset walked past them and opened the door, letting all four of them inside. Once the door was closed and locked, Sunset had the Witchblade release her clothing onto the couch. Upon doing so, Sunset let the armor return to bracelet form, leaving he nude in the living room.

Pinkie Pie gasped, she watched as Sunset turned around, covering herself with her arms to preserve some amount of her modesty in front of her girlfriend. “Sunset…you’re Witchblade!”

Applejack and Rarity prepared themselves to try and mitigate the fallout from Sunset keeping this secret from Pinkie Pie.

“Yes…I am. I’m sorry, Pinkie, I meant to tell you, but I didn’t know when the right time to do it was. And we just now became a couple so…please, don’t be mad, I really did mean to tell you when the time was right,” Sunset confessed.

Pinkie Pie crossed her arms and hummed in contemplation. “Well, to be honest, I kinda suspected you were anyway.”

The silence was deafening.

“Wait – what – how – when – huh?!” Sunset spluttered.

“I first started suspecting something on that night when you saved me. I kept wondering how you survived getting impaled like that, and then the second night when Witchblade – or you really – came and saved me. I mean, who else knew that that monster was probably going to come after me again?”

“Uh…” was all Sunset could say right now.

“Then I got more suspicious when I heard that Principal Celestia was attacked and was saved by Witchblade, but she also told me that you were attacked too and were being looked after by that Detective Armor. Then there was the whole Rarity fashion show thing, getting attacked while driving on the road, Witchblade showing up, and Sunset was there as well. Then the fashion show itself, both of you ran away, and then Witchblade shows up. And I’m not really sure how, but something tells me that warehouse turning into solid gold had something to do with Apple Bloom getting kidnapped and you running after that van, since Applejack doesn’t seem surprised at all that you’re Witchblade. And there’s the fact that you wear that bracelet everywhere you go, when before you never did wear it. And you seem to be wearing different clothes than what you were wearing before. So, yeah, I had my suspicions, but I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.

}}}…………I know I’ve said this before, but I feel it’s worth repeating. The pink one is scarily perceptive. {{{

Sunset merely turned around and put on her underwear and shirt before turning back to face Pinkie. “Pinkie…are you mad that I didn’t tell you right away?”

Pinkie Pie walked up to Sunset, she gave her a serious look for a few seconds before smiling at her and hugging Sunset tight. “Of course I’m not, you’ve saved a lot of people, and helped your friends! Why would I be mad about that? Like I said, I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”

Sunset hugged Pinkie back and said, “I really don’t deserve you.”

“Ahem,” Applejack interrupted. “Ah really hate to mess up this moment, but ya texted us a red alert, so what’s goin’ on?”

Sunset broke the hug and sighed heavily. “You need to sit down for this.”

The former unicorn spent the next ten minutes or so explaining to Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack what happened today and how it was connected to Rainbow Dash’s odd behavior, as well as telling them about the ransom demand that Ishtar wanted in return for the safety of her hostages. As expected, this made all three of them turn pale.

“She’ll kill them in the next…” Sunset looked at her phone, “three hours and thirty minutes.”

“She wants us…to give ourselves up…so she can…do things to us?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie hugged her body, she narrowly escaped getting raped by one monster, now another one was aiming to do the same thing, but somehow Pinkie suspected that this one would do worse to her than the previous one.

Rarity was hugging her body as well, she had wanted to give her first time to someone she loved, or at the very least someone she trusted very much, but not like this, not a monster that would just use her body for their pleasure and evil plans.

“I’ve been trying to think of a plan since then, but nothing’s coming to mind, nothing that doesn’t end up with getting all those people killed or you guys…” Sunset growled as she punched the brick wall next to her. “This is all my fault! I got so worked up about what happened to Rainbow Dash and I charged in there without even considering that she may have minions or something!”

Pinkie Pie stood up from the couch and walked to Sunset, she placed her hands on her shoulders to try and comfort her girlfriend. “Sunset, you had no idea that that monster could do that! It’s not your fault.”

“Pinkie’s right…that monster’s not given ya any wiggle room. Either you bring us or she starts killin’ people…or you go back and kill her, and those people end up dead,” said Applejack.

“There’s no easy answer to this, darling. One way or the other, something terrible is going to happen. Either innocent people die and that monster is slain, or…” Rarity began to shiver. “…or we let that thing violate us…and give it the power it needs to call on more of its horrible kind.”

“Maybe I should write to Princess Twilight? Maybe she has a solution?!” Sunset suggested. “Shit, what am I thinking?! There’s no time, she could be out on some grand adventure right now, miles away from the journal! FUCK!”

Sunset began to cry, as smart as she was, she couldn’t think of a way out of this situation that didn’t involve someone getting hurt, her friends or innocent people, one way or the other, someone was going to die tonight, and it’d be her fault.

“I’ll do it…”

Sunset’s eyes widened as she dared to look at Pinkie Pie. “Please don’t say that…Please don’t…”

“Sunset…there’s no good solution, right? Either you go and kill those people and that monster, or you offer us up instead…”

Sunset turned around and grabbed Pinkie Pie by the shoulders. “No! I won’t let you be put through that kind of trauma again! I have the power to protect you all!”

“But if you use that power, it means you’ll have to live with the guilt that you killed people who did nothing wrong, are you really going to tell me that you can live with it?” Pinkie asked.

“If it means none of you die or get violated then…then…” Sunset shook, she couldn’t say it, she could barely think it. “Faust, I wish I was my old self right now! The old me would be able to make this kind of decision!”

Applejack stood up from the couch and stood with Pinkie. “The old you wouldn’t have given a damn about savin’ Apple Bloom, the old you would’ve just taken what you know about my family’s farm and hold it over our heads to use fer later. That’s what the old Sunset Shimmer would’ve done. You ain’t her anymore, you care about others, you hold yer friends dear to you, and you look at us like family.” Applejack put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Ah’ll…Ah’ll go too.”

“Applejack…” Sunset whispered. She then saw Rarity get up and her lament deepened. “Rarity, please…”

“Sunset…none of us blame you. Circumstances are what they are and I believe the five of us share some blame in this. Had we stuck by you through this Anon-A-Miss fiasco, perhaps Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have done what she did and ended up in the state she’s in,” said Rarity.

“You don’t know that!” Sunset stated.

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Perhaps you’re right, but it’s something that has occurred due to our choices.”

“You guys…” Sunset shook her head. “Don’t do this because you think you need to punish yourselves for what happened, I forgave you all! I’ve even decided to forgive Rainbow Dash whenever she comes around! I just got some of you back, don’t make me have to lose you now!”

Pinkie Pie rubbed her arm and said, “We know you did…but, deep down, I don’t think we’ve forgiven ourselves.”

“Ah’m with Pinkie…Ah can’t fully fergive myself for abandonin’ ya when the tide was high like it is, leavin’ ya to swim through that stormy sea of CHS,” said Applejack.

“In a way, this is probably the kind of punishment one should receive for betraying their friends in such a horrible manner,” said Rarity.

Sunset couldn’t believe what she was hearing, she opened her arms and brought the girls into a tight a group hug as her arms could spread, sobbing could be heard amongst them all. The loudest of this was Sunset’s, she was about to offer up her friends, and there was nothing she could do to prevent this.

Fluttershy had read the text, but she knew she couldn’t go. Not with Rainbow Dash still in her current state. She had fallen asleep an hour ago, her fever hadn’t gone down, but neither had it gone up either. Right now, Fluttershy was still processing everything that Rainbow had told her. This underground sex club, a woman called The Vessel, and this “goddess” Ishtar. Fluttershy was familiar with the name, from her English writing classes when they discussed the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, she was one of the gods of ancient Mesopotamia, the goddess of love and war.

Could a being like that truly exist? Granted it went against all she believed in regarding God, but that’s not to say she was about to dismiss it outright. Magic existed, alternate dimensions filled with intelligent magic wielding ponies existed, demons definitely existed, so why not other ancient gods and goddesses? Honestly, after finding out magic existed and that she too had magic powers, it kind of threw Fluttershy’s world view upside down for a little while. Still, it didn’t shake her faith, because of such things existed, then that only meant that God existed too.

Fluttershy was sitting in a chair that the nurses brought in, she hadn’t left Rainbow’s side for a long while. The nurses were close to calling visiting hours over, and she knew she’d have to leave her best friend soon, but Fluttershy felt that she needed to be by Rainbow’s side. After Rainbow’s confession, she didn’t tell her parents or the doctors. How was she to explain this to them anyway? That Rainbow had sex with a mythological goddess and that’s why she’s like this? Despite all that was happening in the city with the mayor announcing the existence of demon-like monsters, there was no way a doctor was going to believe her.

I have magical powers, and even I can barely believe it.

Fluttershy glanced over to her friend again and saw that she was waking. “Hey, Dashie.”

“Hey, Shy…what time is it?”

“Seven-thirty, they’ll be making me leave soon, but you’re mom said she’ll be staying here tonight. Do you feel any different?” Fluttershy asked.

“No…I still can’t believe I did that…I can’t believe I let myself get into this mess…I’m such a fuck up…” said Rainbow Dash with shame.

Fluttershy reached for Rainbow’s right hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “You’re not a, uh…uh…ahem, screw up. Things just happened, you didn’t mean to have all that happen.”

“I didn’t stop it from happening either…” Rainbow looked away from her. “I liked it Shy…I like what was happening to me, for that time, I didn’t have to think about what was going on. How I might’ve betrayed Sunset, whether or not she really is Anon-A-Miss…all of it was just gone…”

“I understand how you feel…I find myself going to church more than I normally do, I keep hoping there’ll be a sign that something good will happen and change all of this. But, so far nothing.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Don’t they usually say ‘He works in mysterious ways’ or something?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Maybe I’m the wake up call…for both of us. I swear, if I make it out of this–”

“When you make it out of this,” Fluttershy corrected.

“When I make it out of this. I’ll apologize to Sunset, not just for what happened today, but – AAAGGGH!!!”

Suddenly, the heartbeat monitor began to beep rapidly, Rainbow Dash clutched at Fluttershy’s hand tight as she thrashed about on the bed. Fluttershy could feel it just from her palm, Rainbow Dash was getting hotter. Before Fluttershy could call for help, Rainbow Dash arched her back, her veins began to glow with pinkish-violet light from her toes all the way up to her head. Her eyes shone bright pink and then faded until only her irises were that color.

Fluttershy managed to get her hand loose as she got into the hall and yelled, “NURSE, DOCTOR! SHE NEEDS HELP!”

“Oh, I’m great, Shy.”

Fluttershy turned around and saw that Rainbow Dash had ripped out her I. V. line and was now standing up in the middle of the room in her hospital gown. In less than a second, Rainbow’s forearms and lower legs were completely encased in pink-violet crystals, the crystals took on the form of claws and talons, the latter of which cut grooves into the floor as she flexed them.

The doctors and nurses arrived, but they were too late as Rainbow’s takeover was complete. The prismatic teen used her left claw to grip her hospital gown and tore it off of her body, revealing that the crystals had also formed armor around her torso. Windy Whistles, Rainbow’s mother, came running around the corner and gasped upon seeing the state her daughter was in.

“D-Dashie?!” Windy exclaimed in shock.

“Hey, Mom, looking hot as always,” said Rainbow.

“Sweetie, please, try and control yourself! Let these doctors help you!” Windy pleaded.

Rainbow gently raked her claws over her body in a seductive manner and hummed in content. “Now why the hell would I let them help me? I don’t need help, Mom, I feel so freakin’ good! But, right now, I need Fluttershy.”

“M-Me?” Fluttershy asked.

“My goddess, Ishtar, she wants you, actually, she wants all our friends, but they should be coming soon.” Rainbow Dash held out her clawed hand. “C’mon, Shy, it might be scary for a second, but I promise the only thing you’ll feel during and after is absolute bliss.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Dashie, you need to try and focus! This isn’t you, you’re being controlled by a monster!”

Rainbow Dash sighed in disappointment. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way.” The crystal that formed her hand suddenly jutted out and coiled like a snake. The claw wrapped itself around one of the nurses and brought them close to Rainbow. “Either come with me, Shy or…” Rainbow’s left hand transformed into a four-foot-long blade, which she pointed at the nurse’s head. “I’ll cut her head off, or I could lob off an arm, we’re in a hospital after all, so I’m sure they can reattach it. What do you say?”

Another nurse came up behind them and whispered to the doctor, “The police are on their way!”

They won’t be here in time…and if they do get here they might just kill Rainbow without any hesitation, thought Fluttershy.

The pink haired girl sighed and stepped away from the group. “I’ll go.”

“Fluttershy!” Windy exclaimed. “Don’t!”

Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder and said, “It’s alright, Dashie won’t hurt me.” She then looked back at her best friend. “Will you.”

Rainbow smiled and released the nurse, her arms spread out as if to welcome a hug from her friend. “Why would I ever hurt you, Shy? I love you, you’re my best friend.” The mind-controlled teen walked up to Fluttershy and gave her a hug as she whispered, “My first crush.”

With great speed, Rainbow Dash swept Fluttershy off her feet and carried her bridal style. The armor grew out onto her back, and from it two crystal clawed arms formed. The two arms reached back and smashed the window to her room, and in the next second, the two arms gripped the edge and pulled back. The nurses, doctor, and Windy watched as Fluttershy and Rainbow flew out the window, all of them hurried to see if they had fallen to their deaths, thankfully – depending on your point of view – Rainbow Dash was running along the rooftops, leaping and bounding at great speeds as she soon disappeared from sight.

{You’re doing what?!}

“There’s no choice, Shining Armor. It’s either this or a lot of people are going to die.”

{You’re going to sacrifice your friends to a monster, how’s that any better?! I thought you told me that your friends were the most important thing to you?!}

Sunset bit her lower lip as she clenched her left fist. “Don’t you think that this killing me?! But they…they said they were going to do it…I’ve sent you a text where they’re located, don’t know how much good it’ll do.”

Sunset could hear shuffling in the background. {Don’t do anything, let me get a team together and head down there! We can come up with a plan or–!}

“Shining, the facility is three stories down underground, one way in, and one way out. She’ll kill everyone, it’s a lose-lose situation.” Sunset glanced downward, she was flying while her friends where in the car down below, their location drawing closer with every minute. “I’ll do whatever I can to stop her, believe me I’m going or die trying!”

{Sunset wai–!}

Sunset hung up the phone and let the phone return into the Witchblade’s ruby.

}}} I know this is hard for you, but rest assured that you are not the first of my wielders to have been forced into such a situation. {{{

How many of them ended up not having to sacrifice the ones they loved?

}}} ……… {{{

That says it all…

}}} I can only offer my companionship. I will always be here for you, till death do us part, Sunset. {{{

Wow, didn’t know this was a marriage thing.

Sunset’s gut was tied into knots as she saw the warehouse, she took the lead and had the girls follow in the car. Soon they arrived at the warehouse in question, Sunset landed upon the pavement as her armor clanked against the hard ground. Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack emerged from the car, they’re faces were grim, and why not, they were essentially about to be offered up as sex sacrifices. Part of Sunset, the dark part, was telling her to forget those people inside and just burn the entire thing to the ground. If Ishtar succeeded, there was going to be a massive influx of Wendigos pouring into the city, and who knows how many innocent people were going to die.

A small handful of people dying, or a whole city’s worth? The rational answer would be to sacrifice the few to save the many, but was that really the right choice? These people, despite what they came here to do, had families and loved ones that were waiting for their return, could Sunset live with their blood on her hands? Sunset looked back at her friends, and was honestly considering that a handful of strangers blood was better than the blood of those she considered family.

Pinkie Pie walked up and placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking, so don’t do it.”

“Pinkie…it’s a lot better than what’s about to happen to you all.”

“Maybe…but can you live with it? Do you think we can live with knowing that we’re alive and untouched because we sacrificed a lot of innocent people?” Pinkie asked.

Rarity walked up to Sunset’s right and said, “I could never face Sweetie Belle or my parents knowing that my life was spared at the cost of so many.”

“Same here,” said Applejack. “Ah’m startin’ to change things at home, Ah don’t want to add this to meh conscious.”

Sunset sighed heavily, left with no other recourse. The girls had texted Fluttershy repeatedly, but there was no answer from her. Ishtar had made it clear to Sunset that she wanted all her friends, but hoped that she could settle for them. To be honest, all of them thought that that was for the best, if there was one person they didn’t want to see in this situation, it was Fluttershy.

Sunset led the group inside the musty warehouse, passed the rusted machines and towards the backdoor. They walked down three flights of stairs before arriving at the entrance. There stood the black robed man, although it seemed that Ishtar had forgone any subtly, the man was also covered in crystal armor, his rugged visage would be enough to make most girls swoon, but given the current situation, that thought that was far from any of their minds.

The guard opened the door and ushered them inside, he allowed Witchblade in, but held up his left hand and said, “No clothes in the sanctum.”

Rarity instinctually grabbed at her coat, Applejack looked as if she was about ready to deck the guy, and Pinkie, understandably, was shaking like a leaf.

“This is going to be humiliating enough as it is, at least let them keep some of their dignity until then!”

The guard paused for a moment as he closed his eyes, and as if having received a mental command, nodded to Sunset. The girls rushed past him as he closed the door, they took a moment to look around, seeing the shower room door and the many cubby holes that were still filled with clothes and shoes.

“Do we…Do we have to…?” Rarity asked.

“No, but don’t expect that to last.”

The girls filed in behind Sunset as she opened the door, and just like she was, the three of them were hit with aroma of sex and the humid heat of the Sanctum. When they stepped foot inside, their bodies began to tingle all over. It was such a pervasive feeling, as if they were already being manipulated into feeling aroused despite what was about to happen to them. The thirty-four mind controlled people had formed a wall around the entrance, barring anyone from escaping.

The crowd parted ways as the girls made their way further inside. Aside from Sunset, none of them could stop blushing from seeing the many naked bodies around them. Sunset stopped when they reached the throne, Ishtar was still in her transformed state, and right next to her was Cloud Kicker.

“We’re here…”

“Indeed you are, but as I recall, there should be five of you,” said Ishtar.

“We couldn’t get ahold of them, please, aren’t they enough?!” Sunset pleaded.

Ishtar looked to the frightened girls and smiled. “Not to worry, the last of you should be arriving any minute now.”

“What?!”

The crowd parted again and all four of them gasped in horror. Rainbow Dash was walking in, carrying Fluttershy who was huddled against Rainbow Dash.

“FLUTTERSHY, DASH!”

Fluttershy dared to open her eyes, although, she didn’t need to, she could already tell by the smell and feelings the moment they entered that this was the place that Rainbow had spoken of, and upon the throne was the demon creature, Ishtar. But what she wasn’t expecting, was the rest of her friends and Witchblade to be here.

“Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack! W-Why are you here?!” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow let Fluttershy stand, but walked around the group until she and Fluttershy were standing at the foot of the stairs to Ishtar’s throne.

“There’s something I should tell you, Sunset.”

“Sunset?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, she then looked towards Witchblade and asked, “Sunset…?”

Ishtar looked down at the expression on Fluttershy’s face and smiled wickedly. “Seems that you didn’t tell all your friends about your side job, huh? Yes, your friend here’s been a constant thorn in our sides, but today she’s finally met her match. For you see…” Ishtar snapped her fingers.

All of the hostages stood up and in a matter of seconds, all of them were donned in the same crystal armor as Cloud Kicker and Rainbow Dash.

Sunset’s eyes widened and then narrowed into dangerous slits. “YOU BITCH! YOU TRICKED ME! THEY WERE ALL BEING MIND CONTROLLED!”

Ishtar laughed boisterously, as if this was the funniest thing in the world to her. “Indeed, they’re all my humble servants! Ha, aha, ha! How does it feel to have walked your friends into a den of hungry wolves, Sunset? How does it feel to have utterly failed to protect them?!”

Sunset widened her stance as blades began to form from her two arm gauntlets. But the moment she did, she saw that the mind controlled people were gathering around them.

Ishtar looked down at her newest recruit and said, “Rainbow Dash.” The girl in question looked up at her master. “I can sense you’re deep seeded feelings for that girl. A crush that was never requited, a passion that you wanted to shower her with in the privacy of your bedroom. Now, I give you that chance. I will have you and her soon, but for now, you may enjoy her.”

“Thank you, my goddess!” Rainbow replied.

Fluttershy looked up at Ishtar and then back at Rainbow Dash, seeing the hungry look in her eyes. “Dashie, please don’t do this!”

Without a word, Rainbow Dash tossed Fluttershy onto the floor and pounced on top of her. Like a predatory animal, she sniffed her friend, inhaling her sweet scent. “Dammit, Shy, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this with you~”

“Dashie…please don’t,” Fluttershy begged.

“Rainbow Dash! Stop!”

Her words meant nothing to Rainbow. With her right claw, Rainbow gently brought her claw to the collar of Fluttershy’s shirt and dragged it down, its sharp edge cutting the fabric like wet tissue paper. Rainbow stopped midway down, and ripped the shirt open enough to expose some of Fluttershy’s lacey bra and her cleavage.

Rainbow propped herself up, allowing her to look down at the tear streaked face of her lover, she had always known – no, knew – that Fluttershy was a bombshell of a girl, almost everyone in the school knew it. She was so kind and so gentle, so demure, and caring, and had a body that made every straight guy, bi, and lesbian in school want to give their right arms just have a night with her. A part of Rainbow took pride in the fact that such a beautiful and wonderful person like Fluttershy was her friend, but now she could deepen it, she rebuffed her advances a long time ago, saying she was straight and didn’t see Rainbow that way. But now was different, now Rainbow could show her just how much she cared about Fluttershy, now she could–

Fluttershy reached up slowly and placed her hands on either side of Rainbow’s face, making her pause. “Rainbow, please don’t do this. I believe in you, you’re better than this, you’re stronger than this! The Rainbow Dash I know and love would never allow a monster to control her! Do you remember that day that you asked me to be with you, when we were younger?”

“When…When we were younger…?”

How could she forget? It was when they were fourteen, Rainbow Dash had just come to understand her true feelings, come to understand that she was in fact attracted to girls. She came out to Fluttershy and she said she would support her and be there for her.

Rainbow also had asked Fluttershy to be her first, she wanted to be with someone she trusted and cared about. At first, even though Rainbow knew that her friend didn’t swing that way, Fluttershy was hesitant, but agreed that she would with her. Ironically, they were in the same position they were a long time ago, with Rainbow on top of Fluttershy and Fluttershy looking up at Rainbow.

However, it only took one look into Fluttershy’s eyes to know that it wasn’t right. Fluttershy was too kind a person to say no to Rainbow, especially when she came to her with such a request, of course she’d say yes.

“I won’t do that you, Shy.”

“B-But, I said it was okay.”

“I know you did, but I know you. And you’ll agree to do this for me so I won’t feel bad that I was rejected by someone I trust.”

“…I…I…”

“Shy, I won’t ever hurt you, and I won’t ever take something as important as this from you. You’re–”

“You’re my best friend…” Rainbow’s eyes shed tears. “What…What am I doing?!”

Ishtar’s victorious smile began to fade a little, cracks started to form on Rainbow’s crystal armor. Rainbow got off of Fluttershy as she stood upright, she then began to claw at her crystal armor, tearing off chunks of it as she yelled out her frustration through the entire Sanctum. All five girls watched as Rainbow ripped off the final piece of crystal armor, leaving her in only her sports bra and matching panties. The sports girls fell to her knees and Fluttershy quickly rushed to her friend’s side, cradling her close to her chest as she stroked her hair.

“Dashie, are you alright?!” Fluttershy.

Rainbow, weakly, looked up at Fluttershy. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be, you didn’t do anything, just like I knew you would,” said Fluttershy.

Ishtar was squeezing the armrest of her throne, and when she saw this she crushed in anger. She stood up and said, “You weak, pathetic little whore! I gave you the opportunity to fulfill your desires, and you turn your back on it!”

Fluttershy glared up at the monster and declared, “It takes real strength to retrain yourself! To do what is best for someone you love!”

Ishtar growled. “Cloud, go down there and bring that little tomboy bitch up so that I can make an example of her before her friends!”

Cloud nodded and jumped down from the throne and landed a few feet from where Rainbow and Fluttershy were. Rainbow Dash tried to stand, but the effort to break free from Ishtar’s control had taken a lot out of her. However, Fluttershy stood instead, putting herself between Cloud and Rainbow.

“Shy?”

“You’ve protected me since we were kids…”

“FLUTTERSHY!”
“SHY!”
“FLUTTERSHY!”
“FLUTTERSHY!”

Cloud dashed towards Fluttershy, reaching out with her left claw, prepared to attack her. Fluttershy was frozen in place, she knew she stood no chance against Cloud Kicker, she was already a very athletic person, and with that armor Cloud Kicker was far stronger than her. But Fluttershy wouldn’t move, she meant what she said, Rainbow had protected her since they were kids, it was time for Fluttershy to return the favor.

As soon as Cloud’s arm came into range, Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed into slits as she grabbed that arm, swept Cloud’s legs, and then used her momentum to toss Cloud Kicker straight into the opposite wall, doing all of this in one motion that it seemed like a blur. Cloud landed with a hard grunt as she slid down, and groaned when she hit the ground.

Ishtar, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Sunset, and Pinkie all looked at Fluttershy with shock at what she did. Fluttershy, who seemed to just realize what she just did, clasped her hands around her mouth, shocked by her actions.

“Oh my, did…did I just do that?!” Fluttershy asked.

“Someone get her!” Ishtar ordered.

Another crystal armored slave tried to grab Fluttershy, but, in yet another shocking display of martial skill, Fluttershy delivered quick jabs to the slave’s head, followed by a flying roundhouse that sent the poor slave flying into the crowd.

“I-I-I honestly have no idea how I’m doing that!”

Another of the crystal slaves attacked, but Sunset formed a chain and whipped it towards the attacker. It quickly wrapped around the target, and with a swift tug, Sunset whipped the slave back to the rest of the dregs that were still being controlled. The rest of the girls gathered around them, while Sunset entered a defensive stance.

“However it is you’re doing it, do NOT stop!”

Three more attacked at once, but Sunset quickly took on two of them, she elbow struck the first, and went into an uppercut sending that one into the air. The second tried to slash at her back, but Sunset jumped up, spun in midair, and landed behind her assailant. Before the slave could figure out what happened, Sunset kicked them back into the crowd.

Fluttershy was blocking most of the attacks from her opponent, some of them managed to cut her, but Fluttershy ignored them, they were minor cuts, nothing close to her arteries. Watch their footing, don’t strike recklessly, find the weak point and hit with precision.

How do I know that?!

The slave threw another reckless blow, Fluttershy ducked under it and hit around the bicep, and then buried her fist into the exposed side of her opponent. The slave grunted in pain and loss a bit of feeling in their arm. Without wasting a second, she spun around to the slave’s right and struck him in the back of the head with a well placed chop. He fell to the ground within seconds, completely knocked out.

Ishtar continued to watch this spectacle from above, watching as Sunset and Fluttershy continued to knockout one crystal slave after the other. Her ire grew more and more, this was not how it was supposed to go, this was supposed to be her victory, her moment of triumph.

“ENOUGH!!!”

Ishtar was through with appearances, she disliked her other form, but right now a bit of ugly was needed. The false goddess’ body began to glow, her feminine form giving way to something terrifying. Her arms grew out, turning into crystals and granting her long, jagged claws. Her legs grew longer, granting crystal talons that crushed the throne. A six-foot-long tail formed behind her, whipping back and forth in agitation. Crystal spines grew along her back, all just as jagged as her claws and talons. From her back, six, crystal bone spikes jutted out, her neck elongated just a bit, and her head became that of a beast. The top portion of her head was encased in crystal, leaving only slits for her eyes to look through, her lower jaw dislocated a few times until it was longer and riddled with dagger-like teeth. Her body grew a bit, making her hunch over as she snarled and growled, and making her stand at least ten feet tall.

The girls all looked at the transformation with shock and horror, gone was the picture of an alluring demoness, what stood before them was the embodiment of the evils of lust.

“All I wanted to do was take your magic, take the lust and power that is within you and bring about the coming of the rest of my kind! I was going to make it a very pleasurable experience for you six, you wouldn’t have felt any pain, and you would’ve been begging me for more! I was even considering keeping you around as my pets! But you just pissed me off!!!”

Ishtar jumped off the top of the stairs and landed before them, her slaves giving her a wide berth so that she could move about. Ishtar used her tail to whip Sunset, striking her in the stomach, the blow made her sail across the room, slamming into a column.

“SUNSET!” They all yelled.

Ishtar roared as she grabbed Fluttershy with her right claw, bringing her up close so she could look the troublemaker in the eyes. “I’m going to start with you! I’ll make you scream in ecstasy and pain until the line between them is so blurred that you’ll never tell which is which! I’ll break you in front of your friends so that they know what’s in store for them!”

Fluttershy was afraid, more afraid than she had ever been, and yet, something burned inside her, a determination, a deep burning desire to not falter before this evil creature. Then Fluttershy did something that she knew was probably not going to work, but at the very least was worth a shot. She clasped her hands together and began to pray.

“Heavenly Father, please grant me the strength to face this great evil.”

“Praying? Are you serious?” Ishtar looked down at the girls. “Is she serious?” She then turned her attention back to Fluttershy and grinned evilly. “Go on then, pray your little heart out, because believe me, no god, current or ancient, is going to save your wretched life!”

“Grant me the strength to protect my friends! To see us through this trial! In Your name, AMEN!”

Suddenly, Fluttershy’s hands began to shine with a bright white light. She quickly pointed those hands at Ishtar, and upon doing so, the large demon roared in great pain. She dropped Fluttershy, Applejack quickly got under her and caught her, but Fluttershy didn’t stop, she continued to point her hands at Ishtar, she didn’t know how or why, but this light was hurting Ishtar, and right now that’s all she cared about.

Sunset picked herself up, and saw that the crystal slaves were surrounding her and preparing to maul her. That is until they heard the screams of their goddess. The bright light that shone from Fluttershy also seemed to affect the people as well. Their crystal armor started to chip and crack, little by little, until it all shattered and dissolved into dust. All the mind controlled people fell to the floor, completely unconscious. Sunset looked towards the light and saw that Fluttershy was the one it was emanating from.

Please tell me you know what that is?

}}} All I know is that that light is not normal, it’s divine light. {{{

“Divine”? H-How did Fluttershy? You know what, someone as saintly as Fluttershy would be able to do that. But, bonus, Ishtar’s weak!

Fluttershy was getting tired, eventually she dropped her arms as the divine light faded away. Ishtar’s body was sizzling, as if it were a vampire that was exposed to direct sunlight. The beast of lust growled with rage as she managed to get herself back up, her deadly gaze trained directly on Fluttershy.

“HOW DARE YOU!!! TO HELL WITH IT ALL, I’M JUST GOING TO KILL YOU!!!” Ishtar declared.

“Hey, nympho bitch!” Ishtar looked up. “Forget about me?!!”

Sunset’s wings flared as she charged straight for the monster, hitting her with a flying uppercut and forcing Ishtar’s head to hit the ceiling. The bringer of Balance landed next to her friends and ordered them, “GET OUT! NOW!”

The girls backed away as Sunset’s body ignited with flames. With a powerful leap, Sunset flew up towards Ishtar, hitting her right in the gut with both her fists. But she didn’t stop, she used the flames to propel her forward, forcing Ishtar all the way up into the ceiling. With another burst of flames, Sunset smashed Ishtar straight through the ceiling.

Sunset kept pushing her, slamming through one layer of concrete and metal after the other. They eventually broke through the surface, out into the road a few feet away from where the warehouse was situated. Once in the air, Sunset hefted the beast and threw her into the wall of another warehouse. She took a moment to look around, when she did, she saw that there were several police cruisers outside, along with SWAT vans, among the droves of police Sunset spotted Shining Armor among the assembled police, she managed a smile in his direction. Thankfully he spotted her and nodded in her direction.

Sunset put her focus back on Ishtar, she was tearing herself out of the wall she was thrown into and roaring with all her fury at Sunset. I am going to enjoy killing you for putting me through all this shit!! For putting my friends through this shit!!!

Ishtar opened her mouth and fired a pink beam of light from it. Sunset flew out of the direction of the beam and flew in the opposite direction of where the police were. When the beam struck the ground, it created crystals, the longer the beam hit that spot, the more the crystals formed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, it’s like the damn game! Except this time, I have the best hack in the world right now!”

Sunset held up her right hand and into it she willed the Witchblade to recreate the Sol Gladius, except instead of a plasma blade, it was a fire blade. Close enough though. Sunset twirled her fire sword around and flew at the beast, slashing it across her face. Ishtar hissed with pain, the gash on her crystal exoskeletal armor was deeply cut, making some of her black blood drip out.

Sunset didn’t let up as she bounded off the ground and slashed upwards. Ishtar moved back just in time to miss the slash, but Sunset spun around and pointed her left hand at the monster, from it she unleashed a torrent of flames that exploded in Ishtar’s face.

The beast of lust thrashed about, but managed to use one of her crystal bones, to strike Sunset, throwing her to the ground. The beast hurried and stamped her foot onto Sunset, making her cough up blood. The crystalline creature came down for another stomp, but Sunset pointed her sword up just as she came down. The burning blade pierced through Ishtar’s foot, causing searing pain to radiate through her foot and up her leg, forcing her to hop backwards.

Sunset dragged herself up, some of her bones were broken from that stomp, but the Witchblade was already healing her. Across from her, she watched as the police started to bring out the people from underground, Shining Armor seemed to make getting her friends out top priority as he came out with all five of them. For a moment, Sunset and Pinkie’s eyes met, and her vigor to end this monster was doubled.

Sunset’s hair started to rise as power flowed through her body at ever increasing levels. Her armor began to shift between the obsidian color and red color, her hair had tinges of silver, and her eyes were also shifting between turquoise and gold. Sunset dismissed her sword and dashed towards the monster, hitting Ishtar with a right punch across her snout, the impact was thunderous, shaking the windows, cars, and ground. A large dent in Ishtar’s crystal armor formed as shards of that armor cascaded from the point of impact.

“If there’s one thing you need to learn in this life! It’s this!”

The bringer of Balance flew backwards and then shot straight for Ishtar’s stomach, hitting her with a flying kick to the gut that sent her flying through another warehouse. Sunset flew at Mach speeds, waiting for Ishtar on the other side as she plowed through the entire warehouse before ending up in front Sunset.

“And that’s that you NEVER!”

Sunset brought both her hands together into a double hammer fist and struck Ishtar square on the head, sending the beast straight to the ground and kicking up a dust cloud.

“EVER!”

The heroine dropped down from the sky with a burst of speed, hitting her knee right between the shoulder blades of Ishtar, once again making the beast of lust cry out in pain. Sunset then flew to her tail and grabbed the end of it. With a flap of her wings she ascended into the sky, her muscles bulged from the strain of carrying such a heavy creature, but she hardly felt it. Once she was up high enough, Sunset spun in the air, twirling Ishtar at the same time. A gale force wind was created from her rapid spins, making most of the people below have to brace themselves.

“MESS WITH MY FRIENDS!!!”

Sunset tossed Ishtar as if she was a sack of potatoes, the false goddess hit the ground with a powerful “BOOM!”, sending an even bigger cloud of dust into the air.

“Now take this!” Both of Sunset’s hand burned with white and red flames, she then brought her hands together, and from their union, a large sword made of plasmatic flames erupted into existence before her. “My love…my anger…and all my sorrow!!!”

Sunset sped down towards Ishtar, piercing through the dust cloud and causing it to vanish from the sheer rapid force of her descent. Ishtar managed to come around before Sunset could land the killing blow, Ishtar ducked out of the way, but not far enough that her attack didn’t land. Ishtar roared in pain as Sunset’s crimson fire saber slashed through both of her legs at once.

Ishtar rolled around on the ground, her monster form shrinking until it was back to the more feminine body she had before. She crawled on the ground, her legs cauterized by the intense heat of Sunset’s fire saber, which was still active in her hand. Sunset looked to the spot where the legs she cut off were, and saw that they transformed back into the shapely white legs of Fleur de Lis.

Sunset felt a bit sad for the girl inside that creature, but as she told her, she was a hollow existence, her only conscious choice was to allow Ishtar to fill her body. The demon slayer slowly approached Ishtar, dragging the tip of her fire saber across the ground, letting it cut a molten groove into the ground.

“For Fleur’s sake, I’ll make this quick!”

“No, not like this!” Ishtar whined.

Just then, a gray and black mass swirled around Ishtar, making Sunset back away and get on the defensive. The monochrome mass took on the shape of a female, it’s piercing red eyes fixed on Sunset. The rest of its body was swirling around Ishtar, keeping her out of sight.

“I’m going to take a wild guess, you’re the third, aren’t you. Nihil?”

“I’ve come to accept that name you humans have given me.” Nihil’s voice was feminine, and almost childlike, but at the same time, the cold tones of death were laced within her words. “I can’t allow you to kill her, she’s still needed.”

“Tough, but you just saved me the trouble of finding you!” Sunset raised her sword and prepared to strike.

“I wouldn’t do that, look there.”

Nihil pointed towards where the cops and hostages were, and when Sunset looked in that direction, she could see a swirling vortex of that same monochromatic mist hovering around them. Sunset watched as part of that mist touched a police car, and the spot it did touch was erased, not dissolved, corroded, cut, burnt, or chipped away, just erased.

“You bitch…” Sunset muttered.

“I propose a trade, give me Ishtar, and you can have all those humans. Is it a deal?” Nihil asked.

Sunset made the mistake of almost sacrificing her friends to these creatures, she was not going to make the same mistake twice. She dismissed her fire saber and her transitioning colors stopped. “Deal.”

“Good choice, Witchblade. I look forward to our next meeting.”

Nihil wrapped herself in the mist, the mist that was hovering over everyone else returned to its owner before it took off into the night sky, disappearing from sight.

Sunset hated that this, all of the big three had gotten away, and she only managed to wound two of them. Nihil was something else though, she, it, whatever, was obviously the most dangerous of them all, and Sunset only dreaded what that one had in store for the city. Sunset took one last look at her friends and girlfriend, with the promise that the police would look after them, Sunset took off into the air, heading straight for home.

Nihil’s mist carried her and Ishtar all the way to some out of the way building. It was there that she dumped Ishtar onto the floor, right across from Midas. The golden demon saw the sorry state that Ishtar was in and couldn’t help but laugh.

Ishtar propped herself up on her arms and snarled at Midas and yelled, “THIS ISN’T FUNNY YOU FAT FUCK!”

“Oh-ho, yes it is! Y’all went and got on my ass about losin’ to that girl! But now look at you! Ah may’ve lost an arm, but at least I have both of my legs! Hahahahaahahahah!” Midas stated as he continued to laugh.

Nihil rolled her eyes and walked over to Ishtar’s legs. She wrapped both ends of the severed limbs in her mist and then clenched her fist. The mist reduced until the parts that were cauterized by Witchblade’s flames were gone, of course, Ishtar growled with pain as she felt part of flesh being erased. However, doing so seemed to allow the crystals of her legs to reform.

“Dammit, Nihil, that hurt! Did you even know if that was going to work?!” Ishtar asked.

“Not really, but it seems so long as I can erase the parts of your flesh that was touched by Witchblade, then that means you can fully regenerate. That being the case…”

Nihil walked up to Midas, the golden demon tried to protest, but all that fell on deaf ears as Nihil wrapped the damaged parts with her mist and did the same thing to him as she did to Ishtar. Of course, Midas unleashed a slew of curses at the pain that radiated from the freshly reopened wound. Ishtar laughed, seeing how whiny Midas was.

“Bite me!” [/b]Midas spat.

“Ha, you’re not worth my time,” said Ishtar.

“Speaking of…” Nihil commanded her mist to wrap around Ishtar’s neck, hoisting her up in a noose and tightening. “I told you to leave that school to me, it is part of my plan that I am trying to enact, and I am very close to having the powder keg that is Canterlot High School blow up! Do you have anything to say for trying to step into my domain?”

Ishtar gagged but managed to get out, “I…I know who Witchblade is…! H-Her name…is…S-Sunset Shimmer!”

Nihil’s eyes widened and then narrowed back into slits, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she released Ishtar from her grasp. “Is she now? Well this is good, this is very good…” Nihil began to pace about, her strands of monochrome mist following her with each step. “It’s time to act, we’ll bring it all to a close very soon.”

The following day was hectic at best, for obvious reasons, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash’s names were kept off the record of people who were in attendance at the Ishtar Club, and after getting the story that Rainbow Dash was being mind controlled by Ishtar and forced to gather the girls there, it made it easy to cover up. However, Rainbow Dash had to come clean her parents about how she was taken control of in the first place. They got mad at her, one for going to some place like that, and secondly for not telling them about it. Yes she was a legal teen and all that, but they would’ve rather known where they’re daughter was so that they wouldn’t worry. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash swore she wouldn’t keep something like that from her parents again.

About the one thing that didn’t have any answers, was Fluttershy’s strange combat abilities. She knew how to fight, really well, like a trained soldier or combat specialist, not only that, but she released a strange light. Sunset told her that the Witchblade believed it was divine light, Fluttershy did confess that she was praying to God to help her in their hour of need. Fluttershy thought that maybe her prayers were answered, and that God was working through her to help save her friends, but…something deeper inside Fluttershy told her that that wasn’t the case. She believed the light was divine and connected to God, but she didn’t feel like a conduit, more like the source.

When Fluttershy was able to get away from her worried parents, she went to the church had a sort of prayer meditation, hoping that the answers would come to her.

“Suga, you look kinda rattled, you alright?” Sister Meadowbrook asked

Fluttershy ended her prayer and sat back down in the pew. “I…Sister, I know we’re all God’s children, and we’re all special in our own way to Him. But…something…happened recently that makes me think that I’m…” Fluttershy scoffed. “I really hate to think this of myself but…I felt that there was something more special about me. I learned that I have a connection to some power, but then last night…”

Sister Meadowbrook brought her finger to rest on Fluttershy’s lips and said, “Shh…come with me, my child.”

Fluttershy didn’t know what was wrong, but she followed Sister Meadowbrook as she took her into the back of the church. Down an old flight of stairs and into the basement, a number of old things were down there, the church that Fluttershy visited was one of the older ones, and therefore had a lot of old things from back in the old days of the city’s upbringing.

“Tell me, Fluttershy, did you feel a kind of…divineness from this power?”

“Yes, it…well, for reasons I’m not allowed to say, I somehow came face to face with one of those demons! Many of them…”

Sister Meadowbrook raised a concerned eyebrow.

“I…I fought several of them, with…with moves that I’ve only seen in movies, but never in a million years could imitate. The only two of my friends who could attempt to do half of what I did, are Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer, but even then, what I did was…it was if I’ve done it all my life! And then when the biggest of the demons appeared, I prayed to God to help me, and then my hands shined with this blinding light that burned the demon!”

During the time that Fluttershy was talking, Meadowbrook had a concerned look on her face that was only growing with each word spoken.

“Sister…what’s happened to me? Is this God answering me or…something else?” Flutteshy asked.

Sister Meadowbrook looked upon the young girl, she could see a deep wanting in her eyes, she needed answers and she was looking to Meadowbrook to at the very least point her in the right direction. “Fluttershy, what I’m about to tell you may be hard to grasp at first, but you know I’d never lie to you. Also, when I’m done telling you, there’s a choice you’re going to have to make.”

Two days passed since the incident, Fluttershy hadn’t been seen around school in that time. Only Principal Celestia knew about the incident that occurred at the warehouse district, thanks to Shining Armor, and was resolved to allow Fluttershy some time off to rest from such an ordeal and passed her absence off as being sick. The rest of the girls attended school, but with the air now cleared.

Rainbow Dash apologized to all her friends, and Cloud Kicker was right next to her doing the same. She felt wholly responsible for getting Rainbow Dash mixed up in that, and if she hadn’t, none of them would’ve had to have suffered through that. Thankfully, Cloud Kicker didn’t seem to remember that Sunset was Witchblade, just that she blacked out when Sunset was about to punch out Fleur de Lis.

That was another thing, Sunset gave a tip to Shining Armor about Fleur de Lis. He followed up on it and went to see her family, but just as expected, she wasn’t anywhere to be found. They filed a missing person’s report, but with the girl being rich and a legal adult, they couldn’t really do much, but Shining Armor assured them that they’d find her, if only because she was really Ishtar and responsible for a lot of murders.

Another thing that came to pass was now Rainbow Dash knew that Sunset was Witchblade, she once again apologized for everything, for her behavior with Anon-A-Miss, and for what she did in the nurse’s office, something that was not going to go away for a good while thanks to the immortality that is the internet and viral videos. Sunset had made a comment to Rainbow Dash about finding Witchblade Sunset hot and if she wanted a shot at her? Pinkie Pie immediately got between them proclaimed, “Oh no, Sunny’s buns are mine!”

They had a good laugh all around. Now was the second day, a Wednesday, hump day as it was called. Sunset was dropped off by Celestia and began her walk towards the front of CHS, outside, around the Wondercolt statue, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were waiting for her.

Sunset felt happy, for the first time since this whole Anon-A-Miss mess started. Sure, even right now, she was still getting some scornful leers from the other CHS students, as well as confused looks as to why those four were hanging around her, when it was the five who Anon-A-Miss first started her rampage on. It didn’t matter, the mere fact that they were together again meant that Anon-A-Miss’s power was about to fade.

With Shining Armor’s friend looking into it, it’s only a matter of time. And now, I have my friends back, you lost, Anon-A-Miss, you fucking lost! Sunset thought with glee.

The bell rang, signaling that it was time to head in and get to class. The students began to flood in towards the entrance. Sunset and the girls followed suit, however, Sunset noticed something amiss. One of the students, wearing a gray hoody, black pants, and a white backpack, was walking against the crowd, their hood was up, their face was obscured by shadows and made it hard for her to tell who it was.

The girl, at least she assumed from the…ahem, slight curve around her chest, accidentally bumped into Sunset. Sunset made an “oomph” sound and said, “Sorry.”

“Not a problem…Witchblade…”

Sunset paused as the girl walked past her, she recognized that voice, she knew who it was.

}}} SUNSET, TRANSFORM NOW! {{{

“Wha–?”

*BANG!*

A gunshot, it rang so loud and clear that everyone stopped in their tracks. Students who were close to the windows had ducked while the teachers braved to look outside to see where the danger was. The students who had not entered the school and were still on the quad, all hit the ground, those students who were on the steps were frozen in fear. But for four girls, all they could do was look on in horror.

Sunset felt something warm flowing from around her stomach. She looked down and saw that her teal shirt was stained red with blood. The former unicorn managed to turn around and see that it was the girl from earlier. A slight glint of red shined under the hoody for a brief second, no, this wasn’t a girl, it was her, Nihil.

“This is what you get, Anon-A-Miss!!!”

Nihil fired four more shots, hitting Sunset in the chest, the third bullet pierced her heart and made her spit up blood, while the fourth hit her in the head. Sunset fell backwards onto the stairs, blood poured down the steps and stained the snow that had collected around them. Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow could only stare at the scene, their voices having been stolen as their minds tried to process what they saw.

Pinkie Pie fell to her knees before Sunset’s body, her mouth quivering as her trembling hands reached out towards her girlfriend, this had to be a dream, there was no way Sunset was taken away from her again. And that’s when everyone heard the second most terrifying noise, the screams of one who had lost her love.

Case File 6-1 (Nihil): The Endgame

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Twilight was busy this morning, she had a free period in the morning so she spent it trying to figure out who Anon-A-Miss was. She actually spent the last two days doing that, but she hadn’t made any kind of headway, and it was honestly frustrating her.

It was supposed to be a simple hacking of MyStable’s servers, she found the Anon-A-Miss account and tried to shut it down, but something prevented her from doing so, some kind of firewall that kept blocking her every avenue of attack.

Twilight decided to forgo shutting down the account and instead shifted her focus to finding out who the account belonged to by checking IP addresses. But yet again, she was blocked. Social media security was a joke, as much as companies bragged about enhancing their security and plugging their holes, they couldn’t find all those holes, and there were many.

So why in the ever-loving-hell can’t I get around you?!

Twilight decided to finally go for the nuclear option, instead of just shutting down the account or finding the account user, Twilight decided to just shut down MyStable altogether. Would this mess with hundreds of people's social lives? Yes. But the goal was to stop a cyber bully, and prevent harm to a person who was trying to turn their life around. So a few people wouldn’t be able to update their followers about this or that, small price to pay.

However, that again never happened. Twilight launched her virus attack on the MyStable site, but yet again, this strange firewall came up and erased her virus before it even got a chance to take root. At this point, Twilight was wondering if MyStable was employing counter hackers to protect their site, or if the company was using some sort of sophisticated A. I. system that was able to react in real time to threats to the site.

If they had such a system, it’s a waste to use such a thing on something like this, thought Twilight.

Whatever, Twilight had confidence in her computer skills and her intelligence, it was only a matter of time before she cracked the wall and took down this Anon-A-Miss for good. While she was clacking away at her keyboard in the library, there were two of her tormentors that decided to talk louder than what was appropriate for the library.

The first girl had a light-blue mint complexion, with purple hair, a bit of eyeshadow, and orchid colored eyes. Her name was Sunny Flare, and unfortunately, was the daughter of the Academy’s principal, Abacus Cinch. Next to her was another girl, her skin tone was light-yellow, with freckles on her face, and her mauve colored hair done up in a ponytail. Her name was Sour Sweet, she was aptly named, as Sour Sweet liked to switch between being a nice girl to being a sarcastic mean one. Twilight suspected that she might either be bipolar or schizophrenic, but she didn’t want to blame all her shortcomings on a possible mental disorder, after all, there were plenty of people like that and none of them were – for lack of a better term –assholes.

“So did you hear the news about CHS?” Sunny asked.

Twilight stopped typing.

“No. What, they decided to admit defeat before the Friendship Games even start?” Sour asked.

Sunny Flare chuckled in a haughty tone. “I wish, it’d definitely save them the humiliation. But no, apparently they just had a shooting there, one of the students got gunned down right on their steps.”

“No shit? Wow, I didn’t think that they were that ghetto. Was it some gang thing?”

Sunny shook her head. “No, from what I’ve heard, it was some kind of revenge thing, something about cyber bullying or some crap like that.”

Twilight’s face went pale, they couldn’t be talking about who thought they were talking about, right? The young genius hurriedly looked through news sites, trying to find a live stream that was reporting on the shooting. Twilight quickly popped in her earbuds and listened to the report.

{A tragic event has occurred here upon the steps of Canterlot High School, a local teen girl was shot in what some are calling a revenge shooting. Eighteen-year-old, Sunset Shimmer–}

Twilight clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes started to water as the news site put up a picture of the same girl that Shining Armor showed her once before,

No…I…I’m too late…

Twilight looked at the window that still had the Anon-A-Miss profile up, despite it being an inanimate object on her computer screen, the silhouette of Sunset Shimmer that it used as its profile, it seemed as if it were mocking her. As if saying, “You lost Twilight, you weren’t good enough, and now she’s dead.”

“Damn you, Anon-A-Miss…! Damn you…!”

The ambulance sped down the road, honking its horn loudly to make all the cars part like the Red Sea. Inside, the paramedics were feverishly working on Sunset, they had no idea how or why, but she was barely alive. She had lost a lot of blood, and her head still had a hole where the bullet entered, but there was a faint heartbeat.

When they received the call, the paramedics were ready to carry out a dead body, but when they arrived, and found that Sunset still had a heartbeat, they hurriedly worked to get her stable and into their van.

“I’ve got one female, eighteen, with GSWs to the torso and head, pulse is weak, and breathing is shallow, I need the O. R. ready to receive! I don’t know how long this girl has, but I’ll be damned if she’s dying!”

{Roger that, Canterlot General is ready to receive.}

The driver looked in the rearview as he watched his partner give Sunset an I. V. and a shot of something. You’re too young to die like this kid.

The ambulance pulled into the emergency room, several nurses and doctors were out and ready to take her in. The moment the backdoors burst open, they swarmed around Sunset and the gurney, wheeling her out and towards the O. R. as doctors began ordering this and that to try and save her.

When they entered the O. R. the doctors prepped to begin whatever life saving surgery they could on Sunset. However, before they could touch her, the doors burst open, all the attending nurses and doctors turned around and saw Shining Armor standing in the doorway with a surgical mask on, alongside him was Dr. Blueheart from the CSU team, who was surprisingly dressed in surgical scrubs.

“What’s the meaning of this?” one of the doctors asked.

“Sorry, my name’s Detective Shining Armor of the CCPD, and I need you all to leave this room immediately!” Shining Armor ordered while holding up his badge.

“I’m sorry, but are you insane?! This girl’s barely hanging on, she was just shot! We need to work on her, now!” said another.

“I know that, that’s why I brought her!”

Blueheart stepped forward and stated, “My name’s Dr. Blueheart, I’m a forensic analyst for the CCPD, but I’m also a licensed doctor and have standing credentials with this hospital.”

The surgical staff looked at each other with confusion.

“And we’re happy to have you, but I don’t understand how–?”

“We need you all to vacate the room immediately, I can take it from here,” said Blueheart.

“Ma’am, with all due respect, she’s barely hanging on and has four GSWs, one of them to her head!”

“Look, this is a police matter, and I need you all to leave! Now!” Shining Armor ordered. The doctors and nurses didn’t seem to listen to him. With a frustrated growl, he took out his service weapon. “Please, do I say!”

“I’d do it, he’s pretty crazy,” Blueheart commented.

The doctors and nurses did as Shining Armor ordered and left the O. R. When they were gone, Blueheart sighed heavily, hunching over as if she had just ran a marathon.

“Armor, are you insane?! I’m good, but I’m not some miracle worker! I need that team!” Blueheart stated.

“Sorry,” Shining Armor holstered his weapon, “but if I’m right, you won’t need to do anything.”

Shining walked over to the operating table, he grimaced when he saw the damage done to Sunset. The shots were done center mass, with one right over her heart, and one to her head. This wasn’t a random shooting, this was an execution. However, his attention was drawn to Sunset’s bracelet, the Witchblade. The ruby jewel at the center was glowing dimly, pulsating as if it were a heart.

“C’mon, you’re supposed to be some kind of ancient, magical weapon! If you’re really all that powerful than save her!”

Blueheart was confused as to what Shining Armor was doing. The doctor walked over to Sunset and grabbed one of the scissors, she cut a straight line from the collar of Sunset’s shirt all the way down to the hem, when she was done, she opened it, allowing them a better view of the damage that was done to her.

Blueheart was worried, she could see the monitors showing low vital signs, if they didn’t do something soon then they’d lose this girl, and Detective Armor would be blamed for it for practically threatening the staff to leave. The lawsuits filed against the department, the jail time he was going to face, Blueheart respected Shining Armor, he was a good cop, so for him to do something like this was insane.

Just then, Blueheart and Shining Armor saw something extraordinary. From the bullet holes on Sunset’s chest, something began to rise. In less than a few seconds, three bullets were pushed out of the wounds and rolled down Sunset’s chest onto the operating table. The fourth bullet from Sunset’s head did the same, pushing out of her skull and coming out the same way it came in.

“Doctor, get those quickly!”

Blueheart hurriedly found some pliers, picked up the bullets, and dropped them into a pan. The wounds started to close up, little by little, Sunset’s flesh began to stitch itself back together, even the damage to her skull was being repaired. As she watched this, Blueheart took a quick glance to the monitors and saw that Sunset’s vitals were steadily coming back to normal.

“Oh my god…” Blueheart whispered.

After another moment, the damage had been repaired, and Sunset’s body looked untouched, aside from the dried blood stains on her stomach, head, and clothes.

“How does she look?” Shining Armor asked.

“The fact that you’re not freaking out about this means you know something about why this girl just regenerated from severe mortal wounds. We’re going to have a talk about this later, Detective.” Blueheart checked the monitors and palpated the areas that were shot. “While I can’t say for sure, it looks like all the damage has been undone, I’d feel better about this after seeing an x-ray and a CAT scan.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening, not while that’s on her,” said Shining Armor as he pointed to her bracelet.

Blueheart looked at the bracelet, which was dimly pulsating in rhythm with Sunset’s heartbeat. “I’m guessing that’s not coming off?”

“Try it at your own risk. Nothing short of cutting off her arm will probably get it off, and that’s even if you get that far,” said Shining.

Blueheart sighed heavily. “Alright…I assume you want me to keep silent about this?”

“It would help, both me and her.”

“Very well, but we’re going to have a nice long chat about this.”

“It’s a date.”

The doctors from before came in, this time with security who looked ready to fight, but all of them paused when they saw that Sunset’s vitals were normal and that the damage was no longer there.

“What…but…?” one of the doctors stammered.

“I’m a genius, don’t question it.” Blueheart stated smugly.

Shining Armor walked up to the doctor and patted his shoulder. “Thank you for your cooperation. Make sure she gets whatever she needs, I’ll fit the bill myself if need be. Oh, and no x-rays or CAT scans.”

The doctor looked to Blueheart.

“You heard the man, none of those.”

“I got an investigation to get underway, I’ll leave Sunset in your hands,” said Shining Armor as he exited the O. R. “I’ll find out who tried to kill you Sunset, I promise.”

The school was still reeling from the attack, or assassination as some were calling it. Rarity was busy trying to comfort a catatonic Pinkie Pie, her eyes looked dead and her hair had lost its fluffy, curly state as it was now straight and cascaded down her back. To be honest, Rarity wasn’t doing any better, none of them were. Rarity’s mascara was running from the cry fit she had not too long ago, she hadn’t bothered to clean herself up, it seemed pointless right now after having seen your friend being shot not two feet in front of you.

Rainbow Dash was busy cursing herself for not acting sooner, muttering that it was her fault for not noticing the killer sooner. Applejack was sitting down, her Stetson hat pulled down to hide her expression of sadness, she was normally the rock of their group and she wanted to maintain that for them, but Applejack was just as torn up inside about the shooting as any of them, evident by the number of times she had wrung her hands.

Fluttershy was not here, but none of them doubted that once news got to her about Sunset getting shot, she was sure that the kind and caring girl would be a sobbing mess like the rest of them.

Principal Celestia was just like them, crying into her hands as Vice Principal Luna tried to comfort her big sister, but it was obvious that Sunset’s shooting was affecting her as well. The normally stoic woman looked about ready to break down alongside her big sister, but right now one of them needed to be strong, but once they were alone, there was no doubt they’d both be crying their eyes out together.

The students of CHS all found themselves in a haze of confusion and fear, Sunset was someone who had tormented them since freshman year, saved them from the Sirens, and then as Anon-A-Miss, spilled their secrets. However, now they were starting to contemplate the terrible truth, that maybe Sunset wasn’t Anon-A-Miss, not even Sunset was stupid enough to make herself the target of someone who was unstable enough to kill her. It only took the death of someone who was trying to be a better person to make them realize that perhaps…perhaps Sunset wasn’t Anon-A-Miss.

The girls, along with Celestia and Luna, were waiting in one of the music rooms with two officers standing guard for them. All of them nearly jumped when the doors swung open and revealed Detective Shining Armor.

Celestia ceased her sobbing and shot up quickly, nearly knocking her younger sister over in the process as she rushed towards the detective. “Detective Armor, please…please don’t tell me…”

Shining Armor smiled. “She’s okay.”

“Don’t lie me, Detective! I saw her…I saw her body! She was shot in the head, no can live through that!” Celestia wailed.

“Sunset did, she’s a strong, tough as nails young woman. She’s not conscious as far as I know, but she’s alive and breathing. If you wish, I can have one of our officers drive you to the hospital later?”

Celestia began to weep again, but this it was out of happiness.

“She’s okay…?” Everyone looked to Pinkie Pie, she had remained silent since the shooting occurred, her eyes and demeanor was similar to one who had died inside and was hollow, but now, she seemed to have regained some of that life. “Sunset’s…really alive?”

Shining Armor nodded.

The paleness that seemed to overtake Pinkie faded as some color came back to her, her hair hadn’t completely “inflated” back to its normal state, but she was smiling again. Most likely she wouldn’t return to normal until she laid eyes on Sunset and confirmed for herself that she was alive.

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were now openly crying tears of joy, Rainbow actually collapsed onto the floor as her legs turned to jelly from hearing the good news. The four of them knew that the Witchblade had brought Sunset back from death once before, but they weren’t sure if it was going to do so a second time.

“I hate to make you girls relive that moment, but I need you to tell me everything you remember, no matter how small or stupid you might think it is, we’re going to catch the person, I swear it to you,” said Shining Armor.

Normally, hearing a detective say that was encouraging, but it wasn’t always a good thing to promise such things. However, the girls knew that Shining was aware and helped Sunset with her Witchblade demon slaying, so when he said he’d find the killer, they knew he meant it.

The classes for the rest of the day were cancelled, allowing the students to go home and get some counselling for what happened, however, there were three students of CHS who were more afraid than anyone in school.

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, the three girls were currently at Scootaloo’s home, her aunts were there and hadn’t disturbed them much, they checked in on them now and again, but felt it best to let them have a moment together to process this.

Scootaloo was currently sitting against the edge of her bed, her legs to her chest as she held her head. “We…We killed her…We killed Sunset!”

Sweetie Belle was on Scootaloo’s bed, staring up at the ceiling with the same shocked expression as the rest of them. “We…We just wanted her to stop stealing our sisters away…it shouldn’t have gone this far…”

Apple Bloom stood silently against the wall as she looked at her cellphone, at the accursed Anon-A-Miss account, the silhouette of Sunset Shimmer that they used as the profile picture, it was as if it was mocking her, telling her that it was all her fault for not stopping this sooner.

“We gotta tell the cops…” Apple Bloom spoke somberly.

Scootaloo bolted to her feet with a look of panic. “WHAT?! W-We can’t do that, we’ll go to jail!”

Sweetie Belle sat up, also with panic in her eyes. “B-But we didn’t shoot her!”

Scootaloo glanced back at her friend, with a look that said “she couldn’t possibly be that stupid?”. “It doesn’t matter if we didn’t pull the trigger, Sweetie! Sunset was killed because the person who did shoot her believed that Sunset was Anon-A-Miss! We’re just as guilty as that person is!” Scootaloo then turned her attention back to Apple Bloom. “Which is why I don’t get why you want to do that?!”

Apple Bloom looked to her two friends with shame and disgust, mostly for herself. “Y’all don’t have to do anythin’…Ah’ll tell ‘em it was me. Which…to be honest, it all started with me in the first place. Ah shared the password to the account with ya, but Ah’m the one who created it, so if anyone needs to go to jail…it’s me.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked to each other, they didn’t know what to say. Apple Bloom’s family would be devastated, not that their families wouldn’t be either, but even so, Apple Bloom loved her family more than anything.

“N-No, we can’t let you do that! Let’s just delete the account!” Scootaloo suggested.

“That won’t work! I’ve seen those cop shows, even if we delete the account they can still find out who set it up! Especially since someone was killed, they get warrants and all kinds of stuff to find out!” said Sweetie.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Exactly, and when they do, it’ll come back to me. There’s no point in draggin’ you girls through the mud with me…” Apple Bloom chuckled darkly. “Dammit…too late…”

“What does that mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah was thinkin’ about endin’ Anon-A-Miss after…after what Sunset did fer us,” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle got off the bed and asked, “What did she do?”

Apple Bloom explained to them, keeping the details of her big brother and sister’s sexual affair under wraps and just informing them that it was something bad enough to almost get their farm taken away. She told of how she gave Sunset her phone – of course Scootaloo and Sweetie raised holy hell at that part – and somehow, managed to get rid of the thing she had, and found something that was going to help her family.

“Gold…there’s gold under your house?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Not under it specifically, but on the land. Applejack said Sunset managed to hack her way into their systems and found out that’s why Flim and Flam wanted our land so badly. Granny said we’ll wait until after Mac and Applejack graduate before we do anythin’, let things cool off fer a bit since those two guys are six feet under. But, yeah, pretty soon our family will be rich.”

“And…Sunset got that for you? Helped you bring Flim and Flam down?” Sweetie asked.

Apple Bloom nodded.

“And that’s why we haven’t been posting new stuff lately?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom nodded again.

Scootaloo plopped back down and let her back slump against the edge of her bed. “Shit…”

Apple Bloom’s tears fell as she remembered how happy they were to hear this information, they owed everything they were about to gain to Sunset Shimmer, Granny Smith even said that they’d share their wealth with Sunset, if what the information on the flash drive was to be believed, they’d have more than enough to do whatever they wanted, hell, they could buy and sell Diamond Tiara’s family a thousand times over and still have more.

Just then, Sweetie Belle got a text from Rarity. Sweetie Belle, with great dread, read the message. After a few seconds her worried expression turned to one of relief. “Girls! Sunset’s alive!”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom perked up their heads at the news.

“Don’t bullshit me, Sweetie!” Scootaloo stated.

“No, it’s true! She’s alive at Canterlot General! Rarity doesn’t know much more right now, but they’re going to go to the hospital later to check on her!”

All three of the girls felt a great sense of relief at hearing that, granted they didn’t know what condition she was in, but the good thing was that she was alive.

Sunset, in her unicorn form, walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, on each side of her was a stain glass window, each one depicting a moment in history, a moment where ponies of old did something truly heroic and for the good of not just pony kind, but all the world. There was one of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when they first defeated Discord. There was one of when Princess Celestia banished Nightmare Moon to her lunar prison. There was another of the Princesses fighting against King Sombra in the Crystal Empire, although that one ended in tragedy rather than victory. Another, Sunset wasn’t sure of, she had asked the Princess why there was a window of a powder blue pegasus filly? The only answer she gave was that it was someone who understood the person she most cared about far better than she did back then.

The answer was a sad one, and Sunset often wondered if Princess Celestia was speaking of a lover? Of course, now, after her journal conversations with Princess Twilight, Sunset found out that the Princess was speaking of her sister, Princess Luna.

As Sunset continued to walk through the hall, she saw other windows, but these ones weren’t of ponies, they were of humans. Each of them showed a different woman, and, each one bared the mystical weapon that Sunset now wielded, the Witchblade. Their windows depicted each of them at a moment in time of their greatest triumph over some evil.

The unicorn mare remembered that the Witchblade spoke briefly of its former hosts, but had no idea there were so many. Despite the revealing nature of the armor, Sunset felt a sense of pride at being among such strong women who defended others from the forces of evil .

Sunset continued her journey further down until she stopped, the windows she now looked at were her own. One showed her defeat at the hands of her friends and Princess Twilight, a moment in her life that held bittersweet memories for her, the second showed her, along with Princess Twilight and her friends, uniting together and defeating the Sirens.

Another window showed the beginning of Anon-A-Miss, an image of her friends turning their backs on her and Sunset huddled with her knees against her chest. The next was of the night that Sunset sacrificed herself to save Pinkie Pie. The one after that was of her receiving the Witchblade. From there, the next few windows displayed her battles against the Wendigos. There was only one left at the end of the hall, and this was blank, or kind of blank. It was wavy, distorted, as if it wanted to become something, but wasn’t sure what it wanted to be.

“Kind of a head scratcher, isn’t it? Just what does the future hold for us?”

Sunset froze, she recognized that voice, one that she had hoped to never hear ever again. The unicorn mare turned around and saw none other than her demonic self, or as others called her, Sunset Satan.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Sunset demanded as she widened her stances and lit her horn.

“Honey, please, where else would I be? I’m you, I’m in your head, in your soul,” said the demon.

“You liar! The Elements of Harmony purified me of you! You’re… You’re just some phantom of my mind, a nightmare that plagues me!”

Sunset Satan strut towards her pony counterpart, putting some sway into her hips with each step. “Well, they couldn’t get all of me. Because a part of you still clings to your darkness. And each time you change with the Witchblade, you bring a little bit of me out more and more.”

Sunset backed away from the demon. “The Witchblade is a weapon of good! It doesn’t use darkness!”

Sunset Satan laughed boisterously, as if Sunset had just told a hilarious joke. “The Witchblade is a product of both Light and Darkness.” Sunset Satan held up her right hand and created a ball of light and in her left a ball of inky black shadows. “It’s meant to bring Balance, it’s the keeper of Balance between the two. In other words, I’m the reason why you’re able to wield this thing at all.”

Sunset shook her head, she didn’t want to believe this.

“Didn’t you ever wonder why it was so easy for you to kill these possessed people? Why it never bothered you whenever you swung your sword and sliced them up that you didn’t feel an ounce of disgust? Despite how bitchy we were back in Equestria and here, even you couldn’t kill someone.”

Sunset never really thought about it before, but…Sunset Satan was right. Every time she brought down her sword, cut down a Wendigo, she was never disgusted by the bloodshed, nor the sheer brutal violence of her actions, it was as if it was natural to her. Sunset had attributed this to the Witchblade, believing that it was boosting her confidence and suppressing that part of herself so as to make it easier for her to fight.

“Haven’t you wondered about that heat inside you? That rush you feel when you transform, the pure sense of…” Sunset Satan ran her hands over her figure. “…ecstasy? That’s me coming out, sure, you’re still in control, but for those few lovely moments I get to come out and play. And more recently, we seem to be getting more in sync.”

Sunset plopped down onto her rear as she held her head with her hooves. All this time, Sunset believed she was fighting with nothing but her righteous fury against the Wendigos, but now her dark half was saying that that was only half the truth. Sunset looked up at her dark half and sneered as she asked, “So why are you here now?!”

Sunset Satan squatted down until she was at Sunset’s eye level, of course this action gave Sunset an unabashed view up her dark half’s skirt, which made her blush and turn her head away immediately as she said, “You’re not wearing any underwear?!”

Sunset Satan looked down at where her light half looked and snickered. “I’m your dark half, hun, remember? I’m ready to go any time any where.”

“I’m not some kind of slut!” Sunset shot back.

“Hmm, no, but you are a perv deep down,” Sunset Satan replied.

Sunset really couldn’t counter that one, it was true.

“Plus the little unicorn mare should not be criticizing me.”

Sunset forgot that she was in her pony form again, she took a glance over her shoulder, and again, she had no room to argue the point her dark half made. Sunset Satan propped her chin on her upturned palms, resting her elbows on her thighs as she smirked at her light half, tail wagging back and forth like a cat studying its prey.

“So, what do you want from me? To take control of me or something?” Sunset accused.

“Please, I have no way of doing that. I’m just here in the back of your soul, happy for the time I can come out through the Witchblade. But what I do need to talk to you about, is accepting me.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You and I both know that these Wendigos, the First Three, are stronger than the others we fought. The only time we’ve been able to gain the upper hand over them was due to our synchronizing. But it’s incomplete, mostly because you’re subconsciously keeping me restrained. You’re afraid of your own darkness.”

“Can you blame me?!” Sunset stood on all fours and then pointed her hoof at her dark half. “You wanted to take over Equestria, mind control the students of CHS, and almost killed Princess Twilight and my friends!”

Sunset Satan nodded to each of her accusations. “Mmm-hmm, true, true, all valid points. But at that time I was going off of the extremes of what you wanted deep down. Taking over Equestria was your desire to rule alongside Princess Celestia. Mind controlling the students was your desire for them to admire and worship you. And lastly, well, that one was more of a ‘Just go away and leave me alone!’ kind of feeling dialed up to eleven.”

Sunset was getting irritated by what her dark half was saying. Yes, she did feel those things at the time, she believed them, but that’s not who she is anymore, and to Sunset, the demon before her represented all the mistakes she made in her life, all the bad that she once had made manifest. And now she was supposed to just accept this thing before her?

“I know that look,” said Sunset Satan. “I can see we’re not going to get along.”

“Gee, what gave you that idea?”

“Well, get comfy, we’re going to be here awhile. The Witchblade healed our body, that bitch shot us in the head and while that’s been repaired, it’ll take a minute us to come back.”

Sunset blinked. “Wait, you’re saying I’m in a coma right now?!”

“Yep, so, we got some time to kill and an entire dreamscape to explore!” Sunset Satan changed her position, now lying on her stomach and swinging her legs back and forth. “So, what should we do to pass the time?”

Sunset face hooved herself.

~*~*~*~

Celestia, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were all gathered in Sunset’s hospital room. Dr. Blueheart was put in charge of Sunset, meaning nothing happened without her say so. Right now that included any x-rays or CT scans as her bracelet would interfere with the magnets. However, they were able to hook brainwave monitoring equipment, something that Blueheart requested as Sunset still hadn’t awoken.

“I can’t believe it…I saw her with those wounds and it’s…it’s like it never happened,” said Celestia in a hushed tone.

“I assure you, Ms. Celestia, it did indeed happen. I have the bullets to prove it. That being said, physically, Sunset Shimmer is alright,” said Blueheart.

“So why isn’t she awake?!” Rainbow asked.

Dr. Blueheart didn’t know herself, she saw all the damage get repaired before her eyes. “The only thing I can say is the trauma that her head suffered may’ve put her into a coma.” Blueheart pointed to the monitor that was recording her brain activity. “Her brain waves tell me that she’s still in there, probably fighting to come back, that’s a good sign, it means she’s trying to wake up.”

Pinkie Pie chuckled a little. “Sunset’s a fighter, she’s stubborn too. She won’t quit until she’s come back to us.” The pink party planner looked at Blueheart. “Do you think…she can hear us? Feel us?”

“She should be able to, it might actually help her if you speak to her, but one at a time, it’s not best to overwhelm her.”

Rarity placed her hand on Pinkie’s shoulder and said, “You should go first, darling. If that’s alright with you?”

Pinkie Pie nodded.

The others cleared the room, and waited outside. While they did, Mayor Mare came walking down the hallway, flanked by her bodyguards. Celestia opened her arms as the older woman came in and hugged her.

“I heard what happened, are you alright?” Maria asked.

“I’m fine, only Sunset was targeted. Miraculously, she's alive, but…the doctor says she’s in a coma,” said Celestia.

“I’ll speak to the staff, whatever she needs, she’ll get it. I’ll speak to the police chief as well about finding the killer, I campaigned on that there would be no such school shootings in my city, and I plan to keep it that way.” Mayor Mare delicately wiped away Celestia’s tears, she then looked to the assembled girls behind her and smiled. “I recognize you, Miss Belle.”

“Your honor, it’s a pleasure to see you again, and thank you for your help,” said Rarity.

“Whoa, whoa, wait, Principal Celestia knows the Mayor? And you too?!” Rainbow asked with surprise.

“That’s a head stumper fer me too,” said Applejack.

“We’ll tell you later darling.”

A couple of days passed since the shooting, and still the shooter hadn’t been found out. Effort was put towards finding out more about Anon-A-Miss, the investigation was headed by Shining Armor, he vowed to find out who tried to kill Sunset. He actually had to take a day off to console his little sister, she was crying and blaming herself for not working harder to find out who Anon-A-Miss, saying that Sunset’s shooting happened because she wasn’t smart enough to get around this cyber bully.

School had resumed, but the tension in the school was high. The killer hadn’t been found out, leading a lot of the students to be suspicious of each other. Pinkie Pie hadn’t been back to the school in the last two days, refusing to leave Sunset’s side until she finally woke up. The girls wanted to do the same, but they knew it was better that Pinkie was there.

Fluttershy had contacted them, crying her eyes out about Sunset. They managed to calm her down, assuring Fluttershy that Sunset was alive, she was in a coma, but at least she was alive.

Meanwhile, the three who started Anon-A-Miss roamed the halls, completely on edge, not sure what the right thing to do was. Delete the account and come clean, or just wait for the cops to find them. But as they roamed the halls, they could see just how much damage they truly did. There were people who were definitely not alright with what happened. Did they want Sunset gone? Yes, but gone as in not in their school anymore, not gone as in dead.

Their feelings were conflicted, Sunset was a bully, she was their savior, then she showed everyone that she was trying to be a better person, but then Anon-A-Miss brought all this hatred, all this distrust into their lives.

Apple Bloom’s cellphone began to buzz, she took it out and saw that it was from their fourth mystery member. All three girls ducked into a random empty classroom, moved to the far end of the room, and answered the phone.

{Hello, girls, how are things?}

“Things a pretty fucked up right now, that’s what!” Scootaloo answered. “I know you know that Sunset got shot a couple of days ago!”

The girl on the video call, who was still cast in shadows, smiled wickedly. {Yeah, she didn’t see it coming at all. It was so surreal when I pulled the trigger, shame though, I heard she’s recovering in the hospital. Thought for sure I shot her right in the head and the heart.}

All three girls went pale, to the point that they looked like ghosts.

“Y-You…You shot her!” Apple Bloom accused.

{Guilty as charged.}

“Why?! We never said we wanted her dead, just gone!” Sweetie argued.

{Gone, dead, same difference.} she shrugged.

Apple Bloom narrowed her gaze. “No, BIG difference! We never wanted her dead! You went too far with that!”

The girl on the screen chuckled. {Oh don’t get all holier-than-thou with me. You guys started all of this, you started Anon-A-Miss just because you couldn’t get over the fact that Sunset Shimmer was changing, that, and because she was stealing time away from your pwecious sisters. Well two of you have sisters, Scoots over there has a sis-con crush on Rainbow Dash.}

“Shut your mouth your fucking psycho bitch!” Scootaloo spat with venom. “Yeah, okay, we did do all that shit! But we’re not the only ones to blame! We wouldn’t have half of what we have if people didn’t send us secrets to post!”

{Naturally, everyone had a hand in this. But the biggest contributors were you three. All of you made her life a living hell, made her closest friends abandon her, made her the focus of constant abuse from her fellow students, and let’s not forget, she got jumped about a month ago, and now was just shot. All of this, because of you three.}

Sweetie Belle was crying, Scootaloo clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in anger, and Apple Bloom only had a look of shame and regret.

{Now, here’s the kicker girls, this whole conversation…I’ve been live streaming it on the Anon-A-Miss profile page.}

“WHAT???!!!” the trio yelled in unison.

Apple Bloom hurriedly switched to the Anon-A-Miss profile on MyStable, and much to their dread, it was true. On the profile page, they could see their three, horrified faces being featured on the page. They knew that the entire school followed Anon-A-Miss, as much as they hated Anon-A-Miss, they didn’t want to miss a post, just in case she posted something about them.

{You heard it here folks, the ones responsible for Sunset getting shot, the ones responsible for riling you all up and making you gang up on a girl who did nothing wrong and wanted nothing but to make up for her misdeeds. As far as I’m concerned, all of you are monsters.}

The feed was cut after that, now it was just them on the phone.

“You…Why would you do that?!” Apple Bloom demanded, strangling her phone as if doing so would allow this mystery person to feel it on the other end.

The shadows began to move from around the girl on the phone. The room she was in lit up a bit, revealing it was a girl with a gray hoodie, she then pulled back the hoodie and revealed her face. Her hair was raven colored, with ashen gray skin, and small horns that poked out from her forehead. Her eyes were red as blood and glowed a sinisterly, within those eyes was a slit iris that were silver in color and a black pupil at the center.

Apple Bloom nearly dropped her phone, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had wide eyes, their pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

“Because I want hatred. I want anger. But most importantly…I want wrath. The wrath of every single human in that school, which is so charged with magical energy, I want it all. I want them to find you, to tear you apart in their blind fury, and with that wrath, the Eternal Blizzard shall howl and my Wendigo brethren will come forth in droves. Rejoice you three, for you will be the sacrifices that will usher in the end of the human race.”

Apple Bloom’s hand was trembling, Scootaloo’s heart was racing, and Sweetie looked about ready to wet herself from pure fear.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re remembered. I’ll build a statue, a memorial over the ruins of this place, if there are to be any survivors, I think they’ve earned the right to see the place where it all started, to know who brought forth this age of cold death.”

“Who…Who are you…?” Sweetie dared to ask.

The demon smiled and said, “I am Nihil. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, it’s been fun. I’ll miss messing with you three. My one regret is that I won’t be able to pick you apart myself. Oh well, I’ll be enjoying the show.”

The call ended right then and there. The girls looked towards the door, no one had come in, they must’ve not noticed them slipping in, but they knew that this classroom wouldn’t remain a haven for long. Soon a teacher or students would come in and use the room, and the moment they did…

“We’re going to die…the moment we step foot outside that door, we’re going to die…” Scootaloo stated as sweat dripped down her brow.

“T-They wouldn’t do that, right? T-There’s no way they’d actually hurt us…” Sweetie Belle looked to Apple Bloom and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her fiercely. “Please tell me they won’t hurt us?!”

“Ah…Ah don’t know…”

Just then, the door handle jiggled. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked around for something, anything that they could use to defend themselves with. Apple Bloom spotted a paper cutter, and quickly grabbed it, “Scoots, give me a hand!”

Scootaloo pulled on the cutting lever while Apple Bloom kicked the flat table as hard as she could. She did this repeatedly until the lever-blade broke off. It was an older paper cutter, so the guard on it wasn’t as broad as the newer ones and allowed the blade to curve out more. It was the best that they could do. Apple Bloom let Scootaloo have the blade, she was swifter and more agile, the blade would be better for her, Apple Bloom was going to make due with her own fists. She may not be her sister and brother, but she sure as hell wasn’t a push over when it came to strength.

Soon, the door opened and all three girls tensed up, ready for a fight. However, the tension they felt suddenly dropped when they saw that it was Rainbow Dash who entered the room. The prismatic teen quickly shut the door behind her and walked up to the three girls.

“Are you guys alright?” Rainbow asked.

“Y-Yeah, we are!” Scootaloo answered as she stood before her idol.

“Good, thank god…” Rainbow Dash swiftly punched Scootaloo in the face, sending her straight to the floor in a heap.

Scootaloo was stunned by the blow, for a second it didn’t register, but then the pain made itself known and she began to tear up. The young teen looked up at her idol with tears in her eyes, her friends at her side in a protective circle. “R-Rainbow Dash…”

“That’s the least you deserve!” Rainbow yelled. “You did all this shit, just to make Sunset go away! Because you were jealous of how much time she was spending with us?! I thought you were more mature and above petty shit like this! Do you have any idea what you put me through – put SUNSET through?! The whole fucking school!”

Scootaloo began to sniffle, her heart breaking at the look of anger and disappointment in her idol’s eyes. “I…W-We’re sor–!!”

“Save it!” Rainbow interrupted. “You’re going to have a lot to fucking answer for, but right now we need to get you three somewhere safe.”

“I-I-Is it bad?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The whole damn school is turning into an angry mob! I don’t know what’s going on, but they’re not listening to the teachers and are searching every part of the school for you! At this rate…I don’t know what they’ll do to you, but they look like they’re out for blood,” said Rainbow.

The sports girl reached out with her right hand towards Scootaloo, the young teen looked at it with trepidation.

“I already got my lick in and I said what I wanted to say, c’mon Scoots, it’s still me. I won’t let them hurt you. I’m still you’re ‘Big Sis’ after all.” Rainbow looked directly into Scootaloo’s eyes as she said this, her eyes full of sincerity for her little protégé.

Scootaloo took her hand and let Rainbow help her up, she then rushed into Rainbow and hugged her tightly as she cried into her chest. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“I messed up and let a friend down once. You betrayed a lot of people, Scoots, but I’m not betraying you, c’mon, all of you, we need to move.”

“Yer not goin’ to smack us too, are ya?” Apple Bloom asked.

Rainbow scoffed. “Are you shitting me? If I laid a hand on either of you two, Rarity and AJ would rip me apart. That being said, Scoots is my ‘lil’ sis’, what your big sisters do to you is something else.”

Sweetie and Apple Bloom gulped hard.

Rainbow Dash moved closer to the door and cracked it ever so slightly. When she did, she saw dozens of CHS students roaming the halls, there as a red light tinting their eyes, and a look of bloodlust on their faces. Rainbow closed the door and cursed.

“Looks like we’re not going anywhere anytime soon…”

Case File 6-2 (Nihil): Unexpected Hero

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Sunset meditated in a replica of the Canterlot Castle gardens. It was her favorite place in the castle, all the flowers in bloom, the crisp mountain air, and the wide clear blue skies above. It was a place that she and Princess Celestia would often visit together, and have talks about lessons, the goings on in the city, and–

“Whooo, shake that ass girl!”

…And enjoy each other’s company. Sip tea, secretly swipe some cake from the royal bakery and eat it in the garden. Sunset recalled–

“Damn, that’s hot! Spread ‘em, spread ‘em, spread ‘em – holy shit!”

“WOULD YOU PLEASE CUT THAT SHIT OUT?!”

Sunset didn’t know how long they’d been together, it felt like ages in the dreamscape, but time was dictated differently in such a place. During Sunset’s solitude with her dark half, Sunset Satan, Sunset had decided to try and figure out a way out of her current predicament, by herself, without the help of her dark side. Sunset learned that she could manipulate the dreamscape, allowing her to recreate certain things from her memories, or made up things.

This unfortunately extended to Sunset Satan as well, allowing her to create all manner of crude, inappropriate things. Sunset Shimmer had decided that they should put some space between themselves, Sunset Shimmer took up one half with her garden, but Sunset Satan, she took up her half with…something else.

Sunset Satan changed her form a little. She was still the tall, seven to eight foot tall creature she was before, but her hair was no longer rising up, and instead fell down her back much like Sunset Shimmer’s. Sunset Satan had forgone her black boots in favor of a pair of sneakers, and her long fiery dress was replaced by a black tank top, and a pair of jean shorts.

Her demonic half created, of all things, a strip club. The stage had three poles, and each one was occupied by a different person, or pony depending on her preference at the time. Currently, the stage right pole was occupied by Princess Twilight (human form), she was completely topless as she swung around the pole and gazed seductively into the nonexistent crowd. The stage left pole had Princess Cadence, the newly crowned alicorn that Sunset remembered from before she left Equestria, the one who got her angry enough to go snooping in the forbidden section.

Sunset hadn’t seen the alicorn for years, so she had no idea what she looked like now. The current form that was dancing was Cadence when she was a teen, which was the age she last remembered her being. The Princess of Love’s dance was more seductive and entrancing, flaring her wings and using them to hide certain parts of her body to tease the audience. She’d move one wing away and show off her teats, then cover them up, she’d then turn around and show of her plot and marehood, then quickly cover them again.

The middle pole was occupied by their current love interest, Pinkie Pie. And it was this one that Sunset Shimmer had a problem with. “Uh-uh, nope, no way, stop this shit right now!” Sunset marched from her side of the dreamscape and into the sleazy club of Sunset Satan. “You are not going to objectify Pinkie Pie like this!”

Sunset Satan looked at her pony light half incredulously. “What, you don’t think Pinkie Pie is sexy enough to pole dance?!”

“Don’t try and high road me! You know I think she’s sexy!” Sunset Shimmer shot back.

“Then what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is you have her pole dancing in some strip joint, alongside Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence, like they’re some cheap hookers!” Sunset Shimmer spat.

Sunset Satan looked at her with disappointment. “First off, pole dancing is an empowering activity, it’s good exercise, and builds confidence for girls who lack a little. You and I both know that Pinkie doesn’t think she’s sexy enough for us, you don’t think that she’d do something like this to show that she is?”

Sunset Shimmer stammered as she tried to come up with a good counter argument. It was true that Pinkie sees herself as not sexy enough, but dammit she was, and Sunset wished Pinkie saw that in herself like she did. “Take away Twilight and Cadence.”

Sunset Satan smirked and snapped her fingers. The human and alicorn disappeared, leaving only Pinkie Pie to entertain them both. The pink party planner hand a thin bikini top, which barely held back her impressive bust and left little to the imagination, down lower, she wore a blue thong, which disappeared into Pinkie’s shapely ass.

“Enjoying the show?” Sunset Satan asked.

“Shut up.”

“If you want to flick your bean, go ahead.”

Sunset Shimmer glared at her dark half with flushed cheeks. “I am NOT going to do that! And even if I wanted to, why the hell would I do it in front of you?!”

Sunset Satan grinned. “If you don’t want to, I can do it for you, or you could do me.”

Sunset deadpanned. “Okay, I am not even going to discuss the psychological narcissism of having sex with myself.”

“It’s not sex, it’s masturbation! I’m you and you’re me, it’s not like we’re twins or something. Huh…now there’s a thought, if two identical twins do it, is it considered sex or masturbation?”

Sunset Shimmer slammed her head against the table and groaned loudly, “I want to go home now! Not even Rainbow Dash is this much of a pervert!”

“Yeah, you really rein yourself in, you really could out pervert her if you let me in a little,” said Sunset Satan.

Sunset Shimmer wanted to go back to the waking world, to Pinkie Pie and her friends, and to go after the one who shot her, Nihil.

“Thinking about why Nihil shot us?”

“Yes.” Sunset Shimmer watched as her dark half dismissed the strip show and turned to face her. “I’ve been trying to figure out why she did it. She knew that I have the Witchblade.”

“Maybe she’s trying to see just how strong it’s healing powers are? Or trying to assess what weapons are effective at hindering us.”

“That would make sense, but she said ‘This is what you get, Anon-A-Miss!’ when she fired her last shots. And why the hell would she know about Anon-A-Miss?”

“She made it a point to say that out loud, like a fucking battle cry. Could she be Anon-A-Miss?”

Sunset’s horn lit up and multiple windows appeared around her. “We know that Anon-A-Miss uses secrets, and is targeting me directly. Rarity said that it might be one of them.”

“I would’ve thought it’d be Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash, but after that Ishtar crap, I’d say that theory’s shot to shit,” said Sunset Satan.

“Not necessarily.”

Sunset’s horn lit up again, and two windows were brought up. One showed the slumber parties that she had at Applejacks and the second she had at Rarity’s. Both the light and dark halves watched the slumber parties play out over and over again, combing over any detail that could give them answers. Sunset’s cellphone wasn’t hacked, and the only one who knew of Applejack’s embarrassing story were the girls in the room, and her family.

“Her family…”

Both Sunset’s looked intently at the only other people who were with them during those parties, mainly, the ones who were forced out of the party despite their wanting to join.

“You don’t think?”

“I don’t, I know. Those little shits!” Sunset Satan raised her fist and slammed it onto the table, splitting it in half, and a second later it returned to normal. “They’re Anon-A-Miss, they have to be!”

“But the photos on the phone, it wasn’t hacked so how did they get the photos?”

“Sweetie Belle must’ve snuck into the room and swiped our phone, it’s the only way because we sure as hell didn’t do it!”

Sunset Shimmer looked down at the table forlornly. “But…why? When I changed, I only ever tried to be nice to them, I thought we were getting along?”

Sunset Satan slammed her fists together. “Who cares why, when we wake up, I’m going to fucking kill them!”

Sunset Shimmer shot her dark side a glare. “No you’re not! ……Maybe slap them around a little, but we’re not killing them. I mostly want answers as to why. And I know you do too.”

Sunset Satan huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah…I kinda do too.”

A rumble shook through the entire dreamscape, making both sides stand up.

“Something’s happening.”

“I know, I can feel it. The magic is getting whipped up.”

“It’s getting agitated.” Sunset Satan looked down at Sunset Shimmer, she then gave a long sigh and waved off Sunset Shimmer. “Hurry back, I get the feeling that they need us right now.”

“Wait, you mean I can go?! So you’ve been keeping me here!” Sunset Shimmer accused.

[b]“Yeah, I kinda have, but mostly because he said you needed time to recover.” Sunset Satan pointed to her left, and as if it had been there the whole time, the Witchblade gauntlet hovered in midair. “I also wanted to tell you that the only way for you to get stronger, is to embrace me. You’re running away from me, trying to bury all that you did by being all good. But humans, even ponies, are made up of light and darkness, and the Witchblade is the Bringer of Balance. Remember that. Oh, and don’t die again!”

Sunset Shimmer wanted to discuss this further, but she could still sense the agitation, something bad was happening and she needed to hurry up and get back. Sunset Shimmer galloped towards the Witchblade, as she got closer, her body swiftly transitioned back into her human form. By the time she reached it, Sunset’s right hand touched the ruby jewel and bright red light shined in the dreamscape.

~*~*~*~

Sunset’s eyes fluttered open, she felt sluggish, and her mouth was dry. She glanced about the room and saw that Pinkie Pie was sitting at her beside on her left, her focus was on the TV, showing a news report about a sudden blizzard that kicked up around Canterlot City. Sunset looked down and saw that her left hand was in Pinkie’s right, she gave it a firm squeeze, causing Pinkie Pie to gasp and whip her head in Sunset’s direction.

“Hey, Babe,” Sunset greeted.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes watered as tears of joy leaked down her cheeks, her hair puffing back up as her smile broadened dramatically. “SUNSET!!!!” The pink party planner practically threw herself at Sunset, latching her arms around her neck and bringing her lover in a near bone crushing hug.

“ACK! P-Pinkie, I’m happy to be back…but if you keep this up…I might go into another coma…!” Sunset warned.

Pinkie Pie released Sunset immediately. “S-Sorry, I was just so happy your awake! I…I didn’t mean to hug you so tight, are you hurting anywhere?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I’m fine, but what’s going on?”

Pinkie Pie looked at the window and Sunset followed her gaze. Outside the wind was blustering and howling, snow and freezing rain was pelting Canterlot City, a little blizzard from hell had descended upon the city.

“The news is saying it’s a freak blizzard that developed out of nowhere, they’re putting us under a blizzard warning and are telling people to stay indoors and for drivers to get into shelter,” Pinkie explained.

“I got a feeling that there’s more to it than that.”

“I’ve…I’ve been hearing strange sounds since it started. The wind’s howling, but it doesn’t sound right. It sounds angry, alive.”

Sunset tried to sit up, but paused when she felt something connected to her, and not just the I. V. in her arm. “Did they…put something…down there?”

Pinkie Pie blushed. “They might’ve put a catheter in you…you have been out for two days now.”

“Riiiiiiiiight…ugh, this is going to hurt like a bitch.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Something bad is happening, and I need to get to CHS, now,” said Sunset.

“NO!” Pinkie Pie stated with panic in her eyes. “You were almost killed, for the second time! I can’t…I can’t see that happen again…” Pinkie Pie began to cry as she laid her head on the edge of the bed. “I don’t think I’m strong enough…I felt dead when you died…”

Sunset placed her hand atop Pinkie’s head and stroked her hair caringly. “I’m sorry you saw that, I’m sorry you had to see me get hurt and nearly die twice. I don’t ever want to be the reason why you’re sad or hurting, I only want you to smile.”

“I do too,” Pinkie sniffled, “all I want is to see you smile. To laugh with you, and to be with you.”

“Same here, but Pinkie, you know that I have to do something about this. The Witchblade chose me to be a protector, and I have to protect this city, and you.”

Pinkie Pie looked up at Sunset and gave her a sad smile. “I know, and I know keeping you here won’t help anyone. You’re a hero, just like I knew could be.”

Sunset blushed at the compliment. “Thanks.”

Pinkie Pie sat up straight and then slapped her cheeks, shook her head, and then put on a confident smile. “Okay, what do you need me to do, Sunset?!”

Sunset uneasily looked down, following the clear tube with her eyes. Pinkie Pie did the same and she winced.

“You know it’s going to hurt, a lot.”

“I know.”

“You sure you don’t want me to get the nurse to take it out?”

“They’re going to be busy with this blizzard, and I don’t think we have time to waste on waiting for them to do it the right way…” Sunset cringed at the idea of this happening.

“Do you want me to…?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Sunset lied back and sighed heavily as she gripped the blankets. “Just yank it out as fast as you can, the Witchblade will heal the rest.”

Pinkie Pie gulped, she checked behind her to make sure that the nurses weren’t looking. She very carefully moved towards the door and closed it, once that was done, Pinkie Pie went back to the bed and pulled back on the blankets until they were above Sunset’s waist. She reached for the tube that disappeared under her hospital gown, Pinkie Pie gripped it, not bothering to pull up the gown. Yes she kind of saw Sunset naked that one time, but she didn’t want to ruin her surprise for later on in their relationship.

“Ready?”

“On three then…One–”

“Three!”

*YANK!*

“SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!”

Nihil floated above the school at the eye of the vortex. She could feel it, like a warm steam rising from a delicious hot meal, the magic, the hatred, the wrath of the students of CHS, it all flowed upwards like a gust of warm air fueling a storm. Beside her were Midas and Ishtar, both of them basking in the power as well.

“So, this was your plan, Nihil,” said Midas.

“Like I said, I had them on the edge, and all I needed was a little push. You’re information on Witchblade was helpful, Ishtar. I was able to incapacitate her at the very least, and now our plan can come to fruition.”

Midas chuckled, his round golden belly juggling from the effort. “Do y’all really think they’ll be able to kill those youngins’?”

“I hope not,” said Ishtar. “I owe those brats. I at least want them alive enough so that their dear big sisters can watch as I break them in front of their eyes! I owe Sunset Shimmer a pair of legs.”

“Honestly it doesn’t matter if those three die or not, the more their rage builds, the more the magic that touches upon this entire school and those within begins to rise, and with all this hate…” A couple of spirits broke away from the vortex and went straight down into the school. “More our kind can come through.”

Suddenly, Nihil felt something strange. She looked down and saw something golden pierce through the vortex wall and right into the school itself.

“What was that?”

The wind was blustering and howling, screeching like the storm was a raging beast that was rising from its long slumber. And given the circumstances, it might as well have been, for unseen to many, creatures flew within the wind, beasts with glowing blue eyes that ran with the wind, kicking up the storm more and more. The epicenter of this great blizzard was around Canterlot High School, it was hard for anyone to tell, but a vortex of spiraling snow and ice had completely cut off the school from the rest of the world.

The faculty were trying to call for help, but their cellphones weren’t getting any service. They tried the landlines next, but again, they weren’t able to get anyone. The snow was piling up, blanketing their vehicles and bunching up around the exits and entrances into the school. Even the roof access was cut off, not that it would do them much good, visibility outside was less than two feet, and the temperatures were going lower with each passing second.

Despite all this, the students of CHS didn’t seem to care much about it. That was because they were out for blood, they knew who was responsible for all the hate, all the division in their school, and it wasn’t Sunset Shimmer. Poor Sunset, she as much a victim as any of them, even more so because she was shot. But now the students had the chance to make things right, they had the chance to show just how sorry they were, and they were going to accomplish this by savagely beating the three little brats who started it all, either that or damn near kill them in return for Sunset almost getting killed.

Thus began the massive manhunt, every clique in the school was searching for them. The faculty tried to calm their students down, but they vastly outnumbered them, practically ten to one. The faculty were forced into confinement in the faculty lounge, and with no outside help coming, they had no way of making their students listen to reason. They knew full well what they were going to do, and they couldn’t let them do it, but the students wouldn’t listen. All they could think about was hurting Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, all they wanted was to make an example of them. They would get their blood, and revenge would be theirs.

Of course, there were three girls who were opposed to this, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash managed to insert themselves into their different cliques under the false pretense that they were just as mad at them as everyone else, if not more so. Thanks to that, they were able to join search parties and/or allowed to go off and search on their.

Rainbow Dash managed to find the trio and tried to text her friends that she found them, but the cell service was not working, which meant it was on Rainbow Dash to protect them for the time being.

“What are we going to do?” Sweetie Belle asked in fear.

“I’ll get you guys out of here, I promise I won’t let any of these assholes touch you,” said Rainbow.

But right now, I don’t know who I’m trying to convince. The entire school’s lost their shit, and they’re seriously talking about killing them! Get it together Dash, you gotta hide them somewhere, someplace safe.

Problem was that number of safe spots were far and few between. The idea of stuffing each of them into a locker had come to mind, they were small and thin enough to fit into one if she took out the contents, but she quickly dismissed that plan outright. Rainbow wished she could just take them outside and to Rarity’s car, but the freak blizzard outside had cut off all pretense of even thinking that going outside was an option for them.

The more Rainbow thought about it, the more she believed that the classroom they were in was the best option. The door opened inward, which meant they just needed to barricade it and they could just hunker down and wait until the storm passed to jump out the window. Although, at the rate the snow was piling up, there was no way that they’d be able to do that.

“Okay, we’re blocking the door, we’ll wait it out until help arrives or until they come to their senses,” said Rainbow.

The girls nodded and quickly went to work, Rainbow managed to push the teacher’s desk all the way up against the door. The middle school trio hurried and piled desk after desk around the door, working it like a puzzle as they interlocked the legs to make a tangled mess of an obstacle course, even if someone managed to break through the door, they’d have to climb around the desks, and doing so would only hurt the mob in the end.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow…I’m really sorry…” Scootaloo whimpered.

“Tell that to Sunset if we live through this. Personally, I think you three should get on your knees and beg her to forgive you, as a start!” Rainbow scolded.

The girls shook from the anger in her voice. Rainbow sighed heavily, she knew now wasn’t the time to get on them for all the trouble they caused, there would be time for that later. All that mattered right now was that they hunkered down in that room until the students calmed down and the storm stopped.

*Stomp*

The girls froze, they felt the floor shake.

*Stomp*

The girls looked around, the windows were covered by snow, the only door in or out was blocked by a desk and more desks.

*Stomp*

“Scootaloo…” Rainbow whispered.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Give me that blade.”

Scootaloo quickly handed Rainbow Dash the makeshift weapon they broke off. Rainbow held the cutting blade in her right hand, she moved closer to the door, listening carefully for anyone or anything. The stomping from earlier was hard to pinpoint, she couldn’t tell if it was coming from outside the door or–

“The ceiling!” Rainbow hissed.

The ceiling of the classroom had a hole punched through it, sending light fixtures along with metal and drywall falling down to the floor. Rainbow coughed from the dust it kicked up, her eyes squinting from the particles that got into them, but once her vision cleared, she was able to see what exactly came through the ceiling.

It was big, metal, and angry. The creature stood at eight feet tall, a rounded metal orb acted as its body, connected by a slender metal tube that was linked to a secondary orb that acted as its hips. The creature had metal rivets that were aligned around its torso, waist, shoulders, and legs. Two more balls acted as the shoulders, and what hung off those shoulders were two, seven-foot-long spiked balls and chains. The creature’s yellow eyes wandered around the room, but eventually landed on that which it sought.

“You two…You’re responsible for all of this! You got Sunset shot…! I’ll kill you! Kill Anon-A-Miss!” the creature proclaimed.

A…A Wendigo?! No…No way, all this hate, it’s allowing them to possess people?! “GET AWAY FROM THEM!”

The possessed student whipped its head in Rainbow’s direction, it then whipped its left arm straight for Rainbow. The athletic girl quickly dodged to the left just as the ball and chain smashed into the wall. Rainbow rolled on the floor and got back into a kneeling position, she knew she stood no chance against a Wendigo, her dinky little weapon wouldn’t make a dent in it.

But if I find a spot then I can at least hurt it.

Rainbow began scanning the monster, but it was becoming hard to do so in the dimly lit room. It was only noon, but with the storm, it might as well have been night time. Unfortunately, Rainbow wouldn’t get the chance as the wall to the classroom was busted down. Light poured into the classroom, revealing the second Wendigo of the day. This one was female, its body was made of vines and leaves, its head had red rose petals for hair, but had no eyes. It did have a mouth, and it hissed. Vines rose into the air like cobras, shooting out straight for the girls.

The plant Wendigo’s vines coiled around the trio, one wrapped itself all around Apple Bloom like an anaconda, the vines coiling tighter. Four others wrapped themselves around Scootaloo’s wrists and ankles, pulling her out until she formed an “X” with her body. Two attacked Sweetie Belle, wrapping around both her wrists and pulling back on her arms, while the second wrapped tightly around her neck. Apple Bloom felt the vines squeeze tighter and tighter, her breathing was becoming more labored as she found herself unable to properly inflate her legs. Scootaloo was screaming in pain as she felt the four vines pull her in opposite directions, she fought as much as she could, knowing that the longer this went on her limbs would eventually be pulled from her sockets, and unfortunately, she was sure that it wouldn’t stop there. Sweetie Belle felt her arms being pulled back so hard she thought that they were going to be torn off, but that wasn’t her immediate concern as much as the vine around her neck, it squeezed tighter, cutting off her air supply as she gagged, trying to take in breath but finding impossible.

Rainbow Dash ran for the vines of the plant Wendigo, raising her blade up and hacking at the closest vine. The blade cut into the vine, but the moment she drew it back, it regenerated the damage. Rainbow did it again and again, but to no avail, she looked towards the girls, they were dying, they were dying and she couldn’t do a thing to stop it, they looked at her with pleading eyes, screaming in silence “HELP ME!” Rainbow tightened her grip on the blade and ran towards the source itself. The plant Wendigo had another vine come out and swipe at Rainbow Dash, the blow sent her flying into the opposite wall, nearly knocking her out upon impact.

Dammit…get up Dash…you can’t let them die…I won’t…I can’t…what they did was shitty, but they don’t deserve to die for it…!

Rainbow dragged herself back up, propping herself against the wall as she steadied her body. However, that didn’t seem to matter as the metal Wendigo stepped forward, its ball and chain arms rising and ready to turn Rainbow Dash into red paste.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” Rainbow managed to say.

All of a sudden, the plant Wendigo screamed in pain. Rainbow and metal Wendigo looked in its direction and saw that a bronze colored blade was sticking out of its stomach. The demon hunched over in pain as the blade was quickly pulled out, the wielder of the blade jumped over the plant Wendigo and landed upon the floor. It was hard to see who it was, but their weapon was easy to make out. The weapon that pierced the demon was a spear, bronze in color, it was about five feet long at the hilt, and the blade itself was three feet long, and the flat of the spear had an ornate cross carved into it.

The one who wielded the spear was clad in a black cloak with red and gold trimming. The cloak moved just a bit and allowed them a better view of her outfit. It was a black leather-like suit, the forearms were wrapped in red metal bracers with gold trimming, shoulder pauldrons were attached to the upper part of the suit, also red and gold trimmed, but the pauldrons had a golden cross. Some of the warrior’s midriff was exposed, revealing the cream color of her skin. Further down she wore leather-like pants, with red leather plates sewn into the hips and ran halfway down the thighs, both of which sported ornate crosses down in gold. The warrior also wore metal boots, similarly colored as her bracers. The medallions that held the cloak and hood sported the same religious symbols, and under that hood, Rainbow could spot…pink hair.

“No way…”

The warrior swiped her spear across the vines that held the girls, the swinging of her weapon was done so fast that all that Rainbow could see was the streak of bronze that glowed in the dark. The girls fell to the ground, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle took in deep gasping breaths while Scootaloo messaged her aching hips and shoulders.

The warrior looked towards Rainbow Dash, she recognized the warrior, she’d recognize those teal colored eyes anywhere. “F-Fluttershy?!”

“Get the girls out of the room!” Fluttershy ordered.

Rainbow wasted no time and hurried to the girls, as much as she wanted to give them a minute to recover, they were not out of the woods. The metal Wendigo finally snapped out of its stupor and readied to attack. Fluttershy saw this and immediately dashed towards the creature, she spun her spear around with expert skill, and then thrust the butt of her spear right into the monster’s chest. The impact made the monster cough up black blood, and dented its chest. Fluttershy turned the weapon around and with surgical precision, slashed the chains off the monster, all of this happening in less than a second. The monster was sent flying into the wall, smashing through it and into the next classroom while its arm weapons lied on the floor where it once stood. Fluttershy turned her attention to the plant Wendigo, dashing once again and leaping into the air. She spun once and struck the monster with a flying roundhouse to the head. The monster hit the side of the broken wall, but staggered up. Fluttershy slashed with her spear again, cutting off both of the monster’s arms and making it spray black blood onto the floor.

“C’MON!” Fluttershy stated.

Rainbow and the girls didn’t argue, they followed Fluttershy as she led the way down the hall. Along the way they were spotted by a few of the students who were out to get the middle school trio, but the moment they dared get close, Fluttershy attacked them, utilizing immobilizing techniques as she hit specific pressure points on their bodies and made them fall to the ground, temporarily paralyzed.

Fluttershy spotted someone up ahead, it was Flash Sentry. He didn’t look like the rest of them, no blood thirsty look in the eyes. He was waving his hands as if to flag them down. Taking a chance, all five of them headed his way. The group saw the door to the basement level of the school and went inside. Flash took up the rear and shut the door quickly, locking it from the inside and sliding a bar through the handle.

All five girls panted, but paused when they heard footsteps. They waited with hitched breath for a few seconds, but when then the footsteps retreated they released a sigh of relief.

“Glad you’re safe,” said Flash.

“Yeah…how come you’re not murder happy like the rest ‘em? Not that we’re complaining,” said Rainbow.

“Definitely not complaining,” Sweetie commented.

Flash looked at the three girls with some contempt. “I do agree that what you girls did was terrible and that you should be punished, but I don’t think that killing you will make things right. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

Fluttershy pulled down her hood and said, “Amen.”

Speaking of, Flash, the CMC, and Rainbow Dash turned their attention to Fluttershy. The outfit she wore hugged her figure nicely, and as stated before, exposed a bit of her midriff, something that Fluttershy would never wear. And then there was the spear that she was currently holding, everything about this was just so not Fluttershy. Fluttershy was a pacifist, she would never hurt a fly or even pick up such a dangerous weapon, and yet they just watched her kick the assess of two demons like it was just another day at work for her.

“Yeah, what’s up with the spear, the outfit, and the mad fighting skills, ALL OF IT?!” Rainbow asked.

“Are we sure she’s even Fluttershy and not just some demon that looks like her?” Apple Bloom asked.

Fluttershy look saddened that her friends didn’t recognize her, to be honest, she didn’t even recognize herself after doing all the things she just did, but it was expected. “Ask me a question, something only you would know, Dashie.”

Sweetie, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Flash watched as Rainbow thought about her question. After a minute of thinking, Rainbow asked, “When we were sixteen, and I had my first taste of beer. What did I do you?”

“EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked as she clutched at her spear. “U-U-Um m-m-maybe you could p-pick another question?”

“Nope, tell me.”

“Flash is here…”

“Tell me.”

“The girls are not old enough to hear that.”

“Tell me or you can go back outside.”

Fluttershy was blushing up to her ears, but relented. “You got drunk after one beer, your parents said you could so long as you were at home with them there, and me to make sure you’d be okay. I was trying to get you to lie down, but you ended up…oooh…you ended up dragging me into bed with you and grouped my chest for almost ten minutes straight.”

Flash and the girls blushed up to their ears, matching Fluttershy.

“Yep, it’s her.”

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow. “Wait, you mean that’s true?!”

Fluttershy pulled her hood back on and looked down. “Happy?”

“Nope, sorry.” Rainbow walked forward and gave Fluttershy a hug. “It’s good seein’ ya, it’s been almost four days, Shy, I was worried about you.”

Fluttershy smiled and used her free arm to hug Rainbow back. “I’m sorry, I had things that I needed to do.”

“Let’s talk downstairs, there’s some people waiting for us,” said Flash.

Flash led them into the basement, next to a still functioning boiler that provided welcome warmth into the room. Around the boiler were Rarity, Applejack, Derpy, and Bulk Biceps. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle broke from the group and ran for their siblings, the older sisters gave their younger sisters a fierce hug, happy to see them alive, oh there would be hell to pay later, but right now all that mattered was that they weren’t dead.

The others laid eyes on Fluttershy, shocked at her appearance, and even more so by the weapon she carried.

“I’m guessin’ Shy’s the reason why y’all are alive?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah! We were almost killed by this plant monster, but Fluttershy came in and took them both down like it was nothing,” said Sweetie Belle.

Derpy blinked. “Wow, Fluttershy, you look really cool. Thank you for saving them.”

“Y-Yeah,” said Bulk as he tried not to look at her, his face heating up.

Fluttershy’s face was doing the same as she tried to avoid his gaze as well. “T-Thank you, all.”

“So, how long do ya reckon we can stay here before they find us?” Applejack asked out loud.

Rainbow sat down on her rear. “I hope for a little while longer, we can’t even get to our cars with that snow blocking our way. Wish we had a snowplow or something.”

“Um, can’t you guys use your magic? With the pony ears, wings, and magic rainbows?” Derpy asked.

Rarity sighed. “I wish we could, but Princess Twilight isn’t here, and Pinkie Pie’s in the hospital watching over Sunset. We’re scattered and our instruments are in the music room, there’s no way to get there without getting jumped by our fellow students, and now apparently Wendigo possessed students.”

Bulk scratched the back of his head. “So…what do we do?”

Everyone went silent when they started to hear something close to crashing. Repeated crashing. Fluttershy pulled up her hood and readied her spear, the others got behind her as Fluttershy listened closely to the noise. It was getting louder.

Suddenly the ceiling exploded as something crashed through it and landed in the basement, dust floated around the area, causing the others to cough. The light that poured down from the hole in the ceiling allowed them to see two silhouettes, and one of them was sparkling. The sparkling silhouette made a move and caused a gust of wind to kick up and blow the dust away, followed by a strong shockwave. Fluttershy braced against the shockwave as the others were sent falling to their rears. Once the dust cleared, everyone was able to see what had crashed into their hiding spot.

Ishtar, in her beast form, was currently having her tail held back by Witchblade, her clawed hands digging into the crystalline tail of the creature as she dug her heels into the concrete floor. Witchblade managed to turn her head and her eyes went wide upon seeing her friends, one in particular.

“Sunset…?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Fluttershy?”

Case File 6-3 (Nihil): Burn bright, Witchblade!

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After a painful few seconds, Sunset was able to recover from the…extraction. Thankfully, most of the nurses were attending to other patients and scrambling about to make sure that the hospital was running while the storm was going on. With Pinkie’s help, Sunset managed to get to the heliport roof access, afterwards, she kissed her girlfriend and hurriedly donned her armor.

She flew through the air, against the turbulent winds, and biting cold of the blizzard that was engulfing the city. Sunset knew which direction CHS was in and headed in that direction, she was sure that the epicenter of all this madness was there.

Were you ever going to tell me about her?

}}} I apologize, I assumed you’d want nothing to do with her when I discovered her presence, and your memories regarding her. {{{

Was it true what she said? The reason why I’ve been so mellow about killing these things, is because your allowing a bit of her personality to come out?

}}} Admittedly, when I fused with you, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to take a life. But when I saw this dark side of you, I decided to bridge the gap and allow some of her essence to be imparted into you when you transform. However, she was not wrong about how much stronger you can be if the two of you become one. {{{

She’s everything that I never want to become again, she’s my past and I’m looking towards the future, trying to right my wrongs.

}}} She may be your darkness, but Sunset, no one can ever forget their past. It does not define you; your actions afterwards do. {{{

Sunset debated that, she didn’t know if she liked the idea of having Sunset Satan back, even now, she was feeling iffy about her transformation, knowing that even a little of her dark half was in her mind right now worried and irked her. However, that inner debate would have to wait as Sunset approached the epicenter of all chaos, a giant wall of tornadic snow and ice. Sunset could see it, with her magic and the Witchblade’s power, she could see the creatures that made up that vortex. Thousands upon thousands of Wendigos, ethereal in form, floated around the blizzard, giving it shape and form as their cries filled the air.

Something bad must’ve happened to cause this.

}}} With this much activity, the three are no doubt inside that vortex. {{{

No doubt. Sunset formed two swords, one an oversized claymore, and the second, a crescent scimitar. But we’re going in anyway.

}}} Obviously. {{{

No matter what happens, I’m honored that you chose me. Kinda lied to me, but I understand. I owe you my life, twice.

}}} Then do me a favor, don’t die until you’re old and decrepit. {{{

Sunset chuckled and charged straight for the swirling vortex. Several of the Wendigos began to howl, as if warning her to stay back. Sunset, however, didn’t heed them. She plowed straight into the wall of snow and ice, and began slashing the air. To some, it only looked as if she was hitting the air, but in reality, every swing of her sword was slicing through one spirit after the other. The Wendigos unlucky enough to be in her path cried out in pain as they were torn apart by her blades and sent to oblivion, never to return.

Sunset dismissed her large sword, to her right hand, she summoned her fire and shot a stream of mystic flames straight out in front of her. The flames were just as effective as her blades, burning the Wendigos to ashes as she made her way through the wall. Sunset dismissed her other sword and released flames from her left hand. She stopped momentarily and began to concentrate the flames, creating a sphere of burning fire around her body. The Wendigos tried to attack her, but each one that dared to touch the sphere was instantly incinerated.

“Burn to ashes!”

Sunset released the sphere, causing it to explode outwards, the explosion caught several more of the demonic spirits as it continued to expand. Five seconds later, Sunset released her attack and saw that she had managed to punch a hole through the wall of wind, and on the other side, she could see Canterlot High School. Sunset flew straight for the opening, soaring through it as the hole closed up. She hovered in midair, taking a moment to assess the situation. The cars were still in the parking lot, and there were mountains of snow blocking all the exits, which meant the students and faculty were most likely still trapped inside the school.

}}} I sense an intense malice coming from that building, something has them whipped into a frenzy. On that note, they’re here, above you. {{{

The bringer of Balance looked up and saw that all of the Big Three were there, floating in the skies above the school. Sunset flew higher until she was level with them, causing the three demons to turn and stare her down. “Miss me?”

“Guess you didn’t shoot her enough times to keep her down, she’s still kickin’, Nihil,” said Midas.

“For the best, that just means we can pay her back! We’ll start with her legs, and then, Midas, you can take off her arm. After that, well, we’ll get creative,” said Ishtar.

Sunset entered a fighting stance as she made both of her gauntlets produce three-foot-long blades.

Nihil smiled. “You might actually want to join us on this one, Sunset.”

“In your dreams.”

“Do you know why everything is like this? Do you know who was behind Anon-A-Miss?”

Sunset lowered her arms a bit. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It has everything to do with it. Anon-A-Miss, I knew that the only way to get what we wanted, was to summon up enough hatred and malice in this school, the place where the magic that first freed us originated.”

Sunset grimaced, knowing that she had a big hand in bringing this calamity upon the city.

“In order to do that, I needed the help of three girls, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They already disliked you, jealous that you were stealing time away from their oh so precious sisters. It was Apple Bloom who began it, and Sweetie Belle assisted. I appeared not long after that and gave them more of a push, collecting information here and there, at least when it wasn’t freely given to us on the Anon-A-Miss page. Heh, heh, you humans are so predictable. One person hurts you, and you want to hurt them back, a vicious cycle that never stops, until everyone is consumed in their wrath!”

Sunset narrowed her gaze. “I get it now. You three are stronger because you feed off more than just mere hatred. Greed, Lust, and Wrath, sins of humanity.”

Ishtar placed her hands on her hips and smirked. “Looks like she finally gets it. Yes, that’s why we’re stronger than the others floating around, that’s why we are the Vanguard of the Wendigos.”

“It’s our job to get things rollin’, make the place ripe for our brethren here, and then bring on the storm,” said Midas.

Sunset dreaded her question, but she had to ask. “Nihil, you said you helped Sweetie, AB, and Scootaloo. Which of them did you possess?!”

Nihil shook her head. “Neither, I don’t need a host. Wrath and Hatred go hand-in-hand, guess you can say, it doubles my power, and makes me able to manifest without the need to take over a body. It made it easier to manipulate those girls so long as they thought I was someone who hated you like they did. It was their hatred of you that fed me, their wanting to visit vengeance upon you that gave me power. And now, all of that hatred and resentment that was heaped on you,” Nihil pointed down at the school, “will now be heaped upon them.”

“What did you do?!”

“It’s like a fox hunt down there, and them three little vixens are probably runnin’ for their lives,” said Midas.

“Every student in that school is looking for them, looking to make them pay for all the shit those three put them through, and for what Nihil did to you,” said Ishtar.

Sunset gritted her teeth as she reentered her stance. “The shooting was the catalyst, you shot me to fuel their hatred!”

Nihil took a bow. “The cherry on top on this powder keg, or should I say, cherry bomb. Even if they don’t wind up killing them, their hate has already called up the magic of this place, and it’s fueling this storm. This city will end up a frozen wasteland, the first on a long list of conquests to come. We’ll spread through the world, and soon every human will either be dead, or our playthings. You’ve lost, Sunset Shimmer.”

“I’m still alive, so no I haven’t!”

Sunset flew right at them, Ishtar and Midas broke and flew to intercept Sunset. Midas thrust out his open palm like a sumo wrestler, his topaz jewel glowing as it readied to turn Sunset into gold. But Sunset backed away from the attack, shooting upwards as she summoned her flames and fired them straight down. Midas hurriedly moved out of the way as the mystic flames flew past him.

Ishtar came in, having shifted into her beastly form, and swiped at Sunset with her claws. Sunset flapped her wings and dodged, she then sped forward and punched Ishtar in her armored head, causing the beast to fly away for a few seconds. Midas stealthily got behind Sunset, and wrapped his musclebound arms around her. He held her tight against his chest, using his strength and metal body to crush her as she grunted in pain.

“Gonna squeeze you good until you pop!”

“T-To quote Rainbow Dash…that’s what she said!”

At that moment, Sunset’s armor produced dozens of bladed spikes that shot out in all directions. Midas screamed in pain as his body was pierced by several blades at once. Sunset let the blades retract, allowing Midas to let go of her, she turned around and produced a spike and chain and shoved the spike right into Midas’ left shoulder. Sunset flew up with the chain still attached and began dragging him around, her flight took her towards Ishtar, upon which she stopped in midair and pulled on the chain.

Midas found himself getting tugged towards Ishtar, like a golden wrecking ball. Ishtar was still in a daze, but regained just enough of her senses to see Midas hurtling towards her. The makeshift morning star was smashed onto Ishtar, Sunset dismissed the chain and spike and let both demons plummet straight down.

With those two gone, Sunset focused on the most dangerous of the three. She had already seen what Nihil’s mist could do, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d be erased too. Nihil’s mist wrapped around her arms as she looked down at Sunset, ready to fight as she gave the heroine a cocky smirk. Sunset summoned her giant cleaver of a sword and flew for Nihil, swinging her mighty blade as she released a battle cry.

Nihil didn’t move as the blade struck her, but to Sunset’s shock, it passed through her, as if she had just slashed the air. Sunset quickly recovered and slashed at Nihil again, but the result was the same, with each swing of her sword, the blade only passed through Nihil, never connecting.

“What kind of cheap shit is that?!”

“It’s just my power. My turn now!”

Nihil sped towards Sunset and kicked her in the face, the blow was so strong it created a shockwave that rang through the sky. Sunset was sent flying in the opposite direction, but managed to flare her wings to stop her momentum, however, the moment she did, she found herself staring into the murder happy face of Nihil. The demoness created a ball of black and white energy, Sunset managed to look down just in time as Nihil pressed that ball against her chest, letting it explode.

Sunset hissed in pain and then gasped as she saw most of her skin and ribs were gone. Sunset started to panic, but the damage was quickly mended as the Witchblade’s healing factor set in. Sensing the danger, the Witchblade brought on the full armor, making sure Sunset was covered for this battle. Nihil came in again and fired off another monochromatic explosion blast. The blast impacted against the armor which, thankfully, managed to stay in one piece, but there was some damage. Parts of the armor were taken away, small pieces, but they were already regenerating.

“I’m impressed, not much in this plain of existence can withstand my Eraser Bombs. That armor is something else,” said Nihil, “it even reacted to protect you. I figured it was alive.”

“I’ll admit you’re strong, but I’ll still win!”

“Ya sure about that kitten?”

Sunset’s eyes widened, glancing over her shoulder, she watched as Midas had his open palm towards her. A flash of yellow light went off, and in an instant, Sunset was turned to gold. She began falling out of the sky like a lead weight, but cracks started to form. Blades sprouted out of the gold mold, along with flames that grew in intensity. Right before Sunset could hit the ground, she burst free of her golden prison and flew up to give Midas some payback.

That plan was rendered moot when Sunset spotted a pink light shine. Thinking quickly, Sunset formed a shield as a beam struck against her large broad shield. Pink crystals began to form with each passing second that the beam hit her shield, it was eventually getting heavy, and soon Sunset would find herself being forced back to the ground. Sunset willed the shield to extend out, and when it was far enough, she released it from the main armor and flew up above the attack.

How did they recover so quickly?!

“The power in the air fuels us Sunset. You can harm us as many times as you want, we won’t die that easily. Before, you stood a chance, but here, at the center, at the apex of our power, you stand no chance against us!”

“Yeah, I was in a similar situation not too long ago, and that ended with me and my friends winning!”

“That’s not happening today, Sunset,” said Nihil.

Nihil zoomed in Sunset’s direction, the bringer of Balance summoned two chakrams and threw them at Nihil. The two weapons buzzed in the air like a couple of saw blades, closing in on their target. But once again, Nihil’s ability kicked in, making the blades pass through her body and leaving her unscathed. The weapons returned to Sunset as she gave an audible groan.

Ishtar came in from the left, barreling into Sunset. The former unicorn tried punched at Ishtar’s face again, but the beast came back and swiped its claws against her armor, creating scratches in it. Ishtar did this again and again, each time getting a bit closer to Sunset’s flesh. As the two of them continued to plummet downwards, Ishtar decided to use the school to her advantage. She produced several crystal tentacles that wrapped around Sunset’s armor covered body, and turned her around to face the oncoming school.

Sunset had to think quickly, she was coming up on the school. That’s when she had it, Sunset willed her metallic hair to stand up, Ishtar watched as the ends of Sunset’s hair turned into arrowhead blades that gleamed in the reflected light of the snow. Each of those ends shot out towards Ishtar’s head, using it as a pin cushion until two of them found their home in Ishtar’s eyes. The demon wailed as black blood poured from her eyes like tears. Ishtar’s grip loosened, allowing Sunset to break free. Sunset retracted her blade hair and got onto Ishtar’s back, shooting a chain out, she wrapped it around Ishtar’s neck and rode the beast down.

The two of them smashed through the library’s skylight, their weight and drop speed carrying them further downward, until they both ended up in the basement of the school. Sunset jumped off of Ishtar and stood across from her, the helmet falling to allow her to better see her opponent. Ishtar’s eyes regenerated, and now she snarled with venomous hate for Sunset. The beast of lust whipped her tail in Sunset’s direction, the armored heroine planted her feet and made claws appear. Sunset grunted as she took the impact of the tail whip, digging her claws into Ishtar’s crystal tail as her heels firmly planted themselves against the attack.

The quick movement of Ishtar’s attack managed to clear away the dust cloud, allowing Sunset to see what was around her. She briefly glanced over her shoulder, only to see some people she wasn’t expecting. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom and Applejack, Sweetie Belle and Rarity, Bulk Biceps, Derpy Hooves, Flash Sentry, and…and…was that Fluttershy dressed in black and holding a spear?

Sunset and Fluttershy stood there, they’re eyes meeting as if they were trying to telepathically communicate to each other. An understanding seemed to pass through them as Sunset turned her attention back to Ishtar, this time keeping her prey steady. Fluttershy twirled her spear around and dashed towards the beast of lust.

Ishtar had her attention on Sunset, and failed to notice Fluttershy until she was running up her tail. “Who are–?!”

Fluttershy cried out as she thrust forward with her spear, piercing Ishtar in the neck with her spear. Ishtar’s eyes bulged with searing pain, the spear was not an ordinary weapon, it burned, painfully so, severely. Black blood sprayed from the wound as Fluttershy pulled back on the weapon, dropping down to the ground, she crouched low, and then jumped up until she was level with Ishtar’s torso. Fluttershy swiped several times with her spear, carving into Ishtar’s flesh and causing more blood to spray forth from her wounds.

Ishtar tried to get away, but Sunset was not letting go of her tail, in fact, she had created metal chains with spikes that pierced the floor to anchor her. This pain, it’s pure agony!!! C-Could this be some kind of holy weapon??!!! Ishtar couldn’t take it anymore, she made one of her bone claws from her back strike at the base of her tail, breaking it off in one go. Now free, Ishtar moved out of range of Fluttershy’s spear and jumped up through the hole in the ceiling, trying to flee from her opponent.

“You’re not getting away that easily…!” Fluttershy vowed. With great agility and strength, Fluttershy jumped straight up through the hole. Wind rushed past her ears as she flipped her spear around, and took aim. The spear began to glow gold as Fluttershy narrowed her gaze as she cried out, “This is for what you did to Rainbow Dash! Percutiamque omne malum!!”

Fluttershy launched the spear towards Ishtar, the gold glowing spear flew like a shooting star right for the beast of lust, and it seemed that she didn’t realize this as Ishtar just continued to fly towards her allies.

“I DON’T KNOW HOW OR WHY, BUT SOMEONE HAS A HOLY WEAPON AND–!!!”

“ISHTAR MOVE YER ASS!!!”

Before Ishtar could fully heed his warning, the enchanted spear pierced through Ishtar’s chest. The moment it did, Ishtar was filled with a powerful golden light, her open mouth and eyes had this light pouring from them as she thrashed about, burning from the inside out. Midas and Nihil both backed away and winced from the brilliance of this light, and in the next moment, Ishtar’s body exploded, leaving only pink, sparkling dust in the wake of the explosion. The remaining two Vanguards finally laid eyes on the spear that killed their comrade, the spear just hung in the air, suspended as if time had frozen.

Fluttershy managed to get onto the roof, once she saw the explosion. She held up her hand and said, “Ad me!” From up in the air, the bronze spear pointed itself in the opposite direction and spun its way down. The weapon continued to descend until it found its home in Fluttershy’s grip, upon which she twirled the spear around and struck the butt of the spear against the roof. Afterwards, she noticed that Sunset was on the roof with her, looking at her friend with a gaping mouth. Fluttershy blushed and fidgeted. “S-Sunset, I’m so happy your alive! And…I’m sorry you had to see me like this…”

“Are you kidding me?……” Sunset walked up to Fluttershy and placed her hands on Fluttershy’s shoulders. “That was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen you do!!! H-How did you do that?! What’s with the spear?!”

Fluttershy sighed and smiled, she was happy that Sunset wasn’t freaked out by her fighting abilities, or her weapon. “It’s called the Spear of Destiny, it’s a powerful Artifact that has been in the Vatican’s possession for centuries. It’s a weapon that has the power to slay any kind of magical or malevolent entity, including Wendigos.”

Sunset didn’t know how or why, but Fluttershy was somehow a demon slayer, and now the odds were in their favor.

}}} Spear of Destiny…I know that name, but where – Sunset, they’re coming! {{{

Sunset stepped back and got on guard, at the same time, Fluttershy stood next to Sunset, getting into attack position. Midas and Nihil floated down until they were on the roof as well, Midas glared at Fluttershy, seeing that she was the one who wielded the spear, and was the one who killed Ishtar.

“You’re the one who killed Ishtar,” said Midas with malice in his voice.

“And if I am?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nihil, you can have the kitten. I want this wench.”

Sunset got close to Fluttershy and whispered, “Do not let him touch you no matter what, he’ll turn you into gold if you do!”

Fluttershy nodded and said, “Thanks for the tip, Sunset.”

Midas charged forward as he began to punch at Fluttershy, the holy warrior back flipped away from him with each punch he threw, despite his size, Midas was fast, but Fluttershy was fast too, and more agile than the rotund demon. While this was going on, Sunset and Nihil squared off, both circling as they waited for an opening to take advantage of.

“Having Fluttershy won’t change anything, even if she survives her fight with Midas, I’ll still kill her in the end,” said Nihil.

“You’ve lost your numbers advantage, it’s only a matter of time before I figure out how to land a good blow on you, and that’s all I’ll need to end you and this whole nightmare!” Sunset proclaimed.

Nihil stopped. “Hmm, I wonder, if you two are up here, who’s protecting the three troublemakers?”

Sunset paused, she was right, Fluttershy was up on the roof with her, she was protecting the group until she came in. Nihil took advantage of Sunset’s distracted state and closed the gap between them with a flying kick to her head, Sunset dug her heels into the roof as she skidded from the blow, her head ringing a bit. She recovered and threw a right punch at Nihil, which of course passed through her, Sunset wasn’t deterred as she used that momentum to spin around and throw a spinning heel kick. Again, the attack didn’t hit.

“UGH! C’mon!”

Nihil summoned two of her Eraser Bombs into her hands, she then kicked Sunset in the stomach and fired one of the bombs at her chest. The ball of energy exploded against Sunset’s chest, once again damaging the Witchblade armor, Nihil charged in again, throwing a knee strike to the same spot she hit, and followed up with her second Eraser Bomb, detonating it in the same area again. The armor was gone, now exposing Sunset’s stomach, Nihil morphed her mist, making it wrap around her arm as she turned it into a drill. The monochrome demon thrust her right arm forward, the drill spun around as it pierced through Sunset’s flesh and came out the other side.

Sunset screamed in pain as she felt her insides getting erased by the mist, all while Nihil chuckled with glee at her pain. Nihil spotted a flash of gold light from her right, when she saw it, the Spear of Destiny came flying towards her head, at that moment, the spear passed through Nihil, but at the same time, Sunset was able to get free. She rolled onto the roof, coughing up blood as she held the spot where Nihil had pierced her. The Witchblade quickly repaired the damage to Sunset’s internal organs, once that was done, the armor mended itself, becoming whole once again. Sunset wiped the blood from her mouth and took in a deep breath as she stood back up.

“Now I get it. You have to become solid in order to hit me, or at least one part of you has to be solid for you to attack. You can’t stay intangible while you’re attacking, otherwise I’d still be in that situation,” said Sunset.

Nihil brushed off the knowledge. “Doesn’t matter if you know, if you still can’t hit me, and so long as you don’t have a way to counter my attacks, you’re still going to die here.”

Just then, the spear flew back, passing through Nihil and returning to Fluttershy’s hand. Midas had been trying to turn Fluttershy into gold since the battle started, but Fluttershy wasn’t making it easy on him, his body was riddled with cuts from Fluttershy’s Spear of Destiny. Each time Midas reached out and failed to land a blow, Fluttershy would punish him with a swipe of her blade. Fluttershy was aware of the fact that the others were defenseless, but at the same time, she knew that defeating these three would mean that the nightmare would end. She wasn’t helpless and defenseless anymore, she had the skill, strength, and the power go head to head with these monsters. No longer was she going to be a burden to her friends in times of danger, no, now she was able to stand on the frontlines and attack evil head on.

Fluttershy leaped into the air as Midas brought his large palm down on the roof, she spun around in the air before landing behind him, without wasting a moment, Fluttershy stabbed the oversized demon in the back. The golden demon cried out in pain from the holy weapon piercing its skin, but Midas didn’t falter as he whipped his body around, yanking the spear out of Fluttershy’s hands and leaving the holy weapon lodged inside his body.

“GGRRRRR! That burns like a motherfucker, but if it means ya can’t use it, I’ll take it the pain!” Midas stated.

Fluttershy dashed towards him, jumping into the air and kicking him in the side of his head. While Midas did flinch from the blow, the damage wasn’t completely there. Fluttershy was warned about this, so long as the Spear of Destiny was in her hands, her abilities would be magnified, but without it, she’d lose the power boost. Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about being away from it for too long. Fluttershy held out her right hand and said, “Ad me!”

Midas gritted his teeth as the pain increased, the Spear of Destiny had a gold outline around it, and upon hearing Fluttershy’s command, shot forward, piercing through Midas’ back and side of his stomach as it flew towards Flutershy’s hand. The warrior maiden took hold of her spear once again, and got into a ready position to finish the fight. Midas went down on one knee, his left hand was pressed against the open, bleeding wound of his stomach. The golden demon’s left hand shined over the spot where he was injured, and immediately afterwards, gold had formed over the wound like a patch.

“It’s over, you can’t defend against the Spear, stay still and I promise I’ll make it quick,” said Fluttershy.

Midas coughed up a little of his black blood and grinned at Fluttershy. “Little one…ya done gone and goofed.”

“What?”

Just then a roar caught Fluttershy’s attention, she looked over her shoulder to see a crystal tail slam into her left side, sending her flying across the roof and slamming against the raised edge. Sunset stopped and looked on in horror, somehow, Ishtar was alive.

“That’s not possible, Fluttershy blew you up!”

Ishtar, in her beastly form, walked over to the girl and stamped on her body. Fluttershy spat up blood from the impact, but she managed to stay conscious. “Yeah, remember when you threw me and Midas to the ground? I decided to create a crystal clone of myself, glad I did too, that little toothpick could’ve done me in. Nice acting, Midas.”

Midas got back up, his wounds were barely healing, even with the power he was absorbing from the magic and hate. “Could’ve stepped in a lot sooner, that damn spear hurts like the devil!”

Nihil appeared before Sunset, but then turned to mist and reappeared behind her. The monochrome demon used her mist and slammed it against Sunset’s back, the strength and power of this mist forced Sunset onto the roof, pressing her and crushing her from behind.

“You see, Sunset, you never stood a chance. None of you did.” Nihil snapped her fingers, and immediately, the wind died down. The howling winds stopped and the snow was suspended in the air as if time had been frozen. “And to top it all off, you failed to protect those girls.”

“NO!!!”

From the hole in the roof, six Wendigo spirits made manifest jumped out of the hole and onto the roof. Three of them and the middle school trio, and another three had Sunset and Fluttershy’s friends. “Flash, Derpy, Bulk, what did you do to them?!”

“Don’t worry, they’re alive. I didn’t see the need to waste time with them.” Nihil walked over to the girls known as the CMC and chuckled darkly. “You should know something you three, if it wasn’t for you, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation. It would’ve taken years before we finally got strong enough to make all this happen. But thanks to you three we managed to achieve this in less than three months time!”

Nihil walked over to Apple Bloom and grabbed her by the face.

“Thank you very much for your help. Oh my, where are my manners?!” Nihil stepped away and looked back at Sunset. “Sunset, since these three little bitches put you through hell, I’m willing to postpone your death so that you can see them get their punishment. So tell me, how do you want them to be punished? I can slowly erase them, starting with their skin from their feet up, and then their muscles, and if they survive that, their bones. Or, I could have Ishtar violate them to death. Or I could have the students rounded up and have these three thrown to them so you can watch them get torn to pieces. What do you say?”

“Sunset…?” Apple Bloom muttered as she looked to whom Nihil was addressing. “T-That’s Sunset?”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes grew bigger. “Witchblade is…is Sunset, t-the one who saved Rarity?!”

“She saved Rainbow…She’s been fighting these things this whole time,” said Scootaloo in disbelief.

Sunset struggled against the mist, but was too strong, not only that, but she could feel it eating away at her armor the longer it remained. “Leave them alone! You got what you wanted, just spare them!”

“I honestly don’t understand how you can say that, they put you through hell for months, and all you ask me to do is ‘spare them’? Or is it that you want to kill them yourself? Now that I can understand.”

Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom felt even more dread fill their hearts. Honestly it wasn’t as if they could blame Sunset, if there was anyone here who had the right to hurt them, to kill them for what they had done, it was Sunset Shimmer. Part of them even accepted that fate.

“I don’t want to hurt them! I just want it all to end! Anon-A-Miss, all the hate, I just want it to fucking stop! I won’t beget more hate, you who gain power from wrath, from vengeance!” Sunset declared.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash watched all this and felt immense pride for their friend. Nihil only scoffed at this act of heroism. “Suit yourself, you can die without knowing that pleasure.” Nihil thrust her open hand towards Sunset, and immediately, the mist became more aggressive, tearing at her armor and trying to get at the host beneath.

The Witchblade was prioritizing armor regeneration, trying to reform the armor as quickly as it was being destroyed. Fluttershy was incapacitated, her friends and their sisters were captured, all three of the Wendigo Vanguard were here, and in just a few seconds, she would be destroyed.

}}} S-Sunset…! There is still a way…! {{{

I…I know…let me talk to her.

~*~*~*~

Sunset found herself in the same dreamscape as before, but this time she was in her human form, the Witchblade gauntlet hovered off to the side as if waiting. Up ahead, Sunset Satan sat at that same sleazy strip bar, only there were no girls dancing, a cheap TV was setup on her table, showing her the current events that were going on outside, and no doubt she saw everything leading up to that.

“Hi…”

“I have to say, I was not a fan of Pinkie Pie pulling that catheter out.”

“Oh…you felt that too?”

Sunset Satan glanced over her shoulder. “We share the same body, of course I did! Hurt like a bitch too, and of course you had to do it while I had Princess Twilight getting spit roasted by AJ and RD up there on stage!”

Sunset Shimmer blushed as the image popped into her mind, which was even more vivid since Sunset Satan and Sunset Shimmer shared the same mind so…yeah. “Look, I’m here because–”

“I know why you’re here. You want me to help you to gain that power, but what we used before won’t be enough, not with what’s going on.” Sunset Satan turned off the TV, stood up, and then faced Sunset Shimmer. “If we’re going to kill those things, save our friends, and end all of this, you’ll have to accept me into you.”

Sunset Shimmer flinched at the idea, bringing her arms up to hug herself. “I don’t…I don’t know if I can…I’m afraid.”

Sunset Satan sighed. “I get it, okay, I do. You’re afraid of returning to that stuck up, alpha, tyrant bitch like before. But honestly, I’m afraid too!”

Sunset Shimmer looked at her dark half with confusion. “Wait, why are you afraid?”

Sunset Satan rubbed the back of her head as if embarrassed to answer. “I’m afraid of disappearing…we’re the same person, but I don’t know how much of me will survive our union. You are the dominant part of the soul, so…it just might be that you’ll swallow me up and that’s it for me.”

Sunset Shimmer pulled up a chair next to her darkness and sat down. She reached with her left hand towards Sunset Satan’s bare knee, her hand hesitated for a moment, afraid of touching her, but then she pushed past it and placed it comfortingly on Sunset Satan. An action that even surprised the demonic looking girl.

“I didn’t know you were afraid of that happening,” said Sunset Shimmer.

“Not like I was airing my concerns or anything…you should know, I’m not the best at letting others see me as vulnerable…”

“That why you act like a pervert?”

“Oh no, that’s all us…but…that might be part of it. I just kinda wanted to enjoy some stuff in here with you, because I knew it was a risk and I knew you would – scratch that – are going to need the Witchblade’s full power. Figured if I could get you to like me a little, you wouldn’t be so averse to becoming one being.”

Sunset Shimmer looked up into the vastness of the dreamscape and said, “Embrace your darkness to bring forth the light.”

“That sounds like something out of a superhero show.”

“It is, but right now I think it applies to our situation.” Sunset Shimmer turned to fully face her dark half. “I’ve been running from the past, afraid that I’ll become who I once was. Throughout this whole Anon-A-Miss stuff, I knew a part me, another part, guessing you, wanted to just say ‘Fuck it all, if they want me to be the monster they remember, then I’ll give it to them!’”

Sunset Satan chuckled. “Yeah, that was me. But at the same time…I knew that wouldn’t make things better. It was the loneliness I hated the most…we hated the most. The isolation, all of it feeling like it was a great weight that couldn’t shake off.”

“I wanted to leave this world and never come back.”

“But you didn’t, you stuck with it and hoped that things would get better.”

“I almost gave up on ever getting my friends back.”

“And in the end, you managed to reunite with them.”

“I thought the sins of my past, of the Fall Formal, and ushering the Wendigos into this world was my punishment for being such a horrible person.”

“That was just an excuse, yes, I did it, I ushered them in. But I’m not one to not clean up my own messes! I saved Pinkie, AJ, Rainbow, Rarity, and Shy, and now I’m dating Pinkie!”

“God, I hope I don’t fuck that up. It would be my first genuine relationship in like…ever!”

“I’m not that afraid, Pinkie’s someone we can always be happy around, I smile a whole lot more.”

Sunset Shimmer and Sunset Satan stood up and began their walk towards the Witchblade. As they walked, Sunset Satan shrank in size until she was the same height as Sunset Shimmer. Her eyes and skin were the same as her demonic form, but her expression was less sinister. Both halves of light and dark stood before the gauntlet, the Sunsets glanced towards each other, a look of determination burning fiercely in their eyes.

“Let’s do it,” they said together.

The two Sunsets reached out with their hands towards the Witchblade, the moment they did, the armor changed colors to full red, and the ruby jewel changed into bright violet amethyst.

~*~*~*~

Crimson fire erupted around Sunset’s body, causing the monochrome mist to turn to ashes. Nihil took a step back as she got on the defensive. Ishtar and Midas saw this and remembered their fights, the red flames, they signified something bad was going to happen, for them at least.

The crimson flames shot into the air, causing the Wendigo spirits who had yet to manifest to tremble in fear, the flames carried magic and power unlike anything that they had ever felt before.

Within the flames, a new transformation was taking place. Sunset’s hair had changed to a bright, gleaming silver, the armor was no longer obsidian black, but was now crimson. The armor around her chest had changed, it resembled something close to a high-cut teddie. The armor formed a “V” over her torso, leaving a good amount of her cleavage and breasts exposed, stopping just short of her navel. The armor covered her womanhood and continued around back to partially cover her rear, going up further and stopping about halfway up her back before two strands like straps continued further up and connected with a choker around her neck. The armor around her breasts became thinner as it went further up, diverging into two strands that resembled straps and connected with the same choker.

Her hips were left exposed, but the armor traveled along it and wrapped around her legs, starting from about halfway up her thigh and continuing downwards until boots formed, a silver blade stuck out the back of the two-inch heel, and another at the tip of her boot. Both of her arms were covered in full armor, but unlike her other form, the tops of both her hands bore a single gemstone, but instead of ruby, this was violet like an amethyst. The sharpened claws around her finger tips were silver in color, razor sharp blades were connected from the tip of each finger and ran along the hand until they stopped at the base of the gemstone. The choker around Sunset’s neck had armor that ran up her head, some of it formed along her jawline and over her chin, while two strands formed across her cheeks as if to mimic scars. The rest went further up and wrapped around her forehead, and from it, the armor created a single unicorn blade horn. The armor also created purple armor plates, using them to weave intricate patterns into the crimson armor, giving a more ornate look to it.

When the flames died down, everyone beheld the newest and most powerful version of the Witchblade, and if the girls weren’t mistaken, it seemed as if Sunset’s bust, hips, and height increased a little at the same time. Sunset had her eyes closed this whole time, but when she opened them, they were no longer turquoise, they were a shimmering gold, and from the corners of her eyes were wisps of golden light.

Sunset took a moment to look over her new form and body, she felt even stronger than before, her blood was on fire, like an inferno was burning inside her, she felt the power grow more and more, it was intoxicating, exhilarating, it was pure ecstasy. Sunset ran her hands over her body, noting the generous increase to her bust, her rear, hips, and height, and smiled delightfully.

“Oh, fuck yes! This is power, and I love it!” Sunset declared in a sultry voice. Her eyes roamed around the battlefield, taking in the positions of each of her enemies. She then crouched low, spreading her legs as she got into a stance that was akin to a predator preparing to attack. “C’mon, let’s go! I’ll show you a dance, a dance of blood and blades!”

Nihil got on guard, but in the blink of an eye, Sunset had vanished. “What the–?!”

The sound of three bodies dropping caught Nihil’s attention, she quickly turned around and saw that the three manifested Wendigos had their heads cut clean off, their bodies lying on the ground as blood pooled around their bodies. A similar sound occurred off to her left, and Nihil readied to attack, but once again, she was too late as yet another three of her brethren were cut down with so little as a sound being made upon their execution. The other thing she noticed was their hostages were gone. Nihil frantically searched the roof and finally spotted all six of the hostages at the far end of the roof, but there was no sign of Sunset.

“Where did she go?! W-Where did that bitch go?!” Ishtar demanded.

“You s-should be more worried about yourself!” Fluttershy stated.

Ishtar looked down and readied to bite Fluttershy in half, but that’s what she wanted. When Ishtar turned towards Fluttershy, the warrior maiden raised her left hand and concentrated, she muttered a short prayer, and immediately after, her bright, divine light shined in Ishtar’s face. The beast of lust released unholy screeching sounds as she backed away from Fluttershy, the light was somehow more intense and more painful than it was the last time she used it. Fluttershy recalled her spear to her right hand, and upon contact, the Spear of Destiny’s power flowed into Fluttershy, healing the wounds she had suffered due to Ishtar’s previous attack, allowing her to stand back up.

Now with the spear in hand, the light that Fluttershy produced was even more powerful. The light burned deeper than just the surface, it burned at the very soul of the Wendigo. “You’ve inhabited that body long enough, be purified by the this holy, and be no more!”

Fluttershy struck the butt of her spear against the ground, the holy light from her palms didn’t just shine, it transformed into a beam of pure white radiance that bathed over Ishtar. The demon’s body began to crack like fragile glass, each fissure creating more and more until the beast’s entire body shattered into pieces, once and for all, Ishtar was gone. But in doing so, it left behind its host, Fleur de Lis, who fell to the ground unconscious. Fluttershy walked over to her, removed her cloak, and draped it over the teenage girl.

Midas didn’t know what to do, Ishtar was gone now, that wasn’t a clone, he knew it wasn’t, that was the real her and now she was gone. His back stiffened up as he felt someone press against him.

Sunset was leaning against Midas’ back, her smile hadn’t left as she looked up, trying to match her gaze with Midas’. “Hey big boy, don’t worry, you’ll see her soon. Wait, sorry, I forgot, for you guys, it’s total oblivion when you die. Never mind.”

Midas roared in anger as her swung his left arm to try and strike Sunset. But he missed, Sunset jumped into the air, flipped once, twice, three times before coming down with a forearm blade. When Sunset landed, she backed away and gave a quick lick of her blade as she stared him down. Midas raised his right arm, preparing to use his power, but as he did, that arm fell off. The golden demon looked to where his arm once was, he didn’t even feel the initial cut, but it happened, his arm was cut off. Midas wailed in pain from the loss of his arm, and while he was, Sunset dashed for him again, a silver streak was all that could be seen as Sunset appeared behind him.

While Midas was crying in pain from his right arm getting cut off, his left arm followed suit falling upon the ground to meet its sibling. Black blood sprayed from the wounds as the demon could only stand there, stunned that he had lost two limbs in the blink of an eye. Sunset took advantage of this, with the same incredible speed, she closed the distance and swept her leg, she used the blades on her heel to slice at the rotund demon’s Achilles tendons in one swipe. The attack succeeded as Midas fell to his knees and struggled to keep himself from falling on his face. Sunset reappeared in front of him, her somewhat sadistic smile still going strong.

“You…You’re a fuckin’ monster!” Midas accused.

Sunset laughed at such an accusation, her eyes actually watering. “Oh man, that’s…that’s pretty good. Being called a monster, from a demon, that’s really funny! I’ll need to tell Pinkie this, could be a good joke if we tweak it a bit.” Sunset stopped her laugher and then stepped back. “Last time I made the mistake of not going for your head. This time…there won’t be anything left.”

Sunset raised her right hand, crimson flames ignited in her palm, and in the next second, a jet of crimson fire bellowed towards Midas. The demon barely had time to scream as his entire body, arms included, were burned to ashes, the ashes where then burned in the flames until there was nothing left but a scorch mark. “And then there was one.”

Two Eraser Bombs were thrown towards Sunset, but before they could hit, Sunset disappeared. She zoomed across the roof and appeared before Nihil. The demon went intangible just as Sunset swiped at her with a forearm blade. Nihil was about to go tangible, but then Sunset disappeared yet again, the monochrome demoness stopped and waited, she remained in that state, not sure where Sunset was. She had a vague idea, Sunset was moving faster than even her demonic eyes could see, that much was evidenced by how the snow was kicked up and displaced from her rapid movements. Nihil began to go tangible for a few seconds to fire another Eraser bomb, but at that moment, Sunset made a beeline for her. The monochrome demoness returned to her previous state, but not before Sunset managed to cut her once.

Nihil yelped in pain, and Sunset stopped long enough to smirk at the lead Wendigo. “Finally hit you. Wasn’t the decisive blow I promised, but it's a step in the right direction.” Sunset placed her hands on her hips and smirked at the demoness. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid to become solid? I would be, considering that you’re the only Wendigo standing.”

“I think you forgot.” Nihil shot into the air and raised her arms, the storm kicked up once again, but this time, flashes of silver light erupted all over the sky. “I’m not only the Wendigo!” Each flash of light ushered in a newly manifested Wendigo spirit, filling the sky with multiple demonic monsters. “Let’s see you stand against an army!!!”

Sunset didn’t even bat an eye. Her back produced two new wings, the top edge of the wings were colored crimson, instead of bat wings, these were feathered wings, with the metallic feathers being silver colored. Sunset jumped straight into the air with a strong flap of her wings, she ascended higher and higher until she was in the sky with the many demons that filled it. Sunset formed a katana in her left hand, and broadsword in her right, without a word spoken, she flew straight into the horde.

Her aerial speed was just as impressive as it was on land, she moved so fast that the Wendigos couldn’t keep up, the only thing that they could do was watch as their brethren were sliced up in midair, one after the other, dropping like flies. Nihil didn’t care anymore, she needed Sunset dead, she needed that infernal weapon gone. She commanded the spirits to manifest, but even when they did, they were just as quickly dispatched by Sunset’s blades.

Sunset decided that it was time to end this nightmare for good. With a burst of speed, Sunset flew into the wall of wind, but this time flew in the opposite direction of the vortex. Her whole body ignited with crimson flames as she increased her speed and continued flying in the opposite direction. Faster and faster Sunset flew so fast that she appeared like a red glowing blur within the wall. With each pass, the vortex began to slow down, and the snow and ice were quickly being replaced with another elemental force, fire.

Sunset continued this until the vortex spun in the opposite direction and turned to fire. The flames rose higher and higher, changing it into a fire tornado, Nihil remained intangible as her fellow Wendigos were sucked into the flames, the girls hunkered down as they tried to not get taken by the warm winds of the fire tornado.

At the top of the tornado, Sunset concentrated, she could sense the disruption in the magic, and it needed to be stopped. Sunset raised her right hand, the amethyst gemstone began to shine with violet light, and from the flames, from the burning essence of the Wendigos, Sunset began to extract the magic that they had taken in. The magic continued to build more and more around her right hand, condensing with each passing second.

“What are you doing?!” Nihil demanded.

“Purifying what you tainted, and putting it back.”

Once all the magic was absorbed, Sunset dropped it. It looked like a single drop of water was allowed to fall off a faucet, when the drop finally made contact with the ground, a bright rainbow light washed over everything. The flames of Sunset’s tornado fizzled out, the snow and ice melted, and even the dark storm clouds were banished from the skies, allowing the bright sun to shine down upon Canterlot once more. Sunset breathed in the warm air, for the first time in a long while, the air didn’t feel stifling anymore. Nihil looked around, she could no longer hear the howls of fellow Wendigos, she couldn’t feel their presence anymore.

“THEY’RE GONE…THEY’RE ALL GONE!!!” Nihil shouted in anger.

Sunset said nothing.

Nihil’s eyes shined with malice as she expanded her body, growing bigger and bigger until the sky was once again blacked out. At the center of the sky, an Eraser Bomb was being formed, one roughly the size of the city itself. “I’LL ERASE YOU ALL, I’LL REDUCE THIS ENTIRE AREA INTO NOTHING, NOT A TRACE WILL BE LIFT!!!”

Sunset flew for the mist, for the ball of destructive power. The mist produced tentacles that lashed out at her, trying to swat Sunset away, but each time they got close, Sunset merely cut them and moved on. She knew that this was her chance to end it all, Nihil had to be tangible for this attack to go through, so it was now or never. The mist continued to assault Sunset, like a cornered animal, it lashed out with everything it had, but her body was empowered, the damage she was taking was far less than it was when she wasn’t in this state.

Sunset stopped in front of the giant orb, looking for any trace of Nihil. “Can you sense her?!”

}}} At the center, she’s inside her own attack! {{{

“Crafty bitch, this is the home stretch, let’s finish this!”

Sunset wrapped herself in the crimson flames and flew straight for Nihil’s attack. The flames attacked as a shield as she pierced inside the ball of destruction, Sunset grunted in pain as she felt the energy trying to erase her, but she wasn’t about to quit now. She flew faster and faster, looking straight ahead as she reached the center. Soon, Nihil came into view. The monochrome demoness saw Sunset coming and raised her hands, preparing to launch the attack.

“ERASE IT ALL!!!!!!!”

“ERASE THIS!!!!!!”

Sunset released a powerful battle cry as she released her flames, drew back her right hand, and struck Nihil through the chest with a spear-hand thrust. Sunset removed her arm from as the demoness coughed up blood, but then Nihil smiled.

“Fell for it.” The mist began to wrap around the Eraser Bomb, coiling around it as if to trap it. “I knew you’d do anything you could to save everyone, and now, I’ll erase you! I’ll get my revenge for my brethren! Thousands of years being trapped, it’s our turn to rise and take this world!!!”

“You sound just like me…how I used to be.” Sunset’s eyes shined with power. “And that’s why you won’t win! You only fight for vengeance, for death and destruction! I fight for those I love, for this world that I now call my home! And anyone, or anything, that threatens it, will answer to me and this WITCHBLADE!”

Sunset’s entire forearm shined with crimson light, in less than a second, the monochrome world inside the Eraser Bomb was pierced by crimson energy as Sunset unleashed all her power in a beam that erupted from the chest of Nihil and out her back. Sunset cried out once again as she raised her arm and began slicing the Eraser Bomb with a red energy blade, and Nihil along with it. Nihil stared at Sunset, and then chuckled in defeat…

Outside the sphere, a giant explosion went off in the skies above Canterlot City, every citizen for miles could see and hear it, some wondered in fear if this was their end, while others who knew prayed that their friend was safe. Back at Canterlot High seven girls stared up at the now clear sky, the explosion faded away and now they awaited the return of their friend, hopefully.

A couple of minutes passed and still there was no sign of her. They began to fear the worst, had Sunset sacrificed herself to save everyone?

*CRASH*

The seven girls all turned around as they saw something hit the roof. They rushed towards it and were relieved to see Sunset Shimmer, her armor had returned to its previous state, but then decided to revert back to its bracelet form right after. The older sisters covered their younger sisters’ eyes, and Scootaloo was fighting Rainbow Dash’s hand to sneak a peek.

Fluttershy knelt next to her friend and asked, “Sunset, are you…alright?”

Sunset groaned loudly for all to hear. “I ache all over…and I’m naked on the roof of our school…so, yes, I’m juuuuuuussst fine,” she deadpanned.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy chuckled, even the CMC did as well.

“Provided that the school has calmed down some, I’ll head downstairs and fetch you some clothes,” said Rarity.

“Thanks…although, if you can bring me a blanket, that’ll be fine too, I kinda snuck out of the hospital and I’m pretty sure they’re wondering where I’m at. Oh, yeah, before I forget.” Sunset tapped the ruby of the bracelet, and from it her cellphone came out and fell on the ground. “Could someone text Pinkie Pie for me, I seriously ache all over and I don’t want to move much.”

“Keep yer eyes closed now, ya hear.”

“Yes, Sis,” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack picked up Sunset’s cellphone and asked, “Anythin’ in particular ya wanna tell her?”

Sunset thought for a moment and then smiled, “Say, ‘I kept my promise, Babe, see you in a few minutes.’”

Aftermath

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Two days had passed since the – what has become known as – “The Storm of the Century”, and things were getting somewhat back to normal. However, there was one big thing that couldn’t be overlooked by all of this, and that was CMC, or Canterlot Movie Club, as they were known. When Nihil and the Wendigos were destroyed, the frenzy that they were all whipped up into faded away, they were all still angry, but not murder angry.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had all three girls suspended for the next two months for what they did, not to mention getting seriously punished by their parents and siblings. However, the person who was the true victim in all this had yet to press charges, their families wouldn’t blame Sunset Shimmer for doing so, she had every right to after what Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo did to her. For that though, she asked them to see her in the hospital.

On the day that Sunset bailed out of the hospital, Pinkie managed to help with covering up her whereabouts, but it was thanks to the assistance from Dr. Blueheart that allowed Sunset to go unnoticed by the staff. Of course, the good doctor wanted a lot of answers from Sunset as well as Shining Armor, and was assured when things quieted down a little, she would get them. Now Sunset was back in her hospital room, she was fine, completely healed from the events of the battle, after achieving a new state of power, Sunset felt drained and sore as hell for the last two days, so she wasn’t about to complain about being back in bed, except this time no catheter, never again.

Pinkie still hadn’t left her side, and today was no different, the two were laughing it up from a show they were watching, that is until they heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” said Sunset.

When the door opened, Rarity popped her head in. “Sunset, Pinkie, ahem, I’ve brought them. Do you want to see them now?”

A noticeable frown appeared on Pinkie Pie’s face, out of all of them, she had taken the news that it was the three young girls the hardest. She never thought that they could be capable of such things, and do something so cruel to Sunset. Despite this, Sunset assured her that while they were partly to blame, some of their actions were being guided by the Wendigo, Nihil.

“Go ahead, bring them in,” said Sunset.

Rarity nodded and opened the door, all three of the middle school girls walked in, they moved as if being brought before a firing squad, heads held low, Sweetie was shaking a little, obviously scared of this situation. They knew that Sunset had the Witchblade, and if she so wished to, could kill them before they even knew what happened, and that there’d be no one who could stop her from doing it. They wanted to have Fluttershy come with them since she apparently had combat abilities and a magic spear, but Fluttershy said no and that the girls needed to face the consequences, no matter what they may be. Rarity closed the door, sparing one last glance inside at her frightened little sister before closing it completely.

Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity, neither of them saying a word. Sunset crossed her legs under the blankets leaned her elbow onto her right thigh, and rested her chin in her upturned palm.

“Well, what’s there to say, you three royally fucked up,” said Sunset.

The girls winced.

“You made my life literal hell for the last three months now, I had hoped it was for something grander, more profound, but from what I hear, it was because you were jealous of me. Jealous that I was spending so much time with your sisters, afraid that I was stealing them away from you. Am I wrong, or was that a lie by Nihil?”

Apple Bloom clenched her fists, thinking back on their reason now filled her with self-hate. “Yeah…it’s true…that was the primary reason why we did it…”

“The second,” Scootaloo spoke, “was because we didn’t fully buy that you changed…I mean, despite all the magic, monsters, and rainbow lasers…it’s was still…well, you. I mean, you ruled CHS with an iron fist, and we were just supposed to forgive all that? Now though…I know, we were acting like petty, stupid, little kids…”

Sunset smirked. “Well, you weren’t totally wrong. I did want to steal them.”

Sweetie looked up at Sunset. “What?”

“Yep, your sisters are hot as hell, and I wanted them. I actually had the idea of making a herd with them, well, them, Fluttershy, and Pinkie included of course,” Sunset patted Pinkie’s fluffy hair, making her giggle.

Apple Bloom looked up at Sunset with total confusion. “Ah…Ah’m sorry, a…a ‘herd’? Ah mean, Ah know what a herd is, but how does that apply to our sisters?”

Sunset lightly smacked her forehead. “Oh, duh, I forgot, you have a different word for it, I mean harem.” Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo blushed. “Yeah, in Equestria, you don’t see it often, but it’s totally legal to have a herd/harem, so long as all parties involved are in agreement. Yep, I put on a goodie-goodie act so that I could seduce all my friends and end up with the hottest girlfriends/future wives in the whole damn city.”

The trio blinked.

“Uh…y-you are joking…right? I mean, that’s hot as hell, but you are kidding…right?” Scootaloo asked.

Sunset chuckled at their reactions. “Eh, partially. I did have a fantasy about it a long time ago, and I do think your sisters are hot. But, no on everything else. Just thought I’d lighten the atmosphere a bit.”

“To be fair, I’d totally be on board for a harem, Sunny,” Pinkie Pie commented.

Why does that not surprise me, they trio thought.

Sunset then crossed her arms. “Seriously though, why didn’t you girls come and talk to me, or your sisters? I know we were leaving you out of the slumber parties, and honestly, I had no problem if you wanted to stay. I didn’t want to come between your families…I just wanted to be included in them.”

Sweetie Belle was crying now. “We know…We saw how miserable you were…but we just kept going. Anon-A-Miss grew bigger than what we intended it to, and with that girl or…demon, we just did more and more. We kept telling ourselves it was for everyone’s sake, but in the end…it was just for ours…!”

Apple Bloom wrapped her arms around Sweetie Belle and patted her back. “We know you can probably never fergive us for what we did...AJ said she’s even willin’ to give ya back the flash drive ya gave us. After she found out what Ah did, how Ah betrayed meh family, and hurt ya, she said we don’t deserve the money that’d we get since Ah hurt ya so bad.”

“Rainbow Dash said you haven’t pressed charges on us…but honestly, we should be in jail for what we did,” said Scootaloo.

Pinkie Pie stood up, her smile was gone and her eyes were narrowed. “You really should be. Sunset’s almost died three times already! If it wasn’t for the Witchblade, she would’ve been dead on that night when we made up! Did you three even think about what would happen if she did die?! I saw her, your sisters and I, we saw Sunset get shot right in front of us!” Pinkie felt hot tears flowing down her cheeks, but she continued. “It was because of you two that everyone kept writing horrible things on her locker, shunned her, called her names…”

Sunset reached up and put her hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Pinkie Pie put her own hand over Sunset’s and took a steady breath. “I need you three to know something, I don’t know if I can forgive you. I don’t know if I ever will. You hurt someone I love…and that’s not okay.” Pinkie sat back down and exhaled heavily, she said what she wanted to say.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo knew they messed up very badly, even more so now. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were some of the kindest people they knew, and there was rarely anything that made Pinkie Pie angry, but now…now they made someone as happy and fun loving as Pinkie hate them, it hurt to hear that she would probably never forgive them.

Sunset turned her attention back to the CMC. “Pinkie has the right to feel that way, and I don’t blame her. But as for me…I forgive you.”

The trio all looked at Sunset with stunned expressions on their faces.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still miffed about all this. But, if there’s anything that this has all taught me, hate just begets more hate, it turns you into something ugly, something monstrous. Hate and jealousy drove you to do what you did, and the same thing drove me to steal the Element of Magic and bring it into this world…the night of the Fall Formal, my negative energy and magic unsealed the Wendigos. So, really, all of us are to blame for what happened. So, with that said, I won’t be pressing charges, and I’ve asked Celestia to do the same.”

Sunset got out of the bed as she walked and stood in front of the CMC. She knelt before them and continued. “You can also tell AJ to keep the flash drive, you guys deserve to be happy and take advantage of what’s there. It’ll be awhile before I can trust any of you, but, eventually, we’ll get better.”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo were all crying now, the girls threw themselves at Sunset and hugged her fiercely, saying how sorry they were over and over again. Indeed, it would be a long road to recovery, to earn back the trust of not only their family, but also the school. For now though, Sunset had forgiven them, and was willing to give them the chance to earn back that trust, and that was a start.

Once Sunset was released from the hospital, Fluttershy wanted to talk about why she was dressed like she was and fought with a magical spear. Sunset had decided to have their talk at her place, since only she and Ray lived there, they wouldn’t have to worry about eavesdropping adults.

The girls were conversing with each other in Sunset’s living room, however, that stopped when they heard knocks at the door. Pinkie Pie got up and went to the door, when she opened it up, she bubbly greeted, “Hi Fluttrshy! Hi busty lady that I’ve never seen before!”

Rainbow and Sunset spat out their sodas, all the girls looked towards the door and watched as Fluttershy entered Sunset’s house, followed by another woman. She was dressed in a grass green skirt, with a vanilla blouse that, honestly, didn’t do much to hide her bust, she also had on a long brown coat, and a headband that kept her unruly, red frizzy hair up.

“P-Pinkie, you shouldn’t say something like that!” Fluttershy admonished as she blushed.

“It’s alright, Sug, honestly the only thing that can hide my bust is my habit, only in that do I seem somewhat flat,” said the woman with a Cajun accent.

“Uh, Shy, who’s this?” Rainbow asked.

The woman stepped forward and said, “Nice to meet y’all. My name’s Mage Meadowbrook, but y’all can call me Meadow, May, May-May, or Brook, I answer to any of ‘em. But in the church, I’m just Sister Meadowbrook.”

Sunset felt a little self-conscious upon hearing that, “Oh…she’s a Nun? I real Nun?”

Meadowbrook waved off the concern. “Don’t worry, Hun, I’m not here as a Nun, but as a friend to Shy here.”

The group made room for Meadowbrook as she sat down on the couch, Fluttershy took up the adjacent armchair and some sat on the ground. Meadowbrook then cleared her throat and made a point to look each girl in the eyes.

“Now, what I have to tell you is a closely guarded secret of the Church, it’s somethin’ that you can’t repeat to anyone, anywhere. We’ve already had to take steps to ensure that Fluttershy’s identity remained secret, and I’d rather not have to employ them for y’all.”

Sunset arched an eyebrow upon hearing this. “Did you do something to Flash, Derpy, and Bulk?”

“Attends maintenant, they’re alright. We just employed a little mind wiping, they won’t remember much of what happened when y’all were in that basement. At Fluttershy’s request, I made sure not to mention any of ya, because she didn’t want to keep this secret from any of you.” Meadowbrook looked to the girl in question. “You still have the option of not tellin’ ‘em, you’re not obligated.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, they deserve to know this. Sunset told us about her Witchblade, I think it’s only right they know how I was able to do all of that.”

Meadowbrook nodded and smiled. “Very well, guess it’s story time.”

All five of the girls waited with bated breath to listen, wanting to know how their kind and shy friend was able to fight head-to-head with demons and magic spear.

“Not sure how many of y’all are familiar with Christian and Catholic lore, some would rather relegate these stories to just that, stories, and nothin’ more. But the Vatican knows just how important these stories are. Regardin’ Flutteshy, she is descended from the Savior himself. Thousands of years ago, it was said that the Savior was in love with a woman named Magdalene, and accodin’ to the stories, before he was placed on the cross, they consummated and gave her child, a young girl.”

Applejack held up her hands. “Whoa, whoa, time out! Ah know that story, and Ah never heard about that!”

“Not surprisin’, not many people do, and there’s a reason for that. The descendants of the Savior, since they are of his blood, are born with incredible power, connectin’ them to the divine. The Apostles feared that the same people who killed the Savior, would kill his child, so they hid her and the mother. For many years the bloodline was protected, the story of the conception kept secret, when the Vatican was formed, the duty fell to them. But they also saw potential in the descendants. The first child born of one of these decedents is always a girl, after that sons or daughters can be born, but it’s the first child who receives the power and gifts.”

Meadowbrook stood up and began walking around as she continued her explanation.

“The Vatican saw that these girls could harm evil, and so they decided to train them. One after the other, each girl was trained in all manner of combat, and honed their divine power so that it could be used to punish the wicked and eliminate evil. These girls, one after the other, bore the mantle name, Magdalena, after the original mother of the line.”

“So…wait, Fluttershy just knows how to fight because all the other girls before her were trained?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not quite…Dashie, do you remember when my family took our Summer Vacation family trips?”

Rainbow nodded. “Oh yeah, you all would go overseas a few times.”

“All those trips were to train me. For three months almost each year, I was trained in the art of armed and close quarters combat. According to Sister, before I went back home, my memories would be altered to make me think we did something else rather than what I actually did,” said Fluttershy.

“When Shy told me about what happened to ya when you faced that Ishtar creature, I figured that her drive and desire to protect y’all made her tap into her trainin’ without realizin’ it. The four days after that were spent with me helpin’ her to unlock the rest, I felt that, with the situation as it was, the Magdalena needed to be awakened.”

The girls all looked at Fluttershy with amazement. They knew their friend was saintly, but to find out that she was an actual saint, and the great – to the umpteenth power – granddaughter of the Savior, was a bit of a shocker.

“Please don’t treat me any differently, I’m not royalty, and I don’t think I’m some great protector…I’m just me…” said Fluttershy meekly.

Rarity sat up and took Fluttershy’s hands as she smiled. “Of course, we know that, darling. You’ll always be our friend, no matter what. I think it’s safe to assume that things like this aren’t friendship breakers among this group.”

A round of nods was seen all around, no matter what, Fluttershy would always be Fluttershy to them, no matter her lineage. Meadowbrook smiled upon seeing this, she didn’t know how these girls would take hearing such things, but from what Fluttershy told her, this group was pretty accepting of the strange and fantastical, it’s no wonder why, given what they’ve dealt with before.

“So, what about that spear she uses? She called it the ‘Spear of Destiny’,” said Sunset.

“Ah! Yes, that’s actually another thing from the same story. A Roman soldier used a spear to pierce the Savior’s side, and in so doing, coated the blade of his spear with his blood. Even in death, the Savior’s blood is very powerful, so powerful that it changed the nature of the spear, and granted incredible powers. Powers that come to fruition when held by a bloodline relative, like Fluttershy. The Magdalena has a healing factor, but with the Spear of Destiny, it can be amplified, pretty much all of her abilities are amped with it. Unfortunately, it was lost for some time before the Vatican got it back, the last time caused some trouble,” said Meadowbrook.

“What kind of trouble?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Meadowbrook scratched the back of her head. “Weeeelll…do y’all know about World War II and the Nazis?”

“Yes,” said Rarity.

“The leader of that terrible group had the Spear.”

The girls’ eyes twitched a bit.

“That was not our finest hour,” Meadowbrook lamented.

Sunset got up from her seat and brought Fluttershy into a hug, smushing her cheek against Fluttershy’s a little. “Well, all I know is, without Fluttershy, we would’ve been trouble, with Ishtar, and with that blizzard. And we’re glad to have you as our friend.”

Fluttershy blushed and smiled happily. “And I’m happy to have all of you as mine.”

Despite the damage done to the school, the students and parents were assured that the school was safe to enter. The library had a huge tarp put over the broken skylight, but coincidentally, now that the Wendigos were gone, the intense snowstorms had stopped. It was still cold outside, but the sun was shining and the sky was cloudless, as if new life had been breathed into the world.

Sunset sat in the parking lot with Principal Celestia, she wasn’t completely onboard with Sunset coming back to school so soon, despite the doctor’s assurances that Sunset had made a full recovery. Celestia didn’t know how or why Sunset was able to survive getting shot in the chest and head, but she wasn’t going to ask why, so long as Sunset was alive and well, that’s all that mattered to her.

“Are you sure you want to do this? There’s no need to come back so soon, you can take a couple of weeks off,” said Celestia.

Sunset shook her head in the negative. “No, I can’t just run and hide in my house. I don’t know what kind of CHS I’m about to walk into today, but my friends are back with me, so I can weather whatever comes my way.”

Celestia loved Sunset like a daughter, and she felt a mother’s pride seeing how strong Sunset was. “Alright, just know that you can come see me or Luna if you’re not feeling well.”

“Got it,” said Sunset with a smile.

Both women exited the car, Celestia went on her way inside the building, while Sunset began her walk towards the quad. When she did, she found Pinkie Pie waiting for her right by the Wondercolt statue. The pink party planner bounced in place as she dashed towards her girlfriend and gave her a bone crushing hug.

“Oomph! P-Pinkie…hugs…too tight!” Sunset croaked.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Oh Sunset…no they’re not.” Pinkie finally released Sunset, watching as Sunset popped her neck. “C’mon, there’s something you gotta see inside!”

“What?” Sunset asked.

“You’ll see~”

Sunset let Pinkie Pie lead her towards the steps of the school. Both paused there for a moment, despite how vigorously the cleaning crews scrubbed, if you looked close enough, you could see a ghostly dark blot on the steps, a bloodstain, Sunset’s blood. Though the damage to the building would be repaired, this would remain as a lingering reminder of just how bad things got here in CHS.

Pinkie Pie snapped out of her trance and then pulled Sunset along. She then pushed open the doors and brought Sunset inside. Once there, Sunset was shocked to see a banner hanging over the commons area that read “Welcome Back Sunset Shimmer!”

Right below that banner was a group of students, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy were among them. Flash Sentry, Derpy, Cloud Kicker, Bulk, Trixie – that was a shocker – and even Gilda. A few others gathered around as well, most of whom had an apologetic and shamed filled looks on their faces.

“W-What’s going on here?” Sunset asked.

“I kind of let it slip that you were coming back and were okay, so a lot of the students wanted to come out and welcome you back to the school!” Pinkie explained.

“Well, not only that,” said Flash as he stepped forward. “A lot of us wanted to apologize to you.”

“Trixie normally doesn’t make mistakes…however, Trixie will admit that her anger got the better of her,” said Trixie.

Gilda stepped forward and sighed. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it, we were all complete and total assholes – and if anyone says otherwise, you’re welcome to argue that right now,” said Gilda as if daring someone to say otherwise.

“We’re not blameless in this either, darling, we abandoned you when you needed us most,” said Rarity.

Pinkie squeezed Sunset’s hand, silently telling her that she still felt awful about that.

“Even though you fergave us, we haven’t fergiven ourselves,” said Applejack.

“So, even if it takes us the rest of our lives, we’ll do whatever it takes to earn back your friendship, and your trust,” said Fluttershy.

“We’ll never abandon you again, no matter what happens,” said Rainbow Dash.

Derpy stepped forward and said, “In the end, what we’re all trying to say is…”

“We’re sorry, Sunset!” the students all spoke in unison, filling the room and some of the halls with their combined voices.

Sunset was on the verge of tears, she tried to keep a confident and strong front, but it was too much as she found herself collapsing onto her knees. Pinkie Pie knelt down beside her, while the rest of her friends knelt down in front of her.

Sunset loved this, the evils haunting CHS had been wiped away, and now the healing process could begin. She was together with her friends again, and had a girlfriend whom she was looking forward to furthering their relationship with, reconciled with her dark side, and she still had the Witchblade. Sunset didn’t know if she’d ever need to use mystical weapon again, and if she had it her way, she wouldn’t have to, but if anything tried to harm the city, or her friends, Sunset was fully prepared to cut them down.

Epilogue: A Prelude to Darkness

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THREE WEEKS LATER…

Storm clouds filled the sky as the rain fell hard over Canterlot City, but the citizens felt safe, knowing that the Mystery Murders were finally over brought peace to the law-abiding citizens. However, there were some who were happy for the closing of the Mystery Murders for another reason.

Canterlot City, unfortunately, did have its fair share of organized crime. It wasn’t as bad as say Manehattan or Chicagcolt, but it provided opportunities for gangs from those cities and others to try and get a foothold and expand their operations. A sit down had been issued to the heads of the gangs that were currently operating in Canterlot City, and their heads, along with their bodyguards, were at the table.

Rat Fink, a skinny man, dressed in a sharp suit. He had slicked back black hair and beady green eyes, and purple skin tone. He was the head of the Italian mob in Canterlot, despite his name, he detested disloyalty, and made it a point to show what happens to those who showed such disloyalty to the family and the business.

Krasnyy Molot, a representative of the Russian mobs. His name, roughly translated, meant “Red Hammer”. He took that name literally, as he was known to kill rivals and anyone else who got in his way with a huge, custom made sledgehammer, something that he carried with him often. He had brown hair, wore a thick coat, and was white as a ghost.

The third in this triad, was named Young Blood. He was of a new gang that was forming in Canterlot, local guys, they had been fighting with the two organizations to try and keep them out, and so far, it had been a stalemate between the three of them. He had blonde hair, and blue skin, with equally icy blue eyes.

“So, you called us here, Fink, what do you want?” Young Blood asked.

“It’s no secret that our business, all our business, has taken a real hit these last three months, mostly due to those murders,” said Rat.

“Da, fuckin’ demons and shit, they’ve made it so that people are less likely to be out at night. That ‘sex cult’ made it hard for us to sell girls, no one’s going to pay for sex if they can get it for free,” said Krasnyy.

Young Blood nodded. “Well, drugs are on the rise, mostly because people are looking for some stress relief from all this. But we can’t sell as easily during the day as we can at night, and with the storms those things kicked up, it made it even harder.”

Rat nodded. “With that being the case, I propose we start taken up an armistice while we’re shoring up our resources. God knows our profits are hurting all ‘round.”

“Tch, and what guarantee do we have that you’ll honor this?” Krasnyy asked.

“I don’t go back on my word, actually, I’ve been talking with the heads of the Lupos family, and they believe that an alliance would be better for us than wasting our time fighting amongst ourselves. Split up Canterlot City,” said Rat.

Young Blood stood up and glared at the older men. “And why the hell would I agree to that?! This is our turf! We’ve had it long before you dickwads appeared and tried to muscle us out! Yet we’re still here! If we agree to this, we get a bigger portion of the city!”

Krasnyy, who had his hammer leaning against the table, placed his hand on the hilt. “Careful how you speak, boy. Respect your elders.”

“Ha, ha, ha! ‘Respect’, now there’s a funny word to come out of your mouth.”

All three men along with the bodyguards got on edge upon hearing the new voice. The room they were in was very large, like that of a warehouse. The only light was shining on the table, giving them a good eight-foot radius of light, the only other light was shining from the “exit” signs near the doors.

“Who the fuck is there?!” Rat demanded.

Footsteps echoed in the large room; the footsteps grew louder as they approached the table. The person who had addressed them finally stepped into the light and made himself known. His skin was ashen gray, his hair was long and jet black, eyes colored a bloody scarlet red. He wore a thick, black leather jacket, black pants and boots, and a gray dress shirt. The man looked to be about in his thirties, mid to late, he smiled at the assembled group, not batting an eye that he was in the presence of some of the most dangerous gangsters in the city.

“Son of a bitch…” Rat muttered.

“Who are you?” Krasnyy asked.

“My name’s Sombra King, the last of the King family. Thanks, in no small part, to you,” said Sombra as he pointed at Rat Fink.

Young Blood looked from Sombra and then back to Rat. “Rat, you know this guy?”

Rat Fink looked like he had just seen a ghost, his hands trembling in both fear and rage. Young Blood nodded to two of his men, and both of them walked up to Sombra, he placed his hands up and let them search him. The two guards found no weapons and returned to their spot beside their leader.

“Oh, Rat used to work for my family. You may’ve heard of us by our family’s street name, the ‘Obsidian Kings’.”

Krasnyy’s eyes widened. “Yes, I do know that name. The Kings were a very powerful crime family, with branches in almost every major city. The head of all of this was the King family, but I heard that they were all wiped out, slaughtered like animals.”

Sombra chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, it was much worse than that I’m afraid. You see, not only did they come to slaughter us, tortured every single member of the family. Men, women, children, even the fucking dogs, can you believe that shit?” Sombra moved closer to the table. “I was twenty-years-old at the time, my birthday was on that fateful day, and it was three minutes to midnight…”

Sombra walked even closer and pulled up a chair, he flipped it around and sat in it as he made eye contact with each person, noticing that the bodyguards had their hands on their pistols.

“My girlfriend, God rest her soul, her name was Radiant Hope, or just Ray. She loved me, god knows why she’d love a mobster son of a bitch like me, but she did. I killed, a lot, for the family, and I was very good at my job. I wanted to keep her far from it, but on that day, she insisted on coming with me to the family home to celebrate with me. I couldn’t say no to her, but dammit I wish I did. Because we walked into a fucking nightmare, I fought as long as I could to try and get us out, but in the end…”

Sombra clenched his fists as his brow furrowed.

“They put me on the ground, and her watch as they beat the shit out of me, making sure I was still conscious to watch her face turn from fear to worry. And then they had the audacity, to make her crawl towards me, and then shot her before she could even lay a hand on my face…fuckin’ animals.”

“Shit…” Young Blood whispered.

“I found out later, that it was good ol' Rat Fink who made sure that we were none the wiser about the Lupos family coming in with some thugs. Took me a while to find out who betrayed us that night, you’re a hard man to find Fink.”

“Fuck you! How I the hell are you alive?!” Rat demanded as he glared at Sombra.

Sombra went quiet for a moment. “A lot of weird shit’s been happening in this town. Demons and a half naked chick with swords, people talking shit about magic. Back in the day, I would’ve thought you were full it. But on that night, right at the stroke of midnight, I changed my tune.”

Sombra stood up from his chair and the thirty guards began to draw their guns. He backed up slowly and stood at the edge of the light, letting himself be cloaked in the shadows as he watched a couple of the guards stray out of the light and began to circle him.

“I wouldn’t stay out of the light, if I were you.”

Suddenly, the sounds of demonic giggling filled the room. Yellow dots like eyes appeared in different areas, there one minute and gone the next. The guards drew their guns, along with the leaders, all of them on edge. Two more guards left the light and were about to join the first two to surround Sombra, but without warning, one guard was jumped by something with yellow eyes. They could only make out the silhouette of what was attacking him, something small and humanoid, with a hunched back.

The guard screamed for a few seconds and thrashed around before he went silent, squelching sounds could be heard after that, followed by a thump. That same, beady, yellow eyed creature then tossed something at them. It rolled along the floor until it was in the light, and much to their horror, it was the man’s head.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Rat Fink shouted.

Three more guards screamed as they too were attacked by something similar, more squelching sounds followed along with thumps. Something else was thrown into the light, arms, legs, and…was that a dick?

“Oh, c’mon guys, seriously?” Sombra asked.

“What? They threw in all the other good parts, what else was I supposed to throw?”

“Next time fucking hurry up and tear something else off, like the heart, or spleen! Or intestines!”

“Nah, that shit takes too long. Heh-heh, get it, ‘long’, ‘cause that shit’s really long?! Seriously, how do you keep all that shit in there?”

More mischievous, demonic laughter filled the room and more beady yellow eyes could be seen. The guards began to open fire in all directions, trying to kill whatever it was that was out there.

“I know I said to stay in the light, but…I think it’s time for lights out.”

Something long, black and sharp shot towards the overhead lights and smashed them to pieces, snuffing out the only safe place they had.

“Back up boys, I want to have some fun now…”

Screams, pain filled screams echoed inside the room, along with the sounds of gunshots, and the sounds of tearing and bones breaking. Krasnyy swung wildly with his hammer, trying to hit whatever it was that was killing them, but something with narrowed, red eyes appeared before him. Something sharp sliced roughly through his right and, making him release his famed hammer.

“We had nothing to do with your family’s death! We had no part in it!” Krasnyy pleaded.

“You associate with the Lupos. That’s enough for me.”

Krasnyy spouted something in Russian before his head was smashed in with his own hammer. Soon the shooting was over, more so because most of them were dead. Rat Fink stood alone, trembling in fear in the dark, his eyes had finally adjusted enough to allow him a glimpse of Sombra, and it terrified him, the man wet himself when he saw Sombra walking towards him.

“No, Sombra, please, I’ll do anything! I’ll get you close to the Lupos family! I can do it, they trust me! They won’t see you coming! Please, please!!!” Rat begged.

Sombra stopped in his tracks. “Funny, that’s the same thing Ray said over and over again, ‘Please stop, stop hurting him’. Heh, she was a fucking saint. All she cared about was that they were kicking the crap out of me. No Fink, we made the mistake of trusting you, something that I won’t do.”

Suddenly, two tentacles rose from Sombra’s back, these tentacles had jagged spines, at the ends, red eyes shined. The ends of the tentacles opened up and revealed several rows of dagger teeth, the tentacle creatures hissed and snarled, snapping their jaws, showing their impatience.

Rat tried to make a break for it, but the right tentacle shot towards him, snapping at his right leg like a cobra. With a quick squelch and crunch, the tentacle ripped off his foot and ankle in one go. Rat fell to the ground, screaming in pain from his lost limb, but he still tried to run, resorting to crawling on the ground. The two tentacle creatures extended towards him, and then once again snapped straight for him. Their sharp teeth bit into his wrists and tore off his hands, making Rat fall onto his back as his screaming intensified. Blood poured from his wounds, and soon he’d die of blood loss.

Sombra stood over the man, looking down at Rat with his glowing red eyes. “Do you know how it felt when she died in front of me?” The left tentacle creature shot towards Rat, and pierced his ribcage in one go, it then retracted and ripped out his beating heart. Rat gasped as his eyes looked upon his still beating organ, and then saw the creature eat it in front of him, its eyes glowing as if doing so gave it power. That was the last thing Rat Fink saw before he died. “It felt like that.”

Young Blood had hidden under the table, he wasn’t stupid, he knew something was up, but he didn’t expect something like this. The young gang leader yelled as the table was flipped over, and now he looked upon Sombra, he was wearing something different, but he couldn’t make out what, but he could see the two tentacle monsters that seemed to be coming out of his back. Young Blood looked around and saw the creatures with the beady yellow eyes draw closer, he didn’t realize until just now that the shadows were filled with those eyes, and it seemed as if the shadows themselves were alive.

“Go.”

“W-W-What?” Young Blood asked.

“Tell the gangs of this city what happened here, tell everyone. Either they join me or die, and send this message.” Sombra knelt before Young Blood and looked him directly in the eyes. “Tell ‘em, Sombra King is here, and The Darkness is hungry.”

The Witchblade EqG: Mystery Murder Files

by Michael_Ravencroft

Case File 1-1 (The Worm): Death and Rebirth

Case File 1-2 (The Worm): The Witchblade

Case File 2-1 (The Harpy): First Day of School

Case File 2-2 (The Harpy): Bird of Prey

Case File 2-3 (The Harpy): The Enemy

Case File 3-1 (The Widow): Reassurance

Case File 3-2 (The Widow): A Friend in Need

Case File 3-3 (The Widow): Pulling of Strings

Case File 3-4 (The Widow): Showtime!

Case File 4-1 (Midas): Forbidden Fruits

Case File 4-2 (Midas): Revelation

Case File 4-3 (Midas): Decisions

Case File 4-4 (Midas): Ultimatum

Case File 4-5 (Midas): Golden Apples

Case File 5-1 (Ishtar): The Goddess Beckons

Case File 5-2 (Ishtar): The Heat Inside

Case File 5-3 (Ishtar): Let's talk

Case File 5-4 (Ishtar): Lust, Light, Witchblade!

Case File 6-1 (Nihil): The Endgame

Case File 6-2 (Nihil): Unexpected Hero

Case File 6-3 (Nihil): Burn bright, Witchblade!

Aftermath

Epilogue: A Prelude to Darkness