Sun Never Sets

by CrownofDissonance

08- The Point of Convergance

There was a faint, distorted sound echoing through the sewer system beneath Canterlot City. Twilight didn't even need to use her tracking device, she was certain that her target and the source of the noise were the same.

Her hoverboard made a soft whir as she glided down the tunnel, suspended over the water flowing beneath her. This particular tunnel was wide, made for people to go through, with dozens of smaller pipes feeding into the stream at the center. She moved, the echoing sound becoming more and more clear. There was gunfire ahead. Someone struggling. Fighting.

Twilight heard another sound though, one closer, but so infinitely quiet that she couldn't locate its origin. It felt like it was coming from the inside of her ear.

I'm in control.

It wasn't of Applejack's or Rarity's demons.

So very much in control, aren't I?

It was her own voice, yet she wasn't consciously thinking. It thought with a will of its own. She replied to it.

I'm in control.

Her voice and the foreign one became the same. Not just in sound and in tone, but also in essence. Twilight's own thoughts reverberated with the distorted voice of a demon. How long had it been like that?

No, I'm in control. The other voice, yet still somehow her own replied. Now fully aware, she felt as if she had made both statements. Had she been talking to herself without realizing it? Why did she feel like one of the voices was not hers?

She ignored the change in her thought-voice, and spoke aloud. "I'm in control."

Her speaking voice sounded normal. It was only her thoughts that changed. What was going on?

She wasn't even moving anymore, she was just hovering above the sewer water, trying to sort out what was going on in her mind. Was it her two mental passengers? She released her suppression of them to question them.

What are you two up to? She asked. Again, it was in that altered, demonic tone.

Applejack's demon was the first to respond. I don't know what you're talking about.

Twilight didn't believe her.

Rarity's demon gave a response shortly after. You think we even have anything to say to you at this point? You were talking to yourself, dear.

Twilight didn't believe that either, but for a different reason. She could've sworn the voice wasn't hers, that it just sounded like her voice but was someone else's.

I wouldn't have any shame in having a conversation with myself... Rarity's demon said. Anyone as interesting as myself wouldn't, really...

She suppressed the demons again, though not as violently as she had before. The sounds of conflict were coming from a wide path branching off of the main stream, a dry walkway with a lower ceiling. Twilight dismounted her board as she neared, peeking around the corner to see what was there.

The glowing, vacant form of the Tantibus was present in a rounded room at the end of the path. It appeared in the shape of a person, with the outline of flowing hair around its head, and stretched its arms out in long punches to attack its targets, a woman and a four legged creature standing beside her.

The woman looked easily twice her age, perhaps even older, but still moved with energy and grace. She had short, pale blue hair and deep, blue-ish green eyes, not the same shade as the Tantibus's bright green, but just as striking. Her weapon choice was unusual, rather than having paired guns, one hand held a big, boxy machine pistol with a long magazine in the handle, and the other hand a smaller pistol that fired a three round burst with each trigger pull. Also unusual was her clothing. She wore a long, black, sleeveless leather coat with a tall collar, and beneath that had a surprisingly formal navy blue suit, with a white ruffled shirt visible beneath that.

Whoever she was, she was putting a lot of lead on the Tantibus, and was fast enough to dodge attacks from multiple directions.

Fast as she might be, Twilight could tell that she was only a human, but the creature accompanying her was definitely a demon. Like the Tantibus, it had a grey, ethereal form, but was a bit more solid, with a furry texture to it. It took the shape of a small, armored horse, or rather, a unicorn, as a jagged horn curved upwards from its head. Its red eyes glared at the Tantibus, and it rushed in close as the human woman fired her guns from afar.

The shadow unicorn jumped into the Tantibus, a sharp set of crystalline spikes emerging from its body as it grabbed the spacy creature between its forelegs. The crystals sunk into their target, but the Tantibus was able to slip away, sending short tendrils out of its body to throw the unicorn into the ceiling. The unicorn let out a whimper of pain as it fell back to the floor, and the woman rushed to its side, jumping over it and shooting down more tendrils targeting her downed companion.

A few bullets were enough to thwart the stretching tendrils and arms, but every time she would fire at the Tantibus's body, it morphed out of the way. Despite that, her guns fired fast enough that one or two bullets still made contact, but with more arms forming off of its body and stretching towards her, she couldn't focus her fire. Her arms spread out and then crossed as she fired her guns in familiar stances, stances that Twilight recognized from her training. Even with perfect form, she couldn't stop every attack, and before long the Tantibus had her surrounded with a solid wall of arms that quickly wrapped around and began to choke her.

Twilight drew her sword and sprinted down the corridor, igniting her blade with haste. The Tantibus took notice too late, as the tip of her blade was already cutting into its body by the time it shifted away. As Twilight intended, the woman was dropped, and she collapsed on the floor as she struggled to return the air that had been squeezed out of her.

Twilight drew one of her pistols and fired away at the creature, knowing that it would reflexively avoid her shots, but used that as a distraction to cut it clean in half with a swipe of her sword.

This wouldn't be enough, unfortunately, each piece of the Tantibus threw itself at her from different angles, her Demon Reflex buying her just enough time to jump and twist out of the way. Each piece would then form into its own Tantibus. Twilight frowned. She'd have to reassess her strategy.

It couldn't morph and attack at the same time, and it could copy itself if split. Copy itself? Maybe not. Twilight eyed the two forms to either side of her. At first, each one seemed to be its own entity, but she noticed something odd about the way they moved. One took a step, circling her, and then the other took matching step. There was a subtle rhythm to their movements, almost too quick to notice, but they weren't moving synchronously. A thought crossed her mind.

Perhaps they couldn't move synchronously.

And as with any hypothesis, she would have to come up with a way to test it. Twilight sheathed her sword.

Two pairs of arms shot out at her, creating a multi-layered cross attack that Twilight easily avoided with a handspring to the side. Just after pressing off the ground with her hand, Twilight drew both of her guns and aligned each one with a Tantibus copy. She had to go off her memory and spatial awareness for accuracy, as she landed facing away from her targets with her arms spread in a V-shape behind her.

She pulled both triggers repeatedly, then twisted herself around to find that one target created a hole in itself, but the other didn't get out of the way. Twilight's incendiary bullets were stuck in it, the bright blue rounds burning away in its black interior. The damage was disrupting its focus, so Twilight shifted her other gun to it and drilled it with both.

Her test went as expected. The Tantibus couldn't move both bodies at the same time, and that would have to mean that it still had one consciousness.

One consciousness that had to alternate between controlling the two bodies. It did it so smoothly that anyone less attentive might've missed it, but there still was a brief delay between each of their actions.

However brief it was didn't matter, Twilight already proved she could attack both simultaneously. She smiled. With this information she was already coming up with multitudes of tactics to try out.

She went back to her sword, giving the second Tantibus body a break from the endless gunfire as the first one came at her. It made fast, scissoring swipes at her with blade shaped arms, extending them at strange angles with each swing. Twilight deflected its blows, but the deformation of its limbs with each collision made blocking progressively harder. She stepped away, a sudden hit against her hand knocking her weapon loose from it, but she willed Applejack's demon into form, the clawed mantle reaching out and catching the sword to continue the defense. Her hands now free and gauntleted, she summoned Rarity's cloak and sewing needle, driving the weapon through the copy she faced.

It jumped back, and sensing the other one closing in at her back Twilight's Demon Reflex activated. The mantle shifted around and sliced off two oncoming arms, then stabbed through the Tantibus's body, but in the same moment she also pulled hard on the thread of the needle still stuck in the first Tantibus. Flames built up in her other, empty fist, and she punched straight into it, releasing a fireblast that splattered it on the ceiling and floor.

She brought the same hand around behind her, aiming to backhand the remaining copy in the same fiery fashion, but it dodged back out of her reach at the last second. Its reaction was much faster, it only had to focus on one body now.

With both demon weapons under firm control and her Demon Reflex engaged, Twilight was pushing her mental strength to its limits. Her weapons would resist her given the chance, and slowing her perception of time required all of her remaining focus. That, on top of being actively involved in the fight, was starting to put strain on her.

Stay calm... She heard herself say to her. Whether it was just a trick of the mind or if there was more to it, she couldn't say, but just following the voice's commands made things easier on her.

The remaining Tantibus fluidly shifted around her attacks, even with four hands to attack with it was still too hard to pin down. She pressed the attack, hoping to wear it out eventually, but the only wear was on herself. So much, that she felt a delay in her Demon Reflex, allowing for one of its tendrils to strike her chest, grab a hold of her and lift her off the ground. Processing the impact spread her mental resources too thin, and she chose to drop everything else to keep her reflex active. In slowed time, The Tantibus was stretching out and surrounding her like it had the woman, but her mantle grabbed the tendril and forced it away, completely free of Twilight's input. It followed up with a sword slash, cutting the Tantibus in half diagonally.

She's resisting you. Stop her. Realizing she wasn't controlling Applejack's demon, she quickly reapplied her mental grip on her, causing time to resume normally. The Tantibus was in two pieces again, but before another copy could form completely she punched it apart with her gauntlets. It too painted the walls the color of deep space. The remaining body backed away, its form visibly shorter now. It had lost material from its copies. It prepared another attack, summoning many sharp, bladed bits from its body, but before it could do anything it was interrupted by a hole appearing in its front side, a muffled crack sounding from behind Twilight shortly after.

The woman had gotten back to her feet, and was now holding a long barrelled, scoped rifle in both hands. The rifle had a suppressor affixed to the end of its barrel, though its shots were still quite loud, and running the bottom length of the barrel was a piece of angled blade that curved into a point just past the tip. The bullet fired exploded inside the Tantibus with another, louder crack, and the marks on the wall behind it came out looking like a shotgun spread. This two-stage projectile was entirely effective against its target, stunning it and forcing more holes in it than it would've liked.

The demon unicorn picked itself back up and rejoined the fight as well. It stomped a hoof on the ground, creating black crystalline spikes at the Tantibus's feet, keeping it held in place for a followup attack. Twilight exchanged Rarity's needle for two handfuls of sewing pins, hurling ten total in the Tantibus's direction.

Between the bullets, the crystals, and the pins, it couldn't avoid every attack coming at it. It opened a hole in itself to avoid another rifle round, but half of Twilight's pins took it through, carrying it all the way to the wall behind it. Meanwhile, Twilight charged up another punch, using the fire burst to rocket towards the pinned Tantibus with her sword in her other hand. Two green eyes opened up on its face, but they met nothing but a solid stone mask made from the mantle covering Twilight's own.

The sword ran it through and stuck into the wall, joining more than enough pins to keep it in place already. One foot on the demon and both hands on her sword, she clung to her perch, shaking in anticipation. She had it down, she just needed to capture it.

She couldn't see, but she didn't need to, Twilight reached beneath her shirt and pulled out her magic-capturing device. It opened up as she activated it, but before she could point it at the Tantibus she felt herself slip, and suddenly light was hitting her eyes again. Her gauntlets were gone, absorbed back into her without her command. Why? Her hands trembled more, but out of panic now, and her grip slipped further.

The Tantibus tensed, willing the liquefied remains of its copies into sharp shards that all shot directly back towards it. Fear disrupted Twilight's focus, her control had been completely taken from her by a single, subtle slip up. She couldn't get the mantle to obey her, and without its protection a countless number of Tantibus shards shot enough holes in her back to make her bare skin resemble a fleshy, blood covered cheese grater.

She cried out as she felt her absolute everything burn, her throat tensing and choking as her chest was stabbed repeatedly, her heartbeat painfully staggering as intrusions threw its rhythm off. Through the pain, she clung to her sword, but the Tantibus broke free, shifting away and bolting straight to the ladder leading to the surface. Her Demon Reflex activated as her body began healing itself, but she only had time to register the bright white glow the pins were giving off.

The unicorn demon reacted first, pounced on the woman as she tried to chase after the Tantibus, widening its form and shielding her. Twilight tried to summon Applejack's demon, but got no response, and the pins detonated right in her face.

Everything spun, and started to fade. Twilight blinked, shaking her head clear. She wasn't going to give up now.

Come on, get up...

The next moment she was sitting up against the wall, and the woman was standing over her. Her clothes were covered in blood, but all of her wounds had closed up and her bones had healed themselves. Her demon powers wouldn't let her be killed so easily.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Her unicorn demon was laying on the ground nearby, watching them with a bored expression.

Twilight blinked. Checking her mind, she found both of her demons were still there, but neither would say anything to her. She'd need to be more careful with how she used them next time. There was a huge chunk taken out of the wall, but everything looked settled.

"I think so..." Twilight said. Her eyes felt heavy, she rubbed them, and tried to stand up, but her head was dizzy, and she had to sit again. She missed something somewhere. She just took an explosion to the face, she should be sprawled out on the floor, not neatly sitting against the wall. "What happened?"

"You've been unconscious for about ten minutes." The woman said. "And the Tantibus escaped."

"What?!" Twilight's eyes shot open in anger. She had been so close, and it had gotten away. It was her fault, though, she realised, she had put herself in a bad position. She was the one that had blown herself up. Twilight sighed. "Every time I'm about to catch it..."

"Ah, so you've fought it before?" The woman spoke slowly and deliberately, with a well practice cadence underlining her words.

It's my responsibility to fight it. The voice in her head spoke without her input again. She ignored it.

"Yeah."

"You seem well acquainted with its abilities. I assume you've been following it for some time."

Twilight nodded.

"Perhaps hunting alone is not the best approach." The woman offered a hand to help Twilight up, but she declined, preferring to stand on her own.

"And... who are you?" Twilight asked, and the woman gave a cryptic smile. The rhythm in her voice took over completely.

"I am, what thou wouldst proclaim me to be,
Were I not, why else would I claim such to thee?"

What a creep.

Twilight's brow raised. "Poetry?"

The woman's smile became softer at that, she gave a bow as she spoke normally again. "'Tis but a jest, you may call me Selene." She motioned to the unicorn demon still laying on the ground. "And this is Sombra. He and I are traveling companions."

What aren't you telling me?

"Selene," Twilight returned the bow with a nod of her head. "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"The student of Celestia?" Selene's eyes conveyed surprise, but then suddenly switched to acknowledgement. "Ah, of course, who else would be powerful enough to stand against the Tantibus?"

"You've heard of me." Twilight was a bit flustered, she wasn't used to being recognized by name. Usually she was only acknowledged after she mentioned she was Celestia's student.

"Indeed, the tales of your strength are not exaggerated," Selene nodded. "Celestia's work has been of much interest for many demon hunting organizations, even more so now that she's gone into hiding."

"Thanks, I guess." Twilight accepted the compliment, but still was uncertain about Selene. "And which one are you with?"

"None," Selene quickly said, "I'm hunting the Tantibus on my own." So she was a freelancer, or had she been banished like Twilight?

"And who exactly are you?" Twilight asked, trying not to sound overly suspicious. She had too many guns to be from the Order, but didn't dress like a SRAPH agent either. She didn't see her reload any of her guns, leading her to believe them enchanted. The sniper rifle was also interesting, usable as a melee weapon as well. She was traveling with a demon, and everything about the way she dressed and talked was completely out of place. She was a strange combination of edgy, mysterious, and archaic.

Selene didn't answer, she just put the butt of her rifle against the ground, and leaning on it, reached into her coat. From it, she produced a small, leather bound book with a decorated tan cover, with many fancy golden lines making designs across the edges. What took Twilight's interest was the image at the center, a golden depiction of two unicorns with crossed horns.

Selene opened the book, reaching the page she wanted without having to flip through it, and read, re-assuming her poetic tone.

"On thousandth year, on longest day,
She will return to end her war,
The stars will aid in her escape
And darkness reign forevermore"

Behind her, Sombra rolled his eyes. Twilight found her to be almost obnoxiously enigmatic.

"From the Legend of the Sister of Darkness, I know it." Twilight said. "That doesn't answer my question."

She took a moment, snapping her book shut and looking up at Twilight. "I'm certainly not your enemy, Twilight Sparkle. You and I both wish to destroy the Dark Sister."

"And so you're offering to help me?"

Selene nodded. "Between Sombra and myself, we aren't enough to fight the Sister's body. But you, a student of Celestia- you may be the only one capable of matching her."

Twilight liked the feeling that came with being the world's sole hope. It made her a bit more accepting of Selene's words, to the point where she figured it'd be okay to let her tag along. She obviously wouldn't answer questions directly.

"Where do we have to go?" Twilight asked, taking her sword up from where the blast had thrown it. After ensuring there was no major damage on it, Twilight returned it to her sheath.

"The demons are constructing an anchor to this world in front of the Coyote Hotel, that is where we will find the Dark Sister's body." Selene put her book away, and slung her rifle over a shoulder, clapping for Sombra to get up and come along with her. He looked annoyed, but did as she asked.

"How will we destroy her?" Twilight knew she could contain the Tantibus in her magic capturing device, but a much more powerful demon would require something greater to contain it. The Tantibus was only a fragment of the demon, after all.

"I have the means," Selene said. "But she will need to be weakened first."

"Enough standing around then, let's go."

As they made for the ladder to the surface, another thought formed in Twilight's head against her will.

She's hiding something.

-----

Look, I just got excited, okay? Rainbow's demon gave her excuse to Sunset. I'm sorry.

I want to trust you, Rainbow, I really do... Sunset replied. She had been talking back and forth with the demon for the past few minutes, as she lead Applejack and Spike out of the Convention Hall. Rainbow's demon sounded apologetic, but Sunset was reluctant to be as open with her. What do you think, Pinkie?

Surprisingly, Pinkie's demon was much more stable than Rainbow's.

Eh, I think she's telling the truth. She said, nonchalantly. You just want to help us destroy stuff, right Dashie?

I want to be a part of the team, really! Not only did Rainbow's demon seem regretful, she seemed to fear Sunset's ability to silence her.

Sunset sighed. That'd be great, but if you keep trying to steal the show we're all going to end up dead.

It's an impulse, isn't it? Pinkie's demon asked. The question was posed quite calmly, it was odd hearing her take such an understanding tone. You can't control it?

I... No, I can't. Rainbow's demon sighed in her head, another odd thing to hear. I love attention. The demon's voice became giddy for a moment, before she sighed again. It's why I pushed Rainbow Dash to go through with being a performer. It satisfies us both.

Despite loving attention, she was quite uncomfortable having two others sit and focus on her problems.

Does Rainbow know about you? Sunset asked.

Not like you do. I'm more of a subtle voice in her head. When we're together, I'm just another part of her mind.

Sunset supposed this made sense, after all, something would have to be terribly wrong for her to hear her inner demon's voice constantly.

I know that feeling. Pinkie's demon said. But you can't let it get the best of you.

And you're the one to say that, Pinkie? Sunset asked, calling back to her prior rampage.

Hey, nobody's perfect.

Behind Sunset, Applejack and Spike exchanged a few words to break the silence.

"What'd ya reckon she's talking to them about?" Applejack asked.

"She's probably reasoning with Rainbow Dash's demon," Spike replied. "I'm not sure why she's bothering with that when she can just force her to comply."

"It's a bit better when you don't have to be at odds with your demons," Applejack said.

"I thought an Inner Demon was, by nature, opposed to you?" Spike's knowledge of talking with demons was limited, as he only had Twilight for an example.

"Maybe," Applejack said, "But coming to terms with the fact that we've gotta live with them is a hell of a first step."

"Even if you're more likely to be dishonest?"

"I was always capable of being dishonest, Spike." Applejack's expression became a bit more serious. "All this demon business just makes the choice feel a little more literal. As much as I hate to admit it, there'll be times where I could benefit from lying, and that demon is definitely going to push me to."

"What will you do, then?"

"I told her we'd cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sunset put a lollipop in her mouth in a stressed manner, taking both of their attentions away. She had cleared things up with her demons, but still felt an off putting frustration thinking about Twilight.

This is her fault... Sunset thought.

Yeah, it is. Rainbow's demon agreed.

And we're going to destroy her! Pinkie's demon cheerfully added.

Destroy her... Sunset repeated, feeling very wrong thinking those thoughts about her friend.

Sunset didn't want to destroy her, she wanted her to realise her mistakes, so she could recover and be better. Deep down, though, she felt like that wasn't going to happen. Her lollipop cracked between her teeth, and a piece of it broke off. She exhaled, further frustrated. Broken lollipops were the worst.

They eventually came to a hole in a hallway wall, the same one Sunset and Flash first entered through. Stepping outside, Sunset was unsurprised by the red sky and the overall worsened state of the city, but Applejack gripped her rifle a little tighter.

Applejack followed Sunset until she crossed over the rubble of a destroyed bridge connecting the Convention Hall to the parking garage in a single jump. Spike did the same, but Applejack took more than a moment pulling herself up over the broken walkway.

Sunset's motorcycle was still on the other side where she left it. She got on, motioning for Applejack to join her. There was enough room to sit behind her, and she held onto Sunset, running her rifle down through the loop her jacket's arms made tied around her.

"Can you keep up, Spike?" Sunset asked, looking to him as he scanned the area.

"Yes. Lead the way."

The engine of her bike rumbled, and she took off, taking the long way around the Convention Hall. She intended to go home, but as she neared the main street leading there, she'd find that fate had other plans.

The road quickly became broken and filled with cars, too much so for her to continue driving on. The only turn she could take led her to the street straight in front of the Coyote Hotel, where Starlight was fighting a huge, winged knight.

A fight she wasn't winning.

"Change of plans." Sunset brought the bike to a stop, and glanced back to Applejack.

"Uh... What are we doing?" Applejack gave Sunset a worried look as she got off of it and faced the battle in the distance.

"That demon hunter needs help. I'm taking that demon out."

"I'm right behind ya." Applejack got ready to follow her, but Sunset shook her head.

"No, I want you and Spike and leave. Take my bike, get to my place. You'll probably have to go the long way. You remember where it is, right?"

"I think so, yeah." Applejack nodded, but Spike voiced a concern.

"What if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll meet you there."

----

Starlight Glimmer, even at full power, was barely a match for the dark knight. Not only could they swing their massive sword at impossible speeds, but they could create smaller, glowing swords of light around them that spun quickly in a defensive ring. The swords made it hard to get close, but as Starlight backed away, the knight threw them out as projectiles, summoning more around them to replace the ones lost.

Starlight cut through the swords, using short bursts of energy to quickly dash in at sharp angles until she was in range to strike. Her chainsaber revving up, she swung into the knight's side, coming beneath their arm as they dashed in to meet her.

Her saber bit into their armor, sending bits of metal shavings down towards their feet, but the damage overall was minimal. She cut again, making a 'V' shaped mark on their chest plate, and managed to shove them back a little bit before having to dodge again.

The knight's momentum was incredible, one attack smoothly flowed into the next, but their attack patterns eventually became predictable. Starlight met their blade mid-swing, catching its weaker end and pushing their balance off, then taking a step forward and throwing a punch with her metal arm. The cuts her chainsaber made weakened the chest plate, and her fist put a deep dent in it, but they weren't moved by the attack.

The knight returned the punch, but being so much larger than Starlight, the hit knocked her all the way back into a building across the street from the hotel. She bounced hard off of it and rolled onto her face back on the street.

"Ow! Ghh..." Starlight gritted her teeth as pain overwhelmed her senses.

The knight approached her, certainly coming to finish her off. She reached for her chainsaber, just a few feet in front of her, but she wouldn't get to it in time. Rolling herself onto her side, she drew her revolver and took aim, but the bullets she fired only bounced harmlessly off their armor.

"Ah, shit..." Starlight sighed, and pulled the trigger one last time, only to be surprised by the knight suddenly being stumbled by a blast of smoke and confetti, with the sound of laughter accompanying the echoes of an explosion.

"Huh?" Starlight picked herself up, and looked to her left, seeing another demon hunter holding a cannon down the street. Of course, Starlight recognized her. Not by name, but her yellow jacket and red hair was unmistakable against the gloomy backdrop of the ruined city.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Sunset Shimmer shouted at the knight, switching to her pistols as she came at them in a wide curve, firing away as she outran a volley of light swords. The knight's own sword came down, just barely missing her as she slid beneath it, then she switched to the cannon again. Instead of aiming downrange, she pointed it at the ground behind her, firing a shot off and blasting herself in the knight's direction. By the time she closed in, she switched weapons a third time, to the guitar-axe obtained from Rainbow Dash, and delivered a hard strike straight to the knight's head. The contact with their helmet created a loud, metallic ringing that reverberated through their entire suit.

The knight was definitely disoriented now, and took all combinations of lightning blasts, bullets, cannon shells, and sword slashes from Sunset's collection of weapons. She switched between them all effortlessly, and her attacks came in long, unstoppable chains. Starlight frowned. She wasn't about to get shown up by her twice that day. The power cells on her back flashed brighter, and a new wave of energy surged through her body, giving her the strength to take her sword and stand again.

Sunset's sword clashed against the knight's, their blades parting and crossing a total of three times before she was finally pushed back several meters. The knight immediately followed up with a rapid burst of glowing swords, and Sunset stood her ground to deflect them. As she did, Starlight came back into the fight, revving her blade again and catching the knight on the shoulder. The knight threw their elbow at her, but Starlight adjusted her sword to block, creating a long cut mark from their shoulder to their forearm before stepping back.

Sunset stepped in again, and with one opponent on each side now, the dark knight took quick steps away until they could see both opponents in their peripherals.

"Get out of here," Sunset said. "This one's going to be too much for you."

"Let me guess," Starlight shouted her reply, quite angry at the suggestion of being less than capable. "I still need some work?"

"This isn't your garden variety boss demon..." Sunset kept her eyes on the knight, they cautiously eyed down both her and Starlight in kind. "This is the real deal!"

Just by looking at them, Sunset knew this demon held incredible power. There was something familiar about them, though, something about the shape of the helmet and the insignia on their chest. A moment of thought passed, and Sunset suddenly recognized the symbol of a crescent moon, having seen it during her time studying with Celestia. She couldn't exactly remember why, but this demon had some huge significance. At times like this she wished she had retained what she'd studied better.

"They're the reason for all of this destruction." Sunset said, the feeling of being vastly outmatched slowly rising above any other feeling. They had bumped into the boss of all bosses, seemingly at random. Without preparation, they weren't going to win this.

"We're fighting together, then!" Starlight said, readying her weapon and charging in again.

"No, wait!" Sunset held a hand out, but knowing that she wouldn't be stopped, just decided to follow in behind her.

She ran at an opposing angle, but as they neared a dark, vacant figure flew across the sky, stopping in the air above the knight, and traveling in an arc right towards them. It was the Tantibus. It didn't attack them, instead just dropping down, merging into the knight and creating a glowing aura around them just as Sunset and Starlight closed the gap. With their massive blade in one hand, the knight held a bind with Starlight, and with their gauntlet they held another bind against Sunset.

The essence of the Tantibus was flowing around their head, particularly out of the top and back, forming some sort of ethereal length of hair. A soft blue light glowed from behind their visor, and also from the gaps between their armor pieces. Their powers had combined.

Another array of glowing swords formed around them, but instead of backing off, Sunset engaged her Demon Reflex, pulling away from her bind and stabbing at the knight's neck. The swords' movement crawled, but the knight moved out of time with Sunset, catching her off guard and striking her in the face with the pommel end of their sword. The blade end was keeping Starlight busy still, she too followed into their state of slowed time. She gave the knight a few more attacks to parry, but then grabbed one of their summoned swords with her mechanical arm, holding their sword to one side with her chainsaber and thrusting the glowing blade in at their shoulder joint.

The sword struck, but fizzled out a moment later, and Starlight felt a burning sensation in her side. Another one of the swords still spinning around the knight cut right across her, forcing her perception of time to resume. As time sped up, she was cut through more and more by the ring of blades, until she eventually lost her footing and was slapped into the air by the flat edge of the demon knight's sword.

Still bending time around them, the demon jumped up with a flap of their wings and knocked Starlight face first into the ground.

Sunset was on her knees now, and Starlight was laying prone. They weren't close either, the knight stood between the two of them.

It wasn't over yet, though. A streak of blue light crashed into the knight from across the road and bounced off of them.

Purple hair, purple coat, purple eyes. Twilight Sparkle landed on her feet, katana ignited and in a close guard.

"Twilight?" Both Starlight and Sunset said in unison. Neither were pleased to see her, but at the moment, she was technically saving them. They wouldn't be complaining.

"Both of you need to leave," Twilight said, "She's mine."

"She?" Starlight asked.

"Is that so?" Sunset cut in. She pressed her sword into the ground and stood herself up, getting ready to go another round. "Do you know her?"

"Of course." Twilight said, looking into the demon's visor and addressing them with a full, sweeping point of her sword.

"You're the Sister of Darkness: Nightmare Moon."

Author's Note:

Another bigger chapter. I think I got all of the errors out this time.

Comments

[Pinklestia]

Twilight deflected its blows, but the and deformation of its limbs with each collision made blocking progressively harder.

The what?

She intended to go home, but as she neared the main street leading there, she'd find that fate had other plans.

The road quickly became jagged and filled with cars, too much so for her to continue driving on. The only turn she could take led her to the street straight in front of the Coyote Hotel, where Starlight was fighting a huge, winged knight.

Oh so she is literally being railroaded into a Boss fight? Curious.

*****

<Is funny isn't it? How the witch who wanted to control everyone is the one who has keep Friendship close to her heart? While Celestia two students... one has Fallen but denies it and the other has stayed away of her friends in a missguided attempt to keep them safe. And none of the two is listening to what their teacher says anymore.

And even better! I didn't do anything! They all did all to themselves just because they wouldn't shut up and listen! Who is the one who doesn't understand friendship here?> - Discord

[CrownofDissonance]

9684596
Gah, those damned 'the and's I leave in when editing sentences into each other. Thought I got all of them.

Oh so she is literally being railroaded into a Boss fight? Curious.

Yep, such is the video game logic this world abides by.

<Is funny isn't it? ...

This summary, I love it. It describes the flaws of the characters in a way that I wouldn't be able to. It's strange, because when it's put that way the story seems much deeper than I intended- this was originally supposed to be a straight action fic, but now we've got the foundation set for some serious personal development with these characters.

[zachary12]

nice work.

[JMP]

I don't trust Selene for a second. As soon as Sombra was introduced to the narration I immediately made the connection to V. Selene seems to have a similar fighting style to Lady, but c'mon. She reads poetry from a book she carries, fights with a demon, and has a similar name to Luna.

[CrownofDissonance]

9761473
I dont think it takes having played DMC V to not trust Selene... Twilight hasn't, and she still doesn't trust her.

[redsopine]

Where's a random jukebox playing tunes as a epic battle kicks off lol