Sunset was formed from the flames before they disappeared in the night air. In front of her was Wing Beat's home, silent and boarded up like usual. It purposely appeared abandoned and completely deserted. With the amulet on her chest, she proudly opened the door and walked inside.
"Oh, Dayshine will be so surprised!" she loudly whispered upon entering.
The inside was just as dark as the outside. No light was present unless it weaved through the boarded windows. The moon was still bright overhead, so the little beams of moonlight did more than enough to make the inside visible for walking. It had been a long time since Sunset had entered this place, so she took her time looking about and seeing if anything changed. Not to her surprise, it all seemed exactly the same as she left it.
She then carefully tiptoed up the steps towards Dayshine's room. She knew all the places to step to not make a creaking noise on the wooden boards. She was stifling a giggle. Her promise was almost fulfilled and she had her amulet. One chapter in her life was complete and a new one was just starting.
"Dayshine!" she knocked on the room door. "Ya big sis is back!"
"Ya can come in," Wing Beat answered.
"What are you doing in here?" Sunset asked and opened the door.
Wing Beat was sitting at the foot of the bed, his present scowl looked right at the thief. Sunset instantly lost her confidence when she saw his face. He did not take note of the amulet, his face remained as stone cold as usual. Her eyes than went to the head of the bed where Dayshine was lying down, quiet and not moving. Her head was facing straight up to the ceiling and her eyes were closed. Susnet took another hesitant step inside the room.
"She gave up. She was coughing up Tartarus when I got back," Wing Beat spoke without emotion. "I told her I was gonna get her to help, but she said no. She said she was ready and that she would be helping you by going away. I told her that you was gonna help her, to save her. She said ya was lying. She believed what Celestia told her and she thought ya was jus' saying stuff like that to keep some hope in her. Then she went."
"She didn't think I could do it?" Sunset asked, stunned.
"Yup. Guess she rather go and not see her sister forget her once again. Maybe that amulet could have saved her, but ya can't bring back the dead."
Instead of going to her sister's side, Sunset sat right in the middle of the room. Her eyes sort of hung right over Dayshine's body but never directly looked at her. Her jaw hung slightly agape and she only breathed through her mouth. The most animated part of her were the red wisps of magic from her eyes, growing slightly larger each passing moment. There was no blinking, there was no speaking. Finally Wing Beat shifted his weight and cocked his deformed head.
"Ya not crying, lass," he remarked plainly.
"What was she thinking?" Sunset could only say. "What was she thinking?"
"Not sure," he shrugged.
"Oh shut it, you old geezer," Sunset snapped. "I just....I'm shocked, that's all. How long has she been dead?"
"About fifteen minutes," he replied.
Sunset's whole body twitched at this. "Damn! I...I could have saved her if I didn't go get this stupid jacket!" she screamed. "Wasted my time! Wasted so much! The one thing I was about to get right, I still screwed up."
"She could be saved if ya allowed me to take her to get care!" he yelled.
"Shut it! If she was fine and going about when Celestia went here, then she would have died anyway. The hospitals don't have the gear and stuff to help this sort of stuff, only magic! I am now the most powerful unicorn in Equestria! I could have saved her, now this amulet is worthless to me! Right now, I don't really feel like making a name for myself.
"Well, her death is on your hooves. I said that when ya was imprisoned and I'll still say that."
"When will you take any blame? Huh?" Sunset yelled, her horn glowing. "All you do is push blame on others. No wonder Celestia never honored your dumb flank! Ya probably cried to those idiot griffins! They thought it was funny when they poked you with a spoon. That's why you survived, isn't it? Ya gave them the information they wanted when they flicked you on you side, huh? I'm guessing it was your buds' faults for getting caught too? You were the head of the squad and they are still the ones at fault, am I right? Ya jus' sit about and pass on blame to society or the princess. Even now, when you should share just as much blame as me for Dayshine's death, you still pass it on. Give me a break!"
"How dare you!" he shout back. "You have no idea what I went through."
"Well, whatever did happen, it's no excuse for this! Wing Beat, we did this! We did all this! How...How can I go about like this? I got my own little sister killed due to my own negligence!" her lips quivered and tears started to fall out. "Celestia was right about me! I'm just a waste of magical talent. Why should I live and she die?"
"I hear the princess!" Wing Beat jumped. "Maybe ya should ask her yourself."
"Ya not leaving this!" Sunset yelled at him.
"Why not? Sunset, this is a terrible day, we need to just move on."
"Maybe...but I'll be the one to send you off!"
"What?"
Sunset suddenly grabbed his whole body in her enhanced magic and threw him through a boarded window and out of the home. She didn't wait to hear him hit the ground outside and teleported to the front of the house. Celestia was there also, keeping some feet away from the entrance and remaining cautious while Sunset was there. The two looked at each other with no real emotion. Sunset had no desire to speak and so Celestia was the first to break the silence.
"Sunset, she has passed, hasn't she?" the princess asked solemnly.
"Yeah..." was the quiet response.
"I'm sorry. I felt this was going to happen. However, I still do not have any planned words for it. All I can say is that your quest is over, my dear Sunset, and it's time to look to a new promise."
"Naw, I don't really care about that," the thief swallowed. "I messed up. I...I'm just a waste."
"Be a waste no longer, child."
"I'm not sure if I can..."
Celestia took a step forward. "Nonsense! You can be whatever you dream to be. You simply need to try. That amulet is slowly corrupting you, my dear, and you are the only one that can remove it. Do not believe whatever you are thinking is true. The Alicorn Amulet clouds pony minds and replace them with worthless ambitions and irrational beliefs. Please take it off before you come to any conclusion."
Sunset looked down at the amulet. Its red glow helped illuminate the darkness around them. She was considering Celestia's words. Her eye twitched once again and one hoof slid itself over the glowing magical artifact. The red wisps from her eyes grew a little longer and she started to slowly shake her head from side to side. The princess took another step towards the young mare, making the latter step back with caution. She continued to shake her head.
"I worked so hard for this," she said finally.
"It was not worth the effort, Sunset."
"It could still be!" she grew louder.
"No, it never will be."
Sunset gulped. "I...I can fix this. I can start again. You know, right? I jus' need to move on. I...I need to forget what's happened. I've lost everything. I don't deserve any second chance!" her breathing became shallow. "I'm finished! Why, why did this happen? I'm such an idiot! An idiot! An idiot!"
"Sunset, please calm down."
"Start again! Forget everything! No, don't start! Just end and be done!"
Sunset turned around in sudden anger. Her horn glowed bright with red magic and an aura swept over the small house. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter until suddenly, the house caught on crimson fire. The flames stretched towards the sky as the intense fire engulfed the whole house instantly. Celestia's eyes widened as she watched the house burn down with frightening quickness. Pops and roars came from the red flames and nothing was to be salvaged from the ruined home.
"Sunset! Why did you do that?" the princess demanded.
"Forget it all!" she screamed.
"You are distraught! Please listen and calm down. We can get through this, my student. We can make it through this together," Celestia reassured her and placed her delicate hoof on the other's shoulder.
"Get away!" Sunset jumped away and fired a massive ball of flames at the princess, who quickly redirected it with a quick shield spell.
Sunset fired again and again. Celestia teleported away from the attacks as the enhanced magic was too hard on her shields. Sunset grabbed Celestia in her magical grip and threw her into a nearby structure. The princess bounced right back up from the attack and retaliated by taking Sunset and slamming her right into the ground.
"Get some sense, Sunset! I'm giving you this chance to see logic! I won't hesitate to beat the logic into you."
No reply came from the thief. Instead, with tears coming from her eyes, she teleported away and out of sight. Celestia paused and looked about. Where did she go? She looked up at the roofs, she looked in front, and she looked in back. Besides the still burning home, it was like Sunset was never there. With heart fell when she realized Sunset had fled the skirmish.
"Sunset!" she called out desperately. "Sunset! "Sunset Shimmer!"
"I'm finished!"
Sunset stumbled over a step and fell down into a dark alley. The cuts on her nose and leg stung, making her visibly wince. The alley, with its tall buildings flanking either side, blocked all moonlight, making it almost too dark to see. The little lanterns that were neglected in these parts of Canterlot, flickered pathetically, giving only light to the stands they stood on. Sunset got up and ran farther and farther from her troubles.
"What have I done?"
She fell again and this time remained sitting in a small puddle on the cracked cobblestone. Her eyes were drawn to the glow of the amulet. That disgusting, useless amulet. She took it with her hooves and ripped it off her chest. She lost her breath for one quick moment as the wisps of red magic faded away and she now felt fully awake for the first time.
"Piece of garbage," she snarled at it. "You caused this! You caused this! If I didn't think you were worth the effort, I would have stayed with Dayshine! A waste of my time!"
She threw it down in anger. It clanged loudly as it hit the stone ground. It no longer glowed, but instead simply sat there in its pitiful state, completely harmless without a master to wield its power. The thief threw her head back and cursed at the sky. The words from her lips were not even loud enough to create echoes off the looming black walls.
"Was it my fault?" she asked herself. "Do I really deserve this? Maybe. Yeah. Just think, ya idiot, you can make this work. It's time to start over, make a new life."
With not much to look at, she kept her eyes towards the sky. Her heart still raced with the action from moments ago. "Celestia helped cause all this. She did. She probably holds herself blameless. All she does is lie. I don't lie as much as she does."
She lowered her head and placed a bloodied hoof to her chin. "Yeah, she did hold me prisoner. She did try to make me make friends. She had every opportunity to make me an alicorn and what did she do? Reject it of course. There's got to be something for me to do. I've fallen so many times and gotten back up, why should I stay down now? This piece of garbage amulet is useless. Maybe I can get something for it."
She forced herself up and picked it up in her magic. Her eyes went up and down the alley. When she gained her bearings, she started to walk down the stairs to the lower levels of the alley. The lack of good lanterns and the blocked moonlight made her use her magic to see her path.
"Wing Beat knows a guy who takes artifacts. He should be right down here..." she said.
She stopped in front of a store with a peculiar sign. Knowing this was the place, she opened the door and walked in. Only a couple candles lit the inside, leaving the dark parts shrouded in both shadows and mystery. Skulls and other odd items were placed on the edges of the small lit circles. The little bell that rung when she opened the door alerted the still awake owner.
"Who's there?" he asked deviously.
"Sunset Shimmer, you know, Wing Beat's girl," she answered.
"Aw yes!" he revealed himself from a back room. He wore a small hat and a braided mane. His one-sided smile said nothing but bad news. He slithered around some objects and reached the counter of the store. His slimy hooves propped themselves on the old wood and his eyes twinkled at her with cleverness.
"Long time, no see, my darling," he chuckled. "What brings you here?"
"This," she spoke as she placed the amulet in front of him.
"What?" he gasped. "This...this is the Alicorn Amulet! How did you get it?"
"You don't want to know."
"Hmph! I was ready for a story, my darling," he huffed. "Well then, strictly business tonight, hmm? How much are you asking for it?"
"Hundred bits," she shrugged.
"You drive a hard bargain-wait what?" he blinked. "Sunset, my darling, you have a priceless artifact in your hooves. You can't just give it away at a hundred bits. What has Wing Beat taught you?"
"I really don't care what Wing Beat taught me!" she snarled. "Now take it and give me my money or I'll send you to Tartarus and just take it!"
"Alright! Alright!" he took a bag of bits and tossed it to her. "Take it!"
"Thanks," she smiled. "Feel sorry for the pony who buys it."
She then simply walked out of the store with her new bits. No longer having to worry about the artifact, she sighed in relief. That thing was no longer going to hurt her and she was glad about that. With the jingle of the bits, she made her way down the alley once more.
"Maybe my life isn't a complete failure," she wondered. "I still got my ambition, right? Maybe I've been doing all this the wrong way. Maybe I don't need Wing Beat, maybe Dayshine dying is opening a new door for me. By the stars, I sound horrible saying that. Well, that doesn't mean it's not true," she looked down at her jacket. "Gotta move on, right? There's gotta be something for me in life, right? Some dream I haven't dreamed about?"
She stopped and looked towards the palace. From one small opening in the line of buildings, she could only see the highest spires of the princess' home. It was then that it hit her. Her eyes widened as she remembered. Her breath was taken away in a short gasp.
"The mirror!" she loudly whispered. "Celestia has hid that thing for a reason. Maybe that's where I belong, wherever the mirror takes me. I could start again. I could forget all this and move on. I can't live with Celestia, I can't live with any remembrance of this terrible night. I should go to the mirror and go where it tells me to! Maybe I can still become an alicorn, but not through Celestia!"
She then felt her jacket once more. "Well...maybe I do need something to remember my mistakes by..."