Author's Notes:

FACT: I'm really bad at writing one shots. When I write a story, I just can't seem to leave it alone. I just have to write 'til my heart's content. Fortunately, it leads up to good stories, I guess.

About the title of this chapter...I wasn't feeling creative and I just slapped that on there so forgive me.

Sunset Shimmer galloped at full speed down the corridor. Celestia heard of her role in the defeat of the Sirens, right? Surely Twilight would've said something about it. Even though it didn't get her any brownie points whatsoever with anyone at CHS, hopefully it would soften Celestia's hard feelings. But she knew it would not be enough to stop the princess from giving her a harsh punishment.

With this new knowledge, she galloped faster.

"Freeze! In Celestia's name!" the same colt yelled.

She heard him pounding down after her. In a panic she turned a sharp right down a similar hall.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the guard yelled loudly. " Catch her!"

In a split second Sunset Shimmer heard what sounded like an army of stallions charging after her. She took so many twists and turns, up and down stairwells, even performing improvised parkour over garden walls and castle roofs that she had no idea where she was. Sunset finally was cornered presumably on the fifth floor..?

She didn't know.

She had run everywhere.

All the guards surrounded her with deep scowls.

"She's over here, captain!" one of them called.

"Come on, Twili!" a familiar voice echoed further down the hall.

Twili? That only means one thing...

Immediately, she used her magic to transport herself out of there and left them all in the dust.

Twilight and her brother stared at the guards in disbelief.

"You LOST her?!" the princess exclaimed.

The colts glanced down at their hooves nervously.

"Who was she? What did she look like?? Where did she come from?! Where did you see her first?!?!" Twilight asked in a frenzy. The last time she had been riled up like this was when Sunset Shimmer stole her crown.*cough, cough*

Shining Armor had to calm her down. "I'll talk."

He turned his head toward his guards. "Who was the first to spot this mare?"

A brown stallion stepped forward. "Sir, she was spotted in the Western Wing on the third floor in corridor 34A, sir!"

Twilight frowned at this. "Come again?"

The captain nodded. "I see...Tell me, what did she look like?"

"Uh, she was like a flame when she ran. I didn't get a clear view of her. She shot away so fast like a rocket! She was a blur of colors as bright as the sun!" he replied.

Twilight tugged on her brother's armor. "Hey. Where is this corridor he's talking about? If you all haven't realized, I don't know the layout of the castle like that."

Shining Armor ignored her and continued to nod thoughtfully.

"She looked very familiar," an older guard said. "I think I may have seen her here before..."

In aggravation, Twilight stomped her hooves. She did not like to be clueless on what was going on around her. She was barely listening after the guard told them where this intruder was spotted. She was still trying to figure out where that was in the castle.

"Where did you last see her?"

Shining Armor was about to answer when from a distance they heard something.

Hooves on the polished floor came toward them. It was Cadence.

"You got out of bed so fast I was startled. Is everything alright?"

"No. But I have everything under control," her husband replied.

"Captain! Captain, quick!" A guard came storming down the hall. "The intruder! She's been spotted by the artifact chamber!"

Instantly, everypony except Twilight ran toward the said destination.

"Just where was she seen in the first place?!" Twilight yelled after them.

"The library!" Shining Armor called.

Twilight gasped as her body shook in horror. "No! Not the library! Not the books!!"

In an instant, she jetted after them like a track star running in the Olympics.

Sunset Shimmer panted as her pursuers followed her down the forever-lasting corridor. She sent a smoke bomb their way and scanned the area for a place to hide. She didn't like playing evil tricks, but whatever could help her evade pursuit was what she'd do.

Ducking into an open doorway she vanished from sight. In the complete darkness of the room she used her magic to quickly but silently shut the door. Muffled yells of astonishment sounded through it as she took a deep breath. It felt like an eternity waiting and hoping the guards would leave. When she was absolutely sure they were gone, she lit up the room with her horn.

The whole room was like a museum. There were strange scrolls with ancient writing on them, old rusty swords, faded paintings, odd jewelry, and other things. Masks hung from the wall that were cracked and old. Everything in there seemed to be falling apart.

"The artifact chamber..." Sunset mumbled.

Instantly, she knew exactly where she was in the castle. So the mirror had been moved to a different wing. Sunset Shimmer walked around the weird things, forgetting her earlier panic. There were new artifacts in there, some she didn't recognize.

But there were two that weren't at all old, but recent. Inside one glass case was the shards of the Sirens' necklaces. They were shattered reminders of a failed plan. In another case was a vial filled with a dark green substance. It was pretty vague in appearance as to what it was until she read the label.

Dark Magic Obtained From The Element Of Magic

Before Sunset Shimmer could make the connection a sudden draft of cold air swooshed past her and a grim voice spoke her name.

"Sunset Shimmer."

The mare whipped around to see a tall white alicorn with a blue, green, and pink streaked mane standing before her. She gasped and stared up at her in fear.

"Princess Celestia..."