08. Sunny la Sunny
After consulting at least two different online maps, one paper map and two local workers, Magical Girl Sunny confirmed that she was in the right address. She wasn't sure what to expect when her doppelganger set their meeting place at an abandoned warehouse. The place was a large open space in the middle of nowhere, far enough from civilization that a bomb could go off and nobody would bat an eye, but with just enough support beams, debris and scattered empty wooden boxes and barrels to use as cover in a typical mafia shootout.
Few minutes of extensive searching later, she knew every single corner of this place and confirmed that either there were absolutely no traps laid out for her, or they were so well hidden that she was going to fall into one on purpose out of sheer courtesy. After a few minutes of waiting later, she heard engine sounds from outside. A small peak out of the broken window confirmed that her double had just arrived, on a motorcycle no less! A leather Jacket AND a motorbike? And here I thought I wasn't feminine enough! Seeing as she was the only one who arrived, the 'get away if outnumbered' plan went out of the window.
She didn't like that plan anyway.
***
After examining her jacket pockets and making sure she didn't miss anything, Sunset Shimmer swallowed and slowly walked through the open gate of the rickety, ready to collapse anytime old warehouse. Inside was just as it was on the outside, slightly darker but still easy enough to tell where everything was. She heard a distinct, familiar 'blink' sound behind her. She turned to Magical Girl Sunny, who just appeared out of nowhere in mid air and gracefully landed roughly twenty feet away from herself. She was wearing the same orange, red and yellow dress she wore during the jewelry store robbery. The two locked their eyes and looked at each other for a short while in silence.
"You're here," Sunset said calmly.
"So are you," Sunny answered. It seemed like she had something else to say for a moment, but the silence remained.
And remained for a long, long time. The two shuffled in place for a while. Well, this is awkward! Both thought at the same time.
"I–" Sunset started, but was interrupted by Sunny.
"Who–oh, sorry,"
"No, it's fine, go on."
"No no, you start."
"No, it's... okay, fine," Sunset coughed "who are you?"
Sunny hummed. I need to be careful about what I say. I don't know how much she knows and she could use anything against me! "I am Magical Girl Sunny. And it's a common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking someone's name!"
Sunset's eyebrow twitched. I doubted it was going to be that easy. "My name is Sunset Shimmer," she said, noticing a tiny twitching in Sunny's eye "I know this is confusing, but I come in peace. Let's just talk."
Yeah, just talk. No lies or deception and definitely not going to stab my back when I lower my guard. Obviously. Sunny smiled. "Let us talk, then. You can start by explaining why you're masquerading as me!"
Sunset frowned. "I was about to ask you the same thing!"
"I'm not masquerading as anyo–" she paused for a moment, before rolling her eyes. She took off her mask and teleported it away. "I am Sunset Shimmer. THE original one!"
"No you're not! Sunset Shimmer is d–crap!" She bit her tongue a few words too late. Damn, I said too much!
Sunny’s eyes grew wider. Oh? She knows something!? "What was that? Sunset Shimmer is what?" She asked, noticing sweat slowly appearing on her forehead. "Please don't tell me you have a habit of talking in third person when stressed?"
Sunset opened and closed her mouth a few times, before sighing in defeat. "L-look, I'm not trying to pick up a fight..." But I'm more than ready to defend myself!
Sunny snorted. Just the thing an evil imposter would say to distract me. "Neither am I. But you know the rules – one of us has to change, and I grew very fond of this body!"
Interesting choice of words. This could mean anything. Okay, here goes… "So did I," Sunset's eyes narrowed "What exactly are you? A changeling?"
Sunny blinked. "What, like from the movie?"
"...what movie?"
"You know, "The Changeling"? One of the biggest cinema disasters?" Sunny observed the other one's confused reaction. There's no way anyone would forget that trainwreck! She smiled slyly. Idea! "My turn for a question: how many Daring Do books are there?"
Sunset blinked, tilting her head. "What kind of question is that?"
"Are you going to answer it?"
"Okay, fine, there were, uh," Think Sunset, think! Rainbow Dash talks about them all the time! "Seven. No, wait, six! Seventh one is coming next month!"
Sunny snorted. "Lucky guess," she hummed for a moment, before asking again "how many legitimate kids does king Havoc have?"
"From Play of Crowns? One."
"BZZT! Wrong! He has two kids: Rune Saber and Pomegranate Jam!"
Sunset snorted. "Yeah, nice try, but that's a trick question! Pomegranate Jam was only in his imagination and she never existed in the first place!"
Sunny went silent. "What."
"He grew mad after the death of his wife and imagined himself a daughter. That's why nobody but him ever reacted to what she said or did, and nobody, not even Rune Saber, ever talked about her!"
"...no, wait, what?"
"It was revealed in the season 4 finale!"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Sunny flailed her arms. "I'm in the middle of season 3! Spoilers, geez!" She groaned, facepalming.
"Oh," Sunset frowned and hissed "ohmygosh, I'm so sorry!"
"Well thanks for ruining one of the greatest plot twists in history!" Sunny crossed her arms and turned away. "She was my favorite character..."
"It slipped, I swear! I didn't mean to!"
"Yeah, good job on convincing me you're not an evil clone!" Sunny pouted.
Sunset opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shaking her head in frustration. "This is stupid, why are we even... look, just tell me how you got those powers?" She asked, but was met with silence. "Were you born with them? Did someone give them to you?"
Sunny kept her hands crossed, carefully thinking how to answer that one. "That's classified."
"Do you have some magical artifact?"
Sunny hummed. This sounds like she knows something... or she's pulling it from a cliche bag. Which one is it? "That's classified."
Classified, huh? That's an interesting choice of words. Is she a clone that works for some evil morally ambiguous organization? Or she escaped from one? I hate to jump to conclusions, but that would explain a lot. Makes about as much sense as a changeling, though. "Normal people can't use magic. They can't teleport, shoot fire or materialize things out of thin air."
Sunny shrugged. "Hey, I never claimed I was a normal person!" She turned around, if only to not show her clone her surprised face. She sounded pretty sure when she listed those powers, even though I never materialized anything in public. Or ever, for that matter. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out I could. But where did she come to that conclusion? She put a hand to her chin, noticing her orange glove. She examined it along with the rest of her sleeve. I never transformed in public, she probably thinks I make them on the spot. Looks like she doesn't know about Coco. She clenched her fist. And I'll make damn sure she never finds out!
"How do you know it's magic?" She asked, making Sunset step back in confusion. "How do you know it's not something else?"
Crap, she got me! Sunset's eye twitched, but she quickly recovered. "You said so yourself!"
Sunny blinked. "I did?"
"Yes. A few times, it's on the internet." Actually, I don't remember if she did, but here's hoping!
Sunny frowned. Did I? I can't remember! Damn me, my big mouth and long term memory! "Okay, point taken. Look, we're wasting time here, you're either going to explain yourself right here and now," she extended her hand, where a ball of fire started manifesting "or I'll beat the answers from you!" Sunset took a little step back, her legs slightly crouched, eyes narrowing. Sunny stood with a fireball ready to shoot. Something's not right! She's not running away. Which means... she's ready to fight! A few beads of sweat started forming on both of their foreheads.
Sunny coughed and asked again. "Who are you? Why do look like me? And most importantly: what do you want from me?"
"I've been trying to ask you all this time! I don't want to fight you!"
"Oh, if you don't," the fireball grew to a size of a soccer ball "then what's that you have in your pocket?"
Sunset's eyes shot wide open. She looked at her right jacket pocket, not even realizing that her own hand was inside it for some time, tightly holding its content. I didn't even realize it... how long did I...?
"Come on, it's just the two of us, you don't have to be shy. What is it? A gun? A bomb? A tracking device?" She asked, the fireball growing slightly larger with each successive guess.
"I-it's nothing," reluctantly, Sunset pulled her hand out to show her empty palm "it was just, uhm... my wallet?" Did she buy it?
I don't buy it. Sunny raised an eyebrow, then smiled slyly, as the ball of fire shrank down to golf ball size, before exploding in a harmless, but very bright explosion.
Sunset instinctively jumped back again and shielded herself with her left hand, while her right went back to her pocket, except... It's gone!
"Hmm, that's an interesting wallet you have there." Sunny said, examining the object that just appeared in her hands.
Sunset's eyes shot wide open. H-how did she...!? B-but... she just teleported it from my pocket? I couldn't do that when I was still a unicorn!
"What is this contraption?"
At first it seemed like a piece of hastily stitched gray fabric, very similar to what Coco was using for some of her works, with a few holes in it, along various mechanical parts woven into it. She looked at it from several angles, spread it before her eyes while holding it in both hands, before identifying it. It's a... fingerless glove? But what are those weird gizmos? She located an oval glasslike part in the middle of the palm, which resembled some sort of lens. On the outer part, in between the other machinery, she found two buttons that barely stuck out. One green, one red.
"No, don't touch that!" She heard Sunset yelling at her from afar.
She touched the red button. The glove vibrated and the mechanical parts started glowing with a familiar, bright light. Her eyes widened. Oh crap! She tried to toss it away, but the glove exploded only a few feet before her, emitting a huge shockwave which sent her flying for a few feet back, until she crashed into an empty, wooden box. Sunset cringed when she heard the cracking noise, wondering how many of those were actual bones. She swallowed and made a few slow steps forward, when Sunny emerged out of the wreckage, massaging her head.
"...Ouch!" She groaned as she slowly stood back on her feet, massaging the back of her head and thanking the heavens that the crate was on the way, as the concrete would've no doubt hurt a lot more.
"I tried to warn you!"
As soon as Sunny collected herself, she started walking towards her doppelganger, who was rightfully backing away. "For someone who doesn't want to fight," her eyes narrowed "you have some dangerous toys!"
Sunset swallowed. I didn’t think diplomacy would work anyway...
The two locked their eyes at each other. Sunset started slowly walking to her right, always ready to jump away at a moment's notice. Sunny did the same, matching her pace, waiting for the right moment to strike. Her eyes locked onto her other pocket. A glove always has a pair...
She raised her hand slightly toward her foe, but Sunset reacted faster and started running. Sunny groaned as she couldn't concentrate on teleporting something that was in motion. And she knows it! She instead quickly formed a fireball half the size of the previous one and tossed it in her direction. Sunset saw it coming and slid across the ground, narrowly avoiding the flaming projectile, which only managed to singe her hair a bit while flying past and exploding in the distance. As Sunset's slide continued, Sunny's eyes widened as she realized where she was going in the first place. The gauntlet! She thought that the exploding glove was destroyed, which is why she didn't bother locating it, but it was still intact, lying near a large support beam. She tried to reach her hand and teleport it to herself, but Sunset snatched it at the last possible moment, then jumped behind the beam and disappeared from her view. Sunny tsked.
Safe from her clone’s line of sight, Sunset took a deep breath, putting the glove on her right hand while leaning on the pillar. She opened and closed her palm a few times, trying to remember how to use this thing properly.
***
"So, how do I use this thing?" Sunset Shimmer asked while opening and closing her palm, trying to not complain that the "Power Gauntlet" (working name) wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear. Rarity apologized at least five times, but she had only like thirty minutes.
"Just aim and push the green button!" Sci-Twi answered with a smile.
Sunset looked between the adorkability that was Sci-Twi in her mad scientist lab coat (no matter how much she denies the former part), the confusing mess of a contraption on her hand, and the provisional shooting range they set up in the middle of Whitewood forest, which were just a few cans on a tree stump. Sunset took a few breaths and extended her opened right hand in the general direction of the cans, using her middle fingers as a crosshair.
The "Power Gauntlet" was only one of the fruits of the Twilight’s collaboration. Yes, both of them. When Sunset Shimmer asked Princess Twilight for information about changelings, she also offered her help in the hunt. Unfortunately she couldn't come by herself, but that didn't stop her from providing them with means to fight a magical threat. Using Sunset's diary as a communication channel (a glorified hand/hoof-written version of Spyke, written by Spike's claw, making it somewhat confusing to explain, thus banning Pinkie Pie from giving exposition), Sci-Twi and Pri-Twi collaborated on creating a few gadgets from whatever magical elements Pri-Twi left for Sci-Twi during her last visit. Turns out that after both Twilights stopped freaking out about there being two of them, they got along pretty well and found a universal multi dimensional language – science. Also magic. And friendship.
"What does the red button do?" Sunset asked.
"Oh, don't touch that," Sci-Twi quickly said, then explained "this one releases a powerful shockwave and as much as we tried, we couldn't make the wearer immune. Not unless we complete the anti-magical suit, but considering the lack of resources on my part, I'd estimate it'll be ready in... well, never, unless Princess Twilight brings more magi-tech crystal threads from Equestria."
"Then why is it even here?"
"Well..." Sci-Twi blushed, scratching her head nervously "it was originally supposed to be a shockwave grenade, but I tweaked the design a bit and I forgot to take out the original option from the prototype, so... I instead installed a delayed timer, so you have three seconds to take if off and toss it. You never know when you're going to need it, right?" She ended the sentence with a sheepish smile.
Sunset blinked at Sci-Twi, shook her head and went back to target practice. "What about the other one?"
***
Sunset took a few deep breaths, looking at her second pocket. Shame I can't use both at the same time. She put her hands closer together, leaning at the edge of the support beam, waiting and listening for the steps which weren't coming. It was quiet. Too quiet. She almost missed the distinct, familiar blinking sound when Magical Girl Sunny teleported right in front of her, at hand’s reach, with her fist already burning with a visible, bright aura.
"SUNNY SMASH!"
Both girls grit their teeth and time slowed to a crawl. Just as soon as Sunny appeared, it took her a fraction of a second to locate her target and send her fist in the direction of her face. At the same time Sunset raised both of her hands, slowing Sunny's right hand of course, then pushed the green button. Two explosions happened at almost the same time. As time went back to its normal pace, both girls froze in place, slowly realizing what just happened. Sunset turned to her left, where only an inch or two away appeared a giant crack on the concrete pillar. Sunny's hair was still flowing from the shock wave that passed right next to her face and ended roughly twenty feet further, crashing a stack of empty wooden boxes into splinters.
Both swallowed, pausing for a few seconds to observe what didn't happen to their respective faces, but eventually recovered and looked at each other. Sunset was the first to react, kicking Sunny away, then raising her hands for another shot. As the button was being pushed, Sunny couldn't regain her balance in time to properly dodge, but she blinked herself away in the nick of time, landing a few steps away from her original position, and only then fell on her back. She winced from pain, but tried to not let Sunset away from her eyes. Her jacketed nemesis kept her aim at her, but as a precious second passed and no shots were fired, Sunny managed to get back on her feet with one positive thought. Good news – that gauntlet has a cooldown. She jumped away in time to avoid another shot. Bad news – not a very long one. Her eyes went towards the gauntlet itself, but just as she collected herself enough to try to teleport it away, her doppelganger started running, breaking her concentration yet again.
Don't! Stop! Moving! Sunset Shimmer tried her hardest to breathe properly while running circles around her, shooting a very poorly aimed magical bullet every two or three seconds, just as long as it forced Sunny to blink away every time and not give her time to realize that half the time she didn't even need to, as the impact was nowhere near her. Teleportation takes a lot of energy, even on small distances. If I can tire her out, the next part will be a lot easier... assuming I'll last that long!
Magical Girl Sunny set a new record for successive teleportations in a row, though her body wasn't very proud of that. Realizing this was getting her nowhere, she teleported behind one pillar to catch her breath and think of a new strategy. Okay, what do I know: she has a power gauntlet that gives Platinum Man a run for his money; her aim isn't the greatest, but I can't risk my life on her mistake; I don't know how long she can do it. These things run out of power eventually, right? And I don't know what else she got. This can't be everything she brought with her! She knows all my tricks, while I'm a sitting duck... at least I know she's not a powerful shapeshifter. She relies on that gauntlet way too much. Good. The last thing I need is a duel with a friggin T-Rex! No matter how awesome it sounds! Then she realized she didn't hear the loud running steps. She stopped? Did she get tired? She peeked around the corner, but there was nobody in sight. She stepped out of her hiding spot, analyzing the area carefully for any signs of her opponent.
She heard some noise on her seven o'clock and immediately turned there and shot a quick firebolt... at nothing. Before she recovered, she heard another noise behind her and turned again, to see nothing. Again. She wasn't as bothered with any other random noises, which she assumed were thrown rocks, but she was still on alert for the real one.
She groaned. "Coward! Stop hiding and face me like a true man!" Pause. "You know what I mean!" Nothing happened. "If you won't come out right now, I'll burn this whole place down, with or without you!"
Crouching behind one of the less rickety crates, Sunset Shimmer swallowed. She's bluffing. There's no way she has that much magical energy! A moment passed. Right? Either way, I have to do something! She looked at the lens on her gauntlet. I'm running out of juice, I gotta finish this soon.
After taking a deep breath, Sunset jumped out with her hand raised and ready to shoot, except there was no target in sight. She tsked, carefully scanning the area. Great, now the roles have switched! She looked to her right, then to her left, behind and back to front, left hand firmly sitting on her right, ready to push the ‘trigger’ at any moment. She swallowed, listening for any sound of movement. Except she can teleport. Her breathing got harder, but she kept on walking, if only to make the teleportation trick harder for her opponent, as she examined every single possible hiding spot. If Sunny was anywhere on the ground, she was doing a fantastic job of hiding her presence. Ground... wait a second!
She looked up and sure enough, she saw her nemesis standing on the railing at the ceiling, observing her every movement. As soon as Sunset noticed her, she jumped down at her. Sunset reacted fast and instantly shot up and would've hit, had Sunny not blinked out of the way! Sunset's eyes widened in panic as time slowed down once again. She noticed her opponent in the corner of her eye, using the momentum from the fall to launch herself in her direction with both feet aimed straight at her face. Unable to dodge or shoot again, Sunset crossed her arms at her face, blocking the incoming drop kick, which still managed to send her flying back despite being blocked. She moaned from the pain of her beaten up joints, especially her arms and elbows (she had a feeling a few bones could break if her jacket hadn’t shielded her), but tried to stand up regardless. Her eyes went wide when she took a look at her hand, devoid of the glove. WHAT?! NO! Her gaze went back to Magical Girl Sunny, standing tall, her face visibly irritated, but still somehow managing a smug grin. She was holding the ‘Power Gauntlet’ long enough to make a point, before making it vanish.
"Not so tough without your little toy, huh? Now, would you like to–HEY!" She yelled after Sunset suddenly got up and dashed towards the nearest support beam. "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"
Sunset didn't listen, instead reaching out inside her jacket with her right hand, as she used her left one to hold onto the support beam to make a sharp turn behind it. Please be predictable, please be predictable, please be predictable... She prayed, as she pulled out something from her inside pocket, when suddenly–
"You're not getting away!" Sunny announced, appearing just in front of her, but instead of a surrender, she saw the other girl pointing some weird device at her. With no time to react, she had to block with her front hands. The odd gun shot, but instead of bullets or lasers, a large brown goop covered both of her arms. She stopped and tried to shake the slime away, but in a matter of seconds it hardened, subduing her hands in front of her in what looked like a piece of concrete. She struggled to get them apart, but she was no match to the strange substance. She sniffed it. Cinnamon?
Sunset let out a huge sigh. OHMYGOSH IT WORKED! She smiled at Pinkie's "Portable Pink Party Pistol" (trademark pending). Pinkie Pie, I owe you one. Big time! She threw the modified squirt gun away. Unlike its creator, it had to follow the laws of physics and couldn't hold more than a single shot inside. She reached out to her left pocket while Sunny was busy freeing herself from the granny Pie's cinnamon cake handcuffs. That's a legitimate sentence now. She shook her head, donning a similarly looking, fingerless glove on her left hand. This will be my only shot. Her eyes narrowed. Gotta make it count!
"Why-won't-this-stupid-thing-get-OFF!" After a long moment of struggles, Sunny applied enough of her magical force into her hand to explode the cinnamon cake, thus freeing her hands. She raised her head to see where her enemy was, but couldn’t react when a hand grabbed her face. She froze for a second, flailing her hands in panic before finally pushing the other Sunset away from her, taking a few steps back herself.
"Why you little!" She extended her hand forward and shot a quick blast of pure magical energy.
Except she didn't.
"W-what?" She looked at her hand confused, then tried to strike again. And again. No magic was ever released. "W-what, my magic! What–" her eyes widened, concentrating on Sunset who stood tall, her left hand slightly raised and dressed in a similar gauntlet, if much less elaborate, with fewer mechanical parts, but with a visible blue crystal in its palm. "What did you do!?"
Sunset snorted. "Not so tough without your magic, huh?" She said, as Sunny struggled to cast any spell at all. She should've turned back to her original form by now, unless... she's not a changeling! And her dress is still intact, so it's the real deal.
Unlike the "Power Gauntlet" (working name), "Magic Sucker" (also a working name) was Sci-Twi's own design, made from repurposing her magical detector which also happened to suck magic, into a magic sucking device that also happened to detect it. The final version Sunset was using right now was improved by using some of Pri-Twi's ideas she took from an already existing magic-dampening technology they had in Equestria. It could temporarily take all the magic from anyone it touched, but there was no off button, meaning it couldn't be used in tandem with "Power Gauntlet", as it caused all sorts of malfunctions if the two were in too close proximity. In order to properly take out the magic from a person (or pony), it had to be used on naked skin, which, considering Magical Girl Sunny’s attire, left only neck and face.
Sunset started walking toward her. "Now that we're both on equal terms, can we go back to tal–" She was brutally interrupted when she was forced to jump back from a roundhouse kick, followed by a punch that she barely blocked with both of her hands.
Sunny growled, her fist barely held back by Sunset's block. "Give. It. Back!"
Sunset's eyes narrowed. "Make me!"
The two stood in the same position for a while, then jumped away and assumed their favored combat stance. The battle continued...
***
After dashing for who knows how long, Coco stopped for a short breather just before the warehouse. She noticed a motorcycle parked by the entrance, the same one she heard CHS's Sunset Shimmer had. She swallowed as she entered the old, dingy building. She didn't have to look for them too long, the two Sunset Shimmers were clearly visible from the outside, beating each other up with fists and legs. Coco found a cover in the nearest pyramid of barrels and hid behind it, observing the fight from a safe distance. She knew both Sunsets knew martial arts, but why Magical Girl Sunny didn't use her magic was anyone's guess.
After a particularly long and exhausting exchange of blows, both Sunsets jumped away to take a small break. Both were breathing heavily, observing each other, never letting their eyes off their opponent.
Sunny wiped some blood from her mouth. I'm lucky I didn't lose a tooth after that last kick. Not having magic is so annoying!
Sunset wasn't faring much better, wiping the blood that was flowing from her broken nose. I'm really starting to regret I left the others, but I couldn't risk a changeling growing in power. I would rather fight The Sirens or Midnight Sparkle again, that was way easier! I miss the Power of Friendship!
Sunny raised her hands to resume her battle pose, when she noticed a few sparks that appeared and disappeared in an instant. Yes! My magic is slowly coming back, I can feel it! She looked at the other Sunset. Her expression didn't change in any significant way, which meant she didn't see it. Good. Now I have to time it juuuuust right!
Sunny took a deep breath and started talking. "You're way better than I thought!"
Sunset nodded. "Thanks, I guess. You're not too shabby yourself!"
"Thank you. What exactly is that, taekwondo?"
"Jeet kune do, actually. They get it mixed up all the time. And you?"
"Karate, 2nd dan. I would've been higher, but I didn't care enough to continue."
The two went silent once again, both sapped out of energy, still running on fumes and boundless willpower alone.
Okay, that should be enough for one more blast! Sunny thought, her pose lowering. "I had fun and all, but this has to end. Let's finish this!" She said loudly to her opponent, who nodded and also tightened her defense. And then she rushed forward with a battle cry and fist ready to strike.
Sunset prepared to intercept the next attack as it came, when all of a sudden her left glove started blinking with a faint, red light. It's only supposed to do that when there's some magic nea–OHCRAP! Time slowed to a crawl one last time, as her eyes went wide while Sunny stopped running midway and threw her fist in her direction, using every fiber of her being to shoot a single, powerful blast, while not shouting 'Sunny Blast' from the top of her lungs. Using what little time she had, Sunset jumped away in the nick of time, but could still feel the warm, magical energy graze her legs, but otherwise pass by her harmlessly and hit a stack of empty barrels instead, loudly toppling them over. Sunny winced and was about to follow-up with another attack on her currently defenseless opponent, but...
"Eeeeeeeeeeep!" A loud, high pitched scream echoed through the warehouse, instantly getting the attention of both Sunsets, before the sound got buried under the loud noise of falling metal barrels.
Sunny froze, as cold sweat ran over her body. T-that voice... it-it can't be! She rushed toward the barrels, completely passing by her confused doppleganger. Nononononononono! Please, anything but that! Please, please, please! After she got a bit closer, her heart stopped for a few seconds once she noticed a familiar, teal haired head stuck outside the mess of barrels.
"Co-... Coco?" Her legs trembled. She could barely stand on her own legs. "N-no, it-it c-can't..." She quickly rushed to her and pulled the barrels away, revealing Coco Pommel, her best friend, lying on the ground unconscious. Sunny opened her mouth, but no words came out initially. With shaking hands, she lifted her friend's head and torso up. "Coco? Coco, please, talk to me!" She waited a moment, barely holding the tears back, while gently shaking her. "Thi-this isn't funny! Coco! Please, wake up! Don't you dare... don't... don't... leave... me..." Tears started falling from her eyes like tiny waterfalls, but she didn't seem to notice. "I'm so-sorry, I di-didn't m-mean t-to..."
"There's no blood," Sunset Shimmer said, slowly limping toward the two "she's probably just out cold, we should call the ambula–"
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Sunny suddenly turned to her and waved a hand at Sunset, sending her flying with a small shockwave. She then turned back to her friend, and without another word they both vanished, teleported out from the warehouse.
Sunset Shimmer sat where she was, looking at the spot where the two were at for a moment, before collapsing on her back with a loud thud, letting out a huge sigh. She rested for a while, looking at the ceiling and thinking about the recent developments. She pulled out her phone and made a call.
"Yeah, hey, Rarity? I need you to gather everyone… no, it can't wait, I'll explain later... yeah, I'm fine... ish... don't freak out, but bring a first-aid kit. Please."
***
Sunny almost fell on the floor of her own room when she teleported here, but not before making sure that Coco safely landed on her own bed. With most of her bones aching and lungs barely keeping up with the strain she put on herself, she stood up and looked at her still unconscious friend.
"Damnit!" She struck the desk next to the bed, looking around the room for anything to either hit, destroy, mutilate, throw away or release her anger on. No! I must do something, but what... what... AMBULANCE! She shook her head and reached for her phone... except it wasn't there! She searched all over her dress in vain, before realizing she never had it there to begin with. She scanned the room and found her street clothes, which she searched for as well. Nothing. Panic levels rising and breathing getting harder, she reached to her school uniform, finding no phone either!
"Argh, where is it!" She opened and closed every drawer on her desk, on Coco's desk, every shelf, closet, the bathroom, with her phone nowhere to be found! She looked around her room, when she noticed it on her bed! She groaned, but rushed out for it and struggled to dial three numbers with her shaking hands.
"H-hello, nine-one-one? I-I have... m-my friend is... she is... she's h-hurt a-and... p-please..."
"Ugh, my head..."
Her phone fell on the ground, as Sunny immediately froze, while slowly turning to see her friend slowly sit up, massaging her head.
"What just happened... I... Sunset?" Coco blinked a few times, focusing her gaze on the disheveled, beaten up, bloodied and overall a mess of a human being she barely recognized as Sunset Shimmer. As Magical Girl Sunny. "Sunset, what happened to–"
She couldn't finish her sentence, when Sunset Shimmer, her Sunset, threw herself at her and embraced her in a tight, warm hug.
Coco took a while to recover from the initial shock. "S-sunset, wh-wha–"
"I'm so sorry!" She muttered through her tears. "I'm so, so sorry!"
Coco was at a loss of words. The only thing that she could bring herself to say, was... "I-I'm sorry... too..."
I was so stupid.
Her hands embraced Sunset as well.
I knew. I always knew.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Sunset said weakly.
She may not be the real Sunset Shimmer. Maybe they're both real.
"I’m glad you’re here, too!" Coco replied.
But she is my Sunset Shimmer!
And I won't trade her for any other!
This is probably the most elaborate fight scerne I've ever written, period. I know the reason for starting it was flimsy at best, but throw me a bone here: how else was I going to explain having those two duke it out? Inb4 someone tells me how it should've gone 
Deleted scene:
"Come on, it's just the two of us, you don't have to be shy. What's inside? A gun? Bomb? Tracking device to call your buddies?" She asked, with each succesive quess fireball grew slightly larger. Okay, now behave yourself. And for the love of everything, don't... "Or are you just happy to see me?" GODDAMNIT!
---
Before anyone calls me on the fact that "Kill la Kill" is not a magical girl show, one: I don't care; two: Mitch H from the comment section summed it perfectly, here's a quote:
Transformations, Electra complex, magical familiar, fixation on fashion. Yeah, it's magical girl, fighting subgenre. And Kill la Kill is such a massive Go Nagai love-letter it almost isn't funny.
Though I disagree on the last part- it is hell'a funny 
The story is hard to explain. It takes place in a totalitarian city ruled by an academy, where you get special clothes that grant superpowers, which are a status symbol and main heroine cames with half a giant scissor to get revenge... oh, who am I kidding, I can't explain it. Can you explain Kill la Kill in few sentences? I doubt it.
Needless to say, this is a show that not only does fanservice right, but actually ties it into the narrative in a way that only a crazy person or a genius can do. Or both. I don't feel qualified to talk about it and I'm afraid I'll do it injustice by spewing nonsense and turning some of you from watching one of the best anime series from this decade. Go watch it if you can handle a little fanservice- it will reward you in ways you never saw coming. Yes, its one of those shows- looks like a nonsense cheese-fest, but hides great depth inside. You just need to look past the cover. I mean, it was hailed as the best anime in 2015 for SOME reason by countless (presumably smart) critics, right?
Next time... next time, I will talk about whatever I feel like..
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Speaking of Kill la Kill, Satsuki has one of the most badass themes ever.
Also you might enjoy this pic.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/11/10/761789.gif
And lastly, did you know that Sunset's japanese VA is the same as Ryuko Matoi?
7892975
Wow i didn't know that.
media4.giphy.com/media/Y2nbrJyAR6RiM/200_s.gif
I'll just say maybe they shouldn't have done that in the first place? The story at large is awesome, but them fighting here is a huge cliche, does indeed seem completely unreasonable, and feels like story padding to push the inevidable resolution we're all looking forward to a but farther away. I would much rather preferred it if you managed to subvert the expectations, have them understand each other and still have some sort of conflict in the end, rather than going the predictable, annoying, and, as even you yourself admit, barely justified route. Again, not harping on the story in general, but I was really disappointed with how this went.
Well, if you meet your doppelganger you're required to fight or fuck. Maybe next time.
And sex, don't forget the sex... Damn my shipping goggles!
Okay, first off, you should have put that deleted scene in. That would have been brilliant. And secondly, still no answers on what Sunny is? Damn this story is a tease!
*reads chapter title*
Now I feel dumb for my comment on the last chapter...
Also Sunset as Ryuko
derpicdn.net/img/2015/9/26/987943/full.png
7893014
I agree. Completely. No, seriously, I'm not being sarcastic here. The reasoning is flimsy, the situation could be avoided easily by more diplomacy and I could've subverted the good old cliche to put a nice spin on it. I am all aware of that and I've done so in some of my other fics.
But I know I would've been angry if in Captain America: Civil War there wasn't a huge, pointless and easily avoidable, but hugely entertaining rumble between friends (also Spider-Man and Black Panther) near the end of the movie.
I wanted to write this fight from the start. If I didn't do a good job of making the two seem equal, keep you guessing on where the fight itself was going, or I made one shine brighter than the other, then I didn't accomplish my true goal. Opinions will vary, people will say things that I don't agree with and that's fine- this is art, it comes with the territory and we can all enjoy different things, or even the same things but in different ways. I decided to write the following chapter the way I wanted to, cliches be damned. If I didn't, I would've failed the one person I care about the most- myself. The fact that I dissapointed a few fans is a shame, though, but again- this is art (not saying it's good or bad art, just... art).
That said, the story is far from over and I hope you'll stick around to see what comes after.
I know these stories always have to have a misunderstanding fight, but I still hate that cliche. Though I blame Sunny more than Sunset for that considering she pushed a random button and asked trivia questions about a show she wasn't even done watching yet. Not that Sunset was all that smart either, meeting her counterpart in an abandoned warehouse.
Now we just need a common enemy for them to team up against, along with finding out what the deal is with Sunny (odd phrasing from her, but then both are pretty knowledgeable considering all their references to various fiction so anything goes really). Too bad Sunset couldn't just explain things clearer (she's an alternate Sunset, native Sunset is long dead, so that leaves Sunny), but at least she got some more intel on Sunny's abilities (at the cost of a lot of bruises). Wonder if magic of friendship can help a broken nose heal faster.
I loved the fight!
Yeah, we can all agree the reason was flimsy, but meh, people fight for the stupidest reasons, so it is not unbelievable. I just hope the misunderstandings doesn't just go on and on.
Thanks for the cool chapter.
Is it just me, or does Sunny suffer from a severe case of Chūnibyō™ ?
Not just her gimmick of dressing up as a Magical Girl, but her entire line of reasoning about Sunset.
At this point is doesn't look like the self aware joking anymore.
That was AWSOME!!!!!! I am glad I manage to find this or even paid attention to it, I thought it would be like Mahou shojou or sailor moon but its better!
I'm looking forward for more... hehe sunset is like Batman with her gadgets.
7893137 Well, I'm definitely sticking around, because the story as a whole has been amazing so far.
And the action sequence itself was well-done, I usually just skim through them because I really don't normally care for action in written form (heck, I don't even love it on screen), but this one I forgot to skim and instead read it thoroughly 
But I do also hate this trope. Ever since watching superhero cartoon shows as a teenager I've always felt that heroes were amazingly short-fused and thick-skulled, refusing to reason and resorting to punching everything at the smallest provocation. Maybe I wouldn't have minded it if I actually enjoyed action sequences and fights in general. To me they always seem like something you need to bear with until something actually interesting happens again. 
But yeah, at least unlike a recent chapter in another story that I had similar-ish problems with (and skimmed through as a result), this one was engaging to read because I kinda expected Sunny would probably win but it kept looking like Sunset was about to actually prevail. Sunny seemed more powerful but also dumber than Sunset in this chapter, so it balanced out. And it didn't feel like either of them had "plot armor" or anything like that (maybe a little deflated idiot-ball, at most). I also really appreciated the addition of Coco to the scenario and the way it ended.
Some people think Sunset shines brightest when she's doing her Hero stuff. Some think it's when she pulls off a touchy friendship moment. I think it's when she's being an adorable, awkward mess.
Being a dork is a close second.
That's usually the case, when omnipotent magic is doing all the heavy lifting.
...So, are they going to get a visit from the police after that abruptly-ended call for help?
7893143 It reminds me- there was going to be a scene where Sunset DOES explain who she is, but Sunny is less than amused. The conversation goes kinda like this:
Sunset: Okay, I'll tell the truth. I'm a unicorn.
Sunny: ...wat.
Sunset: <long explanation about Equestria, portal, previous movies, Daydream Shimmer>
Sunny: ... you're not even trying anymore?
Sunset: Okay, I know how it sounds , but I swear its true!
Sunny: Uh-huh. So you're some magical pony princess from another dimension?
Sunset: I'm not a princess. I'm good friends with two, though, I never met Luna or Cadence, but I'm sure we'd get alo--wow, that does sound stupid, now that I spelled it out loud!
I couldn't find a way to include it, though.
A knock-down drag-out 'befriending' fight is now fighting-magical-girls tradition. It's a peculiar import from shounen-jive shows and American superhero comicdom, but by now it's pretty much required. If you don't get it, that's an unsettling sign that we might be in 'dark magical girls' territory, and let the hollow-eyed ghost of Madoka Magica assure you, you don't want to linger for long in that country, bad things happen there.
And it's a vital aspect of that 'friendship' slip-fault between pony and magical girls. Doppleganger slap-fest is a relatively benign variant, to be honest.
Twi needs to recreate the magic sucking compact and use it on Sunny. Can't have an irresponsible magic user running around.
Pretty much all my issues with this chapter came from Sunny. Her trying to grill Sunset on pop culture, then blaming Sunset for spoiling her on her own question was just the beginning. She then starts the fight by her stealing something from Sunset, then blowing herself up. Sunset try's to end the fight and talk, but Sunny drags it out. Then, when Sunny injures Coco, she does a long range teleport (almost passing out), instead of listening to the smart person who doesn't want to fight and calling an ambulance... The fight itself was really well handled, though it again paints Sunny in a bad light. At this point, Sunset is just a regular human with knowledge and a few devices, yet she almost managed to win, only losing due to Sunny's ridiculous amount of power. Sunset was really well handled though, particularly how she immediately stops caring about the fight the second someone else gets hurt.
Prediction time, Sunny is the leftover magic from Daydream taking physical form as another Sunset (or the accidental baby from Daydream and Midnight's battle, being born as a teenage Sunset).
7893137
Having them fight like this may work as a comedy element but if you meant it to be a serious moment then it just makes both Sunsets look pretty darn dumb. They were immediately telling the other to change bodies, testing each other with modern trivia, and trying to figure out if the other one knew about magic even though they both knew the other already did. Instead of "Hey, I'm not from this world, and I know you aren't either, so let's cut the bullshit and see if we can co-exist. If we have no common ground, THEN I'll punch your face in." Sunset is supposed to be a confident and intelligent girl, after all. Even going into the unknown thinking it was a Changeling, dropping into trivia mode and Game of Thrones references she should have known that was no way to conduct an interrogation or peaceful diplomatic meeting.
i hope round 2 has daydream shimmer, all sunset has to do is bring her friends along for round 2.
7893137 That's a sure sign you need to step back and reassess your setup. There are plenty of ways you could have made this work if you put your mind to it, but just jamming something big like this in because you want to write it is never a good idea and will always leave you more disappointed than taking the time to step back and think about how to properly integrate it with the story. The most obvious solution would have been to have Coco confront Sunset before Sunny got there and get hurt somehow (physically or emotionally, accidentally or in a moment of anger) so Sunny can walk in at just the wrong moment and decide she needs to protect her friend, but there are plenty of other options. I don't suggest this often, but this may very well be a time when you want to give serious consideration to reworking this chapter to fix the setup because it is a real mess as is and could be fixed relatively easily since the fight itself will be largely unchanged and there is nothing really written after it yet. To be clear, I have no intention of dropping the fic no matter what you do, but I felt like it was important to give you this feedback clearly and directly because this is an approach that will help you a lot in all your writing.
Also, drawing a false analogy to very different characters with a very different relationship and a very different setup is always a sign you are grasping at straws.
7893334 Honestly, given the way Sunny is consciously playing with the magical girl tropes, this might have been the best and most hilarious way to start the fight.
Sunny: Ok, now time to become friends.
Sunset: Great!
Sunny: Battle time!
Sunset: Wait, what?
*boom*
7893732 Magical Girl vs God-Tier Magical Girl? Even if the reason for them fighting is just as flimsy as this fight, I'm in!
So uh... are we just gonna disregard the 911 call?
First off I want to say that I thought the fight was great and had no problem with how it started. However, since you're hung up about wether or not it was justified, one way would be to make each Sunset much more paranoid about each other. This way we can see their thought process spiraling down to a point where the only course of action would be for them to fight. Then again, I am awful at writing so I might not know what I'm talking about...
Meh. there's been flimsier reasons for cool fight scenes...
Seriously though, I love how this is turning out, and whatever the excuse to have a little Sunset-on-Sunset action, it turned out well.
Good job!
On another note... you are a complete bastard.
I can't get Miraculous Ladybug out of my mind.
And I blame you.
.
.
.
Thanks.
--Spade
They were always going to end up smacking each other around a little, hopefully this was enough to get it out of their systems. Well, Sunny's system at least.
7896584 Not saying I won't, but the reason why she called Rarity first, is because I always consider her to be the second in command of Rainbooms. Yes, they don't have any hierarchy, but whenever I think of them as a unit, the leader is always either Pri-Twi or Sunset, with Rarity covering them when they're gone. I don't know why, she just seems like the kind of pony/person I would trust with leadership in tough times.
Also she's the third best pony, right after Sunset and Coco, so there you go
7902557 My editor sent me all the corrections, but I forgot to fix chapters 3 and 4 and 3 and 4.
7893575
Were I Sunset, I'd have opened with "I know you aren't this world's native Sunset Shimmer. I know because I'm not this world's native Sunset Shimmer either; she was long dead due to [accident?] before I arrived myself" - assuming that Sunset didn't, like kill native!Sunset Shimmer, but this doesn't seem like that sort of story - "so who are you?"
Jetto, are you familiar with W.i.t.c.h? It isn't anime, but is very definitely magical girl material. I consider it one of the best Western animations produced (up there with the likes of Avatar, Reboot, Justce League et al), especially the second season. If not, I would advise you to track it down on the 'net; it is very much worth a watch.
(As it never got a proper release on DVD. I managed to get the first season on DVD, but the second was only released in Poland or somewhere I think, and now is only available for about £90 on amazon.)
7902936 I watched WITCH and I read a few issues as it all ran in Polish TV and magazines. I really like it, especially season 2, which had so many plot twists and awesome moments I was really bummed when they cancelled it. I was going to mention it at some point. I still will.
Cornelia is best witch (she was my Rarity before FIM), Caleb is best character in the show, and together they're my OTP
7903013
Indeed. I don't know what is the biggest tragedy, that it was cancelled after only two seasons or that it never has had a true DVD release.
7903171 With the popularity of streaming sites, I'd say not having a third season is a big shame. Especially since I heard some cool stuff happens in later chapters of the comic book.
7904257
At the time, I found a site that had compiled scans of the comic and read a few arcs before I just lost track of it due to the time and effort. Was pretty good, as I recall.
Wait, did Camp Everfree happen in this universe? Because if so Sunset could have easily read Sunny's mind to find out what her deal is, especially after her magic was nullified.
As for the fight, both Sunsets can be a little hot-headed so it makes sense that they would start a fight with very little provocation.
7905548 It happens BEFORE Legend of Everfree. Otherwise they'd mention having superpowers of their own and would've tried to use them, I think.
7903171 Blame Disney. Weren't they involved in the production somehow?
Okay, this? Fun story. I can't wait to get the complete story behind Sunny...and hopefully a nice apology between her and Sunset.
7905615 Okay, good. Feel like that might have been established earlier but I must have lost track. I guess this retroactively explains where the human 7 got their inspiration for their own magical girl forms from, then.
Been a while since I last hit the end of an ongoing fic and wanted to know what happens next so badly.
7947882 I agree, and it's already on the list
Asking from the tags, is Sunset/Coco Pommel the ship in this one?
7948157
Most of the main cast could do with a dope-slap or three. Would certainly save time otherwise spent having long, emotional talks about all that stuff.
7948062
7948001 I forgot to move it down. Whoops. And I cant do it on the phone.
7948230 I never heard of this one. I will add it to the list.
7948223
7948160
7948157 I sometimes wish they smacked each other a bit more often (when its appropriate), but it might send a wrong messege to kids. You know, the main demographic?
7948173 the story aint over. If I ever make a sequel...
7948012 Unless I have too much fun with SunnyxSunset fun, then yup, SunCo it is.
7948352 Sunny x Sunset would be Sunset and her human counterpart?
7948352 SunnyxSunset? Oh god, it would have to be a comedy for all of the narcissism/self-love jokes.
Those living beings have no further mark of self, of others, of living beings, or of a life; no mark of dharmas and no mark of no dharmas. If living beings’ hearts grasp at marks, then that is attachment to self, to others, to living beings and to a life. For that reason you should not grasp at a general explanation of the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra 64 dharmas, nor should you grasp at no dharmas. Regarding that principle, the Tathagata often says, ‘All you bhiksus should know that the dharma which I speak is like a raft. Even dharmas should be relinquished, how much the more so no dharmas.'
orig05.deviantart.net/8319/f/2011/133/f/d/stocking_vs_kneesocks_by_lo_wah-d3g9dv0.jpg
This entire chapter:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vluHsU5vLrs&t=240s]
7892975 ... You made me cry... FROM JOY OF THE AWESOMENESS!
Short and snarky, drastically oversimplified version of Kill La Kill: "Girls fight over clothes."
Well... that went well.