Shimmer: La Jument Revolutionnaire

by GuyWhoWritesThings

Duel One: Friendship.

Author's Note:

As mentioned in the Long Description, this story has been rewritten from the ground up as of 1/9/17. The blog post detailing why this has been done can be found here. Thank you to all old readers for understanding, and I hope everyone will be able to enjoy the fruits of the labor that went into such a task!

This first chapter is probably the one that's the most similar to its original form, though it still has some important differences. As I mention in the blog post I'll be releasing the revised chapters at a rate of one per day until I've got them all posted, so that I can proofread them properly.

Enjoy, everyone!

"Beautiful..." Sunset Shimmer travels the halls of Friendship Academy on her first day, its crystalline structure mesmerizing to behold. Sunlight seeps in through tall rows of windows, reflecting on the floors and walls, emphasizing the myriad of colors in the crystals used to build the Academy. A look out those windows shows the architecture of the facility to be decidedly vertical, each building towering for floor after floor, with pathways winding to and from each, leaving cross-crossing shadows on the ground below. Sunset Shimmer had absentmindedly climbed stairwell after stairwell until she reached the top floor after her first day's classes, seeking a bird's eye view of the grounds, but the sight in front of her now trumps even her highest expectations.

Each building fans outward around a single point - a tower in the Academy's center, far taller than what surrounds it as it reaches into the sky. It stands tall and isolated from everything else as ponies mill about at its foot, moving from one part of the Academy to the next. The ponies below nearly look like a giant mass of white due to the color of the overcoat that is the default Academy uniform, only broken up by the speckled rainbow of coat and mane colors, barely visible from Sunset's height. The facilities from that center point fan out, like six prongs extending from the tower that lies as their heart. A brochure for the Academy that still sits in Sunset's pocket mentions the layout of the academy symbolizing the six branches of Harmony. An interesting design quirk, if highly inconvenient at times for the student body. Encircling the Academy's 'prongs' are lush fields, dotted with trees and lined with crystal pathways, eventually leading to the outer buildings that encircle it - Academy dormitories, split into six wings, much like the Academy itself. These serve as the only buildings on the campus not made from crystal materials, made from brick and other, far less exotic materials.

Looking up at the ceiling, Sunset Shimmer finds her reflection staring back down at her - cyan eyes and a styled, twisting red main and tail, each striped with a bold yellow, set against an amber horn and coat, giving her the colors of her namesake. A custom styling of the Academy's uniform fits loosely on her - a black overcoat with long tails that cover her flanks, with two incisions along the back for wings, despite Sunset having none. The front two buttons of the uniform are undone, allowing the neck to hang open casually, the silver of a necklace hiding beneath the fabric, glinting in the sun. The sleeves of the uniform reach nearly to her fetlocks, an irritating fact that Sunset Shimmer is still adjusting to.

"Hey, are you new here?" A voice asks, catching Sunset Shimmer by surprise. She looks over her shoulder to find something that stands out at this Academy like a sore thumb - a purple dragon, with green spines along his head and clad in the Academy's uniform, albeit white and proportioned for his smaller, bipedal body. He stands about a head and a half shorter than Sunset, requiring her to look down slightly to make eye contact with him. "Sweet custom job!" He compliments, motioning to Sunset's uniform. "How much of a pain in the tail was it getting that approved?"

"Oh, uh... it wasn't so bad." Sunset pulls away from the railing, turning to her new companion. "And yeah, I'm still finding my way around. Name's Sunset Shimmer."

The necklace around Sunset's neck feels heavier at her admission. Indeed, Sunset Shimmer is new to Friendship Academy. While most students come to learn about Harmony - a key aspect of the pony world, an understanding of which can lead to greatness far above a pony's usual ability - Sunset Shimmer has a more selfish goal. The silver necklace around her neck, hidden away, bears a crystal in the shape of a six-point, magenta star. A long time ago, a dear friend gifted Sunset Shimmer with this necklace, after a dark time in her life, and then vanished from her world. Now, many years later, Sunset Shimmer has set out to find that pony again, even if both the memory of the friend and the events around her receiving the necklace have become faded with age.

"Spike the Dragon! At your service!" He gives her an infectiously friendly smile as his eyes glint, extending a claw. Sunset looks at it for a moment, before meeting it with a hoof. "How's the day treated you so far?" The dragon, Spike, is clearly many years younger than Sunset, but still carries himself with a playful, contagious sort of confidence.

"Oh, you know..." Sunset Shimmer answers dismissively, though Spike's excitement soon rubs off on her. "It's a bit better now, though. Think we can get along?" While out of Sunset Shimmer's age bracket, Spike seems fun to be around, and in a new place full of new ponies, Sunset's not about to turn down a chance to get herself a new friend early on.

"I hope so!" Spike turns on the spot, tugging on Sunset's hoof for her to follow. "Come on! I'll show you around!" His smaller legs get moving with unexpected strength, pulling Sunset forward and compelling her to follow him with ease.

"Hey! Hold on!" Sunset attempts to protest, but Spike's insistent tug soon overpowers her desire to resist, and she falls into place behind her new acquaintance. I bet he does this all time time. Spike's eagerness at making new friends surprises her initially, but Sunset appreciates it, as it prevents her needing to 'break the ice', as the saying goes. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Spike soon releases her hoof, not immediately answering, and Sunset trails a bit behind the dragon as he leads her across paths and down stairs. The smaller dragon hums as he leads the pair, objectives on where his tour should lead clear in his mind, as far as Sunset can tell. "Hey." He says over his shoulder, not allowing the silence between them to exist for long. "I heard an interesting rumor about this place a while back. Interested?"

"Huh? Rumor?" Sunset's ears perk at his question. Rumors had been what lead Sunset Shimmer to Friendship Academy in the first place. While she doesn't expect Spike to have anything particularly riveting to tell, she's always on the look for more, making her more than willing to at least hear him out. Plus, she imagines he finds walking around silently when somepony else is with him even more awkward than she does.

"Yeah." He takes a turn, and she follows, the two heading down across another one of the paths that extend between buildings. He stops partway across, putting a claw to his chin contemplatively as he recalls the story. "They say that, a long time ago, this place used to be a castle. Friendship Castle, I think they called it. It used to overlook this small town, and over time, it just got bigger and bigger." Spike turns, looking off the path to the ground below. "Nopony really knows how or why, but rumor says it eventually turned into this place." He turns, looking off the path at the ground below.

"Think it's true?" Sunset asks, playfully, turning to look off the side for herself. "Sounds pretty crazy, if you ask me."

"Nah!" Spike waves his claw dismissively. "If that were true, then where's Friendship Castle? if this place sprouted up around it, it'd have to be here, somewhere, wouldn't it?" He leans himself over the railing that stands between them and plummeting to the ground below. "We can get a cool view of the soccer field from here, don'tcha think?"

The ground is much closer now - close enough for Sunset Shimmer to make out the ponies below in meaningful detail, if still a bit dizzying to look down from. The soccer field lies below the pair, a rectangle of grass surrounded by crystal, with white dividing lines, a netted goal at either end, and a line of bleachers on the far side from Sunset's position. A white-and-black checkered ball passes feverishly between two competing teams of ponies, one adorned in the standard Academy uniform while the other wears a blue sports suit, lined with yellow detailing. The two sides appear captained by ponies that catch Sunset's interest almost immediately - mainly because they, like her, have their own sorts of custom uniforms.

The more visually striking of the two mares is a blue pegasus with short, prismatic mane. Her bold-red Academy uniform is contrasted by black sleeves and wide, white cuffs, the shoulders adorned with pads and tassels. The details make the garment look especially regal when set in contrast to the standard uniform. Across the field from her is an orange earth pony with a braided, blonde mane, wearing some kind of wide-brimmed hat. Her uniform shares many of the same details as the other mare's, its only difference being the orange of the torso, a few shades shy of blending into her coat. On the bleachers, Sunset notices a third pony in another such uniform. The pink of her uniform's body blends well with the pink of her flowing mane and tail, the former of which hangs across most of her face, leaving the mare particularly obscured from Sunset's position.

Sunset turns, a question on her lips, "Hey, Spike, who-," only to find the dragon now at the far side of the path, beckoning her with a claw.

"Come on, Sunset!" He calls out. "There's plenty more to see! You can't be that enamored by a soccer field, can you?"

Sunset Shimmer shakes her head and gallops along the rest of the pathway, soon reaching Spike as he leads the duo down another flight of stairs. "Sorry about that. Got kind of spaced out, I guess." The identities of the three ponies itch some at her. The matching uniform implies they must be of some importance, instead of simply ponies with too much money and equally too much vanity, but eventually Sunset files it away. She doubts a younger dragon like Spike would have the gossip of the business of older ponies like her and those mares. Besides, I'm sure I'll be around here plenty long enough to find out who they are for myself if I want to, anyway.

"Don't worry about it." Spike assures her. "I did the same thing a lot when I was new, too. It's easy to get lost in the view pretty much anywhere in this place."

"Speaking of view..." Sunset finds herself looking out more of the tall windows as they walk past, though now only a floor above ground level. "What's that weird, tree-looking thing out there?"

"Our next stop!" Spike proclaims, heading over to and soon half-leaning out one of the open windows. "The Courtyard of the Tree of Harmony!"

"Pretty dangerous to hang out the window like that, don't you think, Spike?" Sunset asks, teasing, despite soon doing the exact same thing herself. "Tree of Harmony, huh?"

The Courtyard of the Tree of Harmony, as Spike called it, is walled off on all sides by Academy buildings. The courtyard itself and the towering tree contained within are both themselves made of crystal, although the tree's trunk and the courtyard are far more opaque and solid-looking than the ornate materials the Academy is made from. White branches jut from the tree in all directions, creating a crystal canopy from which twinkling gemstones hang down. Sunlight filters through the branches and gems, creating a breathtaking show of lights that reflects not only off the branches and gems, but the lower floors of the buildings themselves. Five branches, however, stand out from the rest, made out of the same, opaque, dark-blue crystal as the trunk. Each extends out proudly, defying the rest of the tree's upper aesthetic, their tips encasing gems that seem to glow with their own light - a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, a red lightning bolt, a purple diamond, and an orange apple. Trails flow from those gems, along the branches, and back to the trunk, meeting at a single point - a six point star, the shape the same as that on the necklace around Sunset's neck. However, its merely an indentation of the shape, carved out crudely from the tree's trunk. The rest of the trunk is worn with both age and abuse, leaving it standing as a monument either far older than the Academy around it, or far less cared for. While the strange indentation leaves questions nagging in Sunset's mind, she's not given much time to formulate them before she gets interrupted.

"Oh, hey, it's..." Spike mutters, catching Sunset's attention. Seeing the smitten look on his face, she follows his eyes back down, to a spot a bit to the side of the tree's trunk. There, two ponies she originally didn't notice below the tree engage in a hushed conversation. However, now the two have her full attention, as they also wear the same style of uniform that the three from the sports field did. The first has a flat, raspberry mane, covering half of her face, and her pink coat contrasts sharply against the blue body of her uniform. Despite the mix of colors, the mare somehow looks very... plain, to Sunset, especially when compared to the mare she's speaking with. That latter mare has a sweeping, intricately styled violet mane and an alabaster coat. Her uniform, much like the mare before on the bleachers, matches her mane and tail with a carefully chosen shade of violet, and a horn distinctly juts from her head - a unicorn, like Sunset Shimmer.

"Rarity..." Spike half-mutters, clearly forgetting Sunset Shimmer is even there. It doesn't take Sunset much time to figure out which the youngling's attention is being enamored by. While she finds Spike's swooning a bit pathetic, even Sunset Shimmer can admit the mare's beauty. It wouldn't be a surprise for her to learn that this 'Rarity' is the heart-throb of far more than just a small dragon. Sunset giggles to herself, but stops partway through, leaning forward curiously. It takes her a moment to fully trust her eyes, but she's not wrong - there's a third pony in the courtyard, obscured by the trunk of the tree. Her coat is a pale, pinkish purple, and her mane is a striped purple and aquamarine, primped up fancily, in a way that makes her look older than the rest of the mares in the courtyard. Unlike her two companions, she wears the default uniform, but she has a far more attention-grabbing detail to her than mere fancy clothes - her entire body, and somehow, her uniform too, glisten, glossed over somehow with a thin layer of crystal, causing her to blend in somewhat against the architecture of the Academy behind her.

"Hey, Spike, who's that there?" Sunset asks, pulling him out of his reverie, pointing with a hoof. "See her? She's on the side, there, a bit behind the Tree of Harmony or whatever it is."

"Oh." Spike grumbles. "That's Starlight Glimmer. She's a real A-class stick-in-the-mud. Never really talks to anypony. I'm pretty sure the Elements of Harmony only tolerate her because the Headmaster dotes on her."

"Elements of Harmony?" She turns to him, as he in turn faces her, eyebrow raised.

"You know, only the most important students here? They pretty much run the place?" At her increasingly confused expression, Spike can't help but laugh in disbelief. "Sheesh, you really are new, here!" He holds a claw up, fist clenched, unfolding each digit as he lists off names. "Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and..." He runs out of digits, but it doesn't matter as he turns back to the window, gripping its edge and entering his trance once again. "Rarity..."

Sunset smiles as she walks past him. "Don't go off the edge, there, Casanova."

Her hooves carry her before her consciousness realizes where to. Sunset finds herself captivated by the mare, 'Starlight Glimmer'. How can she be crystal? Why does everyone seem to just accept that as normal? What keeps her so reclusive, assuming Spike's correct? It's a new mystery in her new home, guiding Sunset's hooves down the final flight of stairs to the ground floor. Looking at it from below, the tree looks decidedly more massive, its branches encompassing most of the allocated area between the buildings. The awe-inspiring show of lights Sunset saw from the floor above only looks more impressive at this angle, a truly captivating sight that seems wasted in its current location, walled off between buildings, far in the back of the Academy.

Sunset makes her way across the courtyard, Rarity still engaged with her conversation with the other mare. Soon, Sunset's on the far side of the tree, within range of her target. "Hey there." She says, quietly enough to not be overheard by prying ears. If she's truly as introverted as Spike says, Sunset imagines it'll be easier to get her to speak if things stay a one-on-one conversation. Looking over her shoulder, she sees that Starlight appears to be tending the tree like an actual plant, and not a crystal monument.

"Hello." The crystal mare replies sweetly yet simply, not turning from her work. So far, Spike's description of her seems pretty much spot-on. While not altogether unfriendly, it's clear that she's about as far from Spike as she can be in terms of outgoingness while still being polite. Its a bit of irony not lost on Sunset, that the first two ponies - or rather, dragon and pony - that she tries to befriend are so diametrically opposed.

"Um..." Sunset rubs the back of her neck with a hoof. "My name's Sunset Shimmer. I was just curious to what you're doing down here." The barest of lies, but a good conversation starter. Or, she hopes it is, at least. Sunset is neither shy nor introverted, normally one to dominate the opening of a conversation with force of personality when not paired with one like Spike, but she works to subdue her natural impulse. She's familiar enough with a mare of Starlight Glimmer's presumed type to know better than to come on strong. While spurred mainly by her physical oddity, initially, Sunset has a bit of an inexplicable compulsion for wanting to befriend loner-types.

"I'm tending the Tree of Harmony." Starlight Glimmer explains, just as sweetly and just as simply as before. "It's my job." She continues at her task, still not acknowledging Sunset's existence beyond the answering of her questions.

Progress, Sunset surmises, though the answer leaves her more confused and not less. "Job?" She raises an eyebrow at Starlight. "It's... a monument. Made of crystals. How much tending can it possibly need?" The tree's trunk is definitely in need of a good cleaning and buffing, maybe, but that's not what Starlight is doing. She's watering it, like a real plant, watering can held in her hooves. It's a bit of an odd image, Sunset realizes, as she finally notices the horn jutting from Starlight's head. Why not just use your magic to water it and be done that much quicker?

"The Tree of Harmony requires far more tending-to than a simpleton like you could understand." A new voice causes Sunset's head to snap to the side, as a certain alabaster mare saunters up to her, nose raised a tiny bit higher than it needs to be. "Are you another fresher? You should know that the Courtyard of Tree of Harmony is off-limits to normal students." Her tone mirrors her posture - creating an air of elitism that immediately puts Sunset on edge.

"What's your problem?" Sunset's eyes narrow at the mare she presumes to be Rarity as she turns to face the fellow unicorn. "I'm just trying to be friendly with somepony." Sunset holds her stance firm, guessing Rarity is one of those 'Mean Mare' types. She has enough experience with the gamut of less-savory ponies to know mares like her wilt as long as she holds ground against them.

Starlight's eyes drift away from her work, silently watching the confrontation between the two.

"Well they don't want to be friendly with you!" Her gaze moves from Sunset to Starlight. "Do you, Crystal Mare?" The line of Rarity's lips turns up, and the look her face takes on may as well have 'smug' written across it.

Where does she get off, referring to her that way?

Starlight's gaze falls, hooves going idle. "...Of course not, Mistress Rarity." Starlight Glimmer's tone is flat, almost robotic. Her stance remains rigid as she stares squarely at the roots of the Tree of Harmony. Sunset feels the blanks filling in almost immediately as she takes stock of the situation.

"What?!" Sunset's head snaps to Starlight. "Don't let her trot all over you like that!" Sunset knows the words are hollow in regards to a mare with the demeanor like Starlight Glimmer as soon as they leave her mouth, but she feels compelled to try to rouse her to resist, anyway. Her temper boils beneath her best attempt to keep herself in control. Bullies like this tug a particular chord inside Sunset Shimmer, one that usually spurs her into action.

Starlight's eyes come back up from the ground, watching Sunset Shimmer impassively.

"Trot all over her?" Rarity tsks. "Darling, I'm afraid you don't understand." Rarity's mocking tone only serves to inflame Sunset further. That boiling beneath her control soon overflows, and...

"I understand just fine!" Sunset stomps a hoof, pressing herself squarely into Rarity's face. "I understand that you're a-"

Rarity's hoof impacts Sunset's chest hard, sending her off-balance and stumbling back, winding her and taking the rest of her protest with it. Rarity's eyes lock down on Sunset, her own anger flickering behind them after being disrespected by such an impudent newbie. "You'd best watch your tone, or else..." Rarity's voice, low and threatening, soon trails off, eyes narrowing as they catch glimpse of Sunset's necklace, now free from under her uniform. "Oh ho ho! How interesting!" The flip in emotion is enough to give Sunset whiplash, as Rarity now sounds like someone privy to some secret joke.

Starlight's eyes go wide as they lock on the necklace around Sunset's neck. Her hooves twitch, but she ultimately makes no move.

"What's so interesting?" Sunset follows Rarity's eyes down, holding the necklace in her hoof. "My necklace? Jealous or something?"

"Oh, quite the opposite!" Rarity fishes her hoof under her uniform, and reveals a matching necklace of her own. "Now I see why you're getting so cozy with the Crystal Mare! A Duelist, are you?" Her lips curl into a predatory smile, and her eyes lock with Sunset's. "You have my attention. What's your name, new girl?"

"Sunset Shimmer." She replies, getting back to her hooves. "And I have no idea what you're on about." Her eyes trail back to the necklace. "What do you know about these necklaces?" While Sunset desperately wants to grip her anger at the mare, the dangle of Rarity's necklace may as well be a dangling promise of information toward her goal. For the moment, Sunset Shimmer tempers herself.

"You don't know?" Rarity asks, incredulous. "How quaint! The Magic Crest symbolizes your status as a chosen Duelist. The letters always explain that when they come bearing the necklace."

Letters...? While Sunset finds herself not having any idea what Rarity's talking about, she does pick up one small but important confirmation - the necklaces indeed come from this Academy. Sunset, temper now returning to a manageable boil, chooses her next question carefully. "Duelist?" It's the piece of ignorance Rarity already knows about, so its the one Sunset feels safest pressing her with to get some answers.

Rarity chuckles to herself. "My, you really don't know, do you? In that case, it's really for the best if you just take it off and forget you've ever worn it."

"Yeah, not happening." Sunset Shimmer spits back, glaring. At that moment, Sunset gets an idea. A terrible idea, she well knows, but to her, it feels like her best chance to kill two birds with one stone. "If these mean we're Duelists, then I can challenge you to whatever kind of duel it is, right?"

Rarity's eyes narrow on Sunset, glinting. "I don't recommend it, but it's your funeral, dear."

Sunset smirks, turning her anger into confidence. "Fine then, I'll challenge you! And when I win, you have to stop bullying Starlight Glimmer, got it?" Sunset Shimmer hopes that by participating in the duel, she can get a few breadcrumbs to follow as to who and where these necklaces originate from, and maybe even spare Starlight Glimmer her torment in the process.

"Fine then. Meet me at the top of the tower in the center of the school. Midnight." Rarity's confidence matches Sunset's own, but it's not enough to make Sunset wilt away from her task.

"The tower?" Sunset smirks. "Isn't that place off-limits?"

"We Elements of Harmony get a special exception, so don't worry about any silly rules."

---

Sunset Shimmer looks up at the monolith in front of her. The crystals of the Academy take on an entirely different hue at night, and the crystal tower is no different. What in the day was a beautiful spire reaching to the clouds now looms over her, cutting an imposing figure across the night sky. She steps forward, reaching a pair of double doors. At more than twice her height, Sunset can't begin to fathom what kind of creature on this Academy these doors are designed to service. She places a hoof on each handle, tugging once, then again, but they don't budge.

"Come to the tower at night, she says." Sunset grumbles. "Elements of Harmony get a special exception, she says."

Sunset Shimmer looks at the handles of the door again. Inscribed on the top of each handle is a magenta, six-pointed star. Curious, Sunset fishes out the necklace from her uniform, gazing at it in her hoof. Her eyes dart between the two once, then again. Identical. As she turns her eyes to the door again, the necklace begins to glow. She pulls her hoof away and takes a step back, the necklace now dangling freely at her neck as the doors begin glowing to match. She squints her eyes against the light, a burning white in the darkness, the doors slowly opening for her of their own accord.

"What is this?" She asks herself, sweeping her eyes around as she steps into the tower. Perplexingly, inside the tower, of all things, is a second tower, wrapped in a spiral staircase, reaching up as far as her eyes can see. Top of the tower. With that thought in mind, Sunset Shimmer places one hoof in front of the other, her goal in mind. The spiral is a trial unto itself, but determination presses her forward, even as the staircase beneath her hooves begins feeling endless.

The necklace... thoughts of it swim inside Sunset Shimmer's head. She remembers receiving it from her dearest friend, a long time ago - a friend whose name is lost to Sunset's memories. Sunset laughs solemnly to herself. What sort of friend am I? Guilt wracks Sunset's conscience - for as important as she tells herself that friend was to her, all she can remember now is the mare's mane colors - a deep blue with dual stripes of violet and rose. But still, Sunset climbs, ready to do what needs to be done. There's another detail Sunset remembers of that old friend, though - a detail that the few ponies she's told dismissed out of hoof, causing her to lock it up and keep it entirely to herself. That friend, so long ago... she remembers the mare being an alicorn, a timeless pony of both horn and wing, the kind of pony whose strength and wisdom has become naught but whispers and legends. Few ponies in the current age believe them to have ever existed at all... but the memory, the silhouette of the mare, burn brightly in her mind.

But, possibly more important than the mare's mane colors or even her status as a legendary pony species, are the words she left Sunset Shimmer with. Words that once saved Sunset Shimmer from her darkest moment, and served as the basis of the mare she's become. A simple phrase, that sounds perfectly at home with being from a place named Friendship Academy:

"The Magic of Friendship exists everywhere... all you need to do is seek it out."

While Sunset can no longer remember her voice, those words stay close to her heart.

Sunset reaches the top of the stairs, which lead into a wide platform, a structure spacious enough to fit a school dormitory in its own right, never mind have any hope of fitting inside the tower Sunset entered initially. The floor is crystal, as with everything else in Friendship Academy. On the floor's center, a giant version of the six-point star is etched, glowing a faint magenta, as the rest of the floor glistens immaculately in the direct light falling atop it. Confused, she looks around - seeing not the walls of the tower, but the sky, clouds layered against a midday blue, swirling themselves around the platform. But... it's night time, isn't it? She turns her head upward, eyes scanning in search of the sun, only for them to go wide as she takes a step back, barely catching herself from tripping back down the stairs. Above her, floating upside-down, is an expansive, crystal castle, walls of purple resting in blue framing, contrast with golden roofs and balconies. Its tallest crest is adorned with a giant, six-point star, in pure-blue crystal. Light pours from the castle like a chandelier, bathing the platform.

"Spike..." Sunset mutters. "I think I found your Friendship Castle."

"Bewitching, isn't it?" A familiar voice pulls Sunset from her gaping and back down to reality. Across from her stands Rarity, flanked by Starlight Glimmer, the latter now wearing a flowing, magenta dress. The shoulders have pads and tassels much like Rarity's uniform, and it has the odd choice of having magenta cuffs adorn Starlight's fetlocks, despite the gown having no sleeves. The dress has a crystal-like glazing over it, much like Starlight Glimmer herself.

"What is this place?" Sunset asks dumbly. "There's a castle! Upside-down! How can a castle float upside-down? Why can't you see any of this from outside?" The questions slip from Sunset's lips, one by one, her plan of tempered self-control lost to the sheer bizarreness of her current situation. Just what have I gotten myself into...?

"That's right, you've never seen this place before, have you?" Rarity steps forward as she speaks, Starlight Glimmer trailing behind her. "Don't worry, it's all just a mirage. A trick of the light caused by the Dueling Arena."

"A trick of the light?" Sunset asks, the question coming out just as dumbly as all the previous ones. It takes her a minute, but Sunset soon measures the ridiculousness of the answer in her mind. She's a unicorn of high pedigree, familiar in all kinds of magic. Something like this being an illusion requires some sort of magical element, and Sunset can't find herself believing that Rarity or any other unicorn can pull off such an intricate feat, between the castle, the strange sky, and everything else.

"It makes an excellent backdrop, though, does it not?" Rarity asks, but Sunset refuses to answer, merely turning her head back down to lock eyes with Rarity instead. "Fine, let us forego the small talk. Prepare the Magic Duel!"

Sunset smirks to herself at the name. A magic duel? This is as good as in the bag, you overconfident priss!

Starlight steps in front of Rarity, affixing something to her uniform. "A small crystal from deep within me, for you..." As she steps back, Sunset recognizes it yet again - the six-point star, seemingly ubiquitous, as far as this dueling game is concerned. A moment later, and Starlight stands in front of Sunset, affixing another of the crystals to her as well. "And for you... a fleeting crystal from The End of the World."

"A crystal from the end of the world...?" Sunset asks, confused by the strange ritual as Starlight takes one step back.

"The person who has their crystal shattered loses the duel." Starlight Glimmer explains, in her standard, sweet monotone, ignoring Sunset's question. "However, to duel, one must have a sword..."

"A sword?" Sunset's confusion continues compounding on top of itself.

"It's not too late, Sunset Shimmer." Starlight Glimmer says, hushed, so only Sunset can hear. "You don't know anything about the necklace, so just take it off." Her tone is no longer her practiced monotone, but pleading and emotional. Sunset instantly gets chills at the dropped facade, wondering just how in over her head she's gotten herself.

"How vexing!" Rarity answers Sunset's question, silencing Starlight. "Yes, dear, a sword!" Metal scrapes against metal as Rarity draws a weapon from her right side - a longsword, the hilt encrusted with all manner of gemstones. Sunset quickly realizes that, all this time, she's somehow overlooked the mare carrying a weapon on her over the course of this conversation. Though, she surmises, they're still in Friendship Academy. It looks intimidating, and it might even be made of real materials, but in the end, it has to still be a prop. An ornate, metal club at best. Rarity holds it in her magical grip, aiming it at Sunset. "You're not permitted to duel unless you have a sword."

Sunset locks eyes with the mare she's grown to dislike so much, so quickly, as she steps forward, past Starlight Glimmer. "Don't worry, I have a sword." Her own horn glows, summoning a large tree branch, pointing it back at Rarity. "Is this acceptable?" Sword fighting, even with the use of her magic, isn't something Sunset can say she's particularly good at. Regardless, she's ready as ever to put this mare in her place, and hopefully get some answers out of her in the process.

Sunset hears a gate slam shut behind her as Rarity's grin widens to a point of maliciousness. "Fine by me."

Somewhere, outside the Dueling Arena, a chorus of bells rings, flooding the ears of every pony on the platform.

Starlight Glimmer steps out from between the pair, passing one final glance at Sunset Shimmer. Silently, Starlight's lips move, and Sunset catches the simple phrase on them. 'Good luck.' For Sunset, it's the final bit of spurring she needs to put Rarity in her place.

However, letting her gaze linger on Starlight leaves her reeling as she hears the pounding of hooves in her direction, her attention snapping back just in time to raise her branch and catch the longsword's blade partway through a flourished, downward strike. Wood chips fly as the blade digs into the bark, and Sunset feels the impact through her magic. The Magic Duel, however strangely named it may be, is on, and Sunset's already on the back hoof.

From the sidelines, Starlight Glimmer watches the clash of unicorns, crystal-glazed eyes impassive.

"So, what's with you, anyway?!" Sunset's brow scrunches, the clash of sword against branch essentially becoming a clash of the two unicorns' magical muscles, with Rarity's catching Sunset off guard. It only takes her a moment to stabilize herself and match the mare on equal terms, but it's still a more difficult match than Sunset originally anticipated. "Why do you get off so much on treating Starlight Glimmer like that?" Sunset's original intent of asking Rarity questions related to the necklace is tossed aside, the small ways that Starlight had reached out to her before the beginning of the duel spurring Sunset to care more about her situation than the mystery of her own necklace.

"Really? That's what you want to ask about?" Rarity drags her sword free of Sunset's branch, bringing it down for a second swing, landing the hit in the exact same spot. "I'm the Champion of the Magic Duels!" Rarity's sword digs in deeper, the branch starting to buckle under the strain. "The Crystal Mare is nothing more than a tool!"

"A tool?!" The anger from deep inside Sunset boils over once more. As Rarity drags her sword free once more, Sunset capitalizes, swinging the branch wide and forcing Rarity to leap back. Taking swing after swing, Sunset presses forward, pressing her advantage while keeping a watchful eye for Rarity's weapon, should she try to use her magic to sneak in a strike at an odd angle. "You don't even use her name, and now you call her a tool? A tool for what? She's a mare with feelings too, you know! You can't just treat her like that!"

A small flicker enters Starlight's eyes as she focuses on the branch-wielding Sunset Shimmer.

"That's where you're wrong!" Rarity punctuates her declaration with another swing of her own sword, this time splitting Sunset's branch in two. "The Crystal Mare is a tool to be used by the Champion of the Duels, Sunset Shimmer. But, I suppose, that's not for you to understand!"

"Wait, a real sword?" Sunset finds herself asking as she leaps back, a second swing from Rarity knocking the remains of the branch out of her grip. "You could kill somepony with that thing!" She locks eyes with Rarity, steeling herself as she runs through plan after plan to try and salvage the situation, in spite of the newfound fear pounding through her heart at the glint of Rarity's blade in the light of the castle.

Rarity's eyes narrow, honing in on their target as the sword re-positions itself in her magical grasp. "It's over!"

Rarity's blade comes down, point primed to cut the six-point star crystal from Sunset's chest, but an impact against Sunset's side finds her removed from the sword's trajectory. Sunset reels as her vision floods with the blue, crystal-glazed eyes of Starlight Glimmer, a flurry of emotions reflecting within them. The two topple to the ground, nearly muzzle-to-muzzle, Sunset's breath ragged as endless questions run through her mind, none of them able to find the words to be spoken.

"How dare you interfere in the Magic Duel, Crystal Mare!" Rarity's rage at her victory being snatched away is palpable as hooves ring out behind Starlight Glimmer. "To betray the Champion of the Duels is-"

The Crystal Mare, however, simply looks into Sunset's eyes. "You're not permitted to duel without a sword, Sunset Shimmer..." Her eyes close, as a light emanates from her chest.

"What..." Sunset watches, wide eyed and in disbelief, as white light solidifies into the shape of a rod, and, soon, into what is unmistakably the hilt of a sword. The light only intensifies as it continues to manifest from Starlight Glimmer's chest, jutting forth as a blade begins to form. The hilt is ornate, a rounded gold, with a full hoof-guard, and has the ubiquitous six-point star as its pommel. "A... sword...?" She closes her eyes, reaching her right hoof out and clutching the hilt. As she grasps it, her body feels like it moves without her direction. Her eyes snap open, locking with Rarity's in one final moment.

The pommel of the sword glows, as does the star of her necklace. Above them, the light of the castle brightens, flooding the Dueling Arena with intense, artificial light. Sunset's right hoof extends forward, as the rest of her body fires forth with an inequine speed. Wings flare as Sunset's horn glows, her magic enveloping herself as she quickly finds her target. Before Rarity can comprehend any of the events at hoof, never mind respond to them, the two meet.

With one thrust, crystal shatters.

The bells chime once more, flooding the Dueling Arena deafeningly as a stillness falls over both Sunset Shimmer and Rarity.

I won... A grin worms its way onto Sunset's face as the sword in her hoof vanishes in a haze of magenta sparkles, and she collapses onto her side. I...

Comments

[WolfWatcher7]

Awesome! Personally i didn't think there was anything wrong with the other chapters but it is your story. Looking forward to more and longer chapters!

[GuyWhoWritesThings]

7856730
I think as you get through the new version of the story, why I decided to bomb and rewrite it will become more and more obvious, if the reasons in the blog post aren't enough on their own.