A First Glimpse with New Strangers and a New Mystery
On a bright and sunny day, Sunset Shimmer now wearing the new outfit she was gifted ran by the streets as fast as she could as fast as her own two legs can carry her. A con of being a human, otherwise time and distance would fly by faster. Even after reformation patience was something she was still learning to master. Her boots constantly hit against the ground with every step, fallen leaves floating around her as she passed by them as she tried to get there as fast as she could. Seconds later, she arrived. She smiled as she appeared in front of the stone statue of the majestic horse. She saw more of her friends arrive by the small stairs leading up to the school entrance. She panted as she came to a stop.
"I got your text, Rainbow Dash! Did something come through the portal? Is Equestrian magic on the loose? Did Kion and Twilight come back with a problem that only we can solve?!"
"Has a giant cake monster covered all the cakes in the world in cake?!" Pinkie returned as she held two cupcakes in her hands, before placing them both in her mouth and swallowed them whole in just one gulp.
“Nope! Nor was it the cookie monster!” Bunga stated before happily munching on a box of cookies.
"Um, not exactly." Rainbow returned, revealing that she was the one who sent the emergency call to all of her companions. Only, it wasn't what any of them were expecting.
“What is it?” Beshte asked before seeing what the big deal is. “Um...whatever this is, “Whatever it is, there clearly isn’t any danger around us.” Beshte commented while looking around to see what sparked the group’s immediate summons. “Are you sure this is an emergency.”
“Yeah, I’m confused too.” Bunga commented while scratching his head as he eyed the item in question.
"Uh, I don't understand." Ono spoke clearly confused. “Because clearly the only thing I’m seeing as a skirt wearing girl with tall boots holding a guitar like a baby and with one string broken.” Rainbow scowled at him for that remark.
Applejack knowing what it’s really about spoke up to clarify on her behalf looking clearly annoyed. “Well, Sunset, Ono, I was just tellin' Rainbow Dash here that a broken guitar string doesn't really qualify as an emergency."
"It totally does!" Rainbow Dash said in defense, holding her electric guitar close to her chest like she is about to cry.
“Seriously?!” Fuli returned rather irritated like that’s one of the most absorb emergency calls she has ever heard. “You call us all over here for us to find your urgent matter is all because of one broken guitar string?!”
Rarity, rolled her eyes in response in full agreement with Fuli’s assessment on the matter. "Really, Rainbow Dash! I was in the middle of sewing a very complex appliqué on my latest frock." She said while adjusting the cuisine pin on her wrist and the roll of measuring tape around her neck.
The other girl, Fluttershy, held her pet bunny closer, "And I was just about to tuck everyone in for the night at the shelter. Now we'll have to start stories all over again."
"Why would you send all of us an emergency text for a guitar string?" Sunset asked in annoyance.
Rainbow gestured to three thirteen-year-old girls sitting on the stairs; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who all waved and smiled. "Well, I was going to pony up and show our fans some awesome guitar licks, but I kinda need all six strings to do it. Got any extra?"
Everyone, but Rainbow Dash, all groaned in annoyance. Sunset Shimmer rummaged through her backpack and pulled out an extra guitar string. Thanks to her equal skill of playing guitar along with her past experience from her ex-boyfriend Flash Sentry. At the very least they are on good terms, despite not having any romantic interest in him. And they have both come to accept that a romantic relationship was never meant to be, nor can it work out if they tried to start over again.
She handed her friend the extra string, "Here. But everyone finished practicing for the day. I'm pretty sure all the music rooms are locked."
"No problem. The acoustics in the hallway are perfect for power chords." Rainbow flashed them a bright shinny smiled as she strung on her instrument, making Sunset smiled but shake her head. "C'mon! Let's go!"
"You comin', Sunset?" Applejack asked once all the others walked inside.
"I'll catch up in a bit." Sunset Shimmer sat down on the stairs and pulled out a her journal. Opening the book and taking out a pen she began writing on the blank pages, sending a message to her friends.
"Dear Princess Twilight and Prince Kion, how's life treating you? Any cool new magic spells? It's been pretty quiet here at CHS since the Battle of the Bands. Though me and the girls recently started up training for our new jobs at the agency Special Agent Askari has assigned us. At least I’ve been able to keep my fighting skills with and without magic sharp. I've gotten pretty good, though it's hard when you try to keep the whole magic stuff a secret from anybody who doesn't go to CHS. We still pony up when we play music, which Rainbow Dash just loves to show off. But I still can't quite grasp what it's all about. I would love to hear what you think about it when you get a sec. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer."
Meanwhile, back in Equestria, more specifically the Friendship castle, Twilight Sparkle with Kion for company heard vibrating coming from one of the shelves of her library. Levitating the book the princess opened it and smiled when she received a message from her dear old friend who she hadn’t seen in a little while since the whole incident with Scar and Starlight. She then levitated a quill and wrote a response.
"Dear Sunset Shimmer, things are going pretty good back in Equestria. Recently my castle has gotten a magical map that summons us to any place in Equestria to solve a friendship problem. So far, I haven't been on many of those missions with the sole exception of when first encountering Starlight along with the one friendship mission where two bickering families were fighting for something they didn’t even remember. Silly isn’t it. Anyways, ever since our near brush with death, friendship has blossomed like a fully grown garden in the meadows. Starlight herself by the way, has taken up the mantle ever since you went back to CHS and much like me it is a slow and steady progress for her redemption. As her current teacher, I’ve been making sure she stay’s up to speed on her current friendship lessons. Kion himself has been doing better since being stung by Sumu the scorpion and so has his father, though everyone is still on edge for whatever Scar plans to do next. With him there is just no way of being completely sure of what he’s planning yet no matter what he knows what we are doing even when we don’t think about it. Probably because it is one of things that can’t easily be explained, which the same can be said in regards to our friends ponying up when you play. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out sooner or later. We always do no matter how long it takes. So that said since we caught you on a free day, how about we come on over so we can keep talking face to face? And don’t worry we’re not needed on patrol today, we made sure of that thanks to Ono. And I hope you’re thinking yes because we’re on our way over now."
Sunset smiled at the response, and as soon as those words appeared on her journal, both Twilight and Kion appeared right before her very eyes which in return had her smile become even brighter with giddy delight at seeing her old friends once again. Both wearing the same attire they both wore since their last visit.
“Like we said! Right over in an instant.” Kion stated with a friendly smile while Twilight continued to hold her journey in her own hands.
Instantly, Sunset rushed over to hug them. “Perfect timing! And it’s so great to see you both again!”
“You too!”
“We never stopped thinking about you, Sunset.”
“Always great to hear. So now that you’re both here, I suppose now would be a good time to tell you of my recent experience as a federal agent.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Give us the details.”
“Well for starters, we haven’t been on any cases alongside Askari and his team since we’re still part-time field agents still in training. But they sure are helping us get up to speed so that whenever something arises we’ll be ready by then.”
“That’s still great progress, Sunset.”
“And who knows maybe you’ll get to solve your first case sooner than you or Askari think.” Kion grinned somewhat nervously with a forced chuckle at the name. “Askari nor Scar.” She then clarified.
“Right, right. Sorry.” Kion apologized. “It’s pretty hard after being used to dealing with the man’s evil self back home. Our home.”
“I hear you, Kion.” Sunset acknowledged why it’s such a tough thing to grapple with. “It’s quite a contrast to see him as a benevolent leader even while being tough, stern, and a bit of hard butt instead of the Satan like demon from the pits Tartarus and the darkness of the Outlands.” Both Kion and Twilight snickered in response at the first part. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Just cracking up at your description of the contrast between the two Scar’s.”
“Oh...right.” She realized.
While the three chatted a bus stopped in front of the school. Not one of them thought too much of it, figuring it was most likely dropping off a student or somebody who needed to walk by the high school to get to where they needed to go. At least up until Twilight herself noticed something very peculiar and familiar with who stepped off of the bus. But, because of her obliviousness, the stranger who exited the vehicle walked on over towards the school. The first one, unquestionably a girl, wore a light blue hoodie that covered her entire head and wore a pair of black sunglasses, long purple jeans and sneakers. The second one, wore a bright red hoodie, black sunglasses and matching jeans and sneakers.
The female carried some strange remote control-like object in her hands. Turning the nob on the side, the contraption beeped, the radar signaling that there was some very strong energy around this place while the male stranger followed after her. The female stopped in front of the horse statue, moving her device up and down in front of the large pedestal…which happened to be the portal to Equestria.
“Well at least he’s on the right side of the law in this universe, otherwise then we’re looking at a recipe for disaster.” Sunset then said as Twilight found herself distracted by what the two were doing. “Right, Twilight? Twilight?!”
“Um...excuse me.” Twilight spoke up to get their attention. “Can we help you two with something?"
Suddenly she sees the two hooded strangers. “Hey! What are you two doing?!" Sunset called out to them as she is quick to draw her sword and charge at them.
The strangers turned around when they heard Twilight and Sunset calling out to her. At the same time, the reaction caused something in the mirror to react with a strange energy around it. The one wearing the purple hoodie then ran off as she fast as she could with the latter sticking back to stand his ground before quickly stopping the sword from making contact with either of them by whipping two dual swords to grab it while mid lunge. He then knocked and sent the sword right out of Sunset's hand causing it to stick and land in the nearby wall before he moved to perform a spinning kick to knock her off of her feet and tumble backwards with her friends quick to help her up to her feet. With a twirl of his swords, he then sheathed them before retreating with Twilight, Sunset, and Kion all running after them.
"Wait! Stop!" Kion ordered of them, but the strangers did not comply. They ran across the street with the one with the red hoodie making a big leap over the car himself to play catch up with the other. The pursers had to stop due to a car coming his way and had to real himself back with both Twilight and Sunset quick to grab onto Kion to keep him from falling forward and crashing into it.
The strangers then came to a sliding halt and immediately jumped into the next bus that came by, heading in the opposite direction from where the one that just dropped them off was going. By then Kion, Sunset, and Twilight all arrived too late as the bus had already carried them off to who knows where.
"Who was that?"
“And what were they doing with the portal?”
Both Sunset and Kion asked as they watched on as the bus drives off into the horizon with the only thing that the former caught the stranger who was quick to fend her off and knocked her down in a brief sword fight onto the ground had glaring red eyes. Upon seeing those eyes had sparked something inside of Sunset as if she has since those eyes before, only not as fierce with a deathly gaze inside of them. To Sunset, it was like the answer is there, but she can't figure out what or who that guy was, yet the movements on how he fought seemed so familiar somehow.
“I don’t know.” Twilight replied as they made their way back to the statue so they can witness what their tampering around did to the portal. It created a strange rippling and glowing purple energy, that seemed to strongly react to her touch as if it is preventing them from crossing over to the other world. “But whatever it is, it seems our brief stay will last up until we solve this case and there’s no backing out of this one.”
Meanwhile, once they knew were out of trouble, the strangers removed her hoods revealing their faces. Despite her bun and glasses her face…the female stranger looked exactly like Twilight herself. And at the same time, the male stranger looked exactly like Kion… with the top of his head covered by his red hoodie.
Strange minds things alike, yet with what happens next bound to change their lives forever.