//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 - Aragón // Story: SunLight Sliders: Infinite // by Amber Spark //------------------------------// Sunset tackled the devil. Someone screamed. The pendant went flying. There was a flash of light. Sunset opened her eyes. There was no cold hard ground under her feet, and the sky above her wasn’t black. There was no Lady Sparkle, and no devil Sunset, and no Twilight. There was just a void. An endless void, exactly like that one where Discord had died. But, if voids could have colors—and Sunset assumed they technically couldn’t, but they did anyway—that one had been black. This one was white. And somehow, that made this whole situation way less concerning. So Sunset didn’t bother screaming. She didn’t bother looking for Twilight, or trying to understand what had just happened. She just did what she knew she had to do. “Hey!” she said out loud, looking up. “I see no fire and no pitchforks! That means I’m still alive, right?” “Sunset, we really need to start working on that self-esteem.” And Sunset had to suppress a smirk. The disembodied voice—a woman’s—came from behind her back. Because of course there was a disembodied voice, and of course it came from behind her back. This was an endless void with no colors, and Sunset was floating in the middle of it. There had to be some sort of wise entity who spoke in riddles. This was, what? The third time this had happened in this adventure alone? “I've no idea, actually. I think I've genuinely lost count. So, where am I?” Sunset said this last bit out loud, as she turned around to face whoever was in there with her. “This isn’t a dream, those feel more real. What—?” The words died in her mouth. There was a woman behind her, all right. A woman wearing a set of white clothes that covered strictly what needed to be covered. She had two pristine angelic wings sprouting from her back. There was a brilliant halo floating above her head. And her face… The woman chuckled. “Too much? I'm not the best at subtlety.” She fluttered her wings, and shrugged. “But being blunt is good, sometimes, I think.” Sunset frowned, and tried to retreat a little, give herself some space. “You…? Why are you…?” “Like this?” The woman made a broad gesture, pointing at her attire. “Well, I don’t know. It’s just, through all this entire journey, it’s been Midnight Sparkle this, Midnight Discord that, now there’s a devil version of you out there… And that got me thinking.” The woman crossed her arms. “We keep seeing the demon on our left shoulder. But what about the angel on our right?” Sunset blinked. She looked at her right shoulder—there was nothing there. Then again, there was nothing on her left shoulder either. Still, she sort of got it. So she looked at the woman. “So you are my… good counterpart?” “Kind of,” the woman said. Her face was, of course, identical to Sunset’s, but her smile was so much sweeter. “Welcome to your own mind, Sunset. You could say I’m your personal Shimmer.” Silence. “Also, yes, this is literally the inside of your mind. You’re introspecting. This is what introspection looks like.” Sunset arched an eyebrow. “This is not how introspection looks like.” “Yeah, usually. But this is not usual. You got hit in the head with a burst of chaos magic. Point-blank.” The angel shrugged. “What did you think was gonna happen?” Sunset was unconscious. “SUNSET!” And Twilight was screaming. “SUNSET! SUNSET, PLEASE!” Everything hurt. Breathing hurt, moving hurt, thinking hurt—but Twilight ignored it all, she gritted her teeth and kept going, she had to run to Sunset. Walk to Sunset, jump to Sunset, drag herself through the ground to Sunset, it didn’t matter. She had to get to her. Midnight purred something in her mind, but Twilight shrugged it off. Sunset was breathing—she was, Twilight was sure, that was not her imagination, but she looked bad. Real bad. She had to— “I wouldn’t really move if I were you.” The voice made Twilight’s heart jump for a second, because it was Sunset speaking—but it hadn’t been her Sunset. It had been the devil one. “And if I were you,” Lady Sparkle replied, “I would shut up.” Twilight looked at them, all the while dragging herself towards Sunset. She did not like what she saw. The TPT had fallen to the ground, and it stood there, glimmering, tantalizing, exactly between Devil Sunset and Lady Sparkle. The two villains were clearly keeping it on the corner of their eye, but mostly, they were both looking at each other. Devil Sunset had her hands up, fingers shimmering, ready to strike. Lady Sparkle had her arms crossed, and a look of contempt in her eyes. Both were baring their teeth. “The moment you take a single step towards the TPT,” Devil Sunset said, and her hands shone even brighter, “you’re dust.” Twilight stopped looking at them, and scooted over to Sunset. Inch by inch, little by little, until she was next to her. She was breathing—oh, thank the Heavens, she was breathing—but she did not wake up when Twilight nudged her. And in the background, Lady Sparkle chuckled. “Oh, I do not think so,” she said. “I have killed more Sunset Shimmers that you could count. I am the Sparkle of the Last Dying Star. You are nothing.” Devil Sunset scoffed. “You’re weakened. I can feel it. I can end you.” “Oh, you could. I am weak, indeed. However.” Lady Sparkle raised two fingers. “You made two mistakes.” Devil Sunset blinked. “What?” “First, this is not a conversation. This is me stalling you, and now she’s close enough.” And Lady Sparkle looked to the side, at Twilight—and Twilight felt a chill down her spine, and that old familiar tickle at the base of her neck. In her mind, Midnight screamed. “No!” Twilight hugged the unconscious Sunset, trying to cover her up with her body. “No!—!” “Oh, yes. Second mistake, Sunset,” Lady Sparkle said, “never assume I’m working alone.” Then she grinned at Twilight. “Welcome back,my child.” Then a flash, and the tingle became a stab, and Twilight screamed. “Okay!” the angel said. “So, here’s a loaded question: how do you feel about Twilight?” Sunset frowned. “Uh—” “Yes. Exactly.” The angel nodded. “You don’t even know which one I’m talking about. Because here’s the thing, right? If we follow this?” And she pointed to her head. “This is a really big mistake. Really big.” There was a frown in Sunset’s face. Funny—she didn’t remember putting it on. “You’re talking about me and Twilight?” “Yes.” “Right.” “Because you think she deserves better,” the angel said, “and you are absolutely right.” Sunset winced. “Ouch.” “Yeah, I told you we had to work on that self-esteem.” The angel waved a hand. “You know you like her, but do you like her? Or do you just like the idea of a Twilight? Because the last one ditched you, and this one is definitely a rebound. Do you even know anything about her? Like, at all?” Sunset laughed, despite herself. “She wears glasses,” she said. “And that’s all.” The angel nodded. “Exactly.” “So I keep thinking, she deserves better. Because maybe I don’t like her, maybe I just like Twilights, plural. And that isn’t fair for her.” Sunset looked at the angel. “Is that what you mean?” “Yes. That’s what this,” she pointed at her head, “says. But what about…?” And Sunset pointed at her chest. “This?” “Hmm-hmm.” “Well.” Sunset ran a hand through her hair. “I… I like her.” “Go on.” “No, that’s—there’s nowhere to go to from there. I just. I like her?” Sunset squinted. “Being near her feels good. I, I don’t know if this is just a crush, or if it’s destiny, or if it’s… I have no idea what it is. Rationally I keep telling myself that I’m going to hurt her. Because maybe I don’t like her, maybe I just like any Twilight that looks at me, maybe I just haven’t gotten over Twily yet. But then…” “But then,” the angel said, “all that goes through the window. Because you’ve seen countless Twilights, and you didn’t care for them. But this one?” And she pointed at her chest, too. “If you follow this, this Twilight matters, and you don’t care if you don’t know why.” Pause. “By the way,” Sunset said, “now that you point at your chest, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why are you dressing like that?” “Like an angel?” “Like an exhibitionist.” “Evil is sexy, good is sexier, and you’re really proud of your human looks.” The angel flinched. “Ah. I’m vanishing. I think you’re waking up. Here’s hoping we never see each other again, because I am less an individual and more the result of a concussion. Bye!” “What?” Sunset blinked. The angel was, indeed, vanishing. “Wait, what? No! You didn’t help me at all! I—what if she has a life in her home dimension? What if she doesn’t want to leave that? Should I move in with her? Is that a sign that we shouldn’t be together? Is that a sign we should? Tell me something!” “I told you all you needed. Now you and Twilight need to go and find some answers. Sit down and have a normal conversation, or something. Go on a date! Get to know each other!” The angel chuckled. “But before I go, here’s another loaded question! This one is easy: “If devil you is the one who attacked you, how come you got hit by chaos magic?” Twilight finished screaming. And then she opened her eyes. There was no tickle at the back of her neck, no otherworldly presence telling her what to do. Absolutely nothing had happened. “Oh, please, Twilight, stop clinging to Sunset Shimmer like that. She’s just talking to herself. They do that, sometimes.” It’d been Devil Sunset talking, but her voice sounded completely different from before. So Twilight looked at the two villains—and saw that Lady Sparkle was frozen in place, her eyes were bright with fear. By her side, Devil Sunset was slouching, all menace gone from her posture. “Well, then. I have to admit, you disappointed me.” She walked towards the frozen Lady Sparkle, moving her hips with every step, swagger overflowing. “You were so boring to fight. I hate being thorough like this. It’s so repetitive.” Twilight was still pressing herself against Sunset, but now her fear had given way to confusion. “It can’t be,” she muttered. “No way.” “Oh, yes way.” Devil Sunset rested her elbow on Lady Sparkle’s shoulder. “It’s all about the Twive Mind, really. Terrible thing. Did you know it leaves a seed in every Twilight it touches?” She winked at Twilight. “Including you?” Twilight’s eyes got wide. She patted the back of her neck— “Oh, not anymore, you silly.” Devil Sunset rolled her eyes, and then looked at her hands. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Then she snapped her fingers, and next thing Twilight knew, Devil Sunset was gone. In her place now stood Discord. “…No,” Twilight said. “B-but I saw you die!” “Oh, see? That’s the problem with you Twilights.” Discord rolled his eyes. “So dreadfully empirical. You see something with your eyes, and you immediately believe it’s real. Big mistake!” He popped his head from behind Lady Sparkle—he was behind her now, apparently—and caressed her chin. “See, you can't really kill the Twive Mind. Not until eeeeevery little bit of it is gone. Eeeeevery little seed.” He winked at Twilight. "Including yours!" “I—” “And of course, our dear Lady's defenses were too high. Hard to get inside this little head of hers, and she would never lower her guard with me around.” Discord knocked on Lady Sparkle’s forehead. “Only way to get in is to wait until she opens it herself. Like, say, to absorb another one of you Twilights! Then you can just slip right in, take away the seed, and destroy the Twive Mind from the inside.” He pushed Lady Sparkle, and Lady Sparkle—perfectly still, exactly like a statue—fell and crashed against the ground. “But I’m afraid,” Discord hummed, “that was a little too much for the Sparkle of the Last Dying Star to handle. Because now, eeeeevery little bit of her is gone!” And he grinned, that terrible grin of his. "Eeeeevery little bit!"