And a Sky Full of Stars
The first one made no sound as the twin Flareblades cut her down. If anything, she looked peaceful as she died. Almost eager. The demonic blue light in her eyes faded a second before she dissolved into gray ash, leaving a tiny wisp of violet that flittered away before Sunset could react.
“Strike them down!” Sunset called to her companions. “I will handle these!”
Five Dark Twilights rushed Sunset even as Philomena and Faerana screeched in fury and dove into the mass of gargoyles. Sunset lost sight of them almost instantly, save for the occasional bout of gold and violet flame.
Then, she didn’t have time to look anymore.
A bolt of kinetic force slammed into her left flank and sent her spinning into the air, but Sunset Shimmer was no stranger to aerial combat. She turned it into a corkscrew and dove for another one of the things that wore her wife’s face. It hissed at her with a feral snarl before conjuring up a pair of obsidian daggers that blocked Sunset’s sweep. With more speed than Sunset thought possible, her attacker brought a dagger around and plunged it into her side. The Solstice Raiment saved her life once more, deflecting the blow and sending her opponent off-balance for just an instant. Sunset struck, but another one of the Dark Twilights parried the blow with a battleaxe conjured from nothing. The second Dark Twilight swung, nearly taking Sunset’s head off.
Battleaxes weren’t meant for close-quarters combat. Sunset demonstrated how ineffective they were at blocking with a slash at the thing’s neck. It died in ash and another spark escaped.
A twirling staff of balefire magic spun forward with quicksilver speed and knocked one of her Flareblades from her telekinesis. Sunset screamed as the backlash of the impact tore at her mind. She glanced over to see the Flareblade fall toward the altar where her wife lay dying.
She is dying because I am taking far too long with these mockeries!
Sunset turned and charged for another, but they were prepared. A flare of balefire erupted from three of their horns and Sunset was forced to take shelter behind a single Flareblade, which could barely hold back one balefire blast, let alone three. She felt the oblivion magic start to rip her very being apart.
Sunset thought furiously, trying to spot where the fourth monster had run off to, but she couldn’t see it in the raging shadows from the phoenixes' war with the gargoyles. She tried to conjure up another spinning disk, but the effort of trying to use the magic of the world nearly made her pass out. She took a balefire blast to the leg and screamed as the piece of armor was turned into molten slag. She kicked it off and it crashed against a support pillar once hidden in the Dark Twilights’ unnatural gloom. An explosion of solar energy pulsed from the broken armor, staggering the Dark Twilights and allowing Sunset enough room to use her great wings to bound backward and catch her breath.
Parts of the room were ablaze with fire now. Some shimmering white, caused by the Flareblade’s inherent magic. Some violet or gold, a result of her companions ongoing brawl with the gargoyles. Some a sickly blue or green, caused by the Dark Twilights’s magic.
She had to find a way out of this. She needed… she needed her Twilight. These Dark Twilights were just as good as she was… or at least as powerful as she was. They did not possess her Twilight’s skill with a weapon, but they made up for it with speed and nigh unlimited magic. Sunset’s was all but gone.
Never bring a knife to a magic fight, Sunset thought wryly, recalling an old adage from the pre-Classical era.
“I’ve learned much from your wife,” said the voices from all around her as Sunset backed up, coughing on the rising smoke. “Of the Emergence. Of how your world becomes bonded to so many others once a century. That is the time of demons and evil. It is how he arrived. A simple case of bad timing. But when we arrived… he was waiting. And this is what he did to my… to my…”
From behind another support pillar, a beam of tainted green energy erupted like a bolt of lightning and speared Sunset through the chest. She screamed as the very magic that gave her life was ripped from her. With a desperate swing of her Flareblade, she severed the connection and fell to her knees, gasping for breath.
“You… you… monster…”
“I am what I must be. I am the rock upon which he will break. I am as inevitable as death,” the four Dark Twilights replied. “He will die. As will you. As will she.”
“No!” Sunset screamed as she threw herself to her hooves and lashed out at one of the approaching alicorns. A blade of violet light blocked the attack and parried her to the side. Then a savage kick sent her crashing through one of the support pillars, shattering glass panes in the roof. They cascaded down around her like falling stars.
Even through the pain of broken bones and the debris that lay around her, Sunset still had the strength to defy these things.
“No! You won’t take her!”
“She is dead,” they replied as they stalked forward. “Her stars are already gone. It is done.”
“Liar!”
Sunset growled and focused. It took far too much power, but she did it anyway. She hurled her blade with all her might at one of the Dark Twilights. She sneered at Sunset, batting it away, but Sunset was ready. With a whip of her head, she allowed it to be knocked aside, only to have it rush back. Again, the Dark Twilight cracked it away with a conjured rapier of blood-red steel.
This time, Sunset shifted tactics. With a growl of effort as she fed upon the dwindling energy reserves of the Solstice Raiment, she levitated the small inert chaos engine behind the Dark Twilights and pulled it forward. It crashed into the leftmost Dark Twilight and she fell, staring at the device in confusion.
Sunset telekinetically slammed the activation button. Swirls of red and purple light filled the cylindrical power source.
Then the Flameblade came soaring through the smoke and sliced clean through it.
The massive explosion of unleashed chaos magic vaporized that Dark Twilight. It was too contained to take out any of the others, but it left a burning circular hole in the floor. And still, a violet spark flittered into the smoke.
Three down… three to go.
“It is time to die, Princess of the Dawn,” the last three said. “Your death shall herald my vengeance.”
This time, twin beams of sickly green light speared the smoke. Sunset was only barely able to get the Flareblade up in time, but to her horror, she realized the magic from the Suncrystal within was being drained by this horrid spell. It wouldn’t last very—
The third struck. Somehow, she had gotten behind Sunset.
Her horn was inches from Sunset’s head.
Sunset had been through many battles. She had been a general in far too many wars. Seen much. Endured much.
All of it paled in comparison to having her very mind shredded from the inside out. She was being pulled apart. Her thoughts twisted and broke. The blade dropped from her telekinesis as her magic imploded. Her armor flared as it tried to protect her. Her brain split open. Agony poured in through the cracks. Coherence splintered and shattered like a crystal statue thrown from the top of the Phoenix Tower.
My one regret… said the voice of the Dark Twilight within her head. Is that by watching you die… I have to watch her die again.
Her body was encased in living magma, burning away her coat, scorching her flesh. It wasn’t enough that the Dark Twilight was ripping apart her mind. She had to rip apart her bo—
The Solstice Raiment, the armor once worn by the Sunmother herself, the symbol of the power of the Princess of the Dawn, worn through countless battles across a hundred worlds… exploded.
All three of the Dark Twilights screamed as they were thrown backward. One crashed through another support beam and part of the roof collapsed upon her. Dimly, Sunset saw another flicker of light twist away. She blinked, trying to figure out what had happened.
Her mind was clear once again. Exhausted. Battered. But clear.
She looked down to see her coat unblemished and untouched… but unarmored. The armor had given itself to save her. An ancient gift.
A ghostly face appeared before her. Sunset’s heart gave a leap.
“All is not lost, my beloved daughter.” It was the voice of her friends, both present and departed. It was the voice of a nearly-forgotten memory, lost in the depths of time. It was the voice of the soul of the universe itself. “All can be redeemed, if given the chance.”
It faded away.
Sunset glanced behind her to see that her Twilight had been thrown off the altar… but she couldn’t see where. Faerana and Philomena were lost in the swarm of gargoyles.
She was alone. And yet… she knew she was not.
She tried to grasp the Flareblade... and failed. The spell wouldn’t manifest. She looked up and realized that there wasn’t the faintest flicker of magic from her horn.
Two Dark Twilights rose from the debris. Both seemed larger. Energy coruscated around their bodies. Now, Sunset could see the flicker of tiny stars as their bodies sucked in the magic of the night sky.
Sunset grabbed her sword in her mouth. The Flareblades were designed to be wielded by magic, but they still had a mouth-brace hilt. Without thinking, she rushed the closest Dark Twilight. The Dark Twilight grinned with a manic smile and battered her aside like a cat playing with a half-dead mouse. Sunset grunted as she smashed into another column, her eyes swimming in her head, but she refused to release her hold on her weapon.
Staggering upright, she rushed forward again, using her wings to propel her forward, though she couldn’t become airborne without her magic.
She was slapped aside again, and crashed against the dark altar. More ribs broke, but she refused to cry out. She looked around for her Twilight, but she was nowhere in sight.
Have… to do… something… Sunset’s thoughts were hazy. The room swayed and shook around her. Have to take down… at least one more…
Both stalked toward her as Sunset scrambled backward, desperately thinking. She was a general. She was a warrior. She’d been one for countless centuries. She’d fought in battles beyond measure.
And yet… no secret moment of enlightenment came.
The Dark Twilight to her left speared her with a bolt of balefire. It tore clean through her shoulder, leaving a cauterized hole the size of a filly’s hoof. Sunset’s eyes bulged, her brain unable to cope with the pain. A strangled gasp escaped her throat. She desperately fought back the blackness threatening to overwhelm her.
The second one charged up another bolt. Sunset weakly lifted her Flareblade.
Only after the Dark Twilight had unleashed her bolt did Sunset realize the Suncrystal was dark.
The bolt struck the Flareblade.
The ancient weapon shattered.
Sunset howled as the remnants of the blade speared her in a dozen places. One jagged shard pierced her straight through the middle. Another in one of her hindlegs. Blood flowed from innumerable cuts and wounds.
Then the pain began to fade away, as if it were a distant memory. Her thoughts were slugged and confused. Still, she tried to rise. Her body refused to respond.
She reached out with her magic. Nothing.
The two Dark Twilights stood over her and Sunset looked up beyond them through the shattered roof. Only a hoofful of stars remained in the sky.
“You were a worthy opponent,” the Dark Twilights said with nods of respect. “But—”
Another Twilight came screaming out of the smoke and flame, the second Flareblade in a weak field of magic. With a savage strike, she beheaded the rightmost Dark Twilight, who instantly crumpled to dust. The spark inside of her immediately surged into the final Dark Twilight. Her eyes shifted from a demonic blue to a hellish red.
The last one whirled and fired a thin bolt of balefire point-blank at Twilight’s horn.
Twilight’s horn exploded.
Her eyes went wide. The sword fell from her magic. Sunset gaped as her wife toppled backward, unconscious before she hit the ground. Blood poured from the gaping wound in her head. The only sign of life was the ragged rise and fall of her battered chest.
The Dark Twilight’s eyes burned with hatred as she readied a final balefire blast to murder Sunset’s wife.
Sunset shoved away the pain. She shoved away the exhaustion. The bruises, the injuries, the agony. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
There was only one thought in Sunset’s head:
Twilight is about to die.
Sunset lunged forward and caught the sword in her teeth.
Dark Twilight’s eyes tracked the motion. She turned. Death crackled on her horn.
And Sunset rammed the Flareblade straight through her chest.
She twitched as Sunset fell backwards, leaving the blade embedded in her enemy.
She didn’t turn to ash.
The Dark Twilight’s magic evaporated from her horn as she dropped to her knees.
“No…” she whispered. “I… I must… I have to… avenge…”
She fell with a meaty thud.
The red light faded from her eyes… making her look all too normal. Violet eyes, staring up at Sunset. Pleading. Begging. For something… anything. An ending? Peace?
Absolution?
A sound came from behind her. It sounded like somepony pouring sand out over an entire building.
Shrieks of panic came from two familiar throats. In a flash, Philomena was at Sunset’s side, but Sunset couldn’t help but notice the phoenix was far darker than she usually was. Faerana had her head buried in Twilight’s chest.
“It’s… it’s over…” Sunset managed to gasp.
“I can’t heal you,” Philomena trilled. “The elements… they…”
“I know…” Sunset nodded weakly and stared up into the night sky. From her vantage point against a pillar, she could see a single star in the sky. It was dim. But it was there. And it didn’t fade. “I know… but the stars still… they still...”
The last Dark Twilight twitched.
Sunset’s eyes dropped to her, but she knew that if this Dark Twilight did something… she was helpless. They both were.
She twitched again. Her eyes closed as if she were in great pain.
When she opened them again, they were pure white.
Then she shrieked. It was a shriek as if the universe itself was being ripped apart. Sunset shielded her eyes, but she could still see it. Streams of light poured from the body of the dark alicorn, flowing, twisting, pulsing around them all. She felt a wave of undiluted magic pour over her like a tidal wave would a grain of sand. Sunset would have cried out if she could, yet she drowned in the unleashed magic. It overwhelmed her. It flowed into her, through her eyes, her nose, her mouth. Through her wounds and through her very skin. Through her very soul.
It was as if the sun had gone supernova and she’d been standing beside it.
Her magic ignited like it had never ignited before… but still, she knew there was nothing she could do to shield herself. She could not save herself from being ripped apart by the raw energies of creation itself.
Then there was something in front of her. Something that screamed in defiance.
She opened her eyes to see Philomena, smirking that special smirk of hers as she took the brunt of the raw magical storm. She grew larger with each passing second, absorbing the power into herself as her eyes danced.
“Anypony ever tell you, Sunny?” Philomena trilled. “That you and your wife are more trouble than you’re worth?”
With a laugh, the phoenix turned to ash before her just as the magical maelstrom stopped.
Now, where once had been a dark and twisted alicorn calling herself Twilight Sparkle, now lay only a small lavendar unicorn, no more than three decades old.
So young...
To Sunset’s surprise… the unicorn was still breathing. There was no sign of the wound she should have sported in her chest.
The Flareblade lay beside her, clean and bright, the Suncrystal glowing softly in the broken room. To her right, the other Flareblade rocked from side to side, restored once more to its former glory.
Sunset looked down to see a small mound of familiar-looking ash and smiled faintly. Philomena had earned a rest and she would leave her dear companion to it. Nearby, her Twilight looked up, confused as another pile of ash lay before her. Faerana had saved Twilight just as Philomena had saved Sunset. But more importantly… Twilight was whole once more. Her horn had been restored. There wasn’t even a single scar from Dark Twilight’s horrific acts.
Immediately, Sunset leapt to her hooves—not even taking time to marvel at the healing the magic had provided her—and rushed to catch Twilight in her forelegs. Twilight sobbed for joy as the Princess of the Dawn and the Princess of the Dusk were reunited once more. They stayed like that for a long time.
“Sunny…” Twilight whispered as she gently pulled away and pointed upwards through the broken ceiling.
Sunset followed her hoof and smiled. Her horn glowed as she felt the time come. Twilight’s horn did the same.
The brilliant moon set as dawn broke over the world and into the sky filled with stars.
Fight choreography by John Woo, Yuen Woo-ping and Brandon Sanderson.
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B-but phoenixes can't really die, right? They're okay, right?
8036757 If Philomena were to go out... you know that's exactly how she would do it. Something noble, something awesome and something snarky.
Aaaaay
Wait, what do you mean it had nothing to do with Mistborn?
Fine.
Huh. Or maybe it was related to Mistborn.
...Are there a lot of Sunsets and Twilights? Or maybe a bunch of AppleDashes?
See, when I first read this, I thought she was catching a sword about to cut Twi, and the first thing through my head was "She pulled off a last chomp." And then I reread it and realized she was just picking up her own sword. Still. A Lastchomp. That'd be pretty epic.
EWWWW KILL IT WITH FIRE!
PHILOMENA KILL IT WITH FIRE!
Disturbingly, unnaturally quiet.
"Shhh, Twi. We can take a moment. We just almost died. And we saved the world. A lot of worlds. Or something."
"Well, yeah, but then... then we'd be... We'd be--"
"Don't you dare say--"
"Tardy."
And I definitely felt the Sanderson in there. The flying daggers, obsidian weaponry, and pulling the engine.
But if you are implying that phoenixes count as doves, I imagine Philomena would be rather cross.
8051060
I never said that!
Depends on your level of Tchernobog corruption.
An Eldrich Horror Has Appeared!
"Good artists borrow..."
Man, now that was a victory by the skin of their teeth. Big cost in power too considering the loss of the armor Sunset was wearing. At least the swords apparently survived.
What an epic and brutal climactic battle!
Click click boom boom
Did you mean a Flareblade? I think this one got misnamed.
the buck happening?
This is beautiful. Everything flows. Emotions breaking every second.