//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns 
// by DrakeyC 
//------------------------------//


Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

Chapter 14





Twilight took a deep breath and raised her head. The castle loomed ahead of her, its shadow falling over her in the morning light.

Sunset…

"Twi, are you sure you don’t want help?" Beside her, Applejack gave her a worried look.

Twilight shook her head. "You need to go and rally the others. I can handle Sunset on my own."

"And if things go bad?"

Twilight lowered her head and looked at Applejack. "By the time you’ve told everypony else what’s going on and get back, I’ll be back in my own body, or something will have gone wrong. Come inside either way, and we’ll go from there. I’m going to have Spike send Celestia a letter once we get inside, so she’ll be arriving soon, too. I know what I’m doing. Zecora and I have it all planned out."





"Using the stone is pretty simple, or so this book says."  Twilight gestured to the open book laying on the barn floor between her and Applejack. "It’s attuned to work for two specific ponies at a time. We already used it once, so we just press our hooves back to it a second time, and we’ll switch back."

"Really?" Applejack looked up at her. "That’s it? Ah would have thought body-switching was more complicated than pressing yer hoof to a stone."

"It is these days. But, Waljiru Stones are a very primitive and early form of magic." Twilight looked at the stone next to the book. "They were made so dying zebras could transfer their minds into healthy bodies to communicate their last wishes. There are dozens of stones distributed through the tribes. They stopped using them after a few decades as the magic was further researched and the side-effects of the stones became known. I guess someone in Canterlot got a hold of one and it was lost in the archives. Not unreasonable, of course somepony sooner or later would want to study them."

"Whoa, whoa. Back up a sec, missy. What ‘side-effects’ do you mean?" Applejack asked.

"Like I said, it was an early time in the magic’s history. The spellbinding rituals weren’t fully stable, and…" Twilight hesitated.

"And what?" Applejack asked.

"Well, they were intended for dying zebras. But, of course, some zebras had the same idea Sunset had. They would swap bodies with tribal leaders or other zebras of influence, then kill their own former bodies with the mind of their victims. They thought they’d get a new life with a new identity, but it didn’t quite work out that way." Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Apparently, the potential for such abuse of the power is the reason for the ban on body-swapping magic in Equestria in the first place. Imagine if an assassin switched place with a member of the royal guard, or somehow got to the Princess herself. It would be chaos."

"Ah’ll bet," Applejack said, giving her a knowing look.

Twilight coughed lightly. "Um, yes. Well, anyway, the problem with these stones is their magic is weak and unstable. After a period of time the spell begins to break down and...  well, the body remembers the mind it’s supposed to hold, and it begins to reject the new one. Violently. The two minds begin to merge until the old overtakes the new. It wasn’t pretty, or so the accounts say. Insanity, paranoia, schizophrenia, and a host of other mental disorders were reported to result from their usage. It became pretty obvious when some official or another had been victimized by a Waljiru Stone, because after a month they almost universally lost their minds. No pun intended."

"Huh. Ah guess that would explain some stuff about Sunset Shimmer," Applejack replied. "But you seem fine, Twi."

"I left my caretaker drugged and unconscious in the middle of his kitchen trapped by an anti-magic field and a barrier," Twilight said dryly. "Trust me, it’s affecting me. More than I realized."

"Okay. Well, it won’t be affecting you much longer, right?"

"Right." Twilight looked at the stone again and took a breath.




"Once I get into the castle, I can subdue Sunset with little difficulty. Then, either with force or diplomacy, I can force her to use the stone with me, and we’ll switch back. Simple."

Applejack nodded. "All right. Be careful."

"I will."

Applejack turned and galloped back into the village. Twilight watched her go, then turned forward and began down the path to the castle doors. She reached them and carefully pushed them open. The purple and blue walls were dark; the luminance gems in the ceiling were as bright as ever but their light seemed duller somehow. She slipped into the seating room.

"Twilight!" She was immediately embraced by a pair of purple claws. Spike looked up at her. "She’s in the throne room."

"Good." Twilight looked back at the door. Feeling secure, she opened the saddle bag she was wearing and withdrew a parchment, quill, and inkpot. She floated them on a table and let them drop. "Here. Send Celestia a letter telling her to come here immediately. Tell her everything that’s happened. Then I want you to go and find my friends."

"No way!" Spike shook his head. "You’re gonna need someone to have your back, and I’m—"

"No, Spike." Twilight gave him a pointed look. "This is between me and Sunset. I appreciate your offer, but I’ll do this alone."

"Are you for real?" Spike folded his claws and frowned.

"Yes. There are things Sunset and I need to talk about, and for better or worse, it’s best if we’re alone."

"What if she tries to hurt you?"

Twilight turned to the saddle bag she had worn and clicked it open. She withdrew the Waljiru Stone and a second object, a small black stone on a chain.

"This is an anti-magic charm. I just have to slip it over her neck and it’ll completely shut down her magic. She won’t be able to fight back, and I can subdue her and talk to her."

Spike looked at the charm floating in the air and sighed. "All right. Be careful."

Twilight hugged him again. "I will. Go." Spike nodded and went to the table to begin writing on the provided parchment. Twilight returned the magic objects to her saddlebag and exited the room to continue down the hall deeper into the castle.





Sunset stood in the center of the throne room. Her eyes stared at the six-pointed star on the back of the throne in front of her.

The Tree of Harmony knew. Celestia must have realized it, too. That day her cutie mark appeared—the Mark of Magic. And then this castle… it was always her. Sunset looked at the other six thrones. I live a life of misery and rejection because I have the wrong mark on my flank. The mark of Celestia—of the sun. And Twilight gets the star of magic. That must have been destiny, too. I was marked to be her enemy…

Sunset lowered her head. Sun and star. I should have seen it that day when I first saw her. Celestia thought we could be friends. But she knew the truth all along. Of course we became enemies. She snorted. I was marked as her enemy before she ever got that star on her flank. More proof everything went as it was meant to. Destiny was never on my side. Just like everypony else. The only one who ever tried to reach out to me was Twilight herself… 

She looked at a bust of Twilight’s head, amethyst eyes twinkling at her. The bust seemed to be laughing, and Sunset growled back at it. Well, now you’re gone, Twilight. I’ll likely never see you again… good riddance. You never really helped me, anyway. You just made things worse.





Twilight crept forward, placing her hooves on the floor softly. A single crack or creak could give her away. The Waljiru Stone floated up from her saddle bag as she passed the doors.

Sunset Shimmer still had her back to her, looking over a stone bust of Twilight on a pedestal. Twilight ignored the redesign of the throne room around her and kept coming closer—a surprise attack like Sunset had gotten her with: tackle her to the ground and get the charm on her before she could react. She was in the middle of the thrones now. Just a few more steps and she would make her move.

It was at that moment that Sunset chose to turn around.

The two ponies froze. Sunset gasped sharply, her eyes widening at the sight of Twilight standing in front of her. 

Twilight wasn’t expecting Sunset to suddenly turn, but she reacted after only a second. Twilight dove forward, the stone beside her coming with her. Sunset vanished in a flash of violet light, leaving Twilight to hit the floor. She looked behind her, horn lit up in teal light. Sunset had reappeared in front of the doors to the throne room, which slammed shut in Twilight’s magic grip. Sunset looked at them and then turned back to Twilight.

"You’re not going anywhere," Twilight said, stepping forward. She floated the Waljiru Stone in front of her. "You have something of mine."

Sunset stared at Twilight for several seconds. Then, she broke into a grin and began to giggle. The giggling turned into loud laughter, and Sunset collapsed to her stomach, beating a hoof on the ground. Her laugh echoed off the walls and filled Twilight’s ears.

Twilight watched, confused. "What’s so funny?"

Sunset looked up at her. "Everything… I get it. I finally get it!" she laughed again. "Oh, what a hilarious joke it’s all been! I get it now! You, me, everything! It all makes sense! What a punchline!" Sunset hugged herself as her laughing broke down into snickering.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

Sunset put her hooves down and slowly rose, her head low. "Of course you’re back… you have to be back now, don’t you? That’s how it’s always been, how it always has to be…" She looked up. Her eyes were dark, and a cruel grin crossed her face. "You always, always, always have to show up and ruin my life!" Sunset’s wings snapped out and she dove, flapping them furiously. 

Twilight dodged and flung the anti-magic charm through the air. The string wrapped around Sunset’s muzzle and slid down around her neck. Twilight grinned in triumph as Sunset landed and looked down at what was now hanging below her head.

Sunset turned her head, sneering. "Really, Twilight? Anti-magic charms?" Twilight gasped as a violet aura surrounded the stone and raised it into the air, Sunset’s eyes turning their focus from her to the charm. "Neat little things… though they have a certain threshold for how much power they can handle. A bit of a flaw in the design. Did you forget that?" The charm began to glow silver. "Something else you seem to have forgotten… I’m an alicorn now." Her eyes lit up violet, and the anti-magic spell overloaded in an instant. The stone exploded, a shower of debris washing over the room. The chain fell to the floor, Sunset’s hoof stomping it as she stepped forward.

Twilight looked at the shards lying around the room. I forgot… how could I have forgotten? Her power… She looked up at Sunset advancing on her. "Sunset. Listen to me." Sunset stopped, looking at Twilight expectantly. "I know you’ve been through a lot, I really do. I lived with Rosen Cross and I read your journal. I understand now. But what you’ve done is not the answer. We can still put it right and I can help you. If you don’t let me switch us back, you’ll ruin both our lives."

Sunset lowered her head and chuckled deeply. "You get it too, don’t you? You get the joke. Isn’t it funny?"

"This isn’t a joke, Sunset!"

"Isn’t it?" Sunset snarled. "Oh, it’s a joke alright. A grand cosmic joke on me! Every single time I’m happy, you show up to ruin it! I was Celestia’s student, her heir, and then she finds you! I was a princess in the other world, and you came through and destroyed it all. And now, I’m finally making friends and adjusting to a normal life. But you’re back again!"

Twilight stepped back as Sunset circled the room. Sunset’s eyes were almost glowing as she slipped between the thrones. "You’ve been one step behind me all along, haven’t you, Twilight? Lurking just outside my shadow, watching me, taunting me. Just as I’ve been just outside yours, Celestia shielding her sweet little student from me. That’s how it has to be, of course, the two of us always apart, only coming together to destroy each other. Fire and ice, light and shadow, sun and star. Two sides of a coin, and every time we flip it, it lands in your favour."

Twilight slowly shook her head. "You’re insane."

Sunset stopped and let out a barking laugh. "No, nonono. I told you, I just get it now! I get the joke! I exist for you to trample into the ground, and you exist to do it to me. It all makes sense. Every time I get a hold on my life, you arrive to ruin it." Sunset turned her head to look at Twilight. "Everything you are is what I should have been. Everything you have was taken from me. And you leave me with nothing in return."

"Shut up!" Twilight glared. "I’m not here for your self-pitying blame games! I want my body back."

"Yes, yes, yes, of course!" Sunset nodded. "That’s how it has to be, right? As long as both of us exist, one of us has to sacrifice her happiness for the other." Sunset shook her head. "Well, not anymore. I’ve spent almost ten years sacrificing what I am, watching you get it all in my place. Now it’s your turn, Twilight. You get to pay me back for the life you stole."

"I’m not giving you anything, Sunset." Twilight stamped a hoof on the ground. "One way or the other, we’re switching back. Now."

"Okay. Just this one last time, we’ll do it your way." Sunset smiled. "I choose the other way."

Sunset snapped her head down and fired a blast of energy at Twilight. She dove aside, the blast shooting into the wall and shattering it in a shower of purple crystals. Twilight ran behind Rarity’s throne and closed her eyes, her horn glowing. Sunset cackled and swung her head to glare at the doors of the throne room. They lit up violet and shimmered. Twilight vanished in a burst of teal light and reappeared pressed against the doors, crying out. The anti-magic field blocked her teleportation and she fell to the ground.

"No more running, Twilight!" Twilight looked up to see Sunset charging an orb of magic over her horn. "There’s nowhere for either of us to hide, anymore!" Sunset fired another blast of magic. Twilight teleported behind Fluttershy’s throne and sprinted around the room behind the line of seats. Sunset’s eyes tracked her, and a third streak of magic blasted between two of the thrones as Twilight ran behind one from the other side. Her attempt to lead her shot failed when Twilight didn’t emerge in place, and another part of the wall shattered under Sunset’s attack.

Twilight reappeared and ran towards Sunset. She turned too late to react as Twilight tackled her to the ground. Twilight raised the Waljiru Stone over her head and Sunset snarled at her. The aura over the stone shifted color, teal turning to violet. Twilight struggled to keep her hold on the relic, pouring more energy into it. Sunset lowered her eyes to Twilight and raised a hoof, slamming it into the side of her neck. Twilight cried in pain and pitched to the side, the stone’s hold turning full violet. Sunset turned her head and the stone shot towards a window.

Twilight looked up from where she had fallen. "No!" The stone’s aura turned teal again and pulled back towards her. Twilight saw Sunset run towards her and lost her focus, erecting a shield. It barely rippled into place before Sunset’s horn slammed into it and discharged a burst of magic.

In a blast of teal and violet light, the two mares were flung away. Twilight landed on her back near the wall, Sunset hitting higher up on the other side of the room and dropping to her hooves, staggering. Twilight rolled onto her stomach and rose as Sunset glared at her, both of them panting. Twilight’s eyes darted around the room. In her haste to defend herself, she had lost track of the Waljiru Stone. She turned her attention back to Sunset.

"Is this really what you want?" Twilight asked. 

Sunset grinned and laughed in response. "Yes. Absolutely. I want you gone, forever. No more voices, no more illusions, no more memories. I want you erased. I want it all undone."

Twilight gritted her teeth and licked her lips. "You said you wanted my life. You have it and you’re still not happy?"

Sunset’s eye twitched, and she shook her head. "Not yet. You’re still talking." She snapped her head down and fired another bolt of violet magic.





"Petitioners from Fillydelphia are seeking land grants from the crown for a new harbor." Kibitz read off a sheet of parchment on the table in front of him. Celestia nodded and bit into a pancake.

"Contact archives and ensure we have a map of the city ready for reference."

"Of course." Kibitz’s quill scratched on the parchment.

"One day you must let me take over the day court again," Luna said from the other side of the table. "The dullards that frequent the night court are so boring."

"Luna, do not speak of our subjects so."

"Why? It is only the truth."

Celestia smiled softly and looked back at Kibitz. "Continue, please."

"Yes. We also have the Spring Fling Feast to plan some months from now, and then of course the Summer Sun Celebration. We still have not picked a city for—" Kibitz stopped as a scroll popped into existence in front of Celestia in a burst of green fire.

"A letter from Twilight?" Celestia tilted her head. "I wonder what about."

"Allow me, sister. You are busy, after all." Luna floated the scroll over to her. Celestia nodded and turned her attention back to Kibitz. Luna unfurled the scroll and read. Her eyes widened and she read faster. "Oh dear… no, no, no. This will not go well, she’s too unstable…"

Celestia looked at her and frowned. "Luna?"

Luna raised her head. "Celestia… I believe something terrible has occurred." She turned the scroll in the air for Celestia to see. After a few seconds, Celestia’s face mirrored Luna’s.

"Sunset…"





Sunset fired a magic bolt. Twilight stood her ground and raised a barrier. Sunset’s spell hit the barrier, and the barrier snapped back against it to reflect it. Sunset was struck in the face and stumbled back, crying out. Her cheek was scorched black and she held a hoof up to the mark. 

Twilight ran at her, her horn pointed forward. Her own magic bolt fired in a burst of blue shades. Sunset teleported away and the shot hit the wall in a burst of light. Twilight saw violet light behind her and teleported. She reappeared and gasped. A blast of violet magic slammed into her, pitching her through the air. She landed hard and groaned.

"What makes you so special?" 

As Twilight began to stand, Sunset slammed into her side and knocked her backwards, flipping her over Pinkie’s throne to fall on her back. As she lay prone, Sunset teleported in front of her and brought a hoof down on Twilight’s cheek. She cried out and squinted at Sunset over her. Sunset’s breathing was heavy and her teeth were bared. 

"Everypony respects you. Everypony loves you. She loves you… why?" Sunset brought her face closer. "WHY? Why did she choose you over me?" Twilight opened her mouth and Sunset removed her hoof.

"I… I don’t know."

Sunset frowned and stepped back. Twilight winced and turned her head to look at her. "I don’t know why she made me a princess. I never did. I never wanted it, and I never asked for it. But, I do know… it wasn’t about replacing you." Twilight put a hoof on the arm of the throne to pull herself up, rising on her hind hooves. She gave Sunset a sad smile. "She doesn’t love me like she did you. I was only ever her student, never her daughter. I wasn’t your replacement, Sunset. I can’t be, even if I tried."

Sunset’s mouth was open. She looked over the floor, confused. "But… no. No! That doesn’t make sense!" She looked up at Twilight, her eyes pleading. "She said she’d make you a princess instead of me! Why?" Her voice cracked as she spoke. "If she loved me so much more, why were you the one who got everything she said she would give to me? Why did she cast me aside for you?"

Twilight fell on all fours, wincing at her sore hooves but remaining standing. "She didn’t." She looked up at Sunset. "It was you. It was always you, Sunset. You chose to run to the other world; she didn’t make you. You could have just lived your life out there, but you had to come back to steal my crown. Then you came back again and took my life after you had a second chance in a world without me. You’re never satisfied."

"Of course I’m not!" Sunset yelled. "Do you know what it’s like to be rejected by your mother, Twilight? For her to promise something to you? To devote your life—your soul—to a singular goal in her name, and then be told you’re not deserving of it? Because somepony who doesn’t even know you exist is going to get it instead?"

"No. I don’t. But I know it’s that way of thinking that ruined your life, more than anything I could have done. You got the crown you always wanted when you took my body, but you’re still thinking like this. Yes, I became a princess eventually. But I never took her from you, you turned away from her. Celestia may have denied you the crown, but you still had her. That wasn’t enough for you, you wanted both of them. Somewhere along the way, you lost sight of which of them meant more to you. And now you don’t have either."

Twilight shook her head. "I’ve never done anything to you, Sunset. You bring it on yourself. I’m not the reason you can’t be happy. You are."

Sunset slowly lowered her head and stared at the ground. The room was silent, save for their breathing. Twilight watched her and lifted a hoof to approach her.

"… No."

The word was barely a whisper. Before Twilight could even comprehend it, Sunset raised her head. She was glaring.

"You're lying." Sunset stepped towards Twilight, her face twisting into a scowl. "You're lying!"

"Sunset…"

"Shut up and stop lying!" Sunset lowered her head and charged. Twilight flashed a shield over her for protection, pulling back. Sunset vanished in a flash of violet light. She reappeared behind Twilight and tackled her to the ground. Twilight cried out as her hooves splayed out beneath her. Sunset planted a hoof on the back of Twilight’s neck and pressed down, forcing Twilight’s mouth to the floor. She lowered her head to whisper into Twilight’s ear.

"This is my life now."

Sunset grunted and stepped back. Twilight was seized in her magic and flung backwards. She hit Applejack’s throne and fell on her back, pain shooting through her body. She looked up to see Sunset coming towards her. Twilight raised her hooves to turn over, leaning her head back. Then, she felt something strike her hind hoof. She screamed, bits of some white substance rolling by her head. Wincing, she looked down and saw Sunset Shimmer had seized one of the busts she had put around the room and smashed it across her hoof. Blood ran down her bright orange coat, streaks in the wake of the droplets. The bust hovered in a violet aura, its muzzle chipped and stained red.

"This… is my life now!"

Twilight put a hoof on the ground and pushed herself up. She saw the bust move and raised her left hoof to defend herself, reinforcing a shield over it. The stone hit the shield, shattering to pieces, but the force dispelled Twilight’s shield and sent her spinning onto her stomach, bits of stone raining down on her. Her hoof was numb after the attack, and when she tried to move it, she sent more jolts of pain into her body. Something pressed on her shoulder and she groaned in agony. Sunset pushed Twilight on her back, standing over her. Violet magic grabbed Twilight’s head and pulled her up.

"THIS IS MY LIFE NOW!"

Sunset raised a hoof and swung. Twilight’s head hit the floor beneath her. She raised her right hoof but a blast of magic sent it flopping back to the floor, the skin and fur burning. Sunset grabbed Twilight’s head in her magic again and pulled it back up.

"You don’t deserve to be a princess!"

Another strike from Sunset’s hoof sent Twilight’s vision spinning. Her eyes fell on her right hoof, the orange fur burnt black.

"You don’t deserve to have friends!"

A third blow, and a fourth right after. Twilight groaned. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. Her head lolled to the left, her eyes struggling to focus. She was pulled back up and her head righted to look up at Sunset.

"You don’t deserve her love!"

Sunset brought her hooves together and swung them down into the side of Twilight’s head. Twilight hit the floor hard, her head rattling. Blood was smeared across her hooves, the smell of burnt fur filled her nose, and she tasted copper in her mouth. Letting out a weak moan, Twilight squinted and looked to the right. On the furthest reaches of her blurry vision, she caught a glimpse of white and black against the purple and blue wall.

Standing over Twilight, Sunset stared down at her. Her breathing was heavy, her face twisted, mane frayed. Clenching her teeth, she reared up, wings flaring, eyes flashing.

"You’re just a hateful, pathetic, ungrateful monster! You don’t deserve to be happy!"

Twilight’s eyes came into focus, and she saw the source of the light. Summoning all of her energy, she grabbed her own burnt hoof in her magic.

"YOU DESERVE NOTHING!"

Sunset screamed and lifted a hoof over her head to thrust it down. Twilight pushed through the agony of her protesting hoof as she forced it to move in her magic. Not far away, lying against the wall, the Waljiru Stone lit up teal and shot forward. Twilight closed her eyes and let her head fall back, her hoof in the air.

The stone stopped its flight just as Sunset’s hoof pressed down on it and into contact with Twilight’s hoof.

Twilight felt a familiar sensation of temporal and spacial distortion, her mind contorting. Within a void of darkness she saw light, and braced herself as she was pulled towards it. In the real world, the violet and orange stone lit up. The black stones encircling it pulled apart and rotated once, and then locked back down.

A burst of magic knocked Twilight’s body back, and she slid back along the ground until she stopped beside Fluttershy’s throne. Sunset’s body went limp, her hooves falling beside her. The Waljiru Stone remained floating in the air where their hooves had met. The clouds in the center cleared to black and white, and the stone fell to the floor with a thud.

Twilight lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling. Her body was numb, her mind swimming. She… did I…? She raised a hoof and turned her eyes, a familiar purple coat coming into view. She put the hoof on the arm of the throne stretching above her and pulled herself up. Her mind cleared and she looked across the room.

Sunset Shimmer hadn’t moved. Her chest was slowly rising and falling and Twilight heard the sounds of ragged breathing echoing through the chamber. Twilight watched, holding the throne’s arm. The Waljiru Stone lay the middle of the thrones, its white light dulled against the blue. Twilight looked down at it, then at Sunset.

Something wet touched her mouth and Twilight licked it. It was warm and salty. She reached up and felt her muzzle. Her fur was damp. She blinked, and felt tears not her own fall from her eyes. She… was she…?

Sunset hiccupped, bringing Twilight’s attention back to her. She hiccupped again, her body jerking. Then she began to shake, letting out uneven breaths. A sniff, and Twilight heard a sob. She slowly walked forward.

Tears ran down Sunset’s face, her teal eyes staring up at the ceiling. The tears fell to the floor and mixed with the blood oozing from her wounds. When Twilight stopped, Sunset weakly lifted her head and looked at her. Twilight let out a long sigh.

"It’s over, Sunset."

Sunset’s head fell back and she let out a wail, the end breaking down into more sobs.

Minutes later, when the throne room doors burst open with the force of two alicorn sisters leading a pack of five ponies and a baby dragon, neither Twilight nor Sunset had moved. And still the sobs continued.