//------------------------------//
// Chapter Six: The Sun's Fire-Eating Daughter 
// Story: Equestria Mares: The Secret Apprentice of Princess Celestia 
// by Coyote de La Mancha 
//------------------------------//

Sunset stood over Twilight, seething. This? This was who came after her? Her replacement? Clumsy, careless, little more than a foal… Was the Princess trying to insult her? 
Then again, should she really be surprised that Her Highness was still underestimating her?
When Sunset had returned to Equestria, she’d known to move carefully. Another pony might have rushed in, especially after so long and with victory was so close. And, ultimately, such a one would have been caught. But Sunset had been too wise. Scouting out the kingdom, listening, watching, finding the knowledge she sought. And all the while, concealing herself from the most powerful immortals, under their very muzzles. Even in her sleep.
Difficult? Perhaps. But she had been more than up to the challenge.
One of the first things she’d learned upon her return had been that Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna once more. So, logically, it had followed that the Elements of Harmony were no longer dormant in the castle ruin. And, indeed, she’d discovered that they were not only active but in the possession of six wielders, each one a living personification of a different power. And further, the one she needed was in the hands of…
Sunset snorted. Her.
The Elements being active had changed things. But then, even while Sunset had been scouting out the terrain, modifying her plans, Twilight had ascended. She had Become what she was now: the ultimate mockery of Sunset and all her pains.
The newest upstart, Sunset seethed. First a ‘Princess of Love’ ascended in my absence, and now a ‘Princess of Friendship’ joins the royalty. 
Twilight Sparkle. The princess everypony adores. The Sun Queen’s prize pupil, no matter how inattentive she might be. The one who lost the single object of true value she’d been entrusted with. The one who blundered into a hostile world like a lemming off a cliff. The one who offered herself to any enemy watching, as if she were skeet.
And the last thought, quiet as a ghost’s lament, The one she’d really wanted.
Still, for all that Twilight’s ascent felt like another of the universe’s jokes at her expense, Sunset had learned long ago that most every problem presented a hidden opportunity. And when she’d first arrived in Equestria, having the number of princesses suddenly increase had been no exception. Stealing from a princess within her own sanctum, undetected? Potentially problematic, true. And certainly risky, with the stakes so high, though it was most assuredly worth the risks. 
Yet, even as Sunset had begun altering her schemes yet again, the announcement had been made. In honor of Twilight’s transformation, the bearers of the Elements had been invited to the Crystal Palace for a summit, along with the other princesses. And of course, the announcements had been publicly made throughout all of Equestria.
Leave it to Celestia to turn a family celebration into a state event, Sunset snorted again. Nothing can simply be what it is. It always has to be an event. Or a function. Or whatever stupid social ritual she wants to observe that day. 
Her mouth pressed into a thin line. And always, always, with Celestia at the center of it all, casting everypony around her down into shadow.
Just the same: when Her Highness had gone to the Crystal Palace, for some reason she’d brought the Mirror of Phaedra with her. A strange decision, and one that Sunset Shimmer had yet to fathom. But at that moment, everything had fallen into place for Sunset like tumblers in a lock. She’d known she wouldn’t have another chance like that, not in a hundred years. 
She’d had to move more quickly than she liked, which was mildly irritating, but the matter itself had been simple. All she’d needed to do was slip into the Crystal Palace undetected. She could steal the Element of Magic, replace it with a forgery, and then make her way down the hall and through the mirror.
And I almost got back unsuspected, she thought at the alicorn beneath her. I should’ve had all the time in the world to do this, without having to waste my energy with annoyances like you.
It would have been so perfect. To return to Equestria publicly after gaining her new powers, then and only then allowing Her to know what she had accomplished. Even when she’d been discovered, Sunset had quietly been hoping that if anypony came after her, it would be Celestia. That would have been so satisfying. 
But no, of course not. Why would Her Highness even bother? It had been a foolish thought.
Dammit all to Tartarus, she reflected bitterly. If it hadn’t been for that stupid pink nit bumbling in--
Suddenly, the world was an explosion of red and violet. Despite herself, Sunset was thrown against the stone wall nearby. She rolled to her feet unharmed, her own defenses still intact.
“Impressive,” she nodded.
Twilight Sparkle was also standing now, her wings splayed to either side of her. Her head was lowered, her eyes showing only rigid control as she looked up at Sunset. The unicorn was not wearing the coronet, at least not yet, and Twilight allowed herself a small sigh of relief. There’s still time, she thought. 
But out loud she replied, “I could say the same for you.”
“Thanks.” Sunset looked Twilight up and down. “Look, I acknowledge your skill and your power. But remember, I learned under her too. And unlike you I surpassed her lessons, and her, long ago.” 
Sunset’s eyes hardened as she began circling her foe. “You’re out of your depth, Princess.”
Twilight moved as well, keeping the unicorn in front of her. “I know. I also know that you’re going to try to become an alicorn by forcing the transformation. Sunset, you can’t go through with this!”
Sunset Shimmer arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Why?”
“Because Celestia said—”
A torrent of writhing, scorching energy surged from Sunset’s horn, blasting stones to either side of Twilight into smoking rubble. Yet, through the smoky haze, Sunset could see the alicorn’s silhouette, unmoved. She frowned. There was no way this amateur’s defenses could have withstood her power.
The wind howled angrily as Phaedra convulsed against the unicorn’s use of power. Sunset’s eyebrows rose as the wind blew the smoke away, revealing Twilight’s lavender shield: triangular, with curved sides like a plow. It hadn’t had to bear anything close to the strength of Sunset’s attack, simply redirecting her magic like the soil of an earth pony’s farm. And the effort required had been almost nonexistent.
Sunset narrowed her eyes as her enemy allowed the shield to fade. 
“Very impressive.”
They began circling each other again, studying one another. Looking at her, Twilight had to wonder, how old was Sunset, anyway? Yes, time moved differently on Phaedra, but Sunset seemed more haggard than aged, badly worn by time and experience. How long had she been here? Years? Decades? Or was she more Twilight’s age? Surviving from childhood into adulthood, alone in this place full of danger and death… what would that do to a pony?
“The mirror’s gateway changes every time,” Twilight observed. “You felt me enter, but you didn’t know where. You had to wait for me to show myself.”
“For somepony like you?” Sunset sneered. “It was inevitable.”
But Twilight pressed on. “Like either of us. You were a filly when you got here. You had your own learning curve, same as me. And when you got here… you were trapped.”
“At first.”
“You didn’t expect that,” she went on, “You thought you could come back when you were ready. But when it opened again, you couldn’t find it in time, could you?” 
Then, Twilight’s eyes widened with realization. “Celestia, she didn’t know either—”
More fire, this time a wide cone of crimson and gold, enveloped where Twilight was standing. Beneath the acrid smoke, it left a deep trench of blackened glass, glowing and crackling slightly as it cooled.
From above, Twilight called down from her perch on a massive aventurine tree, “Why? Why do you hate her so much?”
The tree and its fellows, along with all the fauna within them, were blasted into ash in an instant. Twilight alighted on the ground, a hundred feet away from Sunset. Not quite where she’d intended, but it would do. She could hear the nearby ocean surging angrily as the wind grew stronger, lashing at them both in fury.
“Sunset, why are you doing any of this?”
Sunset glared at her. “Because I can!”
“That’s a lie!” Twilight gave a small leap forward, her wings clearing the vast distance between them with ease. Her landing in front of Sunset was only a little wobbly. “You’re too smart for that. This can’t be what you want! You have more power than almost any other pony in Equestria—”
“I’ve got more,” Sunset snarled. “I’ve got all the power of Phaedra!”
“Okay, fine!” Twilight snapped. “You’re more powerful than anypony, ever! You’ve got the biggest horn! You win, okay? You win! So, why go through this at all? Why do the ritual? Why steal the Element?” 
The alicorn gestured at the destruction around them both. “Why… any of this?”
“Because it’s mine by right!”
“Sunset, it isn’t,” Twilight heard herself almost pleading with the mare before her as they began circling again, yet she didn’t know what else to do. “Some forms of power choose their bearers, like the Elements of Harmony. You must know that!”
“They’re rocks, Princess,” The unicorn snarled. “For all their power, they’re still magic crystals, nothing more. They manipulate probabilities and focus will into magic. Any ‘choices’ they seem to make are just the automatic channeling of emotions and concepts they’re attuned to. Don’t equepomorphize them.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“I know what you meant.” Sunset retorted through gritted teeth. “You meant I’m not worthy of ascension. And you are.”
Twilight shook her head violently. “No—”
“And just who decides worthiness,” Sunset demanded, her voice rising over the squall. “You? Celestia? A stone left forgotten in some moldering ruin?” 
She stepped closer to Twilight as she spoke, Twilight nervously gave ground before her. “You really think you’re special, for being her star pupil? You think that means anything? To anypony!?”
Sunset spat at the ground, a small curl of smoke rising where her saliva fell, sizzling. 
“Canterlot!” she seethed. “Equestria! You went to live with Her Highness, sat your ass on silk cushions, and memorized lessons on history and thaumaturgy. Then you tripped over some magic artifacts, and they changed her little sister back for you. Congratu-feather-lations.” 
Flame rolled along Sunset’s coat and lashed out from her flanks, lighting the underbrush around them on fire. Twilight gave another leap back and down into a crystal ravine for shelter from the flames. 
Above her, the Mistress of Phaedra went on, “I came here with nothing. Nothing! And I mastered a world!” 
Sunset glowered above the intruder, features illuminated by the flames, mane dancing wildly in the gale. “I took the tool I chose by skill alone… and I’ll use it to change myself!”
“But becoming an alicorn isn’t just a magic spell! Celestia…” 
From above, Sunset’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but this time she didn’t attack. 
Twilight continued, “She was just there when I changed to help make the process less traumatic. Like a midwife. It wasn’t something done to me. It just… happened.”
“Nothing in magic ‘just happens’, you little idiot,” Sunset snarled. “You did it to yourself, whether you understood it or not. Magic is a matter of will and intent. Any true magician knows that.” 
Sunset put a hoof down on the stone beneath her, and the conflagration around her simply snuffed out like a candle. There wasn’t even any smoke. She looked down at Twilight again, saying, “And I have more will than anyone.”
“Look, I’m not arguing that, okay? But what you’re trying to do now, it’s too dangerous for anypony, even you,” Twilight pleaded. “It could kill you, or worse!”
Sunset leaped down. “I’ll make it work.”
“But you don’t have to, don’t you see? If this is about power, or knowledge, you’ve already made your point! You surpassed any expectations Celestia might have had of you, long ago!” 
Twilight gestured to the world around them. The jewel-filled sky and the crystalline trees, the sculpted cliffs jutting up around them, made of quartz, aquamarine, and aragonite. 
“Even Starswirl himself could never accomplish what you have, and he discovered this place!” she said. “Please, there’s so much good you could do, so much other ponies could learn from you. Just come back with me…”
The unicorn sneered. “You’re not getting your crown back, Princess.”
The princess shook her head. “I didn’t come for the crown. I came here for you.”
Sunset’s eyes blazed as she spoke. “Liar.”
“It’s true! And even if I hadn’t wanted to anyway, Celestia herself asked me to bring you back safe! Even if it meant losing the Element!”
Sunset stamped again, teeth bared. “Liar!”
“Why won’t you believe me!?”
“Because you’re LYING!”
As Sunset’s last words rang off the translucent cliffs, the bejeweled trees above chimed with unseen predators fleeing or hiding themselves, cowering. Sunset looked to the sky, her features hardening. Phaedra’s planets loomed even closer, drawn in by the uncontrolled presence of the interloper and the exchange of spells.
Twilight tried not to think of the time running out on them both, or the dangers posed just by her being there. “Sunset,” she said quietly, “I don’t want to fight you.”
“Then you should never have come here.”
Twilight lowered her head, eyes closed in regret. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Sunset looked back to the alicorn, her smile unpleasant. “Oh, yes,” she said, “It does.”
Eyes still closed, Twilight spread her wings out, beautiful and still. She glided upwards with the grace of a ballet master, landing with ease beside the ravine. In a flash of blue-green light, Sunset appeared across from her.
In a stillness marred only by the chiming forest and the warring ocean beyond, the two magicians prepared themselves for battle. Shadows danced in the damaged valley as the colors of their magic filled the air. The ravine took their light and gave it back again, bathing their features from below in a mystical aurora borealis.
Their eyes snapped open, their brief meditations at an end.
Then they attacked in earnest.