Sunset beamed a smile as she walked into Applejack’s barn, guitar case over her shoulder. “Hey, guys!”
“Hey… Sunset.” Applejack looked around at the others before facing her again with a half smile.
Sunset lowered her eyes and fiddled with her jacket cuffs. “Sorry I... haven’t been around much lately. I guess I should have called first. But I just really wanted to see you guys.”
“Hey, it’s cool. I’ve had it covered.” Rainbow Dash inspected the fingers on one of her hands. “It’s not much different from when I first put the band together, yanno. ‘Cause I got the skills to carry the weight.” She ripped into an over-dramatic series of chords.
Sunset shook her head with a small laugh. She moved to the table and started unpacking her guitar. “Well, I’m back now. What are you guys working on?” Behind her, an uncomfortable silence crept into the room as she was opening her case. She turned around and glanced across each of their faces.
Applejack placed a hand behind her neck and looked down to the side.
“Well, ya see… We’ve sorta been workin’ on a set for a gig this week. And, well, we got it pretty tight right now with just the five of us.” She met eyes again with Sunset. “Since you haven’t been around, an’ all. And it’s a bit late to go changin’ stuff, seeing as how the show is Wednesday night.”
“But it’s all good,” Dash said. “I mean, you probably got other plans anyway, right?” Then with a smirk and a wink, she added, “I hear you got ‘dazzled’ pretty good the other night.”
Sunset bristled. “What?” She glowered at Rarity, who suddenly looked mortified.
“Rainbow Dash! I implied nothing of the sort.”
The grin spread across Rainbow’s face. “Heh. Or maybe Wednesday night is the next ‘Mind-controllers Anonymous’ meeting over at their place. WooOOooO.” She wiggled fingers on both sides of her head. Nudging Pinkie with laugh, she looked around the room. “Am-I-right?”
Sunset leaned breathless against the table as her heart sank. She looked at Rainbow in bewilderment. Why…?
After all this time. And everything we’ve been through.
I’ve tried SO hard to change. You know this.
She felt her hands clench into fists, and her eyes began to quiver. Her focus narrowed onto Dash’s laughing face. But if that's who I still am to you...
Applejack sighed. “C’mon now, Rainbow. That’s a bit outta line. Let’s just g—”
Voices continued speaking, but the sound faded into a din as Sunset’s heartbeat pounded in her head. Hazing around the edges, her vision drilled into that cocky, grinning blue face.
“Nah, she can take a joke, heh.” Rainbow wiped a tear from her eye. “Ahh, I’ve been waitin’ a while to use that one.”
“GraaaaaaAAHHHhh!”
Sunset’s vision blurred with a sudden motion, followed by a loud thud on the ground.
“What the hay?!”
She flashed back to her surroundings at the tone of Applejack’s voice. Her breath rushed through gritted teeth as she found herself looming aggressively over Dash—who was lying on the floor holding the side of her face. A stark fear darkened Rainbow’s eyes.
Sunset’s breathing slowed, and a dull pain began to throb in the knuckles on her right hand. She looked around at the others as they stared back at her in open-mouthed shock.
Pinkie narrowed her eyes. “Not cool, Sunny. Not cool.”
Sunset let out a sharp breath and looked down at her open hands. She whispered, "N-no... I." The pace of her breathing quickened again, and she shook her head in disbelief.
Applejack helped Rainbow to her feet. She turned to Sunset and straightened her hat. “I think ya best be leavin’.”
“I…” Sunset’s eyes began to water as she looked around at the others. Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack regarded her with disappointment, while Fluttershy cowered against a hay bale behind them. Rarity had her eyes cast downward, breathing quietly and clutching her necklace.
Sunset brought a hand to her mouth as a wave of nausea caught in her throat. She grabbed her helmet and ran out of the barn.
Rarity yelled after her, “Sunset, please. Wait!”
Sunset straddled her motorcycle and took off. Looking down in the mirror, she saw Rarity run out of the barn and then huff to a stop, putting both hands on her knees. Picking up speed, she blinked away tears as best she could, unable to dry her eyes through her helmet.
***
When she walked into her bedroom, Sunset fell face-first onto her pillow and finally allowed herself to break down.
That didn’t go anything at all like I’d hoped. She clutched the pillow around her face.
I can’t believe how much I miss them. How could I lose control like that?
A buzzing sound came from her nightstand. She lifted an eye off her pillow and reached for her phone. With a sniffle and a sigh, she whispered, “Rarity… I know you’re sorry. But I just can’t right now.” She sent the call to voicemail and dropped the phone on her bed.
Sunset choked out another sob into her pillow. What is happening to me?
Her thoughts were drawn again to the dream two nights ago on Adagio’s couch. That seemed to be the moment when everything had begun spiraling downward.
She ground her face into the pillow as the memory of her own demonic cackle echoed in her mind, clear as day. That was so long ago. Another Fall Formal has come and gone, even. Why is this just now beginning to haunt me, after all this time?
A chill danced across her skin as she recalled the temptation of Adagio’s words within the dream and the ecstasy which accompanied her touch. But in contrast, Adagio had shown Sunset nothing but warmth and compassion during all of their recent time together. We seem to understand each other so well.
Sunset let out a long breath. Could this really have something to do with her? Or with how I’m starting to feel about her? She had come to enjoy their time together more than she could ever have expected. And lately—while alone working, exercising, or studying—Sunset found her thoughts drifting more and more to Adagio, and to the warmth and allure that blossomed whenever the two of them were together.
But now… Was there something more to Adagio's motives? Something Sunset had missed, or perhaps chosen to ignore?
“I don’t know any more… I just don’t know.” She surrendered to the doubt that was closing in around her.
I just don’t know.
Seconds passed, and then minutes. Sunset’s breathing slowed as she found a fleeting release within her surrender. Her eyes had since dried, and her body took on a calm feeling of weightlessness.
A sound drifted to her ears—the sound of two hands slowly clapping.
“Well done.”
Sunset lifted her head and looked around the vacant room. Her sight came to rest on the empty chair in the corner. What? She rose to her feet, took a few steps away from the bed, and again surveyed her surroundings.
As her gaze passed the mirror on her vanity, she yelped and jumped backward. There, in the reflection, her dark aspect from a year ago was lounging in the corner chair, smiling and slowly clapping her hands in smug approval.
No...
Sunset turned again to the empty chair, and then back to the mirror.
She walked closer to the vanity.
The aspect stood and reflected her steps until the two met on either side of the glass.
“Yes…” A toothy grin spread across the reflection’s face, and Sunset’s heart sank.
“Oh, my poor dear.” The red face tutted at her. “Twice now in as many days, you’ve jumped on that motorcycle and sped away from your problems.” A delighted, sadistic laugh followed. “Not that I’m complaining. We finally have our chance to talk.”
“Why are you doing this? Why now?”
“Well, you’ve had your little mind in a bunch over so many other things lately that I could hardly get a word in edgewise. ‘Boo hoo, now that I want friends, I don’t have any.’ And then, ‘Now, I think I have friends, but they don’t trust me.’
“And then those Dazzlings came along.” She bit the claw on her thumb. “Mmmm, that Adagio by the way… She and I could make some delightful music together, wouldn’t you agree?” The red face chuckled for a moment before falling to a glare. “Or we could have… You had to go and pick up that microphone.” But then with a wistful sigh, she inspected her claws on one hand. “Ahh, well. There might still be some hope for us yet, hmmm?”
“If you think for one second that—”
“Uh-uh-uh.” Her eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t finished yet.” Straightening her posture, she brushed something off her shoulder. “Now, as I was saying. With that battle of the bands behind us, it was on to your ‘mommy’-approval issues with Celestia. Bleh. You really are messed up, aren’t you? But now, with all of those oh-so-pressing worries out of the way, it seems we finally get to have our little chat.”
“I know I’m dreaming right now. You’re not some separate entity. You’re a part of my past that I’ve put behind me. I’m working through these issues.” Sunset clenched her fists and assumed a confident stance. “I finally have a circle of friends who care about me. And I’ve even passed on some of what I’ve learned to Adagio and the others.”
“Oh, really?” The red face let out long, hard laugh and then fell serious. “Don’t delude yourself. You’ll never truly be loved. Not after everything we’ve done.” In a mocking, sugary tone, she added, “Have you already forgotten what happened earlier at Sour Apple Acres?”
Sunset's eyes fell. She crossed her arms with a frown.
The aspect gave a smug chuckle. “That’s right. That’s the problem with love, you see. It still depends on others to make that choice. Now, fear, on the other hand? There is a true power that you—and only you—control.”
Sunset winced with guilt as the sudden memory of the Fall Formal struck her.
With a sidelong grin, the demon added, “That cocky blue bitch sure shut up quick, didn’t she?”
Sunset gritted her teeth. Again her heart pounded, and her vision began to haze. “Get out of my HEAD!”
She swung a fist at the mocking reflection, but the expected shattering of glass never came. Sunset’s arm rippled through the mirror, and the force of her momentum carried the rest of her through behind it.
Into darkness. Weightlessness. The sensation of falling.
Adagio’s self-assured chuckle echoed throughout the black depth around her.
Sunset blinked. When her eyes opened, they were face-to-face with Adagio’s. She felt a hand rest on her right shoulder as a thumb traced down the center of her forehead.
A green wave flared out from the point of contact. Sunset looked down at her red skin and clawed hands—and then at the ground suddenly approaching. She flapped her wings to stabilize. Her feet, and Adagio’s, came to rest on the grass in unison.
“My, what a single touch can do.” With a spreading grin, Adagio brushed Sunset’s cheek and then pathed a circle around her, maintaining contact with a finger or two as she walked. “You thought perhaps this power of yours was bound to Sparkle’s element? I assure you, my dear—Dark Magic has depths which have scarcely been explored.”
Sunset found the two of them standing in a tumbled stone courtyard of a forested park. She looked down at her clawed hand and clenched it to a fist. As it took on a black-green glow, she looked up to the courtyard’s center statue and lifted it effortlessly, twisting it in the air with little more than a few subtle gestures.
Adagio placed another finger on Sunset’s chest just below her collarbone. Again, a green flare rippled out from the contact, and Sunset returned to her human form. The glow around her hand persisted, however, and the statue remained suspended.
Sunset tightened her fist, and the statue collapsed to dust. The sensation of power flowing through her human body awoke long-suppressed desires. A faint smile of satisfaction hinted at the edge of her lips.
Adagio ran her fingers down Sunset’s arm before taking a few steps away. “A shame how quickly your ‘friends’ gave up on you. And after only a few short weeks apart.”
With a motion of her wrist, she produced a string of dark red grapes and pulled one off between her teeth. Grinning seductively, she rolled it around her tongue before biting it into her mouth. She tossed the others over her shoulder and sauntered toward Sunset with narrowed eyes. When the two were face to face, Adagio lifted a hand and softly stroked her red-gold hair.
“Now, contrast that with what I have to offer.”
With her other hand, Adagio flipped a clasp behind her back. Her dress fell to the ground, leaving nothing to Sunset’s imagination. She gripped Sunset’s shoulders and began layering soft kisses along the side of her neck. Sunset bit her lip with a light moan as her legs went weak beneath her.
Adagio pressed against her, forcing her backward several steps against a stone wall. With a deft, practiced motion, her hands released Sunset’s jacket to the ground. Adagio let out a soft growl. “Mmmmm. I know you’ve been wanting this.” She brushed Sunset’s lips with her own, holding her gaze with narrowed eyes. “Good, yes?”
Sunset closed her eyes. She let out her captive breath and took in another as Adagio’s lips continued to caress her neck. A warmth spread throughout her and she exhaled into a another moan. “Yes…”
Sunset pulled firmly at Adagio’s waist, and their lips met. For several moments, nothing existed beyond that touch. Her world became the scent of lavender and a cascade of auburn hair.
When they parted again, Sunset turned her head to the right, only to discover the other five Rainbooms huddled near a large stone pillar across the courtyard. A glowing chain around each of their ankles led off into the darkened forest.
“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Adagio chuckled. “A little gift for you.” She brushed her nose against Sunset’s ear and whispered, “Let them watch.”
Sunset’s thoughts called back to Applejack’s barn. To their judgmental stares. To Rainbow’s heartless, mocking comments. Turning back again, her eyes took in Adagio in all of her stark, flawless beauty. Sunset considered everything that her ancient power had granted.
She closed her eyes and gave herself over to euphoria. This is what she had always wanted. And here, Adagio had handed it—and herself—to Sunset on a silk-draped altar. She had given love and friendship a chance. Both had rejected her. The bearers themselves were now bound in chains.
This world belonged to the two of them. Sunset opened her eyes with a hungry grin. Equestria would be next.
She looked up at Adagio with a vindicated fire. “Let’s have a bit of fun with them first, hmm?”
Adagio let out a sadistic laugh and then growled in satisfaction.
In a magical flash, Sunset whisked herself across the courtyard to face the others. Adagio’s shadow stretched over them as she grew to an enormous height and crossed her arms. Towering over them, her form became a darkened silhouette. A sliver of light glinted off her spreading half-sided grin.
Sunset laughed and lifted Rainbow’s chin. “Not so brash now, are we?”
Rainbow looked up at her with sullen, empty eyes and then lowered her bruised face again without a word.
Sunset’s confidence staggered for a brief moment. Where was the cocky indignation, the proud rebuke?
The air pulsed with a grey heaviness.
She looked around at the others. Any trace of hope shared among them had long since been extinguished. Pinkie’s hair was deflated. Dark rings showed under her eyes. Fluttershy knelt on the ground, head in her hands.
Rarity lifted her grime-covered face. “Why, Sunset? What has happened to you? I thought that…” She brought a hand to her mouth with a sob and pressed her eyes closed.
Applejack placed a hand on Rarity’s shoulder. Her ever-resilient expression appeared on the verge of cracking. “You got what ya wanted. So why keep us here? Why are ya doin’ this?”
Sunset took a half-step backward. Her self-assured tone from a moment ago fell speechless. Out of the shadows, Aria walked up behind Rainbow and placed both hands on her shoulders. Sunset felt her knees go weak at the sight of yet another chain leading off into the forest. “A-Aria?”
The air around her pulsed a second time. A heavy darkness began to press in.
Aria glared at Sunset, tearing up in hopeless rage. “So?! What do you care? Once you two got what you wanted, she threw us aside like trash!”
Sonata walked up behind Pinkie and wrapped her in a hug. She put her head down on her shoulder and whispered softly, “It’s okay. We know what you’re going through.” At this, Pinkie finally let go and fell into tears.
Aria picked up a rock and hurled it up at Adagio. It landed on the ground before even reaching her feet. “How’s the view from up there, you bitch?!” Huffing, she turned back to Sunset, hate brimming in her eyes. In a flat, icy tone, she asked, “So tell me. How does it feel to rule over a dead, empty world?”
The seductive veneer of the dream cracked, and Sunset found herself breathless. A deep pit began to form in her stomach. She looked around at the seven of them, huddled and broken, and a wave of guilt flooded into her.
“This… no. This isn’t what I wanted.”
She turned around and stared up at Adagio’s powerful form towering above them.
“This isn’t what I wanted!”
Adagio’s voice boomed from above. “You would wallow with these insects rather than live like a god?”
Sunset gripped her arms and looked around again at the others. She lowered her eyes to the ground. “I just can’t. This is wrong, Adagio.”
Adagio’s grin turned to a sneer. “So. This is your choice then…”
Sunset helped Fluttershy to her feet and nodded confidently.
“How unfortunate.” Adagio placed the heel of her boot in front of Sunset. The grin returned to her face. “We’ll see about that.”
She lowered her foot, enveloping them all in darkness.
With a gasp, Sunset found herself lying atop her blankets and sat up slowly. Her room had fallen dark, and now felt even more empty than she remembered. She buried her face in her hands and broke down crying as a heavy loss closed in around her.
Please don’t make me do this. Don’t make me choose between you.