Twilight stared agape at the red sun as Sunset fell to the ground surrounded by power. “Sun...Sunset...What have you done?”
“Isn’t it obvious” Sunset paused for a moment to catch her breath. “Twilight? I raised the sun.” She finished responding.
“But, But, WHY?!” Twilight looked at Sunset aghast.
“To challenge my mother.” Sunset stated matter of factly. “And it would be rude to keep her waiting.” Sunset finished as she opened the doors in her telekinesis and walked through them.
“But, WHY?” Twilight asked in disbelief as she followed Sunset. “I don’t understand at all.”
“Because, no matter how much it hurts me, or her.” Sunset hesitated slightly. “It’s what must be done.”
“That doesn’t answer the basic question Sunset, WHY?!” Twilight responded with frustration.
“I will explain when we get to the throne room.” Sunset replied.
Twilight grabbed Sunset. “No, you will explain right now, to me. She’s my mentor, and you are my best friend, I am not some sidelong third party. I will have an explanation.”
“There can only be one Princess of the sun.” Sunset stated solemnly.
Twilight said another for a moment as those words soaked into her. “Ok, but even if that’s true. You don’t want that position anymore.”
“Exactly.” Sunset nodded.
Twilight blinked in confusion “How does that make sen…” then slowly her eyes widened in realization. “So loser gets the Crown.”
Sunset nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have-” Sunset held a hoof over Twilight’s mouth.
“Because you don’t need to choose between us, And I didn’t want to interrupt our fun last night.”
Twilight nodded and the pair entered into the throne room.
“You know daughter.” Celestia looked out from her throne, her voice serious. “I used to expect the inevitability of this day. Do you truly feel yourself ready for this?”
“Glad to not disappoint you for once.” Sunset smiled before looking at up at Celestia. “Princess Celestia, Mother, I challenge you for my birthright. If I win, I am freed of my birthright, my claim as your heir is no more and never shall I be Princess of the Sun. If you win, I shall accept whatever schooling you feel is necessary to prepare me, and accept the crown when you feel I am ready.”
“I see…..” Celestia was taken aback, this was not the challenge she was expecting. “Luna will of course be my second, and who shall be yours?”
“I Will!” Twilight spoke up immediately without a second thought. Sunset and Celestia both looked at Twilight in shock. “Just because I don’t have to make a choice Sunset, Doesn’t mean I won’t.” Sunset nodded, and slowly Celestia nodded as well.
Luna walked in calmly carrying a cup of coffee, as everyone looked to her. “I heard the word duel, Sister never lets me have fun.” She stated plain as day while sipping a cup of coffee. “So, Sunset looks sort of exhausted, Perhaps we should convene this duel after lunch and we are all refreshed?”
“Um, Aunt Luna, Wouldn’t you not be refreshed?” Sunset asked.
“You have friendship, I have coffee.” Luna stated.
“I see…..” Sunset looked at Luna skeptically.
Sunset was flopped on her bed while Twilight laid on a couch reading a book, the purple princess looked up. “Do you really think you can beat her.”
“Not alone.” Sunset replied her eyes closed as she relaxed and recovered from this mornings exertion.
Twilight sighed. “Why did you do this Sunset? You say it must be done but, I just don’t understand why this is necessary.”
“Because it is my choice.” Sunset stated opening her eyes. “I could tell mother that I don’t want to be a Princess anymore, and she would listen. But she would still hope, still expect it that one day I’ll come around. I can’t live with that always hanging between us.”
“So you would have war between you hanging over you instead?” Twilight looked at Sunset sadly.
“That is something we can get over and move past, this isn’t.” Sunset said, she knew this was true, their relationship could survive the war but she now hoped she was right and their relationship couldn’t survive that hope, else she was going to do something very painful for nothing.
“What...do you mean?” Twilight asked inquisitively.
“Alicorns have greatly extended lifespans, maybe even immortal. But it’s outside your control, if you are killed or you run out of life, that’s not a thing you control. But I could live for an age, I could see the end of the world, If i but choose to, my death comes when I summon it.” Sunset explained somberly.
Twilight looked at Sunset, no words were spoken, she simply put the book down trotted over to the bed and held her friend. There they lay for several minutes, Sunset could hear twilight’s heartbeat, feel her soft feathers, she almost forgot the terrible thing she had convinced herself she had to do.
“Well on the bright side, I’ll never see you grow old and die.” Twilight finally spoke up and smiled.
“No, I’ll just have to watch your end.” Sunset replied grumpily, she was not amused by entertaining the thought of Twilight’s passing.
“Then why not...tie your going to me? Then, when you don’t have to watch me go, you can go with me.” Twilight replied affectionately as she nuzzled Sunset.
“Yeah, you’re right, I could do that.” Sunset smiled and nodded, it wracked her to use a mask like her mother, but to explain to Twilight that she would far more likely end up embroiled in other things, that even Twilight would tell her.to ‘finish some things’ and she would get caught up in more. Sunset banished those thoughts from her mind, and tried vainly to pull Twilight closer, they were here now, and that’s what mattered.
Lunch had passed uneventfully, Luna & Celestia, Sunset & Twilight, all had taken lunch in the royal quarters. Sunset walked into the garden head held high, by her side was her second, she looked around for her mother but could not find her.
“We beat them here, heh.” Twilight noticed.
“Yeah, I guess we did.” Sunset nodded.
“Well you beat one of us anyways.” Spoke luna’s voice from over a hedge, the two bounded over to see Luna creating a magic circle. “Someone must prepare the circle after all, even if in this fight it is just a formality.”
“You think they will break through?” Twilight asked inquisitively.
“I surmise the possibility, But more I expect neither to seek to do collateral damage.” Luna nodded to herself.
“So where is my mother?” Sunset stated. “I want to get this over with.”
Celestia flew down and landed. “Right here my daughter.”
“Are you ready?” Sunset sized up the larger Alicorn, steeling herself for the hardest fight of her life.
“Yes my daughter.” Celestia said with sad eyes.
Luna looked up. “The circle is complete, it is ready when you two are.”
“You don’t have to do this my daughter, you can back down. I won’t even consider it surrendering.” Celestia pleaded.
Sunset walked into the circle, she was petrified, she was about to fight her mother, the pony she had measured herself to her whole life. Now they would be at eachother’s throats, each fighting for the right to turn down the crown, she knew her mother would hold nothing back this was so important to her. For all her doubts, Sunset showed none of them on her face, it was covered in the confidence and courage that burned from every facet of her being. “If you don’t want to fight me so badly, you can surrender.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Celestia walked into the circle. “Equestria needs a guiding light, It needs someone to show it the way.”
“Let Twilight do it, Let cadence do it, Let Luna do it. The ponies are stronger than you think, Have faith in harmony.” Sunset glared at her mother.
Celestia smiled. “Oh my daughter, never lose that faith in others.” Celestia braced herself. “Before we do this? Why? Why do this? If you had told me didn’t want to become a princess...”
“BULLSHIT!” Sunset Screamed. “You would have still hoped, you might not have pressured me, but you would have hoped. That hope would have gnawed at our relationship, this is the only way to free me from the crown, to make you give up on the idea of me wearing it.”
“I see….” Celestia said. “So we truly have no choice, we will both give our all to defend the crown.”
Sunset did not respond the time for talk was over she unleashed a beam of Sunlight at her mother from her horn, when it nearly reached her mother she responded with her own beam. It was obvious what would happen, there was no contest whatsoever. Sunset played her and her mother’s game, raw power vs. raw power, and in that game she could never win alone. Her beam was beaten back slowly, until it impacted with her throwing her against the edge of the circle.
“My daughter, You have lost, you are beaten. You do not have the power to defeat me.” Celestia tried to respond in a calm tone.
Sunset coughed up blood and spoke. “You haven’t beaten me yet.” Sunset stood up on shaky legs, she was hardly beaten, she could not do this alone, that was true and she went in knowing that. But she was Sunset Shimmer, and she was never alone.
“Please my daughter, give up. Do not make me hurt you again for the sake of your pride.”
Sunset coughed up blood again and took tentative steps forwards. “Yes I am proud, and so are you. I admit that, I’m proud of becoming queen bitch of my school twice, I’m proud of my skills, talent & power, and I’m proud to be your daughter. And I am humbled that for all my failures and foolishness I have been given such a great gift.” Strands of rainbow light gathered around Sunset. “Even now when you have so many others to share the burden with you, you feel the need to stand alone, feel the need to have an heir who can stand alone. You refuse to share that burden with your friends. But everyone has failings, everyone has limits, Even a goddess.” The strands grew more numerous and began to envelop her. “I don’t feel the need to carry that burden by myself, That’s why I was able to cross the threshold you never could, to reach further than you could ever conceive was possible. I am never Alone.”