It was a nice and relatively calm Saturday morning in Hell today, and what better way to start the day off than with a few pints at Volcano the Hell hyena's bar?

After an exhausting few weeks ever since Sunset first arrived in Hell, it came to a point where she wasn't sure if she'd ever get the time to just be able to wind down, but lo and behold now. After Barbed Wire had a chat with the bar's owner, Volcano, he's allowed Sunset to come back even after Sunset destroyed some of his property.

Two pints were slid across the table, landing in the hands of our two demonesses. Sunset and Barb clinked their glasses before downing the substances, finishing them off with a unified, satisfied, "Ahh."

"This is the life, ain't it, Sunny?" Barb asked, lightly elbowing Sunset's arm.

"I'll admit, Hell's not half bad when there's nothing trying to kill me for once," Sunset responded.

"Really takes your mind off of the whole 'leaving Hell' plan, right?" Barb said, bringing her pint up to her lips for another sip.

"Hah! No, no, that plan's on my mind twenty-four-seven. Though, unless something comes around that gives me the opportunity to leave, there's not much I can really do, is there?"

Barb shrugged. "I guess not. Then again, not really a bad thing since that means we can spend more time together doing shit."

"What? Drinking until we're as drunk as pirates and then going home?"

It seemed that Sunset had Barb there. "...Okay, admittedly there's not a tonne of stuff you can do unless you like eating or succubae tits, but we can still have some fun." Barb then turned towards the bartender. "Hey, Volcano! Put the TV on, will ya?"

Behind the bar, Volcano rolled his eyes as he reached under the bar and pulled out a TV remote, and with the press of a button, a TV that hung up above the girls turned on. Many channels were flicked through, consisting of music channels, cooking channels, adult channels until finally Volcano landed on a news channel. The remote was then put back in its place.

This caused for a loud groan to be heard from Barb as she casted an annoyed glare towards Volcano. "Why are you putting this shit on? Is there not, like, a game or fight on?"

"The candidates are presenting their speeches today," Volcano responded, resting on the bar to see the TV.

Needless to say, Sunset was interested, evident by her enlarged eyes and her pointy ears pointing further up. "Candidates?"

"Meh, it's just the mayor elections. It's really no big deal," Barbed Wire explained apathetically. "It's just the same shit every time."

"How so?" Sunset asked.

"Every election period for the last few hundred years, it's always just been the same two candidates, Theo Rattingsbottom, who's still the current mayor, and the other one..." Barb visibly shivered at the thought. "I don't even want to think about the guy."

Sunset became very curious at the sound of this guy. If Barb hated them with a passion, then they must really be terrible. "Who is it?"

Barb just looked at Sunset with a cold stare, letting out a sigh before she began speaking. "Goliath. An absolute tyrant of a man who seeks for nothing but power. He scares away any possible competition to ensure his victory, yet he's lost to Rattingsbottom every single time. He's not to be trusted by anyone, and luckily the majority of the city's citizens know better than to vote for that shithead."

"Though, it seems that more and more demons vote for him each time," Volcano added, briefly taking his eyes off the TV screen to say.

"Is he-?" Sunset started.

"He's not that Goliath," Barb and Volcano interrupted.

The last thing Sunset was expecting from Hell was a government and politics. She was disheartened to hear that she hadn't escaped it, but at the same time, she wondered just what these candidates were like, especially this Goliath.

"Where are they telling their speeches?" Sunset asked.

Barb was just about to give her an answer, but stopped herself to then give Sunset a suspicious look. "You're not actually wanting to see what they have to say, are you?" she asked, sceptical of her friend's intentions.

Sunset shrugged. "Well, why not?"

"W-Why not?! Sunny, listen to me when I say that it's not worth wasting your time for. All you gotta know is that Rattingsbottom is the better pick. Sure, he's the reason why the city is the way it is today, but it's all worth it as long as that manipulative, greedy bastard never takes leadership."

"Yeah, election time is a bit of a touchy subject for Barb," Volcano said, poking out from behind Barb.

Barb's head slowly turned around like an owl, showing Volcano her extended forefinger and thumb practically touching each other. "Volcano, I swear to God, you're this close to becoming a touchy subject yourself."

"Noted." Volcano proceeded to keep to himself again as he liked having a head attached to his body.

"Just promise me that you won't go there," Barb pleaded to Sunset, clasping her hands together.

Sunset chose not to reply, instead she just had this stupid look on her face, almost like she was intentionally being silent.

Apparently, it seemed that Sunset didn't want to be reliable today. "Why aren't you promising?"

Sunset continued to not reply.

After another moment of waiting for an answer, Barb gave a facepalm while giving a disappointed sigh, having now realised what her roommate was doing. "You're going, aren't you?"

"Yep," Sunset said.

"God fucking dammit..." Barb quietly moaned. Just when she thought she could trust Sunset, she proceeds to backstab her friend like this, despite her warnings. Just great!

She wasn't sure how this happened, but Barb tagged along with Sunset, despite her constant objections. They both walked through the city to find where the candidates would present their speeches. It was one of the tallest buildings and the heart of the city, the Mayor's Tower.

During their trek, they passed by posters aplenty, all of them advertising the campaign, telling them to vote for either of the candidates. What was notable about the posters saying to vote Goliath was the fact that they had a drawing of a scary demon man pointing directly at them, saying 'I want YOU to vote for Goliath'.

The girls followed the crowd of demons that were surrounding a stage that was placed in front of the tower's front doors, and on that stage was a stand with a little microphone on it, and a crimson red curtain, likely where the candidates were behind.

Sunset was eager to see what the candidates were going to provide. Meanwhile Barb just looked dead inside as she tried her very best to not even look at the stage.

It wasn't long before Sunset realised her friend's dread. "You feeling okay, Barb?" she asked.

"I really don't know why you even wanted to come here," Barb sternly replied.

Sunset placed her hands on her hips. "You didn't need to come along, you know."

"I'm not just going to ditch you while we're in the centre of the city. You... might get lost getting home." Barb crossed her arms.

"Aww! You do care," Sunset said playfully with big adorable eyes.

Barb tried to look away while appearing as brooding as she could, but Sunset could see that redness in her face. The leather wearing demoness giggled as a result.

From behind the curtain on the stage, there appeared a glasses wearing demoness. She walked up to the microphone and tapped it, allowing the feedback to gather the attentions of every demon in the audience.

The demoness leaned towards the microphone and began to speak, "Ladies and gentlemen of Sinner City, may I present your mayor and candidate for office, Theodore Rattingsbottom."

All of the demons in the audience proceeded to clap as another figure emerged from the curtains. A small, overweight demon that resembled a mole rat wearing a black business suit walked up to the stage. The demoness from before provided him with portable steps as he reached the microphone.

The small creature gave a smile as he have a panning wave to the audience.

"Hello and good morning to you all, my dear citizens. It is with great honour that I run once more to be your leader for my now forty-eighth consecutive time," Rattinsbottom announced.

Sunset's jaw almost completely fell off her face, it fell so hard after hearing that. Forty-eight times running? And winning every single time?! Now she knew she had to find out what the other one was like if the state of this city is the way it is because of this guy.

"Now, I've had my hand in control of this city for centuries, and not even I know if I'll be the one to be controlling our beloved city forever, but let it be known that as long as I've breath in my small, little body, I will keep the city functioning in the way that keeps you beautiful sinners happy, because that is my duty. I'm not just your mayor, I'm your friend, and I will continue to uphold my end of the bargain to ensure that us demons alike can live as freely as we please."

Then there came the cheering and whistles, congratulating the mayor for what seemed to be a good speech as he walked back to the curtain. Sunset, however, was left dumbfounded, confused, and maybe even a little angry.

"Was that it?!" Sunset exclaimed to Barb. "He was up there for barely even two minutes! He has the power to fix the problems with this city and he's doing nothing to change it?!"

"You think that these people are going to listen to an authority anymore?" Barb sarcastically asked. "The 'H' in Hell stands for 'Havoc', and not even a mayor is going to be able to change that."

"And what does the rest of it stand for?" Sunset returned, not believing a single word Barb was saying.

Barb answered by holding up her hand at Sunset, having four of her fingers stick out as she counted through each one. "Havoc in Every Living... L-thing." She finished by having a shameless grin on her face.

Sunset rolled her eyes and just looked back at the stage, now in a bad mood as a result of Barb's and the mayor's bull.

Now, that only left the second and final candidate.

There now came a... weirdly normal looking bipedal sheep demon, with a woolly white coat and glasses. He even just had hooves instead of claws and feet, and with the sounds of clopping on the wooden stage, he walked towards the mic.

"Please welcome your candidate and future ruler of Sinner City, Goliath Hendrickson," the sheep said with a monotone voice.

It was now time to see what this guy was really made of, and see what made him worse than the bum that was the current mayor.

From behind the curtain, there appeared two sets of long claws that threw each side of the curtains aside, and from backstage came through a very tall demon. He confidently strutted, wearing a white suit with thin, black, vertical lines going the length of the suit. He also wore a wide, white hat that concealed most of his face in a shadow.

Sunset couldn't see his face, but by the looks of his hands, his skin was scaly, and coloured a dark grey. By comparison to Rattingsbottom, this demon was far more intimidating, even giving Sunset a nervous feeling.

The demon walked up to the microphone and leaned closely to it.

"Hello Ssssinner City," he spoke with a deep, gravely voice. He moved a hand up to the brim of his hat before adjusting it upwards, revealing his face to the public.

Sunset's eyes widened as she examined the details of this man's face. This demon now resembled a snake, with eyes so sinister and yellow, and a mouth so wide and scary. This must be Goliath.

"I am here today to announce that this city has a problem. One that must be maintained and controlled, and I stand here to say that I can fix everything.

"For centuries, this city has been led by a fool, one that cannot see the bigger picture or just what exactly he has plunged us all into. This city is overruled by criminals, gang bosses and kingpins alike, each of them bringing our beautiful city closer to destruction, all because of a lack of direction and unbridled ignorance."

Barbed Wire just stood with her arms crossed, showing absolutely no interest in what Goliath had to say. "What a whole load of shit. I can't believe people actually fall for this, eh Sunny?" She turned to where Sunset was standing, to which she discovered that Sunset had now disappeared. "Sunset? Where'd you go?"

Elsewhere, lost within the crowd, Sunset was walking through many demons. She wasn't sure what it was, but unwillingly, Sunset found herself walking through the crowd to get closer to the stage, unable to take her eyes off of the candidate as he continued to deliver his speech.

"Crime in this city has become a plague. A majority of our citizens are infected by it, and as new demons appear, the issue only grows larger. Have me be your leader and I will eradicate this disease, and in the end, we will become better than a city, but a strong, unified kingdom with infinite capabilities and possibilities. I will unlock the potential that we all have as long as you join me. It will become a new age for us all as sinners, but it will create the path to a much brighter, fiery future that I know we can all achieve!"

After Goliath had finished by raising a victorious fist in the air, what seemed to be the other half of the audience also gave out a holler of applause.

It was now that Sunset realised that she now stood in front of everyone, practically reaching over the stage as the words of the slithery candidate pulled her forward.

Call it intrigue, or even confusion, but the words of Goliath seemed to strike quite a chord with Sunset, one that she hasn't felt in years. His words really enticed the demoness. It was pretty much everything that she could have hoped. Why Barbed Wire was so harsh with this guy, Sunset couldn't imagine why. From what she has listened to, this Goliath seemed to be leader that this city desperately needed.

And then, the eyes of Sunset and Goliath unexpectedly met, with the candidate seeing the brightness and passion in the girl's large, sparkly eyes.

The well dressed snake demon walked away from the microphone and over to the edge of the stage where Sunset stood close to. He leaned down towards her.

"Why, hello there, young one," Goliath calmly greeted. "What is your name?”

"S-Sunset. Sunset Shimmer," Sunset nervously told.

"Ssssunset Shimmer," he repeated. "Yes, I can see it within you; you and I are the same. Will you do me the honour of coming up here with me?" Goliath offered a welcoming hand to Sunset.

Without thinking about it, Sunset placed her hand onto Goliath's, and instantly she was pulled up onto the stage. All eyes were on her as she stood beside the tall snake by the microphone once more.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in my times of looking to make a change, there is nothing that personally warms my heart more than seeing the inspiration light up in fellow demons' eyes, showing to me that what I seek is exactly what they want, much like what this one here has just provided for me now." Goliath tapped Sunset's shoulder as she was pulled close. "May I present... Sunset Shimmer! May she now provide to you all what she believes is best for us, and also be an inspiration as she is a prime example of the good within the hell."

What did 'provide' to them all mean? Is he making Sunset suddenly speak to a crowd about her beliefs?! Sunset looked back at Goliath and noticed that he took a step backwards, looking at her like a proud father. He was serious!

Her heart began racing like never before. She slowly and shakily approached the microphone, swallowing a lump that formed in her throat. It's... certainly been a while since Sunset was in front of a crowd, and it especially didn't help that she was now to speak in front of a couple hundred scary demons.

Before finally speaking, Sunset closed her eyes and took a few relaxing, deep breaths.

'Just speak from the heart. Don't think too much,' were the words shouting out to her in her head.

She opened her eyes again and things suddenly felt much better now. The stage was hers, and now was her chance to truly testify.

"In my experiences of living in Hell over the last few weeks, it has truly been a horrible, frightful experience. At no time did I ever feel safe when walking down a street, which is why I say that what we need is someone in charge that can make a change, rather than someone who just won't," Sunset said with her voice echoing throughout the crowd.

"I've met many demons during my stay, most were terrible people, but there were a select few which gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe we are all destined for something far greater. We are only put in Hell because of mistakes we have made in the past, disregarding what we may have done to rectify those mistakes, believe me, I'm right there with you all."

"What are you saying?!" a demon suddenly shouted from the audience.

"I'm saying that if we all take a good long look in the mirror, maybe we'll all see that this isn't who we need to be, and if we take action to prove that we are better, we could possibly make such an impact that even the Lord of Hell will even notice himself, possibly giving us all another chance at a better ending to our lives."

Sunset may have overdone it a tad with the inspirational speech, but right now, she really didn't care. She said what she felt had to be said, and just maybe Sunset could make others realise that her dream might actually be possible.

Upon finishing, she looked through the audience, and noticing just how silent they all were. Everyone was just staring at her, all seeming very confused.

A random demon then stuck his hand up in the air, turning the attention over to him. "Are you saying that Satan might send us to heaven if we become nice?"

"Well... yes," Sunset answered.

There was another period of silence until, as if on cue, the entire audience erupted into laughter. Each and every demon loudly roared as tears rolled down their eyes and many fingers were pointed directly at Sunset. In between the sea of howls, Sunset could even hear demons making comments about her.

"Stupid bitch!"

"Us?! Sent to heaven?!"

"Keep dreaming, dipshit!"

Sunset was mortified, unable to move as more laughter and words were thrown her way. She couldn't believe this, the one chance she was given to possibly make a change, and now she stands here, feeling more humiliated than she's ever felt in her life.

She turned around to see what Goliath was thinking, only to realise that he was gone. He left her... left her to be ridiculed all alone on that stage! How could he do this to her?!

She wanted to run away and hide, but all her body was allowing her to do was look at each individual face as they laughed and shamed her. Sunset moved her hand up to her eyes to find out that tears had begun to form.

It was now that Sunset sank to her knees as she broke down crying, having the only thing drowning out her weeping was everyone's guffaws.

"Look! She's crying now!" a demon shouted for everyone to hear, causing them to laugh even harder.

Back with Barbed Wire, she continued looking around for Sunset, checking different streets to see if she'd wandered off and didn't tell her, which seemed weird when Barb thought about it now, but it didn't hurt to check anyway.

She returned to the Mayor's Tower to hear the uproar of laughter, giving her a smirk initially. 'Maybe everyone finally realised what an asshole that snake is,' she thought as she went back to the crowd.

Her smirk was short lived as she looked upon the stage and saw that it wasn't Goliath standing there being ridiculed... it was Sunset!

"Oh no," was all Barb said as she hurried through the audience, throwing plenty of demons aside to get to her friend. She ran up the stage and knelt down with Sunset. "Sunset! What are you doing up here?!"

She saw Sunset's eyes peak through her hands, allowing Barb to see that there were both red and puffy from all of the crying. "Barb...?" she said with a croaky voice.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Then without a heads up, Barb picked Sunset up off the ground, cradling her in her arms as she ran off, away from the crowd and from the humiliation.

Barb ran with Sunset until the sound of demons having a laughing fit was completely gone. She retreated into a nearby alleyway and let Sunset back on her feet, who then moved to lean against the nearest wall and slide down until her face was buried behind her knees.

"Hey, how you holding up, champ?" Barb asked, sitting beside her depressed friend.

And then, out of nowhere, Sunset latches herself onto Barb, crying softly into her chest. She was taken aback by the sudden embrace, kind of confused with what she should do next.

'Okay, your friend is sad, and you need to do something to help her feel better. Think, Barb! Think!' Her head began to sweat as her brain was frying, trying to think of a good form of comfort.

"I tried to make them all see," Sunset started to speak again, her voice still raspy and quiet. "I wanted them to see that maybe there is a chance for things to be better." She let out a sniffle as she wiped her eyes and looked up at Barb. "You were right all along; it is a lost cause."

Now Barb was able to put the pieces together. "So that's why you were up there... Oh Sunset, I'm sorry you went through all that," she said, returning the favour and cuddling Sunset. "Maybe getting something to eat will make you feel better, and you can tell me all about it. How's that sound?"

"O-Okay... Thank you," Sunset thanked her friend.

A handful of fries was furiously rubbed through a puddle of ketchup before being shoved all at once into Barbed Wire's gobbler. Crumbs and sauce stained around her face.

"I can't believe that piece of shit did that to you! I would seriously knock him down a peg or two if it was legal!" Barb raised her face, punching the palm of her other hand, now covering that in ketchup.

Sunset rubbed her arm shamefully. "It's my fault anyway. I was in the heat of the moment and got carried away." Her forehead fell onto the table. "I'm so stupid."

"Hey, hey! You're not stupid. It's these demons that are the real idiots."

"Look, mama! There's the stupid girl on TV!" a demon child blurted out as they and their mother passed the girls' table.

As soon as they were gone, Sunset let out a loud, muffled, sad moan as she sank further down in her dirty leather seat.

It would seem that it was going to be really difficult to lighten Sunset's spirits, Barb realised now. She let out a sigh as she looked around the room, trying to find the right words to say now. "You know, maybe it's for the best that you leave these guys be."

This appeared to finally catch Sunset's attention as her eyes rolled in Barb's direction.

"You're clearly not like anyone else down here, so a lot of demons aren't gonna see things like you do, but you shouldn't worry about that anymore. I know that you've managed to get on some demons' good side like that Softie, but from now on, I think all you should worry about is yourself." Barb then took a really long sip out of her milkshake straw.

It pained her admit it, but Sunset felt that Barb was actually right. It was just an assumption that she could be sent away from Hell anyway, so she shouldn't have been so surprised that no one understood her.

Barb stood up from the table. "Anyways, I'll be right back. Gotta hit the John," she announced before leaving Sunset alone at the table.

Her mind was racing after that horrific event. Sometimes Sunset seemed to forget that she was in a world that was run by criminals and just terrible people. It made her think that if trying to even use her friendship skills from the living was even worth the effort anymore, because at least the people back at Canterlot had even a morsel of a good bone in their body. It really was a world she knew nothing about, so maybe it was every demon for themselves.

But then, a bell was heard ringing, signalling that a new customer had arrived (or left, but in this case, someone had arrived). Sunset caught a glimpse of them in the corner of her eye and she felt that they looked awfully familiar. It then struck her that it was the sheep demon that represented Goliath back at the election. He walked over to Sunset's table.

"Sunset Shimmer?" the sheep asked.

"Yes?" Sunset replied.

The sheep handed Sunset a folded slip of paper. "Sir Goliath wishes to speak with you at this address at the time given. Do not have him wait a minute longer." With that, the sheep swiftly departed.

Sunset looked back and forth the sheep and the letter he gave her as she tried to process the sudden events that just took place. She then snapped out of it and then unfolded the paper she was given. It had very curly writing written in red ink.

Dear Sunset Shimmer

I wish to thank you for your bravery of presenting in front of a crowd like that. Meet me in my presence at 77 Tyrannium Drive at midnight for a share of wine. I feel that there is much we must discuss.

I look forward to meeting you again.

Sincerely,

Sir Goliath Hendrickson

Goliath wanted to see her? After all of that? Was this for real? There's no way! Never would have Sunset imagined that he would even want her within his sight again, yet now here this is. He wants to meet tonight!

This sounded like a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's another chance for her to speak about her beliefs, and maybe she could get Goliath to be on her side too. How could Sunset refuse this?

Sunset then heard a slam and saw Barb come back out from the restroom. No way can Barb find out about this! If she found out, she'd certainly make sure Sunset didn't go.

Sunset frantically stuffed the letter in her pocket, just in time for Barb to slide back into her seat.

"Anyone give you any bother while I was gone?" Barb asked, now moving onto the big fuck off burger she got.

"Umm... no?" Sunset hesitantly replied, shuffling her thumbs. Hopefully after years of not lying she didn't forget how to.

Barb gave Sunset a long sceptical stare as Sunset sweated bullets while giving one of the largest and most unconvincing smiles she's ever given.

"Hmmm... okay!" Then began Barb trying to fit an entire burger in her mouth all at once.

A breath of relief escaped Sunset as her tensed expression finally let loose again. She stared out of the window next to her, thinking about what Goliath was probably going to say to her. It was hard to believe that he was going to be happy, but before she would even be able to talk with him, there was the other important factor to deal with. Barb. Since she had this great resentment towards the guy, she'd probably tie Sunset to the couch so she couldn't escape.

That only left one option. Once Barb falls asleep tonight, Sunset would have to sneak out!

Later that night, Sunset laid wide awake on the couch. Barbed Wire decided to call it a night early that evening, which was very lucky for Sunset. With a quick glance over at the clock, it read '23:02PM'.

She listened closely, either for Barb's snoring or, what it turned out to be, sheer, absolute silence. With that knowledge, Sunset took this as her chance and commenced operation: Sneaky-Sneak. She carefully tiptoed out of the living room her boots in her hands to reduce the noise being caused.

With slow, careful steps and the most noise being the slight creaks of the floorboards. Each step was very dangerous, and she knew she had to ensure that every decision she made was correct, so much so that she brushed her feet across the floor to find the least creaky floorboards.

Then there came the most dangerous part, walking past Barb's bedroom door. Thanks to Barb throwing her hoodie over the top of the door, it remained slightly ajar, allowing any noise to enter the room with ease. What made things worse was how surprisingly completely silent Barb was tonight.

Sunset gulped as she steadily raised her leg and stretched it out as far is it could take her. When she realised just how far she could go, she hopped slightly with her back foot, covering just a little more ground. And with that single step, Sunset was now in the clear.

The front door was within her reach now. Sunset reached towards a small shelf that sat on the wall beside the door and took the keys, slotting them into the door and slowly turning it until it made that satisfying, yet loud click. Sunset froze and listened out again. Still complete silence, which was weird for Barbed Wire.

This was it now. She was home free. Remaining at a slow pace, Sunset pulled the handle down and opened the door just enough so that she could slip out. Operation: Sneaky-Sneak was a success.

The streets whizzed by the window. Sunset was sitting in the back seat of a cab she had managed to hail. It was a car ride like this that gave her more of an idea of just how gigantic this city really was. She always knew it was big, but that could really mean anything.

But regardless of the city's scale, she just knew that with each passing red light, Sunset was approaching Goliath's home, his domain, his castle. There was a large pit in her stomach that grew only bigger as the minutes passed. Her mind was racing, making up close to a hundred questions per second as her dread rose. What was Goliath going to say? Is he mad at her? Is he going to kill her?!

Probably not the latter, but it still worried her to no end.

"So... Tyrannium Street, eh?" the driver demon asked, not taking his eye off the road.

This caused for Sunset break out of her trance, now looking in the mirror at the front of the car. "Huh? Oh. Yeah," she responded.

"That place is full of the richest in all of Sinner City, you know. What's someone like you doing going all the way over there?"

Seeming as this guy wasn't Barbed Wire, she figured she could spill the tea with someone at least. "I got an invitation from Goliath for a drink." She could see the driver's eyebrows raise in the reflection.

"Goliath, huh? Hold on..." The driver's eyes quickly shifted up at the mirror, getting a good look of Sunset's face and hair. "Holy shit. You're that girl from the elections today!"

Here we go again. "Yep, that's me," Sunset smiled with no sense of joy in her face and voice.

The driver laughed. "Ma-hah-han! If the big guy wants to see you after that, then I am sorry, you ain't lasting through the night!"

A huge blush crept onto Sunset's face as she looked down to the side to try and hide her face, also crossing her arms. She began figuring now that this was probably going to be the norm now until she finally left this place. Admittedly, this wasn't as bad as being humiliated by a six-year-old, but that still doesn't really help her when thinking about it.

She turned her head again to look out the window once more, hoping to tune out the driver in the front. However, his cackles were loud and proud, making it immensely hard to ignore. This was probably going to be a long ride.

Eventually, after what felt like forever with the nonstop laughter driving Sunset insane, the cab came to a screeching halt that almost launched her right out of her seat with the seatbelt squeezing the air out of her lungs as it held her in place.

During the trying to let herself think, it caused for Sunset to ignore her bearings. So, she looked at the area just outside of the window. Her eyes were met with a very spacious estate, with big, expensive looking houses surrounding the area, but the crowning jewel was behind the gate that the taxi was parked beside. A large two-story mansion with lights shining through each and every window, built with roof bricks and a grey tiled roof.

Sunset paid the driver his money and left the car, awestruck by the beauty of the house. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. This was where Goliath lived?

She approached the gate, almost walking directly into it as the mansion seemed to hypnotise her. However, her state of stunned bewilderment was short lived as a loud buzzing sounded from the walls of the gate, giving Sunset a fright.

"Please state your business here," a distorted voice said.

Sunset went towards the voice, finding a metal panel with a speaker and a red button in it. She cleared her voice and held the button down.

"Uhh, hi. This is Sunset Shimmer, from the election?" she introduced herself.

There was then a moment of silence before another loud sound came, this time being an alarm signalling for Sunset to make way for the gate that slowly and creakily opened. The path was now clear for her, and she followed the path up to the large home, approaching the large, dark oak door slowly just to soak in the size and beauty.

Before she could even place her fist on the door to knock, it swung open, revealing the same sheep demon from before not looking very happy at Sunset.

"Where have you been?!" the sheep hissed at her. Sunset held her hands up defensively as the sheep stepped out. "I told you to be right on time!"

"Chill the heck out, man. I'm only about two minutes late," Sunset said, pointing at a clock she could see inside.

The sheep moaned, pointing at Sunset with a fierce look. "You're lucky Sir Goliath is an understanding man. Now follow. He awaits in the living room."

The sheep demon led Sunset into the house, and it was far more beautiful on the inside, with a massive main room with a golden chandelier lighting up the room, tiled marble floors and red wallpaper with golden patterns. Sunset closely followed while she looked around in almost every direction, eventually leading to Sunset accidentally walking into the sheep as their journey came to an end.

"Before we enter, I must implore that you treat the sir with the utmost respect." The sheep's clenched his fist in front of Sunset's face. "He is a man of supreme authority and I will not stand by to watch you act immature in his presence!"

Now Sunset wasn't sure who she was more scared of: the sinister voiced candidate or his number two. The sheep continued to stare at Sunset with a deathly glint in his eyes as he opened the doors behind him.

Beyond those final doors was a dimly lit living room, with a green carpet and a garnet wallpaper, all being lit up by a roaring fireplace inside of a white mantle. In the centre of the room sat two chairs facing the fire. Sunset slowly made her way inside. She could feel her hands shaking as she held them close to her chest.

"Ssssunset Shimmer. It is truly an honour to be in your presence once more," a familiar voice hissed.

After a few more steps, a slender figure was within her line of sights once more. With a cigarette in his mouth and leering at Sunset just under the brim of his hat was Goliath once more. He waved his long-nailed claws towards the chair opposite of the snake. "Please take a seat. We have much to discuss. Montgomery, fetch us a bottle of apple blood and some glasses, if you please."

"Yes, my liege," Montgomery the sheep demon bowed.

Goliath took the burning stub out of his mouth and stamped it out onto an ash tray. "It is a funny thing, you see. In my millennium of living in Hell, never before have I let another soul into my home other than my loyal acquaintance. I've never met a demoness like you, my dear."

Sunset sat forward in her seat, with her legs closed tightly and her claws clasped onto her lap. "L-like me?"

Goliath nodded. "Oh yes. With the great guts you had to stand upon that stage and really give it to those demons, I've never seen anything like it." He began to a Higher.

"Had I chosen someone else, they may have just said why criminals are bad or repeat everything that I had said, yadda-yadda. But by luck- No. By fate, I find you! An innocent girl who just wants the best for the world, to see it strive and become united."

Goliath seemed to leave a pause afterwards, looking back downwards as he gave what sounded like an embarrassed laugh. "I do apologise. Allow me to cut right to the chase."

Their eyes had met once more, now allowing Sunset a full view of the evening's host's face. With close enough inspection, she couldn't really see any form of anger. Instead, it was quite the opposite of that. Just why is it he invited her here?

The living room doors burst open again with Montgomery returning with a pair of wine glasses and a sealed black bottle of wine. The sheep demon removed the cork with a loud pop and poured the crimson red substance for Sunset and his boss.

"Thank you, Montgomery," praised Goliath as he took a sip of the drink. "Miss Sunset Shimmer, we both seek for the same things, to let the world we live in become more one and to become stronger. That is why I humbly request that you work alongside me and become my advocate. If you are able to persuade more demons to follow my campaign by your incredibly inspirational words, you may be the key to allowing me to change the city for the better," Goliath explained with an enthusiastic smile, revealing his razor-sharp jaws.

Sunset's eyes widened after the snake's plans were revealed. To become an advocate. With that kind of power, she knew that she might just be able to make a real difference before she left the city. It almost sounded like a dream come true. Given her terrible experiences already, maybe Goliath and her could make the streets free of dread and fear.

But Sunset suddenly remembered. Barb. If she knew about all this, there's no way she would trust Sunset again.

"This all sounds... amazing, sir," Sunset began, looking down to her wine, staring at her sad reflection. "But before I went to the election, a friend was telling me why I shouldn't listen to you."

Goliath gave a disappointed hum. "So, you have heard about me then..."

Sunset nodded. "Not much, but it was brought up that you were a tyrant. Is this true?"

"Well, I suppose there's truly no escaping from my past." The candidate stood up from his seat, drink still in hand, and made his way over to the undraped windows. "Yes, Miss Shimmer, it is true," he began.

"Over a millennium ago, I was a ruler of an old kingdom. I was crowned shortly after the last member of my family was assassinated by poison in his meal, so the fate of my kingdom now rested on my shoulders. My ancestors achieved what would be a sublime era of peace, spread throughout the different kingdoms in our land. No one believed it could ever be broken.

"However, it was broken. A rebellious act by another kingdom against my very own! The peace was betrayed! Only I seemed to realise that this could be the deal breaker that plunges each of our kingdoms into disarray. No one ever listened to me. So when I was finally crowned, I acted.

"I knew that who were once our 'allies' could not be trusted anymore. So, what did I do? I gathered my army. I expanded it with the strongest in our villages. Then, we set out, and we conquered other kingdoms aplenty."

Sunset tilted her head slightly to the side, listening intently from her chair as Goliath continued his story. He turned back around to face his guest once more.

"Soon enough, I would meet my demise by one of my very own subjects renegading against me. Bringing my rule to a quick end. Was I fulfilled in the end? Yes, because of me, our kingdom was bigger and more powerful than ever. But was the loss along the way too great? Did I have any regrets that weighed me down throughout?"

Sunset leaned forward, waiting for Goliath to fill the pause.

"Not at all," he answered himself. "Loss is all part of the journey, and it was my duty as king to move forward and honour our many fallen spirits by ensuring that the Hendrickson name would strike fear into the hearts of our foes, assuring to them that we were not to be tested. It is the key to victory, and after every battle I reigned supreme. But after meeting my fate, I still had the dream that even after all of that, I would do it all again." Goliath took another swig from his glass.

Once he was finished with his past, Sunset remained seated, completely frozen as many thoughts plagued her mind at the same time. "You... would? But... but all the innocent lives that can be lost. It's way too great a cost just to become stronger. She... she was right about you." Sunset pointed directly to the tyrant.

Goliath sighed as he walked back towards Sunset, resting his free hand over her shoulder. "Sunset, please understand that I only want what is best for our city. We all have great potential and everyone must realise this so that we can be successful.

"Now, I realise that this may not be your ideal vision, that I realise is what makes us both different, but this is the only way we can make this work. We want this city to finally unite? Then we must bring them all together into one army, under one ruler that is willing to take risks and make sacrifices."

"And then what?" asked Sunset, shrugging Goliath's claws off of her shoulder. "What will you do when you've made everyone into a pawn?"

With his other hand now free, Goliath sat it behind his back as he went towards the centre of the room, staring up into nothing. "I'm afraid that information is classified for the time being. However, all will be clear if everything goes according to plan."

Sunset scoffed, placing her glass down on the table in between the chairs. "This whole time, I figured that someone actually believed what I was saying," she admitted with sadness as she shook her head, now beginning to feel foolish that she ever thought of the possibility in the first place.

"I understand your disappointment, Miss Shimmer, I really do. However, your words were not what I admired. Your beliefs of the possibility of demons being sent to heaven are undeniably farfetched, almost as though you made it up yourself. I admire your optimism, but you are living in a fantasy, and a childish one at that."

Sunset opened her mouth again, trying to retort back with why he was wrong, but not even a peep came out, all because of the simple reason; was he? This whole time, she only had placed her faith on the hope that it was possible. All because of everything that she had went through back in the living realm, Sunset had been so used to things just working out in the end. Could it be that she became so desensitised from things turning out right that she couldn't expect it going wrong eventually?

Noticing the silence that now fell between the two, Goliath released a sharp sigh. "Well, it would seem that we are at a disagreement. I think that it is best that you leave," he snarled, clutching the glass tighter.

Despite the horrible things that he had presented to Sunset on this terrible night, she knew that there was no way that she was going to go home without making a stance for herself. She stood up, fuelled by an anger she hasn't felt in a long time.

"I can't imagine just what you think about doing to this city, but whatever it takes, I'll make sure that you don't win this at all costs! You're a crooked monster, and I will never work alongside someone so evil!"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Goliath exploded with rage. In the blink of an eye, the claws on the tyrant's free hand extended to the length of a short sword and he slashed the mantle in front of him, breaking it into dust and pebbles that extinguished the fire beneath it.

Sunset gasped with shock as she stared eye wide at the damage dealt. Her hand was placed on her now racing heart, trying to process what had just happened. Her eyes darted between the rubble and the evil glare that now haunted Goliath's own eyes. This was the breaking point now. She now knew that it was time for her to leave, which she did so with a quick pace.

Sunset flew open the living room doors, barging passed Montgomery who was about to enter. The sheep demon looked at the now departing demoness before entering.

Montgomery's jaw fell as he saw the finished scene. "Oh... my... God. Sir, are you okay?" he asked, going to his boss's side. "What did that girl do?!"

Goliath recollected his composure, letting out a deep breath and retracting his claws with a sheathing sound. "Calm yourself, Montgomery. It would seem that Miss Shimmer will not be accompanying us on our way to the top. But no matter, I have a new plan. A plan that will ensure our victory."

"With only just a few weeks left?" Montgomery asked.

Goliath let out a low, sinister laugh. "Trust me, we will be finished right before the final vote has been counted."

Sunset was found walking through the streets of Sinner City, deciding that after such a disastrous day, she didn't want to find herself facing with another demon tonight. It was times like this that she wished that she was given a hoodie instead of a leather jacket when she arrived. While the streets were practically empty at this time of night, she was still weary in case someone would just randomly appear.

A childish fantasy, he called it. Sunset's wish of escaping this place, nothing more or better than some fairy tale. She's never thought about this wish more than she had today, thinking about if it was just wishful thinking. Goliath was right, Sunset had just made it up, and now that she thought about it, she came to the conclusion that she was probably better off accepting her fate.

Sunset was sent to Hell, and there was no changing this. No one else even decided to give her dream the time of day, so how much was it even worth to continue dreaming now?

Rounding the corner into Firelin Street, she caught sight of Barb's apartment block. It was about time she got her sneak on again so she can get back to her couch without waking up her roommate.

She approached the stairs, now realising that someone else was trying to climb them. They both stopped right in their tracks and looked at each other dead in the eye.

"Hey..." Barb greeted, squinting her eyes in suspicion. This would explain why her bedroom was so silent.

"Hey..." Sunset returned the greeting.

"What are you doing out so late?" Barb asked.

"I should ask you the same thing, Barb." Sunset crossed her arms.

Barbed Wire tried to keep a straight face, eventually failing to do so as a childish giggle escaped her. "Well, you got me there. Come on, let's get back inside," she said, pulling out a set of keys.

Sunset followed behind her. Finally, this nightmarish day can end, and for the sake of herself, she figured that it may be for the best if she didn't leave the house for a good few days.

But that may not be able to happen. What with how confident that Goliath was, it might be a better idea if Sunset stepped in to make sure he didn't win. Perhaps if she managed to talk to the other candidate, Rattingsbottom, they could come to some kind of agreement, and maybe make some real beneficial changes to Sinner City.

However, this is a story for another day, so with a final yawn, Sunset found her way back to her bed and slept the rest of the night away.

This chapter was REALLY damn difficult to write this time round. But it seems that we're finally beginning to get somewhere!