Sun Never Sets

by CrownofDissonance


29- The Students of Celestia

    Sunset's boots splashed against a strange, purple shaded water as she landed in the demon realm. It was a vast, abstract dimension, with streaks of red and violet in the black sky casting similar, lighter purple shades across the distorted environment. At the center of the platform she stood on was a wide hole where this infernal water flowed into the rest of the underworld, but some strange field of magic kept her from falling through it. The platform she stood on was a wide disk that vaguely resembled the top of the castle's tower, overlooking the sprawling, craggy wastes of the demon realm. Behind her, a tall mountain looked with her, and down it a winding river flowed past a ridge above them, rolling into the shallow pool at Sunset's feet.

    At the end of the day this was just another open, circular arena, but nobody was here to fight her.

    No, wait. There was.

    Sunset drew her sword but only to hold it in a block across back, immediately feeling a strike and hearing the clanging of metal. Leaning forward, she pushed up and launched her assailant across the pit beneath them, looking upon her in full.

    Standing before her was Adagio Dazzle, the fallen angel, the corrupt SRAPH agent now infused with the energies of the Sisters of Light and Darkness. With two fully charged amulets around her neck and the awakened Devil Sword in one hand, her slitted, glowing eyes watched Sunset with interest. Her features were horribly distorted; golden and blue energies enveloped her, her skin was covered in orange scales, wide draconic wings protruded from her back, and a glowing black set of armor covered her body, a fusion of the armors worn by Celestia and Luna in their demon forms. 
 
    "Behold, power of the Two Sisters!" Adagio greeted Sunset in a distorted and very unstable sounding voice. Her chest heaved, her body radiated far more energy than a living being's should, but a maniacal grin was still carved into her face. The power within her was bursting out uncontrollably, but with great strain she was able to keep herself together. "Tell me, what do you see when you look upon the merging of Light and Darkness?"

    "It's like staring into a backed-up toilet." Sunset replied with a stony gaze, pointing her sword towards the demon. "And it's about time you get flushed."

    Her eyes widened, but in amusement, and Adagio began to laugh. It was an evil laugh, but with a dark smile Sunset joined her. For a moment, the two just stood in the darkest of dark worlds, momentarily forgetting the stakes of their confrontation and letting way to conceited laughter.

    "Oh, I like you..." Adagio said. "You look at the ultimate power and still you talk so tough."

    "Gotta have a sense of humor in my line of work."

    Adagio's body shifted again as her power flared, the powerful atmosphere of the demon realm causing it to surge through her with great instability. "Ah! This magic..."

    She grew in size, her face elongating, scrunching up in pain as her transformation furthered. The Devil Sword began to glow as her power became even more uncontrollable, it glowed and began to merge into her along with the connected amulets. Larger she grew, now she was starting to look like Pinkie's demon, but even more menacing, with wings and nothing but a wide flowing tail where her legs once were. The armor melted into her scaly skin, and she hovered in the air above the battlefield, gazing upon Sunset with ferocity. A swirling red and blue gemstone was embedded into her chest, and now fully transformed she now resembled a huge dragon-fish-woman, much like the very creature that gave her unit its namesake: A Siren.

    "This form, this power, incredible... Behold the Sisters' might!"

    Dark grin still on her face, Sunset only laughed again, putting her sword away and clapping her hands.

    "Hah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" She said, challenging the great demon. "I was gonna be disappointed if I had to fight you human-sized again. Without Flash holding me back I would've kicked your ass from here to kingdom come!"

    "Still you talk!" The siren replied, her voice now sounding refined, almost angelically pure despite her evil appearance. She bared enormously long claws on each hand, and showed off razor sharp teeth. "Let's settle this!"

    Drawing her sword again, Sunset nodded.

    "Alright, let's dance!"

-----

    "Come on, girls. Stay close. We're almost to the bottom floor."

    "We don't have to take it so slow anymore, Flash. This isn't the police station, and we've got our powers back."

    "We ain't outta the woods yet, Rainbow. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

    "But this is a forest, not woods!"

    "Hush, Pinkie. Applejack's right, dear. It's better to be safe than sorry."

    "Uh, excuse me, Agent Sentry?"

    "You don't have to call me that, Fluttershy, we're friends."

    "Right, sorry. But someone's coming."

    The six traveling down the castle's main tower stopped their descent, footsteps all echoing for a moment until they indeed heard a seventh pair of feet. They were still walking, walking and growing closer, up the curved, round staircase. From the sound of each step, Flash could tell that whoever this was, they were in a hurry. He and the others continued down the circular staircase along the tower's wall, but motioned for them to stop when they reached the floor below, because whoever was coming up was just upon them.

    Flash raised his pistol, but when he saw who it was, his sights lowered.

    "Twilight?"

    Around him, five pulses of multicolored magic all blasted out simultaneously, and five unique demonic weapons were pointed at the approaching figure.

    Twilight Sparkle stopped in her tracks, her sheathed weapon held in her left hand as it always was, her spectacled eyes ever observant. But despite being aware of their presence, she did not look over to Flash and the five demons now present behind him. 

    Before she would have time to do anything else, Applejack jumped forward in a heated blast of flame and with a scowl on her face, her heavy gauntlet hand taking the purple coated demon hunter by the throat and slamming her against the wall. 

    "Woah, AJ-" Flash started, but the others all acted in kind. Rarity and Rainbow held pointed tip of needle and axe to Twilight's body, Fluttershy summoned vines from her quarterstaff to ensnare Twilight's arms and legs, and though not as large as she was in the city, Pinkie's enlarged reptilian form introduced Twilight's face to the business end of her Party Cannon. 

    Out of all of her friends, Applejack was the one who fumed with the most rage. With one flaming gauntlet cocked back, her burning, threatening glare filled Twilight's vision.

    "I'm feelin' mighty nice right now, so you're gettin' five seconds to talk before I pound you, Sparkle."

    Surprisingly, Twilight showed no response to this hostility. She just waited, eyes alert and expression blank. 

    "Why did you come back?"

-----

    Four rockets shot out in a curved trajectory as Sunset did an aerial spin with Flash's rocket launcher in tow. The huge demon that was Adagio Dazzle spread her wings and flew in rings around the arena, making for a surprisingly evasive target for her size. She swooped in and out, making passes at demon hunter with her claws as Sunset attempted to shoot her down. Eventually, she landed, opening her long, dragonlike jaw and letting out a high pitched, harmonic screech, a sonic pulse that destroyed Sunset's rockets before they made impact. Sunset took this as an opportunity to point the launcher at her feet and blast herself into the air as she jumped, giving her the vantage point to slash Adagio's mouth with a quick three hits.

    The siren hissed in pain, and as Sunset kicked off of her the demon summoned wide tendrils of dark, midnight blue magic reminiscent of the Tanitbus's liquid form. With spikes on their ends they shot out in great numbers, attacking from multiple angles to force Sunset away. The demon hunter cleared the tendrils with a flip, switching to her pistols and lighting up Adagio's center of mass as she fell. The great, dual-colored gemstone that was embedded in the demon's chest was a representation of the two amulets she'd fused with, the conduits of her vast power, but also an obvious target point recognizable by any self-respecting monster slayer.

    Adagio roared, sending out another harmonic pulse at Sunset. It was a loud, directed sound, but Sunset managed to escape the worst of it, only feeling the slightest dizzy as she rolled away. The follow up came fast, as Adagio swung her giant fish-finned tail around at her that she just narrowly avoided with a quick jump. Upon landing, she pointed Flash's launcher beneath an arm and let off three rockets blind, and when she faced Adagio again she found all three striking along her side face. 

    "Ah!" The siren recoiled, pulling her arms back in preparation for her next attack. "You'll regret that!"

    "Pfft, can't catch rockets with those big meaty claws, can ya?" Sunset taunted, posing with the launcher over shoulder to accentuate the insult. 

    "I'll show you what I can do with them!" In a whirlwind of motion, Adagio lunged forward and brought her claws forth in huge, rapid sweeping slashes, the ends of her claws glowing with heat that left trails of flame behind every strike. Rather than jump back, Sunset leapt forward, kicking off of the demon's head and flipping over her, shooting off another rocket and ducking under a retaliation swipe as soon as she landed. 

    The siren again roared in frustration as she hit nothing and was met with another explosion.

    "No worries, your face is catching them just fine!"

    In another burst of midnight magic, Adagio summoned another tangle of tendrils, these ones arcing directly after and following Sunset's movements. Charging up her own red magic, Sunset brought out her pistols and let off a few shots into Adagio's weak point before the tendrils got too close, to which she split her fire between them, planting her feet and shooting several of them down in multiple directions at once. Her powered up guns fired at an incredible rate, shredding each of the hardened spiked at the end of each tendril to dull nubs within seconds before moving to the next one. After, she brought out her claymore and swung it about herself in wide motions, cutting and shattering the stunted bits of solid energy. Before long, she'd broken through Adagio's attack and left her open for a counter.

    Wanting a change of pace, Sunset cycled back to Flash's launcher, charging up her magic and directing it into the curious weapon. With a swift shove of her palm, she sent the launcher's rotating loading mechanism spinning like a loaded revolver cylinder and then held down the trigger as she let her magic loose. 

    Three rapid fire bursts of rockets spat out of the barrel, one after the other, in groups of six, each one glowing red and infused with Sunset's power. Their explosions crackled as they covered Adagio in smoke, but still the siren drew upon her magic through the bombardment. The loading mechanism came to a stop, and Sunset felt the gun's powerful blowback kick into her shoulder. It was a lot, and she was still reeling back when Adagio launched her next attack.

    A dodge roll wasn't going to cut it this time, Sunset let the launcher fall back on it's strap and readied her Sentinel barrier, her palm guiding the magical shield up to counter Adagio's swipes. Her form was shaky and rushed, she felt her arms strain and her hair blow back as she performed the technique, a sign of poor timing. The second block was better, but the third failed to compensate for Adagio coating her claws in her dark magic, summoning more tendrils from them that whipped around after them. Sunset's barrier shattered, and Adagio swept her tail around again to slap Sunset back into the rocky wall on the edge of the arena. 

    Sunset wasn't out yet, she nimbly reoriented herself in midair and used another burst of her red magic to create a circular platform behind her, to catch her momentum and boost her back in the direction opposite. Now, she was streaking back towards Adagio with her sword pointed forward, aiming again for the gemstone on her chest. The glassy, red and blue stone caught several sword strikes before Adagio let out a burst of golden flames her body, forcing Sunset away and back to ground. 

    Adagio opened her mouth to sing again, letting out a devilishly smooth melody of mid-range tones that shook the entirety of the arena. From the misty demonic waters at her feet, a multitude of other demons emerged. Smaller ones, but in similar shape to Adagio, bearing both claw and fang and glowing with a dark purple energy. These smaller sirens came to their ring leader's aid, lunging for Sunset with little concern for their own safety. Each of them we cut apart in one hit, but as Sunset got to work she found that there was a huge swarm of them, all dancing to their singing master's tune.

    "How about I shut you up?" With another small charge of magic Sunset tossed her sword out, and it spun rapidly into the mighty siren as she held her head high. When it reached her, it stuck in place, continuing to spin without regards for the laws of physics, repeatedly slashing against the thick scales on Adagio's neck. Her song shortly stopped, and she looked down to see Sunset handling her minions with grace, gunfire, and hand to hand proficiency. 

    Knocking one mini-siren over, Sunset fired one pistol down into it while blasting all around her with her other, then she popped it into the air and kicked it into Adagio as she cleared them out. This was just as Adagio was batting her sword out of the air, to which it returned to Sunset's hand with the last of its power.

    "Yawn, I didn't come to fight goons." Sunset smirked, waving her hand dismissively. "Show me what you're really made of!"

    "How about I shut you up?"

    Building golden and blue energies around her body, Adagio again engulfed her claws in her dark, inky tendrils, and summoned a flaming vortex overhead that began to rain fireballs down on the demon hunter. Sunset zipped back and forth, dodging both dark and light magic, and as she jumped into meet Adagio again she focused her own red glow, using the last of her magic reserve to transform into her crimson-skinned demon form and dive in for the kill.

    She was cut off though, a dozen of Adagio's long, snaking energy tendrils shot out from her body and stuck through Sunset's in every direction, holding her still even in her demon form. With her body pierced at every angle, dangling upside down and facing away, Sunset cried out in pain while Adagio only cackled victoriously.

    "Fool, you are only half a demon- A mere disciple of the Sister of Light at that. You're nothing compared to her full might, let alone both Sisters together."

    "Oh yeah?" Through the pain, her demon form quickly burned out, but Sunset still sneered, giving a snarky reply through a pained choke. "Why don't you say that to my face?"

    "As you wish." The intruding appendages shifted so that the impaled Sunset could only look upon Adagio. "One student of Celestia could never hope to defeat me..."

    Suddenly, a single crisp swipe sounded out through the air, and an impossibly thin beam of energy sliced across the arena. Every tendril summoned from Adagio's dark magic was immediately cut to ribbons before shattering into pieces allowing Sunset to fall to her feet.

    Another voice called out across the infernal realm, challenging Adagio with a tone of confidence that rivaled Sunset's own. 

    "What about two students of Celestia?"

    Sunset looked up, and was surprised to see a purple coat, purple hair, and purple eyes.

    "What?" Adagio snarled.

    Upon the cliff to the back of the arena, Twilight Sparkle stood with her katana sword drawn and her sheath held in her off hand, scowling down at Adagio through her large, squared glasses.

    "I'm here to reclaim the Sister of Light's power! It should never have fallen to the likes of you!"

    After making her cut, she returned her sword to its sheath and jumped down into the pit, landing next to Sunset as Adagio recovered from the strike.

    "What do you think you're doing?" Sunset asked, turning to Twilight with an accusing tone. "Dropping in unannounced and stealing my spotlight? I had her, I was just waiting for her to let her guard down."

    "Come on." With a tone of slight annoyance, she gestured to Adagio dismissively. "You don't think she deserves to be the big finish, do you?"

    "Now that you mention it... You're right." Sunset turned the dangerous look she was giving Twilight back to Adagio, but Twilight took her aside again.

    "I'm here with a little gift from our friends." Twilight held an open hand up, showing off five uniquely colored sparkles of light orbiting in a circle. 

    "The Elements? You brought them here?"

    "I had to promise I'd give them back once we're through," Twilight explained. "But our friends really wanted to be a part of this, and I needed to make things right."

    "I'm surprised they'd trust you with them after everything you've done, you must've been on your hands and knees..."

    Twilight rolled her eyes. "As much as I'm sure you'd love to see that, don't get imaginative. Truth is, all five of them are holding me at mental gunpoint as we speak," Twilight held out her hand a little more, gesturing for Sunset to take it. "Part of the agreement is that I hand them over to you."

    "Yeah, I'm sure I'll hear all about it later." Sunset took Twilight's hand, holding it tightly and giving her a nod. "But if we're gonna do this, let's do this."

    The magic of the Elements flashed between them as they met each other's eyes, each color flowing through them as they took in their power. Rather than take it all for herself, Sunset passed half of the energy back to Twilight, she wanted Twilight to take this power with her. This surprised her, but with a smile she accepted the gesture. Following that a brighter flash surrounded them as their inner magics fused, a unique harmonic bond forming between them that resulted in them both sharing the power of the Elements as two complete conduits of Harmony, a full circuit formed from a troubled but true friendship.

    "The Elements will not be enough!" Adagio shouted, rearing her head back again as Celestia's two disciples stood united against her. "You are two separate halves- You'll never be greater than a whole!"

    Twilight took the first step, feeling the eyes of all her friends on her as their demons and magic swelled within her. With a sweep of her blade from its sheath she shook her head with confident smirk as she walked.

    "You should know better than thinking you're capable of handling the Sisters' power." She said, holding a single scolding finger in her direction. 

    "I think she needs to learn that the hard way," Sunset added, following in close behind Twilight with her sword also held ready.

    "Agreed."

    "Do your worst!" Adagio let out another musical screech, this time in a higher, ascending tone, and more of her mini-sirens rose from the water rushing over the battlefield. "You couldn't hope to match me!"

    With the power of the Elements of Harmony flowing between them, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer ran forward, side by side, into battle, their swords brushing against each other briefly as they brought them around to bear. They moved with unmatched coordination, cutting apart the swarm of mini-sirens with katana and claymore, moving around and covering each other's weak points and giving no ground to their enemy. 

    Pink and yellow pulses of magic enveloped them, Twilight drawing upon Pinkie's split baton cannons and Sunset summoning Applejack's gauntlets, the two now delivering blunt strikes in all directions at blinding speeds. 

    In ten seconds flat, the mob of weaker enemies was cleared up, and Adagio stopped her song with a stifled cry of disbelief when she saw the purple and orange coats flowing together in mirrored perfection, both holding strong stances as they faced up at the towering demon. 

    Sunset charged up a jet of flame in her gauntlet and Twilight pointed both baton cannons at the ground behind her, and the two simultaneously blasted off at Adagio from opposite angles. Stony fists and metal barrels struck the demon and she swung her claws, managing a few strong parries but ultimately faltering to their unending attacks. 

    A blue pulse surrounded Twilight and a white pulse Sunset, the former taking up Rainbow's guitar and the latter Rarity's needle as their onslaught continued. Heat blasts and dark tendrils shot in at them, but Sunset tossed Rarity's explosive sewing pins to counter the stretching limbs, and lightning from Rainbow's guitar axe outshined Adagio's fire. Sliding in beneath the demon Twilight cut across her torso with the axe blade, striking twice more as she came to a stand. In kind, Sunset pierced the glowing gemstone on her chest with her giant sewing needle and swung around her by it's lengthy thread as she stuck more pins into the demon's sides. 

    The two landed in front of the stunned demon on opposite sides, exchanging knowing nods and tossing their weapons across to each other. Sunset caught Rainbow's guitar neck first and strummed a loud chord, then went into an extended solo as she slid forward on her knees, and as soon as Twilight had the needle, she summoned Rarity's purple rose and tossed over her shoulder at Adagio, detonating all the pins in her. Lightning blasts rattled her entire body and explosions shook her through her scales and to the bone, and with an anguished scream and a weak wing flap, Adagio fell to the ground.

    The two were far from finished.

    Twilight pulsed yellow and Sunset pink, and with Fluttershy's staff Twilight laid into the collapsed demon, tangling her in vines and dragging her further to the ground as she struggled. Sunset lit the demon up with Pinkie's party cannon over her shoulder, dual wielding it with Flash's rocket launcher for additional destructive power. Twilight pulsed orange, then Sunset blue. Sunset yellow, Twilight white. The two demon hunters cycled through their shared arsenal in a non-stop display of stylish and fluid carnage, unleashing a devastating tag team combo with every single weapon available to them.

    Together, with all of their strength and the strength of their friends behind them, Twilight and Sunset landed blow after blow on the what was now a nearly helpless devil. The gemstone on her chest was cracking, but she was still flailing and swinging her claws, eventually blowing the two of them back with a gust of wind from her wings and sending a discordant sonic pulse from her mouth to their eardrums in frantic effort to catch a break.

    As she held her screech, both Sunset and Twilight held their footing. Building up behind Adagio's offending soundwave were her long, endless and infinite tendrils, and overhead was a massive fiery swirl preparing to rain countless fireballs down on them. The two demon hunters stayed closed together, bolstering each other's resolve with a glance as they prepared their defense. Sunset readied Flash's rocket launcher over her shoulder, and as it charged up with her red magic Twilight came to kneel, bringing her up sheathed katana and pouring her purple magic into it as well. Adagio's wall of attacks closed in, Twilight brought her katana to a half draw, resheathed her blade, and then repeated the motion indefinitely, while Sunset spun the loading cylinder of her launcher and squeezed the trigger.

    Rockets and instantaneous sword slices beat back the long, spreading arms of darkness and rain of scorching hellfire, shattering and dispersing tendril and fireball and quickly pushing them back to their source. Sunset kept firing, Twilight kept slicing, until eventually they were no longer countering an assault but launching their own.

    Adagio's body was pelted from all directions, huge chains of explosions and space rending cuts halting any retaliation she had planned. Pain and punishment tore her apart from all directions, leaving her once armored scales broken and smoking. With one final rush in, the two students of Celestia thrust their swords into either side of the siren, and she howled once more in pain. 

    With both blades firmly embedded in her flesh, Sunset and Twilight both punched the ends of their swords, causing them to push all the way through and shoot out the opposite side of the quickly faltering monster. Catching Sunset's Redemption, Twilight carved her fury into her end of Adagio Dazzle, an act of justice to undo both the siren's sin and her own. Sunset caught Twilight's Equinox as well, tearing into her end of a stunned beast with her own righteous fervor, an act of vengeance for threatening all that she held dear. 

    One last stroke and the two smashed the gem on Adagio's chest, leaving her to wail and writhe in defeat as both blood and magical light uncontrollably gushed from her front. Against the two strongest students of Celestia, she was indeed no match. The two demon hunters tossed their swords back to each other and backed away from the pulverized devil, ascending not to godhood but a heap of chopped up pieces.

    "I think this show's just about over," Sunset said. "What say we wrap this up?"

    As she drew one of her pistols, Twilight drew one of her own to match, and they gave each other knowing glances. Sunset eyes shimmered excitedly as she gave her a smile, and Twilight's own sparkled with the same excitement as her own lips drew smug.

    "You remember how we always used to say goodbye?" Sunset asked, invoking distant memories of better times between the two of them. They had a cute little way of saying farewell when parting ways after a study session or meetup, a synchronized call and response that was their and theirs alone. Twilight nodded. Of course she remembered.

    They put their backs together and crossed their arms, aligning their pistols with each other as they faced down the great demon, the cruel and self-centered angel that had long since fallen from grace. The Elements of Harmony responded to their bond, their unity, their friendship, and each of the five orbs of magic lit up around them, surrounding the two of them in a colorful, swirling aura.

    "No! Don't do it!" Adagio cried, meekly raising a bloodied claw to shield her eyes from the beacon of light they formed.

    "So long..." Sunset and Twilight both spoke in unison, the multicolored magic forming around their pistols as they prepared to pull the trigger.

    "And goodnight!"

    BANG!

    In a spiraling cascade of rainbow light, the purest forces of harmony erupted from the demon hunter's two barrels, guiding two bullets straight through a demon that didn't yet know she was dead. 

    "No! I had it all, the power of the Two Sisters was mine!" Adagio Dazzle screamed out desperately as the rainbow light incinerated her pure demon form, reducing her to a lowly, power deprived human that fell through the hole in the center of the arena, down into the emptiness below.

    Finally relaxing from the battle, the two students of Celestia just watched the siren drop.

    "Man, those were some lame last words." Sunset said, resuming her casual tone.

    "You said it." Twilight replied, also back to her reserved self. "Now, as promised." 

    She raised an open palm, calling forth the magic of her friends, and with Sunset meeting her hand, the two released Elements, five streaks of energy racing off through the hole in the floor to rejoin their owners in the human realm.

    Slowly descending above the center platform was the Devil Sword reverted back to its form as a plain, grey greatsword, the sun and moon amulets once powering it separated back into two. As their magic faded, they fell faster, also dropping through the opening in the floor.

    Seeing them slip away, both of Celestia's students dove into the darkness after them, each following the separate drive in their hearts to obtain the falling powers.

    As they fell, Sunset found her hand closing around the sun amulet, and Twilight's hand caught the corresponding moon amulet. 

    Celestia's ancient greatsword was still in freefall somewhere in between.

-----

    Adagio Dazzle's body plummeted back to the human world with an untriumphant crack against the top of the Castle of the Two Sisters. The bright beam of light was no longer there, and the hole in the clouds was slowly growing smaller, the storm picking back up in intensity the more it did. 

    Defeated and barely clinging to her life, Adagio took in a barely audible breath. It hurt, but felt like a relief after the beating she'd just received. All of her plotting, all of her betrayal and sabotage, all of the power she'd obtained, it had all been for nothing, and now she lay powerless and ejected from the realm she sought to claim. As she pushed up against the ground, she realized that she couldn't feel her legs, the lower half of her body was unresponsive. She was paralyzed, nearly every bone crushed and every nerve ending fried. All she could do was look up against the relentless rain and try to drag herself to safety. 

    She could recover, she could come back, she'd cheated death once before, and she could do it again. 

    But a bright flash of lightning illuminated a figure amidst the rain that stopped all thoughts dead in their tracks, a figure that sent an icy cold chill down what was left of her shattered spine. A tall, bulky figure wordlessly approached through the falling sheets of rain. Adagio heard each of their heavy footsteps as loud as her own frantic heartbeat in her throat. Every moment the dark silhouette drew nearer, and from their wrist, Adagio saw a short, jagged weapon extend, a fragmented pitch black blade that glowed with all the darkness of night. 

    "You..." Adagio's voice was but a puny croak, a useless speck of dust against a hurricane. She knew who she was looking at, she had a name for this face. This was her prototype, this was her very first successful test subject. The one she led to die at Sire's Hollow. The one she sealed in the Armor of Resentment.

    The first of many she damned with her betrayal. 

    "I... saved you..." The siren managed. 

    The one whose life she made a living hell.

    "Could you really kill me?" Adagio gave an anguished glare as two fists tensed up before her. "I gave you life... I gave you strength..."

    The one she gave only pain and loss.

    "All I wanted was power..." Fear shot through the dying siren's entire body, as another flash of lightning revealed the condescending eyes of the one before her. Uncaring, unmoved, and unwavering. "The power to make this world right..."

    Those unflinching eyes only scorched terror deeper into her. 

    "Was I so wrong?" She began to plead, crumbling at the mercy of her original victim. "Do I deserve death? Do I- Ah!"

    She yelped as she felt a cold, heavy gauntlet take her by the neck and dangle her broken body over the ground. She came face to face with those pained, battle scarred blue eyes again, unable to look away as they scalded her vision, seared their pain into her memories. 

    "Please..." She whimpered, trembling in her captor's iron grip, her bloodshot eyes tearing as she felt the weight of her inevitable mortality collapse upon her. "Have mercy..."

    Take away her power, take away her influence, and this was all she was, a shriveling coward begging for something she never once considered granting another.

    Right then and there, the siren sang her final bloody song on the end of a broken demon sword, a shriek of horror against a chorus of a thousand raindrops that fell silent to a choked gurgle and a crack of lightning.

    Tempest Shadow had her revenge.

-----

    Out of the vacant skies of the demon realm, The Sister of Light's legendary Devil Sword, the Corona's Edge, fell. The greatsword landed blade first just before a waterfall, in a small stream running down the edge of one of the underworld's many great mountains. Handle facing the empty sky, the sword bit through the rock like it were merely paper, sinking a third of the way down the blade before coming to rest. Just up the mountain was a portal back to the human world, it was still wide, the rate of closure was minimal, and on the other end was a cliff, where the water fell off deeper into an abyss.

    Following the sword, landing just moments after were two demon hunters, one coated in orange, and the other purple. They were the followers of the Light Sister, trained by her in combat and philosophy. They were the inevitable successors of her legacy, but here at the horizon of two worlds their fates would cross one last time.

    Both Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle looked up the moment they landed. In nearly synchronous movements, they leapt forward in an attempt to take the Corona's Edge for themself.

    Twilight was just the slightest bit faster. Sunset's hand met nothing as she pulled away, staring down her best friend and perfect adversary before the rushing, clear water. With Devil Sword in hand, Twilight's face showed a strange, frantic desperation. One hand now held the sword she'd originally sought, and in her other hand was the moon amulet, one half of unlocking it's full power. Power she could use to destroy those who would do evil, to ensure the world was never threatened by another Adagio or Nightmare Moon again. 

    The power called to her, the power to right the incredible wrongs she'd done. The power to prove that she was still worthy of Celestia's legacy, power that would ensure her absolution. Power she could not be without. But to access that power, she needed one more piece.

    She looked to Sunset, gazing upon the red-gemmed amulet she held closely to her chest, and putting the moon amulet around her neck, she held an outstretched hand to her rival.

    "Give that to me."

    Sunset shook her head. She had Celestia's amulet again, the amulet that contained her power, power she was tasked with safekeeping, and she wasn't giving it up for anything. Not even Twilight Sparkle. It was her responsibility as Celestia's student to keep that power safe, to keep it out of the hands of those that would do evil. Even after Twilight came back to save her, she couldn't trust that her intentions were pure.

    "No way. You got your own."

    Twilight looked down at her own amulet, and then back to Sunset's as she too secured it around her neck. She'd already proven herself too careless, too irresponsible, Sunset would just lose that amulet again. Only one of them could wield this power.

    "Well I want yours too."

    Slowly, Twilight brought the Corona's Edge into a close guard, and the two demon hunters began to circle around each other.

    "We did it, Twilight! We saved our friends, saved the human world. You still need more power?"

    "Yes, I need to make things right. It's my burden, my responsibility."

    "Oh sure, it has to be you, doesn't it?"

    "You're wasting time!"

    Twilight charged forward, her new greatsword held firmly in both hands, but as she swung it at the last person standing in her way, the last person she wanted to be fighting, she felt incredible remorse for the things she'd done. But by bearing this power, the power of her master Celestia, Twilight could do justice to the world she betrayed in her arrogance.

    The only thing standing between her and self-redemption was her best friend.

    Sunset's claymore came out in time with Twilight's swing, and the two caught each other's blades in bare hands, dripping blood washing away into the rushing stream at their feet. When she looked into Twilight's eyes, Sunset saw not superiority or confidence, but shaking uncertainty and dread. The same fear Sunset saw the last time she met Twilight's eyes this close was still present and stronger than ever. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

    "We are the Students of Celestia..." Sunset began, struggling against the blade of the Corona's Edge as Twilight struggled with the blade of Redemption. "Not only do we carry her strength, but her soul!"

    With a great push, the two demon hunters slid backwards, their bleeding hands quickly healing over as they steadied their feet.

    "And my soul is telling me to stop you, Twilight." Sunset said, trying to keep as firm a look as possible. Great emotions were stirring in her, not excitement or comfort in the coming combat, but of her own fear. Fear of losing to Twilight. Of losing Twilight. "To stop you from destroying yourself."

    "The only person who can save my soul is me." Twilight replied. "And to do that, I need this power."

    Her expression finally broke, the hurt and anger from Twilight pushing her away finally getting the better of her. "I thought we were supposed to be friends..."

    For a moment, Twilight's lips faltered as well, a regretful tone overshadowing her.

    "Friends..." She repeated, Sunset's hurt eyes further stirring her inner fear. "Best friends."

    But with fates undeniable, they both pushed their feelings aside as they stepped forward to meet each other, to engage in a final, climactic duel. A duel that would settle everything between them, this time for good. At first their steps were slow, filled with hesitation, each one watching carefully for the other to strike, until Twilight finally took the initiative. The Corona's Edge clashed against the Redemption several times beneath the black, starless sky, the two demon hunters stepping and twisting their bodies around each other as their wills intersected once more.

    Steel met steel in equal measure, Sunset deflecting and returning attack after attack from Twilight as their speeds increased. Sunset began to feel that wonderful rush of excitement she got from dueling her closest friend. It washed away her hesitation, but she wouldn't let it cloud her intentions this time. She was focused on what she was here to do. Strike after strike, step after step, the sound of their blades clashing and boots splashing began to echo in a rhythmic way as they swung and blocked, dodged and jabbed, keeping each other as close as possible without allowing the other to land a hit. 

    Twilight held a high guard with the Corona's Edge as the Redemption bound against it, but in her off hand she drew the Equinox from its sheath, katana blade slicing out at Sunset's exposed torso. Rather than take the hit Sunset jumped away, rolling Flash's rocket launcher over her shoulder and letting out three shots back at Twilight as she glided backward. Putting the greatsword away, Twilight took up her katana in full and sliced through the rockets with her Demon Reflex engaged, challenging Sunset to face her in slowed time.

    Rather than draw her sword back right away, Sunset charged a bit of magic into the launcher, but placed it stock first on the ground and let loose six charged rockets into the sky above them. Their trajectories arced wildly, but they appeared to slow down as Sunset drew the Redemption again and entered her Demon Reflex, bracing it against the glowing metal of the Equinox. With her rockets slowly changing trajectory and waterfall coming to a crawl, Sunset aggressively stabbed forward with her claymore, giving Twilight's katana little room for an opening to strike back.

    Taking a note from Sunset's playbook, Twilight brought the Corona's Edge back out and made heavy, aggressive chops with it, finding that she could use it in the same manner Sunset used Redemption. Unlike Sunset, she had a second sword to use in conjunction with it, easily giving her the advantage in melee. She made a wide swing out, but as Sunset ducked she drew the Equinox again and swiped low, forcing Sunset into some difficult positions as she eventually came back to the Corona's Edge. 

    Time sluggishly trudged on around them, but Twilight successfully pushed Sunset back to one of the mountain walls behind her. However, Sunset's slowed rockets had now changed trajectory completely, and were all angled on Twilight as the Redemption struck the Equinox with a heavy, guard breaking strike.

    Time was forced to resume as they came into a bind, but Sunset immediately jumped back as six rockets shot straight for Twilight at full speed.

    Six simultaneous explosions rocked the cliffedge, and a wide cloud of smoke soon followed. To Sunset's amazement, the smoke cleared to reveal Twilight now standing considerable distance away, with the Equinox in a half draw. She'd cut down the six rockets and avoided the blasts, but Sunset was ready to charge up another huge volley.

    Just like with Adagio, Sunset launched rapid fire rockets all zeroed in on Twilight's position, and in kind Twilight repeatedly half-drew and closed her katana while the midpoint between them was consumed by another round of explosions and smoke. When the rockets stopped, one more space tearing cut shot through at Sunset, but the demon hunter was already leaping above it, crossing through the smoke veil and blasting at Twilight with both pistols drawn.

    The Equinox twirled in a defensive motion, deflecting the bullets with ease, but as Twilight held her ground Sunset slid to the side, shooting beneath the blade at her ankles and forcing Twilight to jump out of the way. Into a cartwheel she went, parallel to Sunset's slide and still deflecting gunshots off her blade as they passed each other, rolling to a stop facing away from each other.

    In bursts of red and purple power, both of them shifted into their demon forms as they turned to face each other again. The staredown was minimal this time, Twilight immediately teleport-dashed right up to Sunset and began a fiercer, more intensive sword exchange that ended with Sunset having both the greatsword and the katana smashed against her claymore. With a blazing fast dash of her own, Sunset came back into the fight with her pistols, weaving around Twilight's swords until she was forced to draw her own, now making the battle a matter of gun punches and kicks.

    Bullets flew in every direction but the direction they needed to go, lighting fast counters and parries and recoveries and surprise attacks were thrown, as their Demon Reflexes pushed to their limits. With a flap of her wings, Sunset pushed herself into the air as she twisted around Twilight's bullets, both oncoming ones and ones she'd fired minutes ago into frozen time. The rocket launcher came out again, and Sunset she fired rockets out a tight midair spread, then another wider spread as she hit the ground. With one hand still holding a pistol she fended off Twilight's two, swinging the rocket launcher around into the gundance as well. 

    With an upward kick, Twilight knocked the unwieldy launcher from Sunset's hands and into still time but Sunset only drew the Redemption again to take its place, her magic bathing its blade in flames. Not only did she jab at Twilight, she tried to bat aside some of the frozen bullets around them, making space for herself as her blade was repeatedly parried off of Twilight's guns.

    Twilight brought the Equinox out in one hand, her magic dripping off it's blade as she brought it hard against the weak end of the Redemption, breaking Sunset's focus and forcing her out of her Demon Reflex. Putting her other gun away gripped the handle of the Equinox, resheathing it and taking a low, powerful stance, charging up her ultimate attack. Calling on all of her power, Sunset willed herself back into her Demon Reflex, if only to make a recovery, but by the time she did the ground was already quaking and a bright purple ring had already formed around Twilight's feet. 

    Twilight was preparing her finishing attack.

    Another flap of her demon wings and she launched herself as far up and away as she could, reaching for the still falling rocket launcher and catching it just barely in time. Her hand reached the handle right as Twilight drew her sword and vanished in a burst of demonic magic. Time stood still, reality went grey, and a hundred thousand cuts shattered most of the projectiles surrounding them, but Sunset was already dodging, slipping beyond Twilight's ultimate decisive cut and landing in a kneel to mirror Twilight's own. 

    Twilight's Equinox clicked against it's sheathe, but she looked on in disbelief as her demon form evaporated. Sunset still stood, her demon form present and strong, floating in the air above her with a rocket launcher locked, loaded and glowing bright red. 

    Starlight may have countered her finishing move, her ultimate decisive cut, but Sunset just dodged it. She had no words. Not just any demon could do that, but Sunset wasn't just any demon. Currently, she was a demon with a rocket launcher. And though she had no words, no words could stop the uncountable number of explosive tipped projectiles coming her way anyway, though, only sword swipes could do that. And swipe her swords did, she drew both of them and ran in a wide arc towards the waterfall, surrounding herself with as many cuts as possible with her back to the wall and a cliff toward Sunset's. 

    With everything she had, she planted her feet and kept her blades moving, sweeping across again and again to create an impenetrable wall of steel around herself. If Sunset could counter her ultimate strike, she was determined to counter hers.

    By the time Sunset's demon form expired, Twilight was nearly worn out from the sheer number of targets she'd kept from detonating, but she still stood, so she still raised her blade. Sunset was in equal condition, coming out of her ultra rocket barrage short of breath and kneeling. But she too still stood, so she too readied her blade.

    "That's not all you've got, is it, Twilight?" Sunset asked. "A few rockets and you're out of action? I thought you were Celestia's strongest..."

    That comment sparked Twilight's ire, with the flame of her rivalry fully stoked she shot back a heated glare at Sunset. "I am!"

    "Then show me!" Sunset shouted. If this was going to be it for her and Twilight, they needed to do this right. But if she fell here, Sunset hoped that she was wrong. Wrong about everything, about Twilight, and their responsibility as Celestia's students. Cause if she fell, and Twilight was right about power being the means to her redemption, then she still had a chance. And that's all Sunset really wanted out of this. For Twilight to have another chance, to realize that power wasn't everything. She would find out soon enough.

    Behind them, the mountain began to shake. Not by either of their doing, but from the portal above them, the only way to get back to the human world.

    "The portal is closing, Sunset!" Twilight warned. "The amulets have been separated from the sword."

    "Come on then..." Sunset's head lowered, her eyes tilting down in hurt resentment. "You want this stupid amulet? Earn it. We're one and one. This is where we square up!"

    Twilight looked at her reflection in the rushing water beneath her feet, and thought back to their first duel, all those years ago. Their first duel for that very same amulet. Twilight didn't have any hard feelings against Sunset then. Why could she not accept Sunset as worthy of it now? She still felt a deep dread in her heart just thinking about what would await her should she return empty handed, should she not be Celestia's best. If not, she was worthless.

    So with a determined nod, Twilight held the Corona's Edge out in both hands and charged forward, her feet carrying her across the water as Sunset did the same with Redemption. Closer they came, and with them also came closer the conclusion of their battle. Not a conclusion they wanted, but a conclusion they both rushed towards all the same. One for the power to save the world, and the other for the power to save her dearest friend.

    Closer, they came, angling their swords as the moment to strike approached. Sunset drew a blade stroke down and across, while Twilight crossed hers out and to the right. There were no tricks, no demon powers activated, no other weapons drawn, just two swords crossing paths for the battle's single, final strike. 

    And at once, the two Students of Celestia collided.

Time stopped for a moment. They each completed a single cut as they passed each other, stopping only after they had both made their strike. Both of them stood still, not looking back, holding their swords firmly. 

    Sunset had felt resistance on her blade. 

    Twilight had felt resistance on her waist.

    The Redepmtion nearly cut Twilight all the way in half, splattering her blood to be washed away by the water beneath them, but the Corona's Edge missed its mark entirely. 

    Her regeneration working overtime to keep her in once piece, Twilight fell forward with no more strength left, both the Corona's Edge and the moon amulet falling to the ground as she coughed and stumbled. Turning, Sunset swiped the Devil Sword up, but Twilight had recovered the moon amulet and was backing away as Sunset raised her claymore again.

    Twilight lost. She had one chance to prove her worth, and she failed. Clearly, she wasn't strong enough. And so there was no other choice but to accept that she wasn't worthy of this power. The wound in her side still healing, she staggered away from Sunset as she held the moon amulet to her chest.

    "This amulet is mine, Sunset. Perhaps the legacy of the Sister of Darkness is more fitting for me. I'll take on her burden instead."

    Sunset looked up in alarm, Twilight was getting dangerously close to the cliffedge. In her daze, it looked like she was going to fall. Putting both of her swords away Sunset rushed out to catch her, but was surprised when Twilight drew the Equinox and held it with the point to her chest.

    "Leave me and go." Twilight said, in both fear and certainty, holding her blade firmly. "Before the portal closes."

    "What about you?" Sunset asked, the pretense of their fight falling and her concern for her as a friend immediately rushing back.

    "It's better if I stay." Lifting her eyes to meet Sunset's intently, Twilight let her heel float back against the end of the cliff, hovering over the drop to the abyss. "This place is where a demon belongs."

    "Twilight wait-" Sunset rushed past the katana blade, fully prepared to run directly into it if need be, but with that same lingering fear in her eyes Twilight let her balance shift all the way back. Despite her fear, she showed a weak, resigned smile, and wished a last farewell to her best friend.

    "So long, Sunset..."

    Despite Sunset's move to catch her, Twilight fell, a single defiant slash cutting into Sunset's coat as she flicked the Equinox across, taking off a piece of the tail bearing her sun shaped insignia. As her best friend faded into the darkness below, that one scrap of her coat slowly fluttered along behind her, leaving Sunset alone with only the sound of the waterfall to frame her thoughts.

    Twilight was gone. She got the Devil Sword, they stopped the bad guys, the portal could be closed and the world was saved but... Twilight was gone. Sunset felt pain, a deep, aching pain, the pain from Twilight rejecting their friendship, but worse, because now Twilight didn't think herself worth their friendship. Something irreplaceable had just left Sunset's heart, and she was immediately feeling the crippling vacancy. Her best friend, Twilight Sparkle, was gone.

    Looking down again, Sunset saw a piece of purple fabric being pushed along by the flowing water. A small piece of Twilight's own coat had been sliced off in that battle too, and Sunset caught it just before it went over the edge. Shaking the water off, she saw her insignia on it; Twilight's pink six pointed star. She'd be taking this as a keepsake...

    Before turning and heading back to the portal up the mountain behind her, Sunset took one last look over the edge. There was a lump in her throat that she had to force down, but she had something to say, even if Twilight wouldn't hear her.

    "So long, Twilight..."

    Sunset sighed. There would be no response to her call this time. She really was gone.

    "And goodnight."

-----

    The platform crowning the castle's keep responded to the Sister of Light's sword, and Sunset was able to just ride it back down through the castle. Every floor above her closed up as passed, and soon she was back before the broken window and the empty throne room. She tried to walk as quickly as she could, wanting to leave things behind, but she eventually came to the central tower's blown-in door. This is where she and Twilight had their fight previous, where Twilight walked away victorious. 

    As she crossed the broken hallway she couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if Twilight prevailed during their most recent duel. 

    Sunset shook her head clear of those thoughts. The clouds above her were starting to clear up, but the rain still came down in a light shower. She pressed on, continuing to the castle's front courtyard, where she met Flash, Starlight, and Spike all waiting for her. 

    "Sunset!" Flash called, relieved to see her carrying the Devil Sword and the sun amulet, but then saw the grim look on her face. "Sunset?"

    Not having the words to respond, Sunset just handed Flash his rocket launcher, walked a ways past them, and tapped her foot impatiently.

    "I want to get out of here too, but..." Starlight began, her tone reflecting concern. "I can't help but notice that Twilight isn't with you."

    "The rest of our friends are waiting in the van, just up ahead." Spike said. "We were waiting for you and Twilight to get back."

    "You missed it," Starlight said, recalling the events in an amazed stupor. "Twilight actually came around. I was going to go back and help you, but she insisted I get out of here. She said 'It has to be me', in that way she always does, but it was different- she took responsibility for everything."

    "And she made this huge apology to all of our friends," Flash said, "Said that she wanted to make sure you made it out, especially, no matter what..."

    "She even agreed to come with Starlight and I under Order custody," Spike added. "She said she'd answer for everything she's done."

    "I knew you the two of you could pull it off." Flash continued. "We were so excited when the girls got their magic back. They remembered the whole thing, almost like they were there! The two of you fighting together, taking down Adagio..."

    As they went on, Sunset didn't have much in the way of response to give. Her head was fallen, her shoulders loose, and she was just staring out at a patch of grass. Flash put the pieces together quickly. He knew that look. His tone becoming cautious, he gently prodded at a fact he knew to be true.

    "Twilight... isn't coming back, is she?"

    Sunset didn't reply, but her heavy silence said enough.

    "Are you... crying?" Flash asked.

    "It's just the rain."

    Holding his hand out, Flash looked up. He could see the sun beginning to rise over the forest in the distance as dark clouds cleared away. "The rain already stopped."

    Trying not to sound too apathetic, Starlight leaned in to offer her comfort. "Did she at least do the right thing?"

    "I sure hope so."

    Twilight stayed behind in the demon world of her own free will, but Sunset couldn't help but feel like she'd failed her. This wasn't the end she wanted, but she supposed it wouldn't be any better had she and Twilight switched places. Was their friendship not worth sticking around for? Was Twilight still mad at her? Was she afraid of her?

    Sunset shook her head clear again. Everything hurt. She needed a lollipop, or something to distract herself with. These emotions weren't going to process overnight, she needed to put time and distance between this place.

    As luck would have it, a demonic cry sounded out from the castle's gates, around the four of them a small mob of demons appeared from a ghostly mist. They varied in size and strength, but were nothing they hadn't dealt with already. This was all of the distraction Sunset needed. A playful tone came back to her as she eyed up the approaching demons.

    "Looks like we've got a few leftovers!" Sunset announced, watching blade and fireball and talon prepare to strike. "Sorry fellas, but the show's over!"

    Flash took aim with his rocket launcher, Starlight drew her chainsaber, Spike flicked up his tailblade, and Sunset, with a smile on her face, took up both of her pistols. She'd still enjoy her battles, despite that empty feeling inside. She'd still find reason to cheer up, even when things looked down. The last thing Twilight did was show her a smile, so Sunset figured that she should smile too, and have strength for herself and the rest of their friends.

    "Oh, who am I kidding? We've still got time for one last song!" Sunset exclaimed, pointing to the sky as the four of them went back to back in the center of the courtyard. 

    "Come on, let's give 'em one to remember!"