//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Twilight Against Sunset // Story: The Sunset of a Frozen Princess // by DaylightHobbyist //------------------------------// Twilight and Sunset stared each other down from opposite ends of the field, situated on the half of the courtyard that hadn’t yet been utterly demolished. Cyan eyes met violet ones. Sunset locked onto the Princess with a sharp focus while Twilight stared back uncertainly. A tense stillness filled the air with only the running water of the courtyard’s fountain breaking through the gentle breeze. Flurry watched on from the sidelines with bated breath, nearly shaking in excitement. Sunset steadied her breath in anticipation. She needed her full focus now. It wasn’t every day she was provided a chance to lock horns with a sorcerer of Twilight’s caliber. In fact, she had never really been afforded a chance like this until now. As arrogant as it made her sound, no unicorn had ever even come close to measuring up to her. That was just the truth of the matter. In her day, she was the unchallenged princess of Celestia’s school. It didn’t matter if the pony in question was her senior or junior. They were crushed just the same on the rare occurrence they dared to stand up to the pint-sized powerhouse of a filly. Now, while Sunset fully understood that wielding her power in such a manner had been beyond wrong, it still went to show just how much she had completely outclassed everypony else. It was almost ironic that more powerful unicorns emerged only after she fled Equestria. If what Twilight had written her was any indication, Starlight Glimmer’s magical ability could have very well surpassed her own. Then the great, but apparently not at all late, Star Swirl the Bearded had returned from limbo. She had even missed the talents of the new generation of unicorns if Luster Dawn was any indication. Now that the primes of all those unicorns had passed her by, her standing in Equestria wasn’t actually all that different from what it had been all those decades ago. Her mindset, on the other hoof, couldn’t have been more so. She had enjoyed the ease with which she had remained on top in the past. Relished it. For all the tireless hours of work, practice, and study she had put in, it had all only been for the solitary purpose of pushing others down and ensuring that she remained on top. Now, the same situation no longer held any appeal to her. Now, she worked to push herself. But what was an unnaturally strong unicorn to do for a challenge in a land that was currently short on prodigies? The obvious solution was to pick fights with royalty. Sunset could no longer suppress the smirk she had been attempting to bury under a poker face as she sized Twilight up. Just look at her. She could only imagine the fit she would have thrown over it had she only known. To think, that little purple twerp Celestia and Cadenza fawned over would one day grow to become a magnificent princess. Even staring straight at her now, it was a difficult sight to properly digest. Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful pony on the planet. It was funny how the truth could still sound wrong, but she was looking at just that. In a way, this had been a long time coming. Celestia’s faithful and fallen pupil, fated to do battle. In retrospect, it was almost a little disappointing that their first encounter all those years ago had involved so little magic. Both of them were taken out of the element that defined them. Two teenage girls rolling around on the ground over a prom crown was not quite the epic confrontation she had imagined in retrospect. Well, better late than never. While Sunset knew full well who the superior pony was between them, she had always wondered just how far she could push the princess. It was time to find out. “Here are the ground rules!” Twilight announced to her friend and soon-to-be opponent. “Rule one! Raw magic will be regulated to stun blasts only!” Sunset nodded her understanding. No blowing things, or each other, up. Got it. “Rule two! All areas outside of the courtyard are considered out of bounds!” Sunset nodded again. Keep it contained and subdued. “And, Rule three! The winner of this contest will only be decided by whoever successfully subdues their opponent!” Sunset confirmed her understanding one final time. It was pretty standard, all things considered. It seemed Twilight was opting for a ruleset that discouraged physical brutality, which was fine by her. This was meant to be a test of skill, and she was in no rush to take direct shots from an alicorn again. Still, Sunset knew subduing Twilight wouldn’t be easy. She doubted the trick she pulled on Flurry would work on Twilight. Guess she’d have to try and work something out. “Ready when you are, Princess!” Sunset called out to her, a gleam in her eye that Twilight hadn’t seen in many years. She had never imagined she’d be on the other side of that gaze again. The analyzing stare that was disassembling her with a glance, sizing her up, searching for faults and weaknesses. Anything that would give her an advantage and allow her the chance to take Twilight down. It was somewhat unnerving to have Sunset look at her like that again. Twilight tentatively assumed a battle-ready stance to mirror Sunset’s own, wordlessly conveying her intention to begin the contest of magic. It was far too late for second thoughts at this point. The battleground grew deathly silent in anticipation, neither alicorn nor unicorn daring to make the first move. Sunset begged Twilight to show her what she could do with just her eyes. Flurry could practically feel the tension in the air. Sunset crouched in anticipation while Twilight held stiff in trepidation. “Hm, do you think it would help to sound them off?” A new voice inquired from beside her. “Uncle Discord? Uncle Spike!?” Flurry turned to her side in surprise, the lanky draconequus and buff dragon standing beside her when they most certainly hadn’t been there before. Spike gave her a courteous wave with an expression that indicated he was not here by choice. “Well, only one way to find out,” Discord resolved, snapping an eagle claw. *DING*DING*DING* Twilight jumped at the bell and released a burst of magic that missed the unicorn facing her by a mile. Sunset raised an eyebrow at the shot that had practically been thrown away and held off on any sort of counterattack. That was not at all what she had been waiting for. Sensing Sunset was daring her to make another move, Twilight charged up her horn for a second time and fired another burst of magic, this one coming far closer, but still plainly missing the unicorn who didn’t move a muscle in reaction. If there was any doubt in Sunset’s mind before, it was firmly quashed now. Twilight wasn’t even trying to hit her. Sunset’s eyes narrowed in a harsh warning, sending a clear message to Twilight. Maybe Twilight wasn’t a fan of hurting her, but that was just a nice way of saying that she didn’t think she could handle it. Fine. If Twilight didn’t think she was up to anything an alicorn could dish out, she’d just have to show her why it wasn’t a good idea to take Sunset Shimmer lightly. “Okay, Twi. My turn,” Sunset warned. Twilight fidgeted, Sunset’s tone making her uneasy. She saw Sunset’s horn ignite with a red surge of magical energy and in nearly the same span release that energy as a crimson orb of crackling power flung directly at her. Twilight’s eyes shot open in shock. Both the power amassed and the speed at which it was collected and sent barreling at her taking her by surprise to the point where she nearly failed to throw up a shield in time. “GAH!” Twilight yelped, the orb ramming into her crude barrier like a vengeful drill. In theory, there shouldn’t have been a problem. The magic she now defended against wasn’t anywhere close to the sheer might of Flurry’s barrage that she had effortlessly fended off not even minutes prior, yet the difference in technique was astounding. Sunset had brought this magic together far faster, released it far quicker, and focused it to an absurd degree. While Flurry had simply sent waves of wild untamed magic at her in showers of energy that fell off as quickly as they arrived, Sunset had hit her with purpose and precision. She could feel the attack actively eating away at the pathetic last-minute shield spell she had thrown in front of it, and while Sunset may not have been an alicorn, her magic was still far beyond any unicorn. In conclusion, she didn’t stand a chance. Twilight’s shield shattered into pieces like glass, and the alicorn was flung back clean onto her rear, her crown knocked askew and falling over one eye. “Woah!” Flurry Heart gasped in astonishment, “Aunt Sunset just knocked Aunt Twilight onto her big fat butt!” Twilight sputtered to recover from the embarrassment, not even certain what to focus on. Eventually, she settled on the most important matter. “My butt’s not that big!” “Oh please, Twilight. You’re a sandwich away from Celestia,” Discord chuckled, bringing attention to his presence. Twilight’s face was an impressive mixture of surprise, shame, and frustration. “Discord!?” “What? Truthfully, it was an honest compliment. You turn every head in any room you leave.” “What are you doing here?” Twilight huffed, forcing herself to ignore his backhanded praises. She probably should have noticed before now. There were no bells in the courtyard. Discord shrugged his shoulders and fell back into a camping chair. “You didn’t really expect to blow up the castle without me coming to watch, did you?” “Yeah, I’m going to have to ask you to please not do that,” Spike requested from beside him. Judging by the large gashes of dirt missing, the castle landscapers were already going to be demanding a raise for this one. Discord materialized a pair of shades and placed them over his eyes, making it clear he was here to watch the show. “Now, a word of advice, Twilight. I suggest you start taking this little tussle a skosh more seriously. The little fireball packs a wallop.” Twilight gave the draconequus a disapproving stare but nodded a concession. Sunset had successfully wounded her pride. Twilight got back on all four hooves and turned back to face Sunset who was patiently waiting for her to finish her conversation. A seemingly honorable gesture was it not for the smug self-satisfied look that adorned the unicorn’s face. “So, did that get the point across, or do I have to knock you on your royal backside again?” Twilight brought up a hoof to straighten her crown back into its proper position, a fire now lit inside her. “Oh, believe me, Sunset. That won’t be happening again.” Sunset grinned back at her. It seemed Twilight had a competitive streak in her after all. Sunset was eager to put it to the test. “Okay, Twilight. Let’s play.” Sunset launched a scattershot of magic pellets in Twilight’s direction. Twilight effortlessly shielded the hail, this time completely prepared for the offensive, and quickly dropped her shield to send a counter beam at Sunset. The magic only found empty grass, Sunset warping out of the way just before the beam made contact. Twilight flicked her ears. A novice would no doubt be disoriented by the sudden loss of visual contact with their opponent, blindly guessing for one of the infinite potential positions the opposition would take upon reappearing. She, on the other hoof, knew that all she had to do was listen for the pop. Twilight turned around and fired a shot in the direction of the offending sound. “Ghk!?” a strangled voice gasped in shock as a current of magic passed through her and rendered her momentarily unable to move, leaving her to collapse on the ground in a heap. Sunset twitched, willing her body to respond to her again. Just like they had agreed upon, their magic could only be used to stun. No risk of permanent damage, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still an uncomfortable jolt of paralyzing energy. Twilight patiently watched Sunset struggle back onto her hooves, passing up the advantage and the chance to potentially secure her victory. “Okay, I guess that one was a little obvious,” Sunset groaned, still feeling the effects of Twilight’s magic. Alicorn magic was potent. That didn’t exactly come as a surprise, but it wasn’t something you could fully comprehend until you were on the receiving end of it. Amazingly, Sunset only now realized this was her first time really getting to taste it. Celestia had, of course, never laid a hoof on her, and Cadenza, heaven knows how had always been able to restrain herself from retaliating against even her nastiest antics. Even Flurry Heart had never actually managed to strike her in any way that wasn’t physical. Twilight was the first, and she wouldn’t complain if she was also the last. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked, her face quickly shifting into one of concern at seeing the difficulty Sunset was having, shaking off her attack. Did she overdo it? “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Just a little shocked. Being electrocuted has nothing on that.” “We can stop if you want,” Twilight suggested. Sunset scoffed. “You really think one hit is enough to take me out? I’m just getting warmed up,” Sunset boasted, her pride doing an amazing job of shaking her out of her daze or at least allowing her to appear as though it had. Twilight nodded and reassumed a more guarded position. Sunset began pacing around Twilight who held her ground. Catching Twilight off-guard earlier probably gave her more confidence than was strictly healthy. She was still the underdog in this fight. It wasn’t a position she was used to, but Sunset prided herself on her ability to adapt and get creative. She needed to fight smarter if she wanted to keep this competitive. Sunset fired a blast of magic directly in front of Twilight. Twilight stared, baffled at the simple analog alarm clock Sunset had materialized before her. She turned to the unicorn with a questioning glance only to catch a red flash as Sunset once again teleported out of sight. Twilight was left hopelessly confused. Sunset of all ponies wasn’t the type to make the same mistake twice and yet she immediately attempted the same move that had backfired on her once already. Surely, she realized that all she had to do was listen for… Twilight flinched as the clock in front of her began ringing at an obnoxious volume, shaking around in the grass as it filled the air with the clattering sound of metal. She folded her ears against her head in a desperate attempt to drown out the racket. How was she meant to hear anything when that thing was clattering awa…oh. Twilight felt the electrifying charge of Sunset’s magic strike her from behind and run straight through her. Twilight whipped around to look in the direction of the attack only to find nothing there. She grit her chattering teeth when, for a second time, she felt the unpleasant shock of Sunset’s magic course through her, this time with considerably more power than before. Enough to cause her to stumble as she turned again to catch nothing. Quickly growing tired of this game, Twilight covered herself in a dome of magic and swiftly brought a hoof down to smash the offending noise that was preventing her from hearing Sunset’s movements, the mechanism shattering into a sputtering heap. The sizzling sound of magic connecting with her barrier alerted Twilight to Sunset’s position. “Got you!” Twilight shouted in victory, whipping in her direction and grabbing hold of the amber unicorn in her magic. Sunset struggled to move in Twilight’s magenta-colored telekinetic grip but found absolutely no give for her efforts. Twilight had held her with magic before in a gentle touch Sunset had come to associate with her. That gentle touch had turned solid now, just as firm as stone. “You know, that was a pretty cheap trick,” Twilight commented, moving forward to stand in front of the immobile unicorn. “Are you kidding?” Sunset huffed, feebly trying to get any motion at all out of her body, but it seemed she wasn’t going anywhere so long as Twilight didn’t feel like allowing it. “What do you want me to do? Even that barely slowed you down. It was like trying to tranquilize an elephant,” Sunset growled, admittedly a little frustrated at the clear power discrepancy between them. She definitely didn’t go light on that second charge. Twilight frowned. “You know, you all really do wonders for my self-esteem.” Sunset didn’t even acknowledge that and continued her fight against Twilight’s magic to no avail. Surely, this couldn’t be over already? Yet, it seemed she had no way of overpowering Twilight’s magic no matter how hard she pushed. “Sunset, that’s not going to work,” Twilight confirmed for her, infuriatingly starting to take amusement in watching her valiant struggle. Sunset fumed at the injustice. It’s not like she could do something like this to Twilight. A lightbulb went off in her head. She couldn’t do something like this to Twilight and maybe her magic couldn’t directly overpower Twilight’s magic, but it certainly could still affect Twilight. “You know, Twi, I always wondered, isn’t it a bit of a pain having a mane that long? I mean, sure, you look pretty, but it seems like it’d get in the way a lot.” Twilight was caught by surprise at Sunset’s sudden choice of topic, a light red blush coloring her face. “Oh, uhm, well—” Twilight never got a chance to finish the sentence as before she knew it, a red magic aura had taken hold of her hair and jerked it directly over her face like a curtain. “Boy, Aunt Sunset sure fights pretty dirty,” Flurry Heart commented, watching the rather ungraceful sight of her Aunt Twilight stumbling around to remove her long shimmering mane from her view. “I know. Isn’t it a treat?” Discord cackled, shoving a mound of popcorn into his mouth. “It’s definitely effective,” Spike shook his head in second-hand embarrassment. Twilight was gifted in many ways. So many things just came to her naturally. Sadly, physical coordination was still not one of them. “Sunset, I can’t see!” Twilight complained, stumbling backward. “That’s the idea, Twilight,” Sunset said, using her own magic to keep Twilight’s mane problematic as she saw her opportunity in Twilight’s blind movements. With a precise aim, Sunset bathed the grassy patch behind Twilight in her magic, converting the terrain into an Icy sheet. Just as expected, the tall alicorn backed onto it and her hooves immediately flew out from under her. “YAH!” Twilight screamed, her balance thrown off beyond any hope of saving as she ungracefully crashed onto her back, her focus broken, setting her unicorn prisoner free. Sunset winced in momentary sympathy at the hard landing but pressed her advantage. She summoned a lasso to aid her and with practiced skill, wrangled all four of Twilight’s legs in it, tightening the hold with a firm pull. She really needed to thank Applejack for teaching her so many useful skills. In a matter of moments, with the help of a few sturdy knots, she had a successfully hogtied princess before her. Twilight stared at her from the ground in disbelief, the entire event happening so fast she didn’t know quite how to react to the indignity. Sunset looked at the sight before her and couldn’t help but feel that it was missing something. In an arrogant flourish, Sunset used her magic to materialize an apple in Twilight’s muzzle. Perfect. “Well, somepony’s getting a pay cut,” Spike nodded, doing his best to tune out the draconequus that was practically dying beside him. Twilight laid there in shock for a few moments, processing the entire situation. The thick rope that was meant to hold Twilight in place snapped apart like it was little more than cheap string. Sunset paled at the sight. Somehow, she had completely forgotten Twilight had been gifted with strength beyond any Earth Pony and now she had a very ticked alicorn bearing down on her. “Ptheck!” Twilight spat out the offending fruit that had been placed into her mouth upon returning to a vertical position and advanced on Sunset, intent on giving her a piece of her mind. Sunset backed away to put some more distance between them, but as always, her stubby legs didn’t measure up too well to Twilight’s. “Would it help if I said I was sorry?” “You’re only sorry I can get my hooves on you!” Twilight asserted, getting right into Sunset’s face causing the unicorn in front of her to trip over herself. Sunset had to admit, that wasn’t untrue. She’d definitely have to go with chains next time. “You have two choices, Sunset. You can forfeit now, or you can take what’s coming to you,” Twilight cautioned her, an edge to her voice. Sunset wouldn’t lie, she was a little intimidated. Twilight could be pretty feisty when pushed, in a way her human counterpart never was. Yet, it was an intensity that Sunset found to also be quite thrilling. “Come on, Princess, we both know that, if you want to win, you’re going to have to put me down,” Sunset defiantly stated, getting back on her hooves and putting herself muzzle to muzzle with the alicorn. Twilight smiled a confident smirk like she was hoping for that exact response. "Oh, I'm not going to put you down.” Sunset began to regret her bravado in record time when she saw Twilight begin to charge up an ominous-looking spell, a look in her eye that said she wasn’t going to hesitate in her movements any longer. Taking a page out of Trixie’s playbook, Sunset summoned a cluster of smoke bombs to cover her escape, bathing them both in a dark cloud. Sunset only managed to teleport a short distance back before Twilight cleared the area of all obstruction with a few flaps of her large wings. The gas was forcefully blown aside for Sunset to take in the sight of an unphased Twilight, her spell still charged and ready in her horn. Sunset took the offensive now, tapping deeper into her well of power than she had so far to launch a beam of energy at her. If Twilight was intent on holding that spell, it’d be difficult for her to manage a shield. Even the most advanced mage would be hard-pressed not to burn themselves out doing that. Her attack met only open-air, not even coming close to striking the Princess who vanished from her spot, and yet strangely hadn’t used any sort of teleportation to escape, given the clear lack of a magical discharge. Sunset darted her eyes around, desperately trying to catch the trick she was missing. “Looking for somepony?” Twilight’s voice asked from directly behind a baffled Sunset. Sunset jumped at the Princess who was within spitting distance of her now. “What!? How did you—” “A speed spell. It’s pretty useful when you have somewhere to be,” Twilight nonchalantly explained, still holding her first spell. Sunset knew she was in trouble now. A speed spell, like Accelero, was the kind of magic most ponies spent their lives training to be capable of. Even she had a pretty poor handle on it before she had abandoned her studies. To use it in combination with any other spell was practically impossible, yet here she was. Twilight took her opportunity and unleashed the spell she had been holding in all this time, striking Sunset in the back. Sunset felt the tingling sensation wash through her and quickly whipped around to face Twilight who had a satisfied look on her face. “What was that?” Sunset questioned, admittedly a little panicked at having unknown magic placed on her. “I just thought I’d lighten the mood,” Twilight joked. Sunset didn’t get it, but she had a feeling that it was just as eye-roll-inducing as Twilight’s jokes usually were. She tried to take a step forward only to not make any progress as her hoof somehow managed to just barely miss the ground. As did her other hooves. Sunset panicked at the realization that she no longer was in contact with the ground and tried to latch onto the grass to keep herself grounded. It was only after her knee-jerk reaction that she realized how futile that was. “I miss having hands,” Sunset lamented only realizing after she tried it that grabbing things wasn’t something hooves were particularly good for. Sunset slowly floated clean off the ground and stopped several feet into the air, stuck suspended and weightless with absolutely no control over herself. “Twilight, what is this!?” Sunset demanded, running low on options and attempting to paddle her way back down. “That, Sunset, was a gravity spell. Usually, gravity spells only shift the forces of gravity, but sometimes it’s useful to nullify the effects altogether,” Twilight explained while getting up close to the helpless unicorn dangling at eye level with her. “Normally, it’s used for things like transporting cargo or clearing debris, but it can also be a very effective and easy method for immobilizing another pony,” Twilight smiled, bringing a hoof up to cup Sunset’s chin and steady her in place so she could look her directly in the eye. “It’s just basic physics. No gravity means no way to produce motion. Unless…” Sunset noticed the playful smile on the alicorn and didn’t like what it meant. “Twilight, don’t you dar—” “They are acted upon by an outside force,” Twilight concluded, giving Sunset’s chin a gentle flick that, in her position, sent her into a mid-air backflip. Twilight watched Sunset spin. She really did enjoy physics and Sunset was being such an excellent example of inertia. Twilight had enough mercy to use a hoof to bring Sunset back to rest, the poor amber unicorn beginning to turn green and latching onto the offered limb with her own hooves, desperate to stop spinning. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Sunset gagged, praying for her world to just hold still. “Well, you look pretty subdued to me, Sunset. I believe that makes me the winner,” Twilight stated as a matter of fact. Sunset glared at Twilight. “This isn’t over yet.” Twilight shook the foreleg Sunset was holding onto, easily waving the unicorn around with it. “You make a better balloon than a pony at this point, Sunset. It’s over.” Sunset frowned at first before her expression morphed into a smile. Twilight was so sure of herself now that she was leaving herself wide open. She knew just how to wipe that smug look off Twilight’s face and she had her to thank for the idea. Without a word, Sunset powered up her horn and blasted Twilight in the face faster than she could blink. Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise. Somehow, she didn’t expect Sunset to still insist on fighting her even when she was practically immobile. She should have known better. “Not as long as I can still use my magic,” Sunset defiantly bit back. Twilight felt she should probably hurry up with a sealing spell. Just as Twilight prepared to ignite her horn, her crown was ripped right off her head and plummeted towards the ground at an unusual speed. “That can't be good,” Twilight murmured, looking down. “You know, Princess, I’m pretty fond of physics too,” Sunset mentioned, bringing her attention back to her supposedly helpless assistant who had a borderline evil look of triumph on her face. “I have to admit, using a gravity spell was very creative, but maybe you’re going in the wrong direction.” She attempted to lift her horn again for the spell only to find that simple task was now suddenly a decent struggle. “Sunset…what—” “If you really want to keep somepony down, Twilight, you need more gravity, not less,” Sunset pretended to idly explain, while Twilight began to shake considerably. “Maybe twice as much.” Twilight felt her hooves begin to slip out from under her like even the ground was trying to get out of her way. “Or maybe five times as much.” Twilight went to her knees, feeling as though an enormous weight was being slowly loaded onto her shoulders. One that she was not prepared to bear. “If you really want to be sure, you could even do ten times as much.” Twilight slammed onto the ground, belly first, squeezing the wind out of her, her long limbs splaying out to the side in a star formation and just as pinned down as the rest of her. “For a normal pony that is. For a big strong alicorn, I was thinking something along the lines of a hundred times as much.” Twilight’s chin, at last, met the ground, completely flattened onto the grass like a sticker slapped onto a notebook with a gasping “Oof!” “Ha, yes!” Sunset whooped, pumping a foreleg in celebration and quickly regretting it as she nearly sent herself into another spin. “Okay, I need to get down from here.” With Twilight currently indisposed, breaking her enchantment was a surprisingly simple matter. Without Twilight around to maintain and enforce it, a decent failsafe spell was enough to reestablish gravity’s effect on herself. “Whoa!” Sunset cried, landing with an uncomfortable thud in front of Twilight. “Ow. That’s going to hurt in the morning. Heh, gravity, am I right, Twilight?” “Very funny,” Twilight mumbled, her tone dripping with what Sunset guessed was sarcasm, but it was hard to tell given Twilight’s position made talking a bit more difficult than usual. “Well, Princess, It looks like I’m the one standing tall now,” Sunset boasted to her captive audience upon getting to her hooves. “First time for everything.” Sunset paused. “Okay, I walked into that one. Still, it doesn’t matter how tall you are when you’re stuck on the ground, does it?” Sunset smirked, leaning over Twilight who was shooting daggers at her, none too pleased at letting herself fall into this situation. Feeling a little playful, Sunset extended a hoof to give Twilight’s nose a gentle boop. “Oh, get all your fun in while you can,” Twilight growled. Sunset tilted her head in confusion. She had scarcely had the time to even process it herself, but as far as she could tell, Twilight was well and truly trapped. There was no way she could scrape together the focus to form a counterspell under such pressure while she was right in front of her. “You sound like you think you’re going somewhere.” Twilight didn’t even respond and immediately redoubled her efforts to raise herself, straining with an audible grunt. Sunset couldn’t believe it. Twilight was smarter than this. Surely, she didn’t think that was actually going to work. “Okay, Twilight, what do you think—” Sunset’s words were brought to an abrupt halt as Twilight successfully muscled up a foreleg and placed it back down in a weight-bearing position. “What the…” Sunset muttered in disbelief. Twilight successfully lifted her other foreleg bringing herself into a position to push herself up. Sunset could hardly believe her own eyes. Did she somehow mess up the gravity spell? It was pretty complicated magic. Twilight was visibly sweating now, but pushed on through, straining to bring herself into a crouching position, but successfully back on all four hooves. No. Sunset knew that couldn’t be it. She was better with her magic now than ever. She had shaken off any rust she had weeks ago. With a final groan of exertion, Twilight brought herself back to her full height. A height that towered over the unicorn before her. Her body shook with exertion, but it was a perfectly manageable discomfort, her alicorn strength enabling her to simply power straight through the limits of a normal pony. “H-how?” Sunset stuttered, backing away in disbelief. That momentary lapse in composure was all Twilight needed for a chance to shred Sunset’s spell, her horn igniting and releasing a gentle pulse of energy that left her feeling several worlds lighter. Twilight sighed a breath of relief, shifting her neck and shoulders around to relieve some of the tension that she had developed. She carried around a ton of it as it was, she certainly didn’t need more. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to finally get around to making another spa appointment. It had been quite a few months. “Are you kidding me?!” Sunset cried foul, childishly stamping a hoof. “What’s it going to take to at least slow you down?” Twilight looked Sunset dead in the eye. “More than that.” Sunset felt a chill run through her. That was something else. She had never heard Twilight be so…intense. Twilight’s horn ignited in a bright beacon of light that nearly blinded Sunset even from several feet away with its intensity. The ground itself began rumbling with the ferocity of an Earthquake that made Sunset stumble around just to keep her balance. The earth itself began to break apart to make way for tall glowing lavender crystal spires that erupted from the ground like a stream, carving their way from behind Twilight and wrapping around them like a snake. Sunset could do nothing more than watch as the wall of crystals wrapped around them, sealing them inside together in what was both a strategic move and a demonstration of Twilight’s might. Sunset gulped, not liking her odds with such little room to move, and tried to teleport outside the ring to put some distance between them and escape this prison. The very next thing Sunset felt was her head slamming into the crystal barrier with an almost cartoonish thunk, still very much on the inside. Her teleport only managed to take her to the rim of the ring and no farther before she figuratively and literally hit an impassible wall. She stumbled back, her vision splitting from how hard she had hit the crystal wall, a nasty headache in her future from the feel of it. She wasn’t going anywhere. No doubt exactly what Twilight wanted and a clear sign that the princess was looking to bring this to a close. Sunset took just a second to be impressed. A physical barrier that prevented magic from passing through it but didn’t require the constant energy input of the caster like that of an energy barrier. It was something she had never even seen before. It was incredible. It was…very bad news for her. She was trapped. Sunset sighed in resignation as she felt Twilight’s gaze upon her, and turned around, ready to face the music. Her heart almost couldn’t help skipping a beat at the sight that awaited her. The crystals' incandescent light cast an ethereal glow over them that made it clear who was in control. The stature, the way her mane flowed in an ever-increasing magical current, the surging light of her horn, and the focused look in Twilight’s eyes all made Sunset feel for the first time that she was up against not a talented friend, but a full-fledged Goddess. Sunset swallowed her amazement and ground her hooves into the dirt to root herself in place and summoned power into her own horn, creating a defiant red stain in the violet void she stood in. Going down without a fight was just never her style. Twilight stepped closer to Sunset, each step measured, and her focus unshakable. Sunset had surprised her more than once already. If she found a single chink in the armor, she would exploit it. Looking at Twilight now, Sunset saw no such weaknesses. Twilight had made certain that she was left with only one option. Simultaneously, Sunset and Twilight arched back and threw their horns forward unleashing their matching spells against each other where they collided in a mid-air clash of power. The thin streams of red and magenta energy mingled together in midair, dancing in a beautiful show of light. Twilight held fast, her face focused and unwavering. Sunset across from her gritting her teeth and pumping as much power into it as she had. All of it. Straining to put every last drop into it. She held Twilight in a standstill with sheer might, her magic daring to force Twilight’s back for a single instant that stood frozen in time. It didn’t last beyond that. Twilight’s magic consumed Sunset’s, driving straight through it like it was devouring its way to the amber unicorn, and in the span of a few seconds, it struck her horn and dissipated. Sunset felt her magic leave her the instant it happened like a clamp had been firmly snapped onto her outlet, leaving her magic with no way of flowing out into the world around her. Sunset fell forward gasping for air. She had lost. She laid on the grass, catching her breath as the crystal spires slowly retracted into the ground as if they had never been there at all. She had put everything into that last attack. It was her best, and it hadn’t been enough. Not even close. So long ago she would have been enraged at such a convincing defeat. Now, she could safely say that she had never felt so alive. She had no idea how she had gone so long without it. Her magic. To feel it, to use it, test it, push it, and challenge it. She had spent so long missing an essential piece of herself and now she was complete. Even if she fell short, how could she be disappointed? What else could happen when you aim for the untouchable sky? It just meant there was further to reach. More that was possible. Twilight was always good at showing her that. Sunset propped herself up to gaze at the victor. She took some pride in Twilight looking like she had been in a fight. On some level at least, she had challenged her. She was still missing her crown, her mane was frazzled and tangled in spots, and her coat was muddied with dirt and grass. It was strange how it did nothing at all too dull her beauty. If anything, Sunset found it enhanced it. The perfect pristine princess look wasn’t her. Not really. Granted, the battle-worn warrior look wasn’t exactly it either, though she could play the part well, yet it was closer to who she was at heart. A strong, capable, ingenious mare who just so happened to be the most powerful pony to ever exist. One who loved developing and using her talents just as much if not more than she did. Sunset saw Twilight's smile from where she laid, feeling the same rush of exercising those talents that she did. The same ignition of passion. She really was amazing.