//------------------------------// // 25- The Duplicity of Treachery // Story: Sun Never Sets // by CrownofDissonance //------------------------------//     "Agent Flash Sentry, authorization confirmed."     "Come on, come on..."     Flash Sentry turned away from the elevator doors, watching panickedly as the Hellsoldier drove their fist through the head of a tall, robed Reaper charging towards them. Another one slipped past the armored titan's reach, and Flash allowed his reflexes to take over. His arms brought up Sergeant Colt's shotgun without hesitation, and he pulled the trigger.      B-woom!     The Reaper stumbled back.     Shk-Click!     B-woom!     Burning buckshot scraped against its body, and it nearly lost its footing.     Flash let go of the shotgun, allowing it to dangle across his front by its strap as he went to his pistol holster for a quickdraw.      BangBangBangBang!     Four shots dug into the Reaper's chest while it reeled back in its stunned state, just enough to allow Flash to move in close. Taking his knife in his off hand, he took one step forward and reached out as far as he could, sinking the resentite blade into the demon's heart in a well practiced motion before immediately backing off. The Reaper dropped its sword as it fell, both weapon and wielder turning to dust before they hit the floor. Two shotgun shots, four pistol shots, close in with the knife. Flash had the motions down now, but he was still on edge, scanning for the next threat the moment he confirmed the first one was out.     The sounds of flesh and gore being torn and smashed filled the auditory void left by his gunshots. The Hellsoldier had already slain five more of them.     That's how it had been for the two of them since they got out of his holding cell. The Hellsoldier led Flash to a weapon storage area, he got all of his gear back and a handful of extra equipment, and then it was an endurance match against all of the underworld as they fought their way through the lower end of the Siren labs. Ruined grey tiled hallways and sterilized white lights were all they had ahead of them, with only demonic blood to paint any color across it.      And of course, the Hellsoldier was the one carrying them for the most part. They didn't even have a gun, yet they'd taken out at least three times as many enemies as Flash. He kept trying to tell himself that it wasn't a contest, that it was their lives at stake, but somehow the feeling of needing to keep up with someone clearly out of his league enabled him to do just that. They'd made it all the way to the elevator, just the two of them, and all they needed to do now was hold off the enemies until it arrived.      But there were so many of them...     A bright light from the darkest end of the corridor caught Flash's eyes, a fireball from a Phantom's bony hand, coming right towards him with little time to react. A mass of dark purple armor suddenly blocked the way as Hellsoldier intervened, carrying another demon by the neck and they batted the projectile aside with their forearm to buy Flash a couple more seconds.      He couldn't see the Phantom through the darkness, but Flash had an idea of its position, and that was enough. Putting his pistol away and dropping to a kneel, and shifted one shoulder forward and brought the rocket launcher across his back to bear. The next second, the Hellsoldier moved out of his way, and he had his sight lined up down the corridor.      "Rocket out, danger close!"     Flash pulled the trigger.     Shk-FWOOSH!     A jetstream lit up the hallway as a rocket sailed down it, illuminating a host of other approaching demons in front of its primary target—the bleached white form of the Phantom, hand out and ready to toss another fireball. It wouldn't get the chance, as the rocket's detonation would blow it and any nearby away in a cloud of shrapnel and smoke.      There wasn't time to watch the detonation, sounds from Flash's side would rip his attention away. A sealed doorway had been broken through on the right side, and a taloned hand tore through the metal wall beside it and nearly hit him. The corridor was wide, but with another entry point it'd be harder to hold the doorway. Flash let the rocket launcher fall back behind him as he switched to Spitfire's machinegun, lining up the fast moving target that now burst from the walls. It had long, messy hair that covered it's eyes, and he could see it was carrying a scythe, but only after the curved blade whipped around at him.      BrrATAT-BrrATAT-BrrATATATATATA     Flash's first few shots were on target, hitting the Scythe demon but failing to stumble it. It swung again, and he tried to loosen his trigger finger, tried to first in bursts, but he tensed up and tripped, falling into a sitting position with its third swing. He let off another volley of shots as he stood back up, but something grabbed his arm, another demon got too close.     It's claws dug into his wrist, drawing blood, but he ignored the pain and grabbed the demon back, throwing his shoulder into and bending his knees until he could then shift its weight over his. As it flipped, Flash saw the sword in it's other hand, and drew out his pistol the moment the demon hit the floor. Following his momentum, Flash drove his knee down on the Reaper's chest, and then shoved the barrel of his pistol onto its wrist, pulling the trigger until the demon relinquished it's sword.      There was scraping and a shriek above him. The Scythe was bringing the point of its blade down on the two of them, but with a quick thought Flash traded his pistol for his knife and levered it around the back end of the demon's weapon, guiding into the fallen Reaper's chest. Using the downward pressure to jump back to his feet, Flash dove into the Scythe demon, taking his machine gun back up and emptying its magazine into it at point blank range before finishing it off with a knife through the heart.      Ding!     The elevator door suddenly came open with a heavy, motorized sound. The Hellsolider, with three different demons impaled along their wrist blade, dropped what they were doing and went to Flash. He suddenly felt himself being lifted by the back of his jacket and taken into the elevator before he could recover from his previous takedowns. Just in time, too, there were more  coming for him fast, he'd just been lifted out of the way of a sword swipe and a fireball.      Flash was tossed inside, rather carefully by the Hellsoldier's standards, while they proceeded to drag their demon-loaded wrist blade along the doorframe and produce a nasty scraping sound. Each of the demons shishkebabed on it fell away in short order before the blade retracted, piling on the ground in a mound of ashes before the door sealed shut. Flash just let himself breathe for a moment as the action was brought to a pause.     There wasn't a lot of room for them between the dark grey walls of the lift. Certainly not with a six and a half foot super soldier taking up most of it. Not that he was complaining, that same soldier was the sole reason he was alive at the moment. If they were on Flash's side, he wasn't going to ask questions.     The Hellsoldier pressed one of the buttons on the elevator controls (the single most gentle action Flash had seen from the soldier thus far) and the two began to ascend. It probably would be a quick ride, but it felt painfully long to Flash. The Hellsoldier made little idle motion, they just stared at the door, patiently awaiting for it to open again. With nothing trying to kill them, Flash couldn't help but let his mind wander. What were they? Why did they come here to rescue him? What was their history with the Sirens?     He wouldn't let himself get lost in thought though. With this pause, Flash went over his inventory, reloading his weapons and checking over his equipment reserves. He had more than enough ammo to last, and also had a handful of various grenades, a few remote charges, incendiary shotgun shells, armor piercing machine gun rounds, and two more healing syringes, the same kind that Sunburst gave him. Flash recognized that he didn't have the durability to survive any kind of demon attack, he'd pack enough firepower to ensure nothing would touch him.      Or so he thought, one of those Reapers clawed his wrist up... but when he checked his wound, he saw the bleeding had stopped. It wasn't completely healed, but a black substance had hardened over his broken skin and he didn't feel any pain. Pulling his sleeve up, he was alarmed to see the veins on his arms were pitch black.     The Siren's demon virus was still spreading through his body. He closed his eyes. He let his head fall. The reminder stunted his hopes, seeing it actively affecting his body filled him with a dread far beyond that of oncoming danger. Trying to calm himself, he let out a shaky breath, but then felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. It was strange, for a brief moment, Flash saw the Hellsoldier with their guard down, the eye visible through the crack in their helmet showing a pained expression rather than an angered one. They pulled their hand away shortly after. It only filled Flash with more questions.     At once, a screen mounted above the elevator controls lit up and the sunglassed face of Adagio Dazzle appeared on it. She was outside somewhere, with rain and lightning in the background, but somehow her voice was perfectly audible.     "Commander. Agent Sentry." She said. Neither of them were pleased to see her.     "Adagio." Flash glared at her through the screen, and was certain the Hellsoldier was doing the same.     "It would appear you've not given my subordinates any useful information, Agent Sentry..." Adagio said. "Shame. And you, Commander..."     Her head turned slightly, addressing the Hellsoldier. "For as much trouble as you've given me I really don't want to have to kill you. I know what you came back to this facility for, and I think I have a proposal that can benefit us both."     Flash glanced at the Hellsoldier. Their hands fidgeted and their breathing got audibly heavier.      "The sword fragment," Adagio explained, "You want to fuse your piece with the piece we have."     The Hellsoldier looked at the retracted blade fixed to their left forearm. Now that Flash was closer, he could see the pitch black metal it was composed of had faint blue aura emanating from it. Whatever it was, it was incredibly effective against demons, burning them into dust upon contact.     "Should you kill Agent Sentry right now, I will grant you access to it with no strings attached."     "What? Kill me?" Flash backed away, understanding now why the Hellsoldier needed him. They did need him to unlock something for them, another piece of their sword.     "I know you have no real attachment to him," Adagio said. "Remember, what happened to you is his fault, Commander."     With a threatening growl, the Hellsoldier balled up their hand into a fist and punched the projection of Adagio's face, smashing the screen and breaking through the metal wall behind it. Though the remains of the screen fell black, Adagio's voice still echoed through it.     "Hmph. So dramatic... Suit yourself. Our friends are waiting for you in the facility proper. I'd say I'll be seeing the two of you in hell, but I'm about to become it's ruler, and you won't be allowed entry. Ta ta~"     "My fault?" Flash asked in disbelief. "Do... do we know each other?"     Before he could get a proper response, the elevator stopped moving. Behind it, they could hear booted footsteps and harsh, female voices. Siren agents were waiting for them on the other side.      The Hellsoldier faced the door, motioning for Flash to get ready, but Flash reached into one of his pouches and produced a fragmentation grenade.     "Wait. Allow me."     The Hellsoldier nodded, stepped back, and let Flash take point at the elevator's opening, giving the grenade pin a sharp tug as he heard the motorized doors begin to unseal. He counted down from three seconds, gripping the grenade firmly as he prepared to throw it.     In just another moment, the doors would open up.     Just one more moment...     Ding! -----     Starlight made a controlled jump off of the castle's tall turret tower, aiming herself to land on the length of outer wall that would take her further along the castle's perimeter. Behind her, a fireball flew over her head, and in front of her she had one of the hostile CANIS mech held tightly in the grasp of the energized projection Tether Hand. The bulky, brown wolf robot was held still by the giant teal fingers and was carried straight downward into the top of the barrier wall as Starlight fell.      She used the mech to break her fall, pummeling it into the solid walkway with repeated punches from the holographic fist coming over her shoulder, keeping the metal beast still with her mechanical hand as she did so. The mech let out a viscous, synthetic growl as it was beaten, but after Starlight was content in her assault she stood up and reeled a leg back, then kicked the downed machine with all of her might, sending it tumbling further across the wall.      With her revolver in her organic hand, Starlight loaded up a chamber full of firework rounds, aiming to finish of the bruiser as it scrambled to pick itself up, but the threat of a fiery red streak cut her off. The black armored wolf mech with the rocket pack landed between Starlight and the bruiser, forcing Starlight to readjust her sights to the active threat.     She let off four shots, but the jumper opened up its mouth and spat out another molten fireball, the projectile incinerating her bullets mid flight as it hurtled towards her. With the wall's walkway enclosed by raised ridges on either side, dodging out of the way would prove difficult, so instead Starlight engaged her mechanical arm and held it thrust forward while charging into the fireball. The metal of her fingertips caught the scorching sphere, magic in her palm pulsing as her arm absorbed the radiating energy. Natural, chemical based fire didn't just form into a sphere like this, nor could it be held like a physical object. This fire was an arcane fire, fair game for Starlight's body to absorb.      The fireball shrunk in size as Starlight took it in, recovering quite a bit of battery before tossing what was left of it back at the jumper mech. With it's thrusters it easily launched itself out of the way, but Starlight now had the freedom to make a move while it evaded. She pushed herself forward and slid beneath the mech, firing the last two shots in her pistol up into it.      It was quick enough to deflect both shots off of its tail blade, but as it landed Starlight rolled up to a stand and tethered it, her projected hand reeling the mech right back in. Before Starlight could combo into it, the jumper did a quick twirl, activating its thruster and scorching it's immediate area with its heated backblast. Starlight had to move, deflecting incoming swipes of its tail with her chainsaber as it frantically fought for space. She tried pressing it, knowing the mech didn't respond well to close combat, but another set of metal claws crashed against the top of the wall elsewhere. The assault mech landed behind her, his body contracting as he prepared to lunge forward.      Leaning as far as she could to the side without going over the edge of the walkway, Starlight reached her mechanical hand out behind her and let loose the charged magic she'd taken in from the jumper, a jet of flame shot from her palm that followed her arc of movement. The assault mech missed his jump, his frame catching fire as Starlight lit him up and then cut him off with her chainsaber, revving it up as she dug the weapon into him and smashed him down out of his attack.      More shifting from behind the jumper, and the nimble mech boosted itself up and away. The bulky bruiser behind it charged in to give it cover and challenge Starlight's space. It's mace-like tail swung around first, but the jumper also opened its mouth mid-air and let off a fireball that came down at a shallow angle, aimed behind Starlight. She realised this too late, after evading the bruiser's tail with a backwards flip she saw she was right in its trajectory.      All she could do was conserve her momentum and try to jump back again, she got just enough height that the fiery orb narrowly missed her as her entire body inverted. When she landed, she looked up to see the three mech wolves still impeding her progress. She needed to wrap this up.     "You call yourselves Artificial Intelligence?" Starlight taunted, holding her chainsaber in a straight guard. "I've met real dogs smarter than you!"     "What'd you just say?" Their leader, the assault mech, growled his response with resentment. He seemed to be the only one equipped with an onboard personality.     "I'm calling you stupid, tin can." Starlight spoke as infuriatingly patronizingly as possible, riling up the assault mech further.     "Yeah? That's pretty funny coming from a sack of meat welded to a toaster!" The assault mech's long, speared tail blade sliced off a piece of the wall's battlements. "We'll see who's feeling stupid after we're done with you!"     His tail whipped up, and the slab of wall shot into the air above him, where the bruiser threw its mass against it and slammed it in Starlight's direction. A light glimmered behind her eyes and she jumped forward, time slowing for her, allowing her to vault over and kick off the chunk of stone bricks hurled at her. The jumper's thrusters had already engaged, it was flying in over its two larger companions. Pointing her mechanical arm behind her, Starlight discharged the rest of the fire magic stored within it, propelling herself further through the air and meeting the jumper with a slash of her chainsaber.      She grabbed the smaller mech in her Tether Hand and spin kicked it further up into the air. The inertia threw her back to the ground, but she landed ready, bracing her chainsaber over her shoulder as the assault mech swung at her with both front claws, forcing a bind. The bruiser began another forward rush, but Starlight was still ahead. Her mechanical fist at full charge, she punched straight into the bruiser's chest and through its thick armor, halting its momentum completely. With her Tether Hand, she punched the mech again, launching it up and leaving her other hand free to grapple the mech still bearing down on her. With both hands, she flung the mechanical wolf over her shoulder, engaging her Bullet Reflex the moment it left her grip.     In slowed time, all three of the mechs were airborne, stunned, and helpless to control their directions. Revving up her chainsaber again, Starlight went wild, slicing into the assault mech in a dozen different directions, shredding his bright red armor to a hundred pieces, then in the same breath turned to the bruiser and beat into it with her Tether Fist, crushing it's plating under a thousand repeated punches. Both chains of blows ended with downward strikes, and for a moment Starlight let time resume normally, so that each of them could slam down on the floor and then bounce back up into the air as she reloaded her revolver and rolled forward.      With only a second's glance, Starlight pointed her revolver back, pulling the trigger in a charged up fist right as the three mechs were aligned, the jumper falling from a huge drop, and the bruiser and assault rebounding up from the floor. A glowing teal bullet cleared the muzzle in a blinding flash, punching through the assault first, then the bruiser, and then finally striking through the jumper, puncturing it's thruster pack and finishing the three of them off in a spectacular explosion that decimated the castle walls. The ancient bricks shook and crumbled as the charred remains of the three mechs were tossed in all directions, threatening to collapse with Starlight still on it.      Indeed, parts of the walkway began to break away, and Starlight was too close to the collapse to fully escape the damage. As her footing shifted, slipping against the rain slicked stone, she did her best to tilt her body to the side and ride the wall down.      She spilled out on her hands and knees, landing on a smooth slate path running through the wide yard behind the castle's keep.      Falling from the wall didn't matter, this was the way Twilight had gone. She could still catch up with her from here. -----     "More power..."     Twilight Sparkle's body erupted into vibrant purple flames, burning away at her until the form of her Inner Demon overtook her. Until now, the three demons that accompanied Selene until her final moments had been giving Twilight a hard time, quickly cutting off her escape and wearing down her already fleeting resolve. When she cut one down, the other two would distract her while the first recovered, and with her hoverboard damaged and left behind, she could only get so far before they'd catch up with her. With no way to contain them, she had to simply outlast them, which, in her feeble, weak, human form, might not have been possible.     "I need more power!"     And so, she turned to her Inner Demon, her only hope to knock all three of them out before any one could get back up. Tapping into this dark part of her mind gave her no comfort, it only stirred her underlying fears. Its power consumed her body, gave her strength beyond strength and speed beyond speed, but she felt no more in control than before. In fact, she was ashamed, infuriated even, that she'd have to rely on the power of her internal darkness. She hated it, but it was necessary. For the price of her pride, this power was her power, and power was all that really mattered at the end of the day.     With her katana sheath held firmly in her left hand, Twilight jumped through the wide, open gate of the castle's outermost wall, giving her demonic wings a short flap and stabilizing her landing as she spun back to face her attackers. Discord was furthest from her, the chaos demon was readying a clawful of his missiles on his warbow and firing them off in high arc. Sombra was the closest, the shadow unicorn gliding in with his legs merged against the ground and shaping his horn into a long piercing weapon. The huge, void-colored body of the Tantibus was somewhere in between, shifting its mass to jump over Twilight and land somewhere behind her.     "And now, this ends."     Twilight's katana came out into a half draw just as the missiles closed in on her. Each one suddenly came to a halt just a foot away, and Twilight snapped her blade back into its sheath, breathing a raspy, growly breath as each missile simultaneously split into four separate pieces and harmlessly fell to the ground. Her sheathe then glowed a bright purple as Sombra neared. Dark crystals shot forth form his body, but Twilight batted them aside with her weapon's hard casing, finally drawing her blade in full as he leapt up and drove the tip of his horn towards her.      "So slow..."     Her katana cut across the space in front of her in a horizontal shockwave, missing Sombra but striking Discord, far behind him, dead on while he was readying a followup attack. Following her arc, Twilight made a single rotation, both slashing diagonally into the base of Sombra's horn and moving out its reach, cutting right through him with her powered-up weapon.      Following her form, Twilight resheathed her weapon. Immediately following, both demons of shadow and chaos were cut to ribbons in what looked like a single stroke, despite one of them being a good twenty meters away and only seeming to be struck once. Tilting her head back slightly, Twilight caught a glimpse of two dozen massless, pointed tendrils stretching out from the Tantibus's body, reaching for her as it approached. Without turning, Twilight did a quick series of draws, four in total, cutting them down six at a time, then dodged out of the way at the Tantibus smashed two colossal fists down into the earth where she stood.      Spinning, Twilight faced the Tantibus properly now, her slitted, demonic eyes focusing intently as she zeroed in on it, her energy charging around her as she took in a breath. It brought its fist over its head again to crush her and summoned more tendrils from its back to impale her and charged up an energy attack in its eyes to fry her, but none of that would amount to anything. The ground around Twilight shook as her scabbard began to emit light, and she drew her sword in full once more.     In a ring around her feet, a shockwave of energy was released in her purple color, and she dissipated into nothing as her katana came out. Her foe would have no time to adjust course or retaliate, for the next moment all time seemed to stop. In the next breath, a hundred thousand sparkling marks flashed through the area surrounding where just Twilight stood. The rain around them ceased to fall and the space fell grey and glassy, as if the rays of light themselves were having trouble making it through.      And in that brief pause, Twilight rematerialised, kneeling, slowly and deliberately guiding her tested and trusted katana blade back to the place it called home as she'd done a thousand times before and would do a thousand times again. No sound was made in the stillness that followed, not until the sword's guard just nearly touched the edge of its scabbard did the demon wielding it make a sound.      "Taste oblivion."     Click.     The sword met the sheath fully, and a hundred thousand slices erupted in all directions around Twilight Sparkle, tearing the Tantibus that gave her such grief for so long to uncountable pieces, shredding it down from a titan to tick with the ultimate decisive cut. In the release of energy following Twilight reverted to her human form, and the three demons that stood against her were nothing but dripping pools of darkness.      As things became still again, Twilight just stood, having exhausted all of her demonic power using her ultimate move and left to take in the scope of the power she controlled. She shook, trembled softly as she normalized her breathing. She felt like she was just coming back into her body. Was she really in control of this power? Could she ever be?     She turned around, and began to continue down the path in front of her, now taking in her surroundings more as she shifted to this contemplative state.     Surrounding her, decorating this entrance of the castle was a well kept and beautiful garden of short, straight flowering bushes, spaced out trees, and tall hedges. The rain didn't fall as harshly here, it was filtered over the branches and leaves of tall, white ash trees that rowed the tiled path that led out of the castle.      At her feet, remains of the Tantibus flowed away, passing behind her and heading back towards the castle. It retook a smaller, human-sized shape, Discord and Sombra reforming with it, but not engaging Twilight again. Instead, they retreated, glaring at her while slinking away into the shadows of the castle walls.      When Twilight turned back, she saw the reason they backed off; a great, majestic bird with red and golden feathers hovering above the garden before her. The bird's reflective eyes struck through the dark of the storm and watched the demons retreat with restrained hostility. A soft flame surrounded her taloned feet, but didn't ignite the nearby greenery. It was a phoenix, it's presence powerful and intimidating, but at the same time graceful and pleasant to watch.     "Human..." The phoenix addressed Twilight directly, her voice ethereal and rippling through reality. Her eyes shifted down to the small demon hunter without a change in suspicion.      "Are you here to fight me too?"     "No." The bird's head shook. "I am here to ask you a question. You are not worthy of a fight with me."     "Not worthy?" Twilight shot an irritated glare at the bird, feeling any semblance of pride she still had singe at her. "I'm a student of Celestia. The inheritor of her legacy..."     "My master doesn't champion the reckless or cowardly. If this is how you handle your battles, you have learned nothing from her."     Resentment built throughout Twilight's body, but swiftly broke as Twilight came to realize the truth in the phoenix's words. The firebird continued as Twilight let her gaze fall.     "But Celestia saw something in you, some potential for greatness, some spark of light. She believed in your ability to do good."     "Just ask your question." Twilight said, wanting to sound hostile but only managing to gasp the words out as she was made emotionally weak once more.      "Is that spark still within you? Or have you been extinguished entirely? Is this where you abandon your journey, or will you see it through to the end?"     "I..." Twilight tried to think. Despite her drive to save the world, everything she did only seemed to endanger it further. In her quest for the power to save everything, she inadvertantly destroyed everything. Even if she did manage to stop what she'd set in motion, what would be left for her afterwards? It was too late for her.     "I don't know," she finally said, letting her head hang. "I don't know anything anymore, I've lost so much..."      Her voice trailed off. Even when everything else was empty, she felt vacant inside, she felt a hole within her she'd felt all this time, this want, this need for things to be better, and the only way to fill that void was to become stronger, so she could take charge of her own fate. She couldn't face these odds though, she'd already dug her own grave.     So what should she do?     "If you really are giving up," the phoenix said. "Then leave. Don't come back. And hope you don't survive long in whatever is next for this world."     Twilight had no response.     "I must go, to contain those other demons. Should we meet again, hope you have made the right choice."     The demon hunter only watched as the great phoenix tilted her body forward and glided off towards the castle, curving up towards the growing tear in the clouds above the central tower. -----     Another floor, another dark veil that needed stepping through. Sunset did it without wonder this time. She knew what she was getting into at this point.     The first thing Sunset felt in this particular pocket dimension was still, cold air. She was indoors somewhere. A place she recognized actually, the greys and dull blues around her soon formed into a hallway of the Canterlot Convention Hall. As soon as that realization was made, there was no doubt in Sunset's mind who she'd be meeting next, but the faint shredding of a guitar in the distance only served to confirm that thought.     Sunset unhurriedly walked through the hallway, opening a set of double doors and unsurprisingly finding herself in the Convention Hall's open basement. What was surprising was that a battle was already happening here. Bright bursts of lightning and flame shot across the flat grey room, and at the center of the action were a pair of familiar demons, one a rainbow headed rocker wearing spikes and leather, the other a sturdy blonde in animated stone armor.      Rainbow Dash's demon held her signature guitar-axe in both hands, swinging it's wide blade into Applejack's demon repeatedly, using her lightning fast speed to her advantage. Applejack's demon kept her guard raised, her mantle and gauntlets shifting to protect her from each of the electric strikes. She stood her ground, pushing in close and throwing quick punches at Rainbow's demon, while Rainbow's demon darted around her and tried to utilize her weapon's reach.      As far as Sunset could tell, they were pretty evenly matched. They eventually took notice of her, both looking over as Applejack's demon wrestled with her opponent's lightning guitar up close.      "I don't mean to interrupt..." Sunset said, stopping a respectable distance from the two dueling demons. "But is now really the best time to be fighting amongst ourselves?"     Through a struggling push, Applejack's demon replied with an accusing shake of her head. "Well maybe if some of us were thinkin' with our heads we could agree on that..."     "Screw off, will ya?" Rainbow's demon shot back.     Applejack's demon gave a deadpan look. "See what I'm sayin'?"     "This is my mental pocket space, what are you even doing here, AJ?!"     "I came here to help you, Dash!"     "Liar, you came here for my magic, I bet!" Rainbow's demon won the pushing match, swinging away and launching Applejack's demon across the floor, her stone boots digging into the concrete as she kept herself upright.      Applejack's demon let out a low, agitated breath. "Nuh-uh. I came to help get us out of this predicament we're in!"     "What are you talking about, I'm fine!"     "And you're callin' me a liar? You're stuck here, sugarcube, just like I was! I thought I'd be a good friend and help you out!"     Rainbow's demon made an agitated sound as well, but it came out as a higher pitched growl. "Some friend you've been!"     The angrier of the two demons spun her guitar around and began aggressively playing it, rapid fire bolts of lightning beginning to shoot out towards the more grounded of them.      At this point, Sunset felt it was the appropriate time to step in, drawing her sword and jumping between the lightning and its target. Her sword caught the electricity and she immediately struck the ground with it, discharging the energy before it could flow into her and holding a relaxed guard in front of Applejack's demon.     "Alright, Rainbow. Cool it."     "You're defending her? Yeah, I expected as much! She was our enemy, Sunset!"      Sunset gave a shrug. "It was your fault she ended up in Twilight's hands in the first place."     "Oh, you wish!" The demon shouted, closing the distance between herself and the demon hunter in a fraction of a second. "It's not my fault you couldn't handle me properly!"     The guitar-axe swung in quick, but Sunset didn't give it the focus of a full bind, instead keeping their blade contact light until Sunset could draw closer.      "Maybe not," Sunset gave her a playful smile, spinning between strikes, gripping her sword in one hand and shoving Rainbow back as she did a short dash into her. "But maybe I wasn't trying too hard, either!"      "Come on, then!" Rainbow's demon challenged, holding her footing even as she was pushed back. "Let's see how you handle me now!"     Another axe chop came down, but Sunset immediately met the demon's challenge, swinging her sword up into the inner curve of the axe blade and stopping it completely. Rainbow's demon only looked more surprised and enraged, but Sunset still kept her relaxed demeanor.     "How's this?" She gave a playful smirk, grabbing the demon by the arm and redirecting her weapon into the floor.      "Try harder!" Rainbow's demon let go of her weapon with her unbound arm, and hit Sunset across the face with three machinegun jabs before Sunset broke away and backed off.     "Ooh!" Sunset recoiled in pain, but was still smiling as she rubbed across her mouth and jaw. "Right on the lips, geez..."     Dash's demon closed in fast, stepping forward and taking a swing for every step Sunset took back. She was fast, electricity crackling in wake of her blurred motions, but Sunset kept up, catching the demon and again shoving her back once she had the proper position.      "Think I can't handle a fast woman?" Sunset's lips curled up into a tease again. These demons always responded so well when she behaved unpredictably. Rainbow's in particular blushed furiously, her brows tilting downward in anger. With two fingers Sunset beckoned her closer. "C'mon! Show me a good time!"     Eyes alight, Rainbow's demon obliged, playing a set of chords on her guitar that summoned lightning in tall columns, shooting out in erratic patterns.     "Lets see you dance, then!"     Sunset spun and rolled past the lightning columns accordingly, taking her sword in reverse grip and focusing her power on it as she did so. Channeling her magic through it, Sunset swung her sword up from a crouch, launching a diagonal wave of red energy that countered the white of Rainbow's lightning. Two more swings, and Sunset would drive two more energy bursts forth before closing the distance.     Right as Sunset brought her sword to bear, Rainbow's demon vanished in a shower of electricity, reforming just out of Sunset's striking range.     "Oh, don't be like that!" Sunset tilted her head, still smiling as Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "I thought we were friends!"     "Friends?" Rainbow's demon smirked. "Do you think I'm stupid?"     "Huh?" Sunset's demeanor shifted to the notable tone in Rainbow's voice. The demon capitalized on this, dashing right back in with her axe blade tilted forward. It would meet nothing, Sunset would duck and weave out of its path as Rainbow's demon advanced, slowly coming to realise that the demon was genuinely hurt.     "You were using me!" the demon shouted, finally grinding her axe blade against Sunset's steel. "I was just a weapon for you, something to collect!"     "What?"     "None of you understand me, I'm not something to just be used up and thrown away..." Rainbow's demon shoved the point of her guitar-axe forward, pushing Sunset's blade out of position and making for a fast followup cut. "I'm a big freakin' deal!"     Sunset pulled her sword handle close into her chest, making quick rotations to defend against Rainbow's heavy headed weapon.     "Rainbow, I-"     "Even as a friend, you never call me, you never come to my shows-" Several electrified swings of her weapon accentuated her words. "You only care 'cause I'm a star, huh? Cause I'm successful? Is that it? If not for that, I'd be useless, right?"     "Listen to me, Dash!" Sunset aimed a sword thrust right into the hook of the axe blade, scooping it up and quickly bashing her pommel into the demon's stomach. She followed up with a wide cut, stumbling the demon back and forcing her onto the defensive. "You've got it all wrong."     Two more sword swipes, but Rainbow's demon could only deflect one. She stepped back again as Sunset's sword dug into her.     "I came all this way to save you because I care about you." Sunset leaned all the way back as she dodged a response, scoring another hit on the demon with a half circle swing. "Because I think you're worth something!"     She then leaned forward and launched into a rapid series of sword jabs, all aimed at various angles. Rainbow blocked them at first, but as she continued, the demon's face lost some of its hostility, giving way to shock.      "You're stubborn as hell and a complete pain in the ass sometimes, but you're my friend, Rainbow!" One final jab struck against the flat of the demon's guitar-axe, and Rainbow was forcibly shoved away. She was visibly shaken by Sunset's words, her eyes showing something else beneath her resentment. A step forward, and Sunset came out with another slash, knocking Rainbow's guard aside for her finishing strikes.     "You're not just your fame-"     One. An upward swing that popped the demon into the air.      "You're not just a weapon-"     Two. A matching cut to flow into the third.     "And you're not something to just throw away!"     Three. A huge swing from behind the back, charged with Sunset's power and blasting Rainbow's demon back against the wall. Lighting sparked around the demon's body, she twitched in place with a stunned look on her face for a moment, but she still rose with a reluctant will to fight.     Before she could lift her axe to fight again, though, Sunset was right in front of her, pinning her against the wall with only a look. Leaned in close, she had a hand pressed against the wall just above her shoulder and held a very firm eye contact, her expression very flat and serious. In a way, it was amusing how Rainbow's demon, for all of her tough talk, leather, spikes, and general rough attitude, suddenly crumpled away when faced with a superior force. The demon was shivering, her slitted red eyes shrinking down, and her breathing a rattling whisper. Sunset even heard a residual hum from the demon, the same kind of sound an old, worn down neon sign would make.      Knowing her friend and seeing her like this, Sunset had everything pieced together. She kept her expression relaxed, speaking clearly, but not as aggressive as before.     "You want to be important to someone, yeah?"     "Y-Yeah." Rainbow's demon gave a weak nod.     "You're important to me," Sunset said, tilting her head and letting a sly smile creep onto her face. "Remember that."     There it was, Rainbow's face flushed red again.      "So, when's your next show?"     "I- I, uh..." The demon's breathing became a bit deeper, and she tilted her head up in thought. "I dunno, actually. My schedule kinda got messed up by the end of the world."     "Yeah? Maybe I could get your number, I'll give you a call once I've wrapped up saving it?"     To this, Rainbow smiled. Laughed softly, even. The two of them had been friends for years. "Pfft, you're not slick- You already have my number."     Sunset leaned back a little. "Ah, yeah, I do, don't I?"     Rainbow's expression dropped again. "Look, I'm sorry for all of this, for giving you such a hard time, I was just... scared that I'd be wrong to trust you. I haven't been a very good friend at all, so just... let's try again maybe? If you really do care, I won't fight you, I promise. I'm all yours."     The demon held her guitar-axe out in surrender, but Sunset nodded. "Not this time. Go back to your body, make sure she's safe after I spring you all."     The demon gave a look of surprise. "Really? You'd just let me go?"     Sunset nodded her head as she pushed away from the wall, allowing the demon to move freely. "Yeah. I trust you, Rainbow."     Rainbow's demon smiled again, and her shoulders shifted up. Seeing that appreciative, blushing smile, Sunset felt a bit of heat on her cheeks as well, to which she turned her eyes up idly. These demons always responded to her playfulness in the best ways.     At this point, Applejack's crossed arms and rolling eyes made themselves known. "Y'all gonna kiss now? Cause if not we should probably get a move on."     Surely, Applejack's demon was being sarcastic with that remark, but the demon hunter found her eyes shifting back to the demon she was just pinning with interest, genuinely contemplating the notion for a few moments. Rainbow's demon's lips trembled for a brief moment and she only blinked once before giving response.     "Want to?"     "What, kiss?"     "Yeah."     Sunset's eyebrows rose. She supposed this little ordeal warranted that kind of release.     Sunset shrugged.     "Sure."