Something's wrong.
Twilight glanced around, watching as the host of otherTwis mirrored their mistress's movements. The same malice as they glared at Sunset. The same warmth as they looked at her.
Sunset squeaked a little as the glare of the alicorn turned back to her.
Twilight knew tongue-lock when she saw it. You could be as prepared as possible for a debate, but when it actually came time to present…
She cleared her throat. “Thank you for, uh…”
She trailed off as the myriad eyes focused on her all at once. She felt her throat dry up.
“Thank you for the offer,” she continued, swallowing against her nerves. “I would first like to ask, to whom am I speaking?”
The alicorn smiled, and for a brief moment Twilight glimpsed a glittering hunger lurking just behind her eyes.
She'd seen it before. She was quite accustomed to it, in fact. Her… colleagues back at Crystal Prep wore the same look, every time they'd talked to her. The same false front hiding a predatory grin.
“You address the Gloaming Gleam at the Dusk of Time. The Herald of the End. The Twilight of All Things. The Sparkle of the Last Dying Star.
“I am you,” she said, spearing Twilight with a glance.
“I am them.” She swept her hoof over the gathered otherTwis, who cheered.
She locked eyes with Twilight and stood to her full height, towering over the rest.
“I am Lady Twilight Sparkle, Goddess of the Stars and Sole Inheritor of the Spheres.”
And there was a tickle at the base of Twilight's neck. She suppressed it as if it were an inappropriate sneeze.
“Thank you, Lady Sparkle. As one of… you? May I ask a question?”
“Of course, my child,” Lady Sparkle purred. “Anything for me.”
“What has my travelling companion done to warrant such a harsh greeting? There had been some talk of constants…”
Lady Sparkle sighed, and it was almost delicate. Not quite dismissive. “Sunsets are distractions. They are sweet promises, but are as fleeting as their namesake. Only the stars are eternal.”
“Then why kill her?”
A trace of irritation crossed Lady Sparkle’s imperious features. “Sunsets bring trouble. Sunsets bring chaos. They disrupt the Harmony of the Spheres. This cannot be allowed.”
“But—!” Sunset started.
A thousand hisses of derision and scorn echoed around them.
“Be silent, interloper,” Lady Sparkle said, her voice dripping with venom. “I tolerate you only as a lesson for my new daughter.”
“Isn't that right?” Lady Sparkle turned and met Twilight's eyes again.
The tickle at the back of her neck struck again. The world tilted as a pressure settled on the bridge of Twilight's nose.
Muzzle.
Whatever.
Twilight shook it off again.
Sunset looked like she wished she could hide in the intricate twist of her current manestyle.
Why is she so cowed? Cinch was worse than this so-called ‘Herald.’
She glanced around the amphitheater at the otherTwis around the wooden throne. A sea of violet eyes, all focused on her.
All except one pair of rubies. That Twilight had a swirl of ashes in her magic, and was steadily extracting a dark, oozing muck out of them. She saw Twilight looking, and urgently pointed back to the Lady with her horn.
Twilight blinked and turned back to the Lady. She crossed to a point where she could see both the Lady and the strange red-eyed Twilight at the same time.
“Then I er, beseech you, Lady Sparkle, why kill her?”
“Nightingales do not flock with skylarks. The Spheres are not meant to be shared. But if you are attached to this little magpie, I will allow you until the Rising of the Moon to say your farewells. Unless she has something to say in her defense?”
Sunset shrank into Twilight's shadow, bullets of sweat pouring off of her. A thrum ran down Twilight’s spine, as if she was just a hair’s-breadth away from a Tesla coil.
“No? Pity. It seems even a magpie may have her voice stolen by the majesty of the Stars.”
Lady Sparkle spread her massive wings, blotting out the sun.
“Daughters!”
The otherTwis called back in response.
“Welcome your new sister. Allow her to grieve as this Sunset fades. Share with her your hearts, so she can finally be welcomed home.”
Cheers and stamping hooves all around. Hosts of Twilights took to the sky. Some few others trotted out of the amphitheater and ambled about. Some approached her with warm welcomes or hushed commiserations. Some just watched her.
The ruby-eyed Twilight had disappeared.
It took a few moments for Twilight to push through the sea of otherTwis, each one asking what they could do to help, and being gently rebuffed again and again. Eventually, she’d asked for some time to mourn Sunset, and had been directed to a small café.
A sign floated overhead: 'So Long Sunset Session in progress. Please, respect our privacy!" Below it, the otherTwis had an Earl Gray latté and lemon poppyseed muffins set aside for her. Opposite them on the small table sat a lonely mug of straight black coffee, all alone.
Sunset slunk over to it and blew on it gently.
“You alright?”
Sunset nodded.
“Gosh. This is really weird. I don't even have to order, I just—”
An otherTwi dashed out of the café, levitated a cushion behind Twilight, fluffed it, and nestled it behind her.
With a wink, she was gone.
“—do that, and…” she trailed off.
Sunset swirled her coffee in its mug, and took a swallow.
“This is weird. This is weird, right?”
Sunset nodded and set the mug back down.
“Are you alright?”
Sunset shook her head, little wisps of gold and crimson bouncing free of her twist.
“I'm supposed to be saying goodbye before they send me home, but—”
“Don't be stupid,” a smoky voice said. The smooth huskiness echoed that of the Lady, but with a more playful air.
It wasn't Twilight's at all.
Sunset bristled, leaping away from the table and lanced out with her magic.
An otherTwi floated out of an alleyway, wreathed in Sunset's teal magic, her eyes shut tight against the pain.
“Sunset! Put her—!”
Sunset shook her head furiously, dislodging her mane’s twist entirely.
The otherTwi opened one eye, and winced as she tried to speak again.
One ruby met Twilight's gaze.
“Sorr—”
Sunset snarled, and the aura around the ruby-eyed otherTwi brightened. Any other sounds were strangled out.
“Sunset!” Twilight rushed over and jostled the other unicorn.
The otherTwi whipped left and right as Sunset's horn swung wildly.
Twilight leapt in front of Sunset and took her muzzle in her hooves.
Sunset’s hot angry tears streamed down her face.
Twilight gazed into Sunset's rage-filled eyes and finally got her to see.
“Sunny. Please.”
The blazing magical aura winked out, and the otherTwi dropped in a heap, gasping.
Sunset turned away, trembling.
The otherTwi got to her hooves, gasping and shaking.
“Nice to— see you, too, Shimmer.” she wheezed. “I guess— I got under— your skin, after all.”
The otherTwi raised her head, and a cascade of golden ringlets and amber curls washed over her face. In a matter of moments, a golden-coated unicorn with a voluminous mane stood where the otherTwi had.
She still held the same ruby eyes.
“I don't— remember you wearing glasses, Princess. Nice to— see you, too.”
Twilight nibbled on the fringe of a bang nervously. “Uh. I don't… that's not me.”
The golden-tressed unicorn smirked. “Really?”
Another harsh coughing fit tore her words away.
“I didn't know you wanted to hold me so tightly, Sunset.”
Sunset rounded on her, fury etched on her face as if by a powerful laser.
The ruby-eyed unicorn flinched away. “Easy! Truce! I'm stuck here, too!”
Sunset flopped against the table, eyes rolling up towards the sky.
A light flicked on in Twilight's mind. “Why isn't she talking?”
The other unicorn raised an elegantly manicured eyebrow. “You are new, aren't you? She's been silenced. The Lady got her under her spell. Couldn't you feel her insinuating herself into your mind? I felt her trying.”
Twilight started to shake her head, but then froze. The tickling at her neck, and the pressure on her muzzle reappeared briefly.
The other unicorn hummed a song while holding eye contact. The song pressed against Twilight’s muzzle, and thrilled through her mane.
Twilight shook off the melody, and glanced away.
The curly-maned unicorn’s vulpine grin widened.
“That's right, Princess. Good work. Our little ray of sunshine let the night in, and now she's stuck dancing to her tune.”
Twilight laughed right in her smug face. “No way! Sunset’s stronger than that!”
Sunset flinched away, tears in her eyes.
The unicorn nudged the mute Sunset. “Look at her. She can’t even look at you anymore. The Lady has her tendrils in deep. Good thing you have those glasses.”
Twilight’s laughter died in her throat.
“I bet she has a pet name for you. ‘Twily?’ ‘Sparkler?’ I think I remember hearing— no! Wait!”
Her ruby eyes glittered with barely restrained laughter. Just a hint of malice.
“Sparky!”
Sunset jerked upright like she’d been slapped.
“Mm. That’s the one. And she’s been reduced to a shrinking violet, thanks to the Lady and her Twive Mind.”
Twilight adjusted her glasses, sat back on her cushion, and frowned. “So what do we do now?”
The other unicorn laughed, a throaty chuckle that seemed more at home in the halls of CPH than here at the Twilight Sparkle Theme Park they were stranded in.
“Sunny here is going to enjoy spending time with some old friends. You, my precious little Princess, are going to waltz up to the Lady and pluck that Talisman right off her neck. And I'm just dying to see her face when you do.”
“Great! But uh, I'm not her.”
“Pardon?”
“I'm not Princess Twilight.”
She saw a flash of recognition in the other unicorn's eyes. “Oh! Then allow me to introduce myself. Adagio Dazzle, at your service. My sisters and I have had dealings with your… let's say ‘counterpart.’”
“Right. Are you also sliders?”
Adagio preened. “From time to time. Why, we’ve even pulled a few jobs with Sunset. Not that wishy-washy goodie-two-shoes from your Canterlot High, either, but this adorably edgy specimen right here.”
Sunset’s lip trembled, and hoofed at the ground.
“That’s just sad, Sunshine. ‘Above all, protect your mind,’ remember?”
Twilight slammed her empty cup down. “Shut up!”
Adagio blanched, and raised her Twilight glamour.
An otherTwi dashed from out of the café and refilled it.
“Would you like anything else?”
Twilight waved her away. “I’m uh, grieving.”
The otherTwi nodded sympathetically, and left.
Adagio dropped her glamour and sighed, “You want to free her, you’ll have to disrupt the Lady’s control. She’s anchored her song into that tawdry bauble she wears.”
Sunset stiffened again.
Twilight dropped her head onto the table. “That stupid TPT. Ours broke when we got here, and that’s supposed to mean her Twilight’s here.”
“Oh, that. Well, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Her Twilight's long gone. That’s her toy the Lady’s wearing. Custom job, crafted for Sunny here.”
"Where—"
Adagio shook her head, grinning conspiratorially. She floated up a small bag of viscous black liquid, and slipped it to Twilight.
“Disrupt her control. Introduce the Spheres to the Void. Then, I’ll show you how my sisters and I smuggled Sunset's nightingale into the care of the Lady's skylark. And who knows? Maybe we'll save all creation in the process.