When the Sun Sets

by Deep

Revenge Heals All Wounds

They say time heals all wounds, but Twilight knew that to be a lie.

She was sitting at her dinner table, eating beside her parents. Hours had passed since Celestia had expelled her, but her heart ached as if she was in the throne room all over again. She could still hear Celestia’s vindictive, hate-filled words, and see her glare and face full of disappointment. Memories of her failure played on loop inside of her head, reminding her of the pony she had chosen to become, the type of pony who deserved to be expelled.

Her mother tried her best to keep some conversation going, mostly talking about how Shining Armor wanted to enter the Royal Guard, and how he had a far too obvious crush on their former foalsitter, Cadance. Twilight’s father remained silent through the dinner, other than the times he needed to ask his wife for more food.

Twilight remained silent as well for the most part, only giving one-word responses to her mother whenever an attempt at a conversation came up. She had no appetite, but ate the dinner out of respect for her mom. She also wanted to force a smile or at least a neutral expression for her parents, but she didn’t have the strength to do so. Her disappointment and regret was painted on her face, and a part of her knew that it would always be. Deep down, she wanted to ask her parents if they could all move out of Canterlot, just so she could be as far away from the royal palace as possible. She didn’t mind moving to some faraway, backwater town and living in obscurity. That would be better than ever having to show her face again.

“So, Twilight, dear,” her mother said, so obviously forcing a smile. “What would you like for dessert?”

Twilight hung her head in an attempt to hide her face. “Nothing,” she said in a whimper.

“What was that, dear?”

“Nothing.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I said nothing!” Twilight yelled. “Why are you so nice to me? You should be yelling at me for being so dumb. I had one chance--the biggest chance anypony could ever want--and I blew it.”

“Twi, we can talk about this later--”

“No! Yell at me. Hit me. Just, please, don’t sit there and try to pretend everything is normal.”

“Then I will,” her father said. “Why? That is all I want to know. Why didn’t you tell the Princess immediately when you found out what your classmate was doing? Instead, you became no better than this Sunset Shimmer. That is not the Twilight Sparkle I raised.”

“Please,” her mom said, caressing her husband’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him, “we can talk about this some other time.”

“No, Mom… Dad deserves to know.” Twilight kept her head hanging. She didn’t want her parents to see the regret engraved on her face. “I knew the right thing to do was to alert Princess Celestia, but at that same time, I was determined not to repeat the mistakes I made in magic kindergarten.”

“Mistakes?” her mom said, taken aback. “But you learned so much there.”

“Mom, do you have any idea how the other students treated me? No, how could you? Every time I’d bring it up, you’d act as if everything was alright, just like you are doing now. I felt worse than nothing, and every time I’d ask the instructors for help, they would tell me that I am simply overreacting, as if that was somehow supposed to ease the pain.”

Her mother hung her head.

“I wanted to stand up to my bully this time.” Twilight raised her head, her frown replaced by a scowl. “And I did. I have no regrets about what I did.”

Twilight’s statement left her parents at a loss for words. Her father simply shook his head and glared at his daughter, while her mother tried her best to force a half-smile, or, at least, her attempt at a half-smile.

“Perhaps it’s not too late to change Princess Celestia’s mind,” her mother said, mumbling out the words.

“Too late,” Twilight’s father said. “I’m sure Twi knows that as well.”

“But what about her future? And all that magical potential the princess was talking about--”

“End of discussion.”

“No, I will not end this discussion like this!”

As Twilight’s parents began to argue, all she could do was sigh and hang her head once more. There was nothing left for her to say. Nothing left she could do that would fix her situation.

The arguing continued until a burst of magic shot through the room, freezing everything inside and her parents as well. Everything was frozen in time, except for herself. Twilight’s heart sank from shock, but before she could react, Sunset Shimmer sprinted into the home, grabbed her, and magically dragged her to the street outside. Sunset continued taking Twilight along with her until they were several blocks away and she had to stop to take her breath. She let go of her magical hold, freeing Twilight.

“Are you crazy!” Twilight yelled, stomping toward Sunset.

“W-we don’t have much time,” Sunset said, still catching her breath.

“No, we actually have all the time in the world.” Twilight grabbed Sunset, not with magic, but with her hooves. She pushed her against the nearby wall, and used her magic to amplify her strength. “It’s not as if I have any assignments due tomorrow night, or as if I have an early meeting to shadow alongside Princess Celestia. So time is the one thing I do have.” She powered up her horn and began to tie a magical noose around Sunset’s throat. After a moment to accept that this was the pony she had chosen to become, she began to choke the life out of Sunset with all her might.

“N-No… please…” Sunset’s face turned blue as she struggled to breathe.

“An eye for an eye. Quite the irrational approach to justice, if I’m being honest,” Twilight said, cracking a smile. “But it does feel quite fulfilling.”

“I’m h-here…. To save you…”

Twilight let go of her magical hold, dropping Sunset to the ground. “No need to lie. I wasn’t going to kill you. Even with the Alicorn Amulet, I was only going to torture you for a night at most. I’m not strong like you. I’m a weakling, but at least I can look at myself in the mirror.”

Sunset needed a moment to catch her breath before she stumbled to her feet. “I’m not lying. There’s an assassin coming after you. The best in the business.”

Twilight froze. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Sunset nodded, trembling with fear.

“And I’m willing to bet that you’re the one who sent them here.” Twilight’s expression turned into a glare.

“You have to forgive me--”

“Why? Why do I always have to be the one forgiving?” Twilight began walking toward Sunset, causing her to step backward. “Why do I always have to be the bigger pony? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t choke you to death right here and now.” She powered her horn again, illuminating the block with a purple glow.

“Because I’m the only one who knows how to beat him. The assassin. I know him; he’s not going to stop now, even if I tell him to. Our only chance is to fight back.”

“No. Your only chance is to fight back. I’m going to the police. They’ll protect my family and I.”

As Twilight turned around, prepared to walk back to her home, Sunset sprinted in front of her to block her path. “You still don’t get it. I’ll be fine. The assassin is after you, not even your family. He’ll kill anypony in his way to get you. Don’t you see? I’m willing to put my life on the line to save you--”

“From the assassin you hired.”

Sunset let out a growl. “Yes, I know. I screwed up. I always screw up. But you don’t. And you’re not a weakling. I’ve heard about what you did to get into Celestia’s school. You’re stronger than you know, stronger than I’ll probably ever be. That’s why you can’t go back home, because if you do, you’ll only be getting your parents killed. And if you get the police involved, you’ll get them killed too. Everypony this guy’s been sent to kill has contacted the police, and they still died. Me and you can beat him, though.”

Twilight began to shake with anger. “What kind of a pony are you? You send a killer like this after me, and expect me to thank you for your help?”

“After this is done, you never have to see me again. I promise. I’ll put myself in jail for this. Please, just come with me. I could never live with myself if you died because of me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m confident I’ll never see you again.” Twilight powered her horn, using its magic to slam Sunset to the concrete ground. Sunset struggled to try to move, but was unable to. With her enemy pinned, Twilight readied herself to shoot a magical attack and end her once and for all. But as she stared into her enemy’s eyes--her shaking eyes filled with regret--Twilight saw herself in Sunset. She let go of her, but not before letting out a loud growl. “Why am I this weak? Fine, I’ll work with you, but after this, you’re going to jail.”

“Promise.”

“Forever.”

Sunset contemplated this fate for a moment, but in the end, she hung her head and said, “It’s only fair.”

“In that case, we have a deal,” Twilight said, her glare unwavering.

Sunset needed another moment to come to terms with what she’d agree to. When she had gathered enough courage to continue, she raised her head, her expression fierce. “Follow me.”

Sunset began leading the way toward the outer edges of the city, where Canterlot’s fabulous homes and shopping centers gave way to a side of Equestria Twilight had never seen before. Blocks of foreclosed homes stood as far as the eye could see. Every building in sight was empty and dilapidated, and most were boarded-up. The only signs of life came from the unkept parks, which were filled with the homeless, and from the nearby blocks, where animals from the plains outside of Canterlot could be seen creeping through the lonely streets.

As tough as she fancied herself to be, Twilight began to tremble from the howling and purring of the animals, and from the neverending coughing and moaning of the homeless. “Where are we?”

“Home,” Sunset said, leading the way to one of the many abandoned houses. She used a magical attack to disintegrate a board-up window, after which she jumped inside and then pulled Twilight in as well. “Or, at least, it was before Princess Celestia accepted me into her school.”

“Oh, so you’re from Canterlot too?” Twilight said, eyeing the countless spider webs, scurrying rats, and splintered walls inside the home.

“No, I’m not,” Sunset whispered, shining a magical glow to illuminate the area. She scanned the house with one-hundred percent focus. “This is where I used to sleep after I ran away from my mom. For a few months, at least, until a group of homeless ponies forced me out.”

“You used to be homeless?”

Sunset continued scanning the area. “We seem to be alone. Perfect. He’s probably following us, so it’s just a matter of time before our presence lures him here.”

“How long were you on your own?”

“Why do you care? Besides, being homeless was a lot better than living with my mom.”

Twilight grew a frown. “I couldn’t imagine not having a home. Or not being on good terms with my parents. I know they’re disappointed in me right now, but it helps reminding myself that they still love me. Even if that love is harder right now, at least it’s still there.”

Sunset stopped and turned to Twilight, her eyes shaking with rage. “You really don’t know when to shut up, do you? Of course somepony like you couldn’t imagine being me, because you know in the bottom of your heart that you’ll never have to be me. All you’ve ever known is privilege, and if that wasn’t enough, there’s also that super special hidden power of yours. I’m willing to bet that Princess Celestia will take you in again one day, but she’ll never give me another chance. Because no matter how much somepony like me pretends otherwise, you’re special, and I’m not. And no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to change that.”

Sunset’s eyes cracked red with anger, matched by the fury causing her to stomp the floor as she stepped toward Twilight. “I’ll never be able to prove my mom wrong, because she’s right. I’m worthless.”

“Sunset, please, don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re not worthless--”

“No need to make me feel better.” The vitriol seeped out from Sunset with every word she spoke. “Because when we’re done with this, I’ll be in jail, or worse, back home with my mom. And you’ll be back in your fancy home with actual parents.”

Twilight hung her head as she struggled to think of what to say. Moments passed, but she was left without any response, because she realized that it didn’t matter what she said. Sunset was right.

The sound of faint hoofsteps came from upstairs, causing the creaking of wood to reverberate throughout the house.

“He’s here,” Sunset said. “Quick, follow me to the basement.” She led Twilight down into the cellar, where the howling of dogs reverberated throughout the floor. Sunset illuminated the basement using her horn. The room was small--only forty feet at most in width and length--but was packed with piles of boxes, machines Twilight couldn’t recognize, and a clutter of countless household items. But those weren’t what caught Twilight’s attention. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the pack of wild dogs living in the basement. The feral creatures were eying her, their mouths opened and sharp teeth revealed.

As Twilight froze from fear, Sunset ran to the dogs and began to pet them, causing them to play back. “They’re friends,” Sunset said, smiling from the dogs’ playfulness. “I’d come back here often when I was Princess Celestia’s student, so I grew up with them, in a way.”

Despite her trembling, Twilight forced herself to approach the dogs and pet them. When she did, they licked her, causing her to giggle.

“Follow me,” Sunset said, leading Twilight into the pile of trash. She entered inside a metal machine which resembled an old boiler, and Twilight followed. From inside, they could peek through the small cracks in the metal to see the remainder of the basement. “Here’s the plan,” she whispered. “When he comes down, we’re going to attack him with everything we can. Use your magic to throw whatever you can pick up, but do not try to control him with your magic.”

“Why not?”

“He has a weird ability to know exactly where you are if you do that. But that doesn’t seem to work if you use your magic to control and throw other objects.”

“You sure do seem to know a lot of this assassin.”

“He was a friend I made while homeless.” Regret consumed Sunset, causing her confident demeanor to break down. “More than a friend, actually. We dated for a bit. But, like always, I messed it up.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t mess it up by becoming an assassin.”

Sunset let out a laugh. “Morality always was a mystery to me.”

The sound of hoofsteps making their way down the staircase caused the two fillies to freeze. Making sure to hide their bodies within the machine, they peeked through the nearest cracks in the metal to confirm that somepony was making their way down the steps, camouflaged within the shadows of the room. The dogs began to bark with viciousness, but that did nothing to stop the assassin’s descent. Twilight peered into the darkness to make out the killer as best as she could. She could see that he was no bigger than a colt and had neither a pair of wings nor a horn. His face was covered by a metal mask, matching the spiky metal armor protecting most of his body. His eyes glowed an ominous lime-green light, illuminating the room with a sinister acidic hue.

As the dogs barked louder, and the assassin touched down on the basement floor, Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen the mask in a history book before. However, as she continued to ponder, she noticed something far more unnerving. Now that he was closer and thus more visible, she could see that he was floating.

“S-Sunset,” Twilight whispered, trembling. “You do know how to beat him, right?”

“Nope.” Sunset smiled with confidence. She began powering up her horn, but only so much that she emitted no more than a faint glow.

The dogs charged at the assassin and then leaped forward to attack him. But right when they should have made contact with him, he vanished and reappeared inches to his left, causing the dogs to fall to the floor. Twilight’s heart sank as she tried to comprehend what he’d done. Had he teleported? No, he couldn’t have, since he didn’t have a horn. The dogs charged at him again, but he kept on disappearing and then reappearing slightly to the side every time. It was as if the dogs were merely chasing a shadow of the assassin.

As Twilight’s face turned pale, Sunset’s grin grew and she used her magic to pick up various metal items from the piles of trash. As the assassin was busy evading the dogs, she launched the items at him in a hailstorm of metal. “Twilight, follow my lead,” she whispered.

The assassin evaded the onslaught of metal, but it was only a few seconds until one of the items--a rusty wrench--struck his head. The impact caused him to let out a loud growl and collapsed him to the ground, where the dogs descended upon him. As the canines used their teeth to gnaw into his armor, Sunset kept launching more metal at him. Twilight used her magic to pick up several items--the heaviest she could grab on to--and launched them at the assassin.

“Careful. Don’t hit the dogs,” Sunset whispered. “Aim for his head.”

The assassin let out another growl, this time clear enough for Twilight to confirm that he was around her age or only a few years older. Scared from the thought of somepony this young being this formidable, she used every bit of magical strength she had to hurl cold metal at his head. The sound of the trash impacting the assassin’s mask reverberated throughout the basement, mixing with the noise of the dogs’ endless attack. Twilight began to gain hope that she would survive the night, but as quickly as it came, the assassin disappeared and then reappeared only a few feet from the boiler she was hiding in.

Her heart pounding, Twilight froze, leaving Sunset as the only one continuing the attack. The dogs chased after the assassin again, but midway to his position, they exploded into a mass of blood and guts. Silence took over the room, leaving the sound of Twilight’s racing heart as the only noise left.

Sunset froze as well, but after seeing how scared her teammate was, she grabbed her hoof to caress her. The two fillies glanced at one another, and Sunset gave a single nod, after which she powered up her horn once again. This caused a dull magical glow, one that caught the assassin’s attention. In a split-second, he reappeared inches from the boiler, so close that Twilight lost herself in the acidic glow shining from his eyes. She was hypnotized by a mixture of fear and fascination.

“Now! Run!” Sunset yelled. Holding on to Twilight, she sprinted out of the boiler, in the opposite direction of the assassin. The assassin turned to them as they dashed toward the entrance to a narrow tunnel at the end of the room. He disappeared, the same time the boiler exploded, turning half of the basement into a raging inferno. The assassin reappeared in mid-air, being launched at a wall from the explosion. The spreading fires consumed him, and he disappeared within the flames. “Quickly, jump inside.”

Sunset let Twilight jump into the tunnel first, and she followed. The tunnel was so small that they had to force their way through like a worm burrowing through compact dirt. “Keep going,” Sunset said. “He’ll be back. He can’t follow us here, though.”

Twilight used her magic to propel herself forward faster, but it was still only at a crawl’s pace. “How is he doing this?”

“I’ll explain outside.”

Twilight continued for what was only about one minute, but felt like several, until she exited into one of the neighborhood’s many parks. More packs of wild dogs lived here and began eyeing her. Several groups of homeless ponies also lived here in tent cities or around fires set on piles of trash. When Sunset exited the tunnel, she powered her horn, but Twilight couldn’t figure out what she was using her magic on.

“Keep running. Into the park,” Sunset said, leading the way.

As Twilight followed into the park, she glanced back at the house, where she could see the assassin entering the backyard. His mask and armor were blackened by the flames which were consuming the house, but his gaze was unwavering and directed straight at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ve prepared,” Sunset said with a smirk, still running forward.

Before the assassin could disappear, a log tied to one of the yard’s trees accelerated toward him, swinging like a pendulum. The assassin disappeared just in time and dodged the attack, but when he reappeared, the ground erupted in an explosion of fireworks. The sound of this echoed throughout the night sky for blocks, and the light caught the attention of the entire neighborhood.

“Keep running. They’re distracted.” Sunset led the way, speeding into a full-out sprint. She continued for a half-mile until they entered a landfill. There, the two fillies caught their breath.

“Start explaining. Now,” Twilight said, shooting Sunset a scowl.

“What part do you want first? The part where I dated him? Or when we broke up?” Sunset let out a laugh.

“All of it. I don’t care where you start.”

Done catching her breath, Sunset began scanning the landfill. It was empty, other than for a few stray cats. “Alright, then. He’s a pegasus.”

“In what world?”

Sunset laughed again. “Look at you, you can be funny. And here I thought you couldn’t. He flaps his wings so fast that you can’t see them. Not the best for long-duration flight, but it lets him fly so fast in bursts that it looks like he’s teleporting.”

Twilight paused, trying to make sense of what she’d seen of the assassin with this new information. “But how did he kill those dogs--”

“Tell me, what do you think would happen if a pony flew that fast right through you?”

Twilight’s heart sank.

“That’s enough for now. We have to set up a defense. Luckily, I’m pretty familiar with this landfill.” Sunset began walking deeper into the landfill, and Twilight followed. “I lived here after I was kicked out of that house. I actually met him here.” She grew a smile as the memories of her days here came flooding back to her.

Twilight glanced around the area. The thought of living in such a disgusting place caused her to frown. “How can you smile like that? I know I can never relate to what you went through, but it’s nothing to smile about. Nopony should have to live in a place like this.”

Sunset gave Twilight a glare. “Says you. Coming back here reminds me of how far I’ve come, and there’s nothing sweeter than that. Or, at least it did… before Princess Celestia expelled me. No more questions. Not like they’ll change anything.” She continued walking until she reached a group of trash piles that looked no different than the others, to Twilight, at least.

“We’re going to crush him,” Sunset said, eyeing the mountainous piles with a grin. “All we have to do is get him to stand in this general area, and we can collapse all this trash right on top of him. His armor is tough, but everything has a limit.” She turned to Twilight. “I’ll be the bait.”

“No! We have a higher likelihood of success taking him on together.” Twilight’s worry continued until she remembered that this situation was Sunset’s in the first place. Nopony in their right mind would be worrying about Sunset after everything she’d done. “Never mind, we’ll go with your idea. What do you need me to do?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow from Twilight’s sudden change in behavior. “You just hide and be ready to push the pile to your left when he’s here. It’ll create a domino effect, crushing him beneath all of these piles. I don’t have any booby traps like I did in the house, but this should be enough.”

“And if it’s not?”

Sunset took a deep breath, growing a frown. “Then I kill him. I’m going to jail anyway, aren’t I? You sure you’ll have the magic to push this pile?”

As Twilight nodded, her heart sank from how casually Sunset had said the word--kill.

She began to hear hoofsteps approaching from the direction of the park, and so she sprinted behind the nearest trash pile, prepared to strike. Sunset walked toward the park, ready to greet the assassin with a brave face. Twilight peered past the edge of the pile to see that the assassin was only a block or two away from them, but was walking at a snail’s pace. Twilight began to wonder why he wasn’t flying toward them at lightning speed, but then remembered that Sunset had said that he could use his super speed for short bursts. Peering through the darkness, she could see his wings. They were folded on the side of his body. She didn’t recall seeing them folded like this in the basement. From this piece of information, she guessed that he had to first begin using his wings--flapping them so fast that they appeared invisible--before he could use his super speed. She wondered if he needed time before he could reach this state. Perhaps there was a lag time she could exploit for an attack?

Sunset created a magical force field around herself as she met the assassin. They both stopped, standing only a few feet from one another. Despite Sunset’s confident facade, Twilight could sense that her magic wouldn’t last long maintaining this shield. Perhaps a few minutes at most? And that didn’t account for damage from the assassin’s attacks.

“Been a while,” Sunset said to the assassin, looking fierce.

The assassin stood still, his ominous lime-green gaze illuminating the suppressed fear engraved on Sunset’s face. Sunset began walking backward, her gaze focused on the assassin and any possible movement he could make. Twilight powered up her horn, ready to help if she needed to.

The assassin kept his gaze focused back on Sunset and adjusted his position so he was perfectly in line with her. When he was done, his wings disappeared, and his body did as well soon after.

He reappeared slamming into Sunset’s shield, launching her into a trash pile. The impact echoed throughout the landfill, scaring away the many nearby cats and rats. Sunset grit her teeth as she picked herself up from the garbage. Her shield was cracked in many places, and it was dimmer now than before the impact.

“I know that’s not the best you got. The breakup hurt more,” Sunset said as she began walking backward again. The fear in her face was obvious now. She knew she couldn’t take another hit.

As Twilight stayed ready, she couldn’t help but think about how the assassin had first adjusted his body to be perfectly in line with Sunset’s before attacking. As Sunset neared the spot where the trap could be sprung, the assassin adjusted his body to be in line with her again. Before he could disappear, Twilight used her magic to grab him. Despite his low bodyweight, controlling him was strenuous due to his rapidly flapping wings. Before he could break free, she quickly fired a magical beam at his mask, launching him backward into the nearest trash pile. When he struck the garbage, he let out a loud growl, and he began trying to stumble back to his hooves, only to fall back down each time.

“He needs to adjust his body before attacking. That’s when he can hurt him!” Twilight yelled.

Sunset grew a smirk. “See, this is why everypony needs a pony like you.”

The assassin flew to his hooves a moment later, after which he turned in Twilight’s direction. She remembered how Sunset had said that using magic on him directly would alert him to your location. Realizing that she had no choice but to defend herself now, Twilight created a shield of her own and prepared to fight.

The assassin caught sight of Twilight and shifted his body to be in line with her. But before he could disappear, Sunset shot a beam at his mask, shattering one of his eyes. He quickly oriented herself after the attack and shifted his body toward Sunset, only for Twilight to fire another beam at him, this time at what little of his neck was revealed between his mask and body armor. This caused him to let out a loud scream from pain, a moment of weakness Sunset exploited to ram into him with her shield.

This impact slammed the assassin to the ground, where shards of glass scratched what little of his hooves were revealed. Sunset jumped on top of him, trapping his hooves beneath her bodyweight. Twilight used her magic to control his body, buying Sunset time to charge a strong magical attack. “Good thinking,” Sunset said. She was smiling, not with her usual bravado or fake confidence, but with genuine camaraderie.

Twilight smiled like this as well. “I can only control him for a couple of more seconds.”

“That’s all I need. Looks like we don’t need Plan A after all.”

Sunset’s horn shined with a blinding magical glow as she charged her attack to its limit. With a smile, she prepared to unleash it, only for Twilight’s hold on the assassin to give out. He broke free from Sunset’s grip, throwing her to the ground. Before she could pick herself up, he used his super speed to slam into her, shattering her magical shield into bits.

The impact knocked Sunset unconscious, and the assassin turned his attention to Twilight. Twi’s heart sank, and to make matters worse, she was magically exhausted from holding him down. Nonetheless, she put on a brave face and readied for battle.

She went over her options in her head. She could dodge, but there was no way she could keep that up due to his burst ability. She could wait for Sunset to wake up, but there was no guarantee that would be anytime soon. Her only chance was to fire a magical attack, meaning she had to wait for him to adjust his body toward her.

She waited until he began adjusting his body, and then fired. Except this time, the assassin waited for the attack, blocked it using his armor, and then disappeared. When he reappeared, he was ramming into her shield, causing it to shatter. The impact launched her backward to the ground. Her shield began to break apart, and within seconds, she was defenseless. The assassin stood over her, eyeing her down like a predator ready to devour his prey.

“What a waste,” he said. “You were actually cute.”

Twilight shut her eyes, ready for the worst. What she heard next was the assassin’s scream. When she reopened her eyes, she saw that the assassin was lying on the ground, reeling in pain. Sunset was awake, and her horn was giving off smoke, as if she’d just fired a powerful magical attack. “Plan A. Now!” Sunset yelled, using her magic to pull the assassin toward her.

“But you’ll be crushed!”

“My life's already over. Just do it!”

Twilight began using every bit of magic she had left to hurl the pile of trash beside them to the ground. As the pile began to sway from the force of her pull, the assassin jumped to his hooves and let out a growl filled with murderous intent. With one forceful burst of magic, Twilight pulled the pile down. As the tons of garbage rained on Sunset and the assassin, the other piles of trash began tumbling down as well. Within a moment, a hailstorm of scrap metal and shards of glass began to rain down. Twilight used what little magic she had left to create a shield and sprinted away from the downpour.

A sea of trash consumed the area, swallowing Sunset and the assassin. Her heart racing, Twilight ran back to the trash and began searching for Sunset. “Sunset! Sunset!”

She began to pant from worry. “Sunset!”

Minutes passed, but Sunset never emerged. Consumed by grief, Twilight hung her head and slammed the ground. Despite her feelings of hatred for Sunset, she didn’t want this fate to befall her. Especially not now, after Twilight had caught a glimpse of what Sunset’s childhood was like.

As Twilight lost herself in sadness, some of the trash began to move, and Sunset emerged from beneath it, surrounded by a magical shield. Revujinated by glee, Twilight sprinted to Sunset and helped her get up to her hooves. The two hugged and let out a loud squee to celebrate their victory. Both of their shields disappeared as their magic ran out, but they didn’t worry, since the day had been won.

“You’re such a softie, getting scared like that,” Sunset said with a warm smile.

Twilight playfully punched her in the shoulder. “At least I’m not a softie who’s too scared to admit their true feelings.”

The trash began to rumble again. Before Sunset and Twilight could react to the noise, the assassin reappeared in front of them, slamming out of the trash and into Sunset. The impact struck her hooves, launching her to the trash-filled ground. She tried to get back up, but this only caused her to collapse back down and scream in agony.

The assassin turned toward Twilight. His mask was ripped in half from the downpour of trash, revealing his orange coat. His eyes were as blue as his mane, but they were filled with a scorn no colt this young deserved to feel.

Left with no magic, and her friend reeling in agony, Twilight accepted that there was no way out for her. She shut her eyes, awaiting the end.

But as she continued to hear Sunset’s screams, a spark was ignited inside of her. She had somepony worth protecting--a friend. Her first friend. Not a perfect friend, but still a pony who deserved another chance.

And this assassin--he may have been a hurt pony like Sunset--but he was still a bully that needed to be stopped. Twilight was no longer the scared, weak filly she used to be, and she was ready to prove that fact, in the proper way.

A surge of magic overcame her, causing her eyes to glow white. This magical surge illuminated the landfill and caused the assassin to step backward, trembling. When the surge was complete, Twilight stood tall and faced the assassin, overflowing with magic.

“Get away from my friend.”

Comments

[Eurvos Morgenbrise]

Holy fuck... Flash Sentry is an assassin in this universe?