Spinning chainsaber teeth crossed with a demonic katana blade beneath the storm blanketing the Everfree Forest. In a garden of rosemary raged a duel between two demon hunters, master and student, a duel that meant everything despite having little effect on the grander scale. The gate to the demon realm was opening wider, a stronger distortion appearing above the castle's main tower as the bright blue and golden lights of the Sisters of Light and Darkness died down, but neither of them would notice that.
Both Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer sought conclusion to their troubled and turbulent history, but regardless of who emerged victorious over the other, one would find answer on a blade or bullet, and the other would find answer in the silence that followed.
Twilight entered her Demon Reflex at every chance she got, warping around the garden arena as a blur while Starlight struggled to keep track of her. Starlight engaged her own Bullet Reflex when Twilight got close, but didn't press her with it, she wanted to save her power for other techniques if she could. Twilight was fast and overbearing, and as they exchanged sword hits and fired their guns off at each other with nearly even ability, Starlight knew that she couldn't defeat her with sheer force alone. She needed an edge, and lucky for her, she had one.
Bending her knees and leaning forward, Twilight sheathed her sword momentarily before shooting off across the grass, her sword rocketing from its sheath as she came up into a rising tornado cut, her blade a swirl around her as she attempted to launch Starlight into the air. Kicking off the ground, Starlight evaded the attack, and reached out with her mechanical arm while Twilight was airborne.
The teal projection of her Tether Hand shot out and she seized Twilight from afar, reeling her in before she could regain her footing, allowing Starlight to lay into her with a brutal string of spinning slashes of her own. With each cut into Twilight's body, Starlight squeezed the handle of her chainsaber, slicing up her purple coat and the vest she wore beneath it with its spinning razor teeth. At the end of the combo, Starlight brought her sword back for one final hit, engaging her Bullet Reflex to slow time and give her a better window of opportunity.
Twilight's Demon Reflex went off in kind, and with another impossibly quick draw her katana intercepted the chainsaber at the last possible moment, pushing them into a tight bind that forced time to resume. Starlight wouldn't let it last though, she brought her Tether Hand over her shoulder in a hurtling fist, taking Twilight off guard and knocking her clean off her feet.
Twilight quickly righted herself and landed in a shallow angled slide, one hand braced on the ground. She returned her sword to its sheath, but then brought it to a half draw in a quick movement, snapping it closed just as Starlight jumped in to attack again.
"So slow..."
The cyborg suddenly halted, finding herself caught in a dozen slashes striking her all at once, and following that she was blown onto her back. Twilight again drew her sword, pointing it towards the fallen Starlight in a gesture of disapproval.
"Make these moments count."
Starlight rose to her feet again as Twilight returned her sword in her calm and focused form. Starlight focused as well, concentrating her power on her metal fist, charging it up as she readied her chainsaber in her other hand. With a dash forward, she met her former mentor in more blade to blade combat, finding that her sword strikes were easily deflected, but was unpredictable with her Tether Hand. With it, she caught Twilight by the coat and pulled her forward while winding up a punch with her metal fist.
She swung her arm hard and fast, but Twilight narrowly leaned out of the way as she spun out of balance, catching herself just behind Starlight and igniting her katana sword. Starlight twisted her torso and slung her fist out to the side in an attempt to keep on her, but Twilight quickly struck her sword into the metal of Starlight's hand. Finishing her turn around, Starlight swung her chainsaber on the other side, keeping her forearm bound to Twilight's sword, but Twilight whipped her weapon's scabbard down to counter her swing.
"Is that all you have, Starlight?" Twilight met Starlight's eyes as they came into their bind.
"Not even close."
Beneath her denim jacket, Starlight's body began to light up with teal energy as she summoned more of it to her. A light glimmered behind her eyes and she pushed against Twilight's hold. In turn, Twilight too became enveloped in her own purple energy, but her entire form shifted, her skin faded to a purple shade and her eyes sharped into that of a demon's. Wings sprouted from her back and her clothes merged into her body, to Starlight's absolute surprise, Twilight assumed her demon form.
Her resolve shook, Starlight had never seen Twilight like this before. She knew she possessed some demonic abilities, but this was beyond anything she'd seen from her. Twilight easily overpowered her in her shock, shoving hard into Starlight and casting her far back onto the tile path leading up to the castle with a single swipe of her sword sheath. Starlight rolled against the stone pathway, scraping herself against it as she struck and bounced against the earth, coming up with rattled, shaken breaths as she made an ungraceful recovery.
The demon-turned Twilight was now right in front of her, having cleared the considerable distance she'd been thrown in less than a second. Frantically stepping into her Bullet Reflex, Starlight held a just barely manageable defense against Twilight's sword strikes, feeling heat pouring off of the katana now glowing with raw power as it came dangerously close to her body. Charging her own power into her chainsaber, Starlight forced another bind, but this time drawing her revolver in her off hand and snapping off six shots at point blank range.
Time resumed as the bullets struck Twilight's chest, Starlight surprised herself with her reaction time. Refreshing her revolver's chamber, Starlight powered up her Tether Hand and grabbed at Twilight again, but Twilight sliced the projection in half with her katana before it reached her. A strange recoil flowed back through the broken tether and into Starlight, staggering her while Twilight drew her twin pistols.
The two guns began to glow just like her sword, and with a quick wing flap Twilight was suddenly looking down on Starlight from above with both barrels pointed down. A loud, ear-shearing sound ripped out, sounding like twenty chainsabers revving asynchronously. Accompanying it was a pair of energy infused muzzle flashes and a nearly solid stream of bullets being slung in her direction.
Another burst of Bullet Reflex gave her just enough time to start running, twirling her sword in an attempt to deflect the shots, but there was no way she'd hold against such incredibly rapid fire. The buzzing continued as Twilight kept on target, eventually swooping into a glide and attempting to dive at her. Starlight rolled to the side as Twilight shot past, picking back up into the air with blinding speed. A bright purple streak even trailed behind her as she began to circle around into another pass.
With several moments to prepare, Starlight drew up her power, focusing all available energy to her arm as possible, loading up six firework rounds and fully charging her revolver before taking aim. She was back out in the center of the grassy rosemary garden, there wouldn't be anywhere to hide when Twilight was back in line with her, so she began snapping off shots as soon as Twilight was in her sights. Still, she came in, pushing through the exploding, multicolored streaks and smoke in the dark sky surrounding her, each shot only slowing her minimally. Even with her aim disrupted she still had more than enough velocity to take Starlight down.
But as she neared, right before she made contact, she saw Starlight's great projected hand shooting out into her, overcharged and crackling with power, and closing around her completely. Starlight then grappled Twilight with her entire body as she was tethered, and heaving with all of her might the cyborg caught the charging demon's momentum in full.
"You'll have to try harder than that!"
Kicking off the ground, Starlight jumped backwards and twisted her core, driving Twilight straight down with everything she had. At Starlight's direction, Twilight was slammed face first into the ground, blowing her out of her demon form and causing a spiralling rush of energy to burn the grass beneath her. A shockwave followed that blasted through the surrounding scenery, sending petals up into the air around them.
Reverted back to her human form, Twilight completed her tumble and rolled onto her hands and knees. Starlight ended up on the ground as well, but in a far more controlled way, she was able to come up to a kneel much more readily.
"You ready to call it quits yet?" Starlight growled between rapid breaths.
"Not... yet..." Rising, Twilight quickly brought her katana back out, deflecting an incoming sword swing from Starlight, then cutting down her Tether Fist again.
When Starlight stumbled back this time Twilight stepped right into her, driving her katana straight into her former student's chest, the glowing blade puncturing her metal body all the way through.
"Not until you show me all of your strength."
A metal fist promptly shot out and smashed into Twilight's face, breaking her grip on the sword and allowing Starlight to react. Pain was the first thing Starlight felt as she was impaled, but as she gripped the handle of the katana she felt her body absorbing the magical energy within it. It was just enough of a boost to keep her up as she yanked it out and shoved it right back into Twilight.
"You first!"
Now each with a fresh sword wound, the two of them staggered away from each other. Dropping to a kneel again, Starlight recovered her dropped chainsaber while Twilight yanked her sword from herself, flicking her blood off of it and staring her opponent down as she healed through the damage. Starlight's power cells had been recharged from the stab, and the excess energy healed up her insides despite the hole in her.
"Throwing yourself at me so recklessly..." Twilight shook her head. "You don't even know what you're fighting for, do you?"
Starlight's expression was intense, tired, not showing signs of giving yet, but her eyes shifted with some kind of sudden understanding as she thought about the question. Here she was, holding her own against the person that taught her everything, that gave her everything and then pulled it all out from under her.
"No, Twilight, I do."
They circled around each other for a moment as they rose but they were soon back to meet each other in rough, gritty combat. Starlight didn't fight with the same precision or fluid movements that Twilight did, she let her balance shift in and out, she attacked with bold strokes that often overexposed herself, and simply fought through the damage if she made a mistake. In return, she found herself pushing Twilight onto her back foot, and for every hit she took she could land one right back.
"I'm fighting for the people you walked away from!" Starlight's blade locked in with Twilight's, but almost like routine she brought her Tether Fist up to break the bind. Twilight cut away and aimed to slice it down, but it faded out just before impact, and Twilight caught Starlight's metal fist on her forehead instead. An easy fake-out, but Starlight had to follow up quickly.
"For our family! Our friends!" She buzzed Twilight with three quick chainsaber swings, but Twilight raised her katana sheath to deflect a fourth. A fifth strike, and Twilight brought her katana into a parry that cut through her hand, and Starlight dropped her own sword as her hand reflexively opened. No matter, Starlight pressed in with her mechanical fist glowing brightly.
"Everyone you'd put in harm's way!" Starlight's mind was on Trixie, on Sunburst, everyone back at the Order, her family and friends back in her hometown. Even Sunset and Flash, who backed her up, even if briefly, and had been friends with Twilight for longer. She told herself that this was about revenge, or that she had to prove that she was strong enough, or that she wanted answers, but this was what was on her mind as she fought with everything she had. This was what she thought about as her glimmering metal forearm gripped a sparkling katana blade, when she slammed her bleeding, fleshy fist into Twilight's jaw. The people that cared about her, the people she cared about.
Starlight's Tether Hand shot out again just as her metal fist met the base of Twilight's blade at full force, she held Twilight still and launched her katana from her hand with a solid punch.
"The people you don't care about anymore..." Starlight drew her revolver, but before she could fire Twilight was batting it out of the way with both of her pistols drawn. In fact, Twilight's response was so swift she knocked the gun up into the air before Starlight could get a solid grip on it, but the cyborg was not deterred. She stayed close and punched right into Twilight's guard, not giving her any space to shoot or punch back.
With Twilight recoiling, Starlight caught her revolver along the barrel just in time to whip it's handle into the side of her mentor's head, leaving her open yet again. One more hit, a charged up punch from her Tether Hand and Twilight was sent straight to the ground, sending another vast swirl of rosemary petals up into the air around her.
"And for myself." Starlight tossed her revolver up, flipping over and catching it by the handle. "But you don't care about me anymore either, so I guess I'm already covered."
Sitting up from being knocked on her back, Twilight gave nothing in response but a tired glare. She wasn't ready to yield, but she looked at Starlight differently after hearing this declaration of care for others. It was like she was remembering something, she held a look of subdued surprise. The only thing Starlight knew for sure was that her reserved look was crumbling, that she was trying to refrain from feeling something but failing.
"If you believe that strongly in what you fight for..." Twilight said, her purple aura forming about her again. Starlight kept her revolver aimed in line with her as her own body lit up with teal, now knowing that Twilight's demon form was coming.
"Then fight!"
Starlight's body reached peak power and her revolver flashed as it let out a glowing super shot, but Twilight dodged with instantaneous speed, reappearing next to her sword and deflecting the rest of Starlight's shots off it as she swiveled to track her. Right after, Twilight erupted back into her demon form, but Starlight fired one last shot, a shot she'd withheld from firing to bait out Twilight's transformation.
Sliding into her Bullet Reflex, Starlight looked at Twilight's paled purple skin, her raging eyes, seeing another strangely expressive look in her face. She still looked as if she was trying to hold some emotion back, but had long since failed. With her weapon at full power, Starlight pulled the trigger. The round travelled quickly through slowed time and Twilight sped up to meet the bullet with her blade.
In this time, Starlight was sweeping her heel back, flipping her chainsaber off the ground and to her while revving it up, letting her Reflex end as she kept drawing power into her body. She needed to channel more power, as much as she could.
If Twilight wanted all of her strength, she was going to get it. Bypassing the limiter Sunburst installed in her after the first encounter with Nightmare Moon, the one measure that kept her from burning out and crashing, she pulled energy from all available power cells. Her teal glow surged through her entire body, all of her frame lit up like a shining star and a resilient light glimmered brightly behind her eyes.
And with everything she had, she charged at Twilight.
The two supercharged warriors clashed once more time in the center of the garden, bringing time to a halt as they expended all manner of attacks from sword and gun and wing and fist, becoming their own violent storm amongst frozen raindrops. With this much power flowing through her, Starlight's Bullet Reflex was fully optimized, she didn't even have to think to keep it up. She was matching Twilight step for step, swing for swing, and shot for shot, and for once in her life, she felt like she was truly fighting with reason. This fight was the most important fight of her life.
This fight was where it would all end. One of them had to give out, only one of them could walk away. Their answer was so close.
In a single frame of motion Starlight had leapt high into the air and had her blade fully charged and spinning, preparing to drop it down on a Twilight who had her sword in its sheath.
Starlight dropped, but found herself coming to a grinding halt as Twilight drew her sword halfway. She shook her head disappointedly.
"You're not enough."
She snapped her sword sheath shut, and Starlight was again blasted back by dozens of instantaneous cuts, but before she could be launched back all the way she caught a dozen more, and then a dozen more again, Twilight repeating the resheathing motion. She then finished with a full draw, shooting a thin beam of energy from her blade right into the falling Starlight.
When this last beam hit, Starlight was frozen in the air like the rain around her, and had no way to stop a hundred more slashes from mercilessly ripping at her body. She held onto her strength though, her resolve, and willed herself to land on her feet. Twilight was preparing another attack, building up power in her sheathed sword and creating a ring of her purple energy at her feet. It was another one of her space-cutting strikes.
She had one last shot at this. Starlight ran forward, venting more energy to propel herself as she closed in on Twilight. In the moment before she made her ultimate decisive cut, Starlight focused even more of her overwhelming power on her Tether Fist, so much that both the projected hand and her metal one sparked violently as she moved. Her natural arm was held at full length, her finger and thumb giving her a sight picture on her demonic target.
Starlight came closer, and closer, and closer, and then threw her fist with everything she had.
"You're..."
Twilight's katana came to a half draw.
Starlight's Tether Fist rocketed forward.
"...Finished!"
The space around them went pitch black for a fraction of a sluggish second, and then reality fell grey and glassy as time not just slowed, but seemed to cease entirely.
Starlight heard the click of Twilight's katana.
Twilight heard the distinct hum of Starlight's mechanical fist.
Neither had time to move.
A hundred thousand slices then burst out around the two of them, a hundred thousand blinding white lines that filled all available space, but meeting each one was a teal-tinged burst of power, a rebellious display of strength that neither of them were expecting. For every thousand cuts Twilight made, Starlight threw a thousand punches, creating a huge blast wave with the two of them at the center.
Time resumed, and flowers again surrounded them as they both were knocked away from each other. Twilight, having spent all of her energy for that attack, reverted back to her human form, fully surprised to see her student match her ultimate technique. Like herself, though, Starlight's attack took most of her power, and she too reverted out of her supercharged, glowing state.
Twilight still had just a little bit of strength left though, and with it she made to finish off her disciple.
Starlight was dazed, having used up so much energy in so little time, she nearly didn't respond to her mentor's final approach. She swung her chainsaber, but that was more as a sloppy response, and it was quickly beaten out of her hand again as Twilight stabbed her katana forward. Reengaging her limiter, Starlight used her metal hand to catch the blade, stopping it just inches away from piercing her.
Even in her human form, Twilight's distress showed through her face. She looked nearly horrified at Starlight's ability to resist her, but still held onto her determination.
"You're... You're the one who doesn't know what she's fighting for, aren't you?" Starlight's chest felt heavy as she drew breath, but she continued to do so despite being at her absolute limit. "You don't even have anything left to fight for..."
"I'm fighting for the future..." Twilight breathed, pushing harder against Starlight's defense. She too was almost fully worn out. "So we can live in a world free of a demon threat. So we can live, period!"
"Bullshit!" Starlight began to force Twilight back, gaining a little more breathing room through the struggling of her entire body. "You watched the world end and you chose to run away!"
Her mentor's face twisted up in anger to that remark. "I had no choice!"
The two struggled further, each growing weaker with every moment.
"The difference between you and me..." Starlight was gasping through pained breaths now, pushing every inch of herself to keep fighting. "Is that I'll die... for what I believe in... Because I have friends that are worth fighting for..."
"I'm fighting... for them... too!" Twilight managed.
"Shut... up!" Starlight pushed back, leaving Twilight with only a furious glare. "Shut... the entire hell... up!"
Starlight's mouth went dry, and she tried to swallow, but it hurt, and when it hurt her grip slipped. Screw it. Starlight drew up enough power to summon a Tether Fist, and she swung openly at Twilight just as her fingers failed.
"You'd just let your friends suffer!" Starlight shouted. Twilight had to cut down the projected fist, and Starlight pivoted back and threw a low punch into Twilight's stomach. "So you don't have to feel as weak as you actually are..."
Twilight reeled forward, and Starlight scooped her up in her Tether Hand, dangling her in front of her for a moment as she looked into her eyes.
"Killing me won't solve your problem!" Clenching her teeth, Starlight shook her head with a loud disappointment painted across her face. "Cause your problem is that you're a spineless coward!"
Tethered still, Twilight was struck by Starlight's metal arm again, and again, until she finally swiped her sword at the projected fingers around her. When her Tether Hand broke, Starlight staggered back, her power sparking from her body as she was put into a stunned daze, but Twilight too was stunned. Starlight could clearly see Twilight's expression now, she knew what she was being told was true, and couldn't do anything but stare that truth in the face.
"Do you..." Twilight began weakly, watching Starlight attempt to clear her head. "Do you have the strength to kill me, then?"
Starlight didn't have much strength for anything at this point. Things were spinning, she was completely and utterly exhausted. Her legs gave, and she placed a hand to the ground as she dropped to a knee.
"Are you..." Starlight took another moment to just breathe. "Are you admitting you're wrong?"
"If I am, then kill me." Twilight's head fell, but she still stood. She slowly walked towards Starlight, her arm extending to ready a strike with her katana. Starlight shut her eyes, mind scrambling to think of what she could do to defend herself.
"If I am, then it's what I deserve."
Twilight raised her sword.
"But if not, then you'll die here."
Starlight looked up and prepared to make a move. She didn't know what she'd do, but she needed to wait until Twilight committed to her swing.
"Either way, this ends now."
A sharp, shrieking whistle cut her off.
A red hot blade shot in from seemingly nowhere and speared Twilight through the back, replacing any emotion on her face with instant pain. She spun, knocking two more incoming blades away with her sword before pulling out the one stuck in her. She was stunned, confused, but was only made more so when she looked in the direction they'd come from.
Starlight heard a heavy metallic thump land somewhere behind Twilight, off in the direction of the castle's entrance. Similar metallic footsteps following were the all that was audible over the falling raindrops and her own weak breathing, but then she heard a familiar voice, a familiar, synthesized voice...
"Twilight! Stop!"
Starlight weakly lifted her head, she needed to confirm what she'd heard. Indeed, there he was.
There, Starlight saw the wolflike shape of a purple plated CANIS mech, with two red eyes glowing through the humid darkness and a long, sharp blade affixed to his tail. The mech had heavy damage on one side of his face, but nonetheless stood definitely against Twilight. There was no way...
A broken, almost teary breath crossed Twilight's lips.
"Spike..."
Twilight's voice tensed with angered confusion and genuine hurt that she was far too tired to mask. "Spike, what are you..."
"I'm doing what needs to be done, Twilight!"
"Power down, Spike." Twilight spoke with a dangerous, desperate anger in her voice. "That's an order."
"Negative. That would go against my primary directive."
Twilight took her sword so tightly that it began to tremble in her grip. "Explain. Yourself."
"The last thing I did before I lost power was send out a distress signal." Spike said, a strange resentment in his voice, he too sounded very much unlike how Starlight knew him to be. "Sunburst and Trixie eventually found me, and he did what he could to bring me back online."
Twilight's shaking softened as she was stunned by an uncontrollable flood of emotions. Her volume dropped, her tone weakened considerably. "Spike..."
"You knew I couldn't beat Starlight. She did considerable damage to my personality core when she destroyed me." Spike prowled forward slowly as he spoke, full hostility directed towards Twilight. "Sunburst had to activate my emergency self-repair functions, and when he did, when I came back online... I was given a choice. My memory was intact, but my base directives were corrupted. I was given the choice to reconstruct my directives based on pre-existing protocols..."
Starlight gently righted herself, trying to get back to her feet as Spike explained his actions with an almost pleading tone.
"...But I'm smarter than that. You created me, Twilight, programmed me to serve you. But you also raised me, taught me to know right from wrong, outside of rigid programming. From the beginning you showed me how rules can destroy intention, how breaking rules can save lives."
Through thoroughly exhausted breaths, Starlight gave a bitter grin. She saw what he was getting at. "She taught you principle, didn't she?"
Spike nodded.
"You taught me that the people we care about are worth fighting for, even if they're the ones we fight against."
Spike stood tall against Twilight's aggressive stance, defiantly meeting her eyes with meaningful intent.
"So in that moment, I chose my principle over my protocol."
Twilight's stance shifted again, losing some of its tension as she let out a breath.
"My primary directive is still to help you, you and all of the people I care about, but you no longer have direct control of me."
When Twilight spoke, her tone had gone back to normal, she seemed to have a bit more control of herself. "If you've gone rogue... Spike, I have no choice but to destroy you."
"You've gone rogue, Twilight!" Spike snapped, lowering his head closer to the ground as he assumed a combat ready stance. His response was even more emotional than Twilight's, sounding to be as on the verge of tears that a machine could be. "You've abandoned everything you used to believe in and it's gotten you nowhere! I love you, Twilight! You're family, my family, and I can't stand to watch you do this to yourself. So you're getting my help, whether you like it or not!"
Spike's tail blade flicked up, and the lightning cannon mounted within his frame deployed from his back. It began to charge up, and Twilight gave one final warning.
"Don't make me do this, Spike... Stand down, recognize me as your master!" Twilight tilted her blade just so, and one last time, her voice fell. "...Please, Spike."
"No." The lights behind Spike's eyes flashed his own warning. "I'm my own master now!"
-----
Sunset stepped through the shadowy veil at the top of the tower's next floor. There was only one of her friends left to deal with, and presumably there'd only be floors of generic-brand bad guys the rest of the way up. Or maybe there were only five floors and she'd be meeting the cheeto head lady right after. Sunset kept note that either was an option, but decided to keep her focus on the present, which...
Presently, she was in a dark void. Strange. Did she not go through the veil all the way? Did she take a wrong turn somewhere? She felt floor at her feet, and the air felt chilled, but she didn't actually appear to be anywhere. She kept walking, unsure of where to go, but after another half minute she stopped. Her footsteps were echoing off something, it sounded like she was somewhere wide and open. It was difficult to make out anything, she couldn't even see her hands in front of her.
But then, she suddenly sensed quick movement on both sides.
She flipped out of the way, just barely dodging two thin projectiles from an unseen source. One grazed her cheek, and she felt cool metal pass by her. The moment she hit her feet she heard more shooting out, at least eight coming at her this time. More fast, evasive flips and spins, her graceful movements coming out in an astounding and impressive fashion. It was a shame that the lights were off and nobody was there to see her.
But suddenly, they were.
Two rows of powerful, focused lights came on with a single resounding, heavy click, putting much needed light on the empty area. It wasn't empty though, as Sunset's eyes adjusted she could see she was standing on a polished floor, and more things came into focus she could see a faceless crowd in dimmed seating before her.
She was on a stage, looking out into an audience, but the spotlight was not on her. Past the vast, red curtains in front of her, further up the stage, a tall, pale skinned demon with luminous purple hair and a beautiful midnight dress stood, gazing into a hand mirror with a long, purple rose tucked behind her ear. Rarity's demon.
"Darling..." In a low, drawn out tone, vindictive yet careful, she spoke.
"I can only assume that you've come...
To see the beauty and power
of one far superior to yourself."
Her head suddenly snapped back from the mirror and directly over her shoulder to Sunset, as she spoke with an exaggerated danger.
"Or did you come to steal it?"
The light on the demon dimmed, and Sunset suddenly found it centering on her. No details of the audience members had visible features, but yet Sunset could tell they were watching with both interest and excitement. The atmosphere was very strange, but with the spotlight on her and everyone else waiting patiently for her to respond, she knew what had to be done.
A smile on her face, Sunset rose her head to the crowd and matched Rarity's dramatic tone.
"Beauty and power,
Beauty and power...
I fail to see why they're held in such high regard."
Sunset paced forward a few steps, scoffing and turning her head to the audience. She threw up a hand as if to reach for something, then pulled it back as she gave a wholeheartedly overblown reply.
"Have you truly reached the end of your sanity!?"
The light from Sunset faded, and Rarity's demon came into view again. She was now staring intently into her mirror, lost in her own reflection as she continued this unusual exchange.
"It is not by my hand that I possess such...
Immaculate features. They were given,
By a human that understands her own worth."
Looking up from the mirror again, she dropped her eyelids the slightest bit, but shot Sunset a hugely pronounced scowl.
"It takes a split from the self to comprehend one's inner perfection.
A trait you doth mock. in. envy."
The light went back to Sunset, and she gave her reply with a forward lean and a point.
"But your perfections interest me not.
You've betrayed your humanity,
And cling tightly to the material!"
Back to Rarity, who acted out her responses with emphasized disgust.
"Humans are but weak and foolish!
The same can befall all virtue...
As all virtue will inevitably turn to vice!"
Sunset then jumped forward, the spotlight following her as she landed in a roll before Rarity and faced the crowd. She held her arms out, making wide gestures as she went on to proclaim her intent.
"But I am here!
To restore
What has been so easily lost
Within your soul!"
Spinning, she pointed to Rarity's demon, who was backed up to the edge of the spotlight. Her chin was raised, her slitted, demonic eyes alive with anger that, by all accounts, looked perfectly real. With her gaze burning away at Sunset, Rarity's demon tossed her hand mirror onto the ground, shattering it to pieces as she gave her scathing retort.
"What is a soul?
A miserable little pile of weakness.
But enough of this-"
In her empty hand, she materialized her long, weaponized sewing needle, sweeping it across and then pointing it Sunset.
"Harmony!
That is what you seek!
But instead, I wait
In your path!"
A grin on her face and fully enjoying herself at this point, Sunset dropped a kneel as she turned to the audience again.
"Ha! You will fumble
In opposition
To my friendship!"
Then, in a quick motion, she drew both of her pistols and fired them into the lights above. Nothing shattered, but the entire stage went dark as the gunshots rang out.
When the spotlight came back, it was over Sunset, who now stood near the back of the stage on a raised platform, above Rarity with the same collected smile.
"Though I encourage!
For an opportunity to battle
A monster, as green-eyed
As you..."
With a bow, she gently beckoned for the demon to engage.
"Would be a most generous rarity."
Immediately after, the entire stage lit up, and Sunset began to hear music play from somewhere. It started with a drumbeat, a simple bassline on a dance piano, but then evolved into something fast paced as a dance piano took a lead part and both a bass and electric guitar joined in...
Sunset jumped down from the platform, drawing her sword as Rarity summoned a formation of oversized sewing pins. As Sunset approached she fired them off in time with the music's beat, and matching the set rhythm Sunset weaved around them with ease.
Sliding into striking range, Sunset drove the tip of her claymore towards Rarity's demon. The demon turned outwards, her body facing the crowd, and met Sunset's blade with the point of her giant sewing needle, leaning into her movement and deflecting the blade away. Then stepping into a spin, Rarity cut across and struck Sunset in the back with her needle, not cutting her, but knocking her momentarily off balance.
She rolled with the hit, coming up with her back to the crowd. Sunset could hear a collective tense gasp from them as she precariously caught her balance on the end of her toes, but she briefly flashed them a smile over her shoulder. Rarity brought another set up pins up, but before she could fire them Sunset waltzed right in to strike, keeping each swipe, jab, and step in time with the music. Things were really picking up, and Rarity combined her needle's attacks with shots from her pins, but Sunset swiftly followed her movements. Still letting the demon take lead, she made wider, more dramatic swings, held more exciting poses, and kept herself in line with the audience's vision.
It wasn't a real fight, no, it was a fight to keep the audience, and by extension Rarity's demon, sufficiently entertained.
Their weapons pressed together, and the demon gave a malicious grin to Sunset's cocky smile.
"Oh, my..." The demon said. "Are you trying to upstage me? During my own show?"
"Ah, excuse me. If you insist~" Sunset shifted her sword, allowing Rarity's needle to throw it up out of her hand as she spun away from her. Sunset then drew her guns out close to her sides and fired them at hip level, taking out six incoming sewing pins in quick succession, then shooting her sword's blade as it spun in mid-air.
A bullet hit the back of the blade and it reversed direction, spinning down to drop on Rarity's demon at a rate even with the music's drums.
The demon brought her weapon up at an angle and easily bounced Sunset's off of it, but Sunset swept in with both pistols holstered and swiped the purple rose from Rarity's hair, twirling behind her and catching her sword in one hand.
"Yes, I believe you are..." The demon's face mirrored Sunset's challenging grin, watching as the demon hunter put the flower through a button hole in the lapel of her coat. "Do you really think a simple rose could make you any semblance of fashionable?"
"Would a Rarity with any other rose be less fashionable?"
Sunset kept this up with Rarity's demon, battling her back and forth across the stage with her sword, adding in trickshots from her pistols to match the explosive pins she cast.
"Don't think I've forgotten your past transgressions, dear!" Rarity said, tossing one of her pins directly into the ground behind Sunset, then making a long thrust with her needle to drive her back into it. "Surely, you recall insulting my divine creations? My entire sense of fashion?"
Sunset flipped over the needle, letting it go off with much more space between them.
"Ah, you're still angry about that, are you?" Sunset held a close guard as the music softened, going into a bridge with only the piano and drums playing. "Perhaps I have misjudged you, clearly you know how to put on a show!"
"It's too late for that," Rarity's demon declared, but withheld just the slightest bit of realism from her words. "You've stung my pride, and for that, you'll feel my wrath!"
"You shan't touch me!" Sunset replied with a laugh, before putting her sword away and holding both arms open for Rarity to strike. The crowd let out oohs of excitement, and as the music picked back up into a back and forth solo between the guitar and piano Sunset and Rarity became a dancing tornado upon the stage, small pops of sewing pins going off everywhere and needle strikes hitting the air as the demon tried her best to pin the demon hunter down.
The crowd drew tense, gasping in awe as Sunset's claim proved true. With a final flip she landed downstage just before the edge, and gave both Rarity and her audience a warm smile.
"But now that I've had a closer look..." Sunset began, "I admit, that is a gorgeous dress, and it suits you very well!"
"You lie!"
"Perhaps I can convince you, then!"
The song's chorus came in, and Sunset was right back to Rarity, but she didn't do so to attack.
"The color, that oh-so intricate spiraling diamond design..."
Though she continued to swing her needle and throw her pins, Sunset was doing something else, she was simply dancing around her in a circle, allowing the demon to take center stage and be in focus of the action.
"It flows with your movements, both practical and eye catching..."
To the rhythm of the song Sunset just dodged and twirled about the needle, and when pins came in, she caught them and tossed them up the stage towards the back wall, before they had a chance to detonate.
"The way it frames your chest, brings in your waist, shows off your shoulders..."
This continued up until the final bars of the song, at which Sunset then took Rarity's wrist, disarmed her of her sewing needle, and tossed it at the wall as well. Only then did she point to the back wall, directing a spotlight onto it, and revealed that all of the thrown pins were arranged in a perfect heart shape that took up the wall's entirety.
"I love it!"
With a spotlight still on the two of them, Sunset took both of Rarity's hands and spun her about, pulling her into a playful little dance as the song closed out.
"But something's missing, isn't there? Something subtle, just a little something special..."
Then, when it finished, Sunset had Rarity held low, leaned over her with a contented smile. Rarity's demon looked at the heart Sunset had made from her pins, and back then to Sunset expectantly. To finish their dance, the demon hunter gently pulled the rose from her coat and tucked it back behind the demon's ear.
"There. Perfect."
In a huge climactic finish, the sewing pins all subsequently detonated, two by two, running down the sides of the heart formation until the gesture of admiration was carved into the smooth stone surface for all onlookers to see.
The crowd cheered, giving a huge standing applause and as Sunset held Rarity there, allowing her to bask in the attention, the demon showed slight confusion.
"Perhaps your coat is quite fitting of you as well," The demon said, in a stunned contemplation. "Very stylish, as you say..."
"Thanks. Having fun?" Sunset asked.
"Why... why did you play along with me?" She cautiously asked. "You didn't have to do any of that."
"Maybe I wanted to make it up to you after what happened back at the boutique." Sunset replied, bringing the demon back up and allowing her to stand. "Human Rarity is in trouble, I need your help to save her."
"Need, my help?" The demon blinked. Such candidness felt strange to her. "Do... do you want my magic?"
"No, no. I want you to go back to her and keep her safe once I rescue her."
"What do you have to gain from that?"
"Uh, my friend has a better chance of surviving?" Sunset tilted her head. "Don't you want to go back to her?"
"That lady, that took the rest of your- our..." With her walls down, Rarity's demon had this persistent uncertainness about her. "Our friends, she said that I should stay here, and just enjoy... endless attention."
"I mean, you could, but do you really want that?" Sunset asked. "None of this is real. You've got, y'know, real people that appreciate you elsewhere."
"What are you trying to accomplish? Don't you kill demons for a living?"
"Only ones that are causing problems. You're my friend."
A hand raised to her chest at that. "Am I? The human is the one you're friends with."
Sunset gave a quizzical look. "Are you not a part of her mind?"
"Well, yes, but, I usually stay... buried. She's quite afraid of me." Rarity's demon looked a bit sad to say this, but then her tone became casual again. "I probably intimidate her, my magnificence is immense, after all."
"That's why you take hold of her so violently."
"Right. She'll fight me... But I do need her to survive. I'm a very important part of her, you know, I like to think she would be worse off if not for me."
"That certainly is a way to put it." Sunset said. She turned from Rarity, giving one last slick smile as she turned to the audience. "Go on then, if not for me, for her. For yourself."
Rarity's demon smiled back. "Perhaps I will try a more... amiable approach with her in the future. Thank you, Sunset."
Sunset only made another dramatic motion with her hands.
"Now... You are set free!"
Again, the crowd gave applause, and Rarity's demon dissolved into a white energy, taking her sewing needle with her and leaving Sunset alone on the stage. The crowd too dissipated, and once more Sunset drew a pistol and pointed it towards the ceiling with her stance wide and her other arm low.
"And that, my friends...
Is all she wrote."
She pulled the trigger, and all of the lights cut to black.