Sins of One's Past

by smirker

Chapter 2

Sunset Shimmer arrived at where Arcana and her friends were staying and entered the home with them, they began eating fruits, Paladin ate watermelons, Arcana ate grapes, and Robin ate pineapples, the three gave some of them to Sunset Shimmer,

"Here, you're going to need the calories for afternoon training." Robin said,

"Thanks." Sunset Shimmer replied, and she ate the fruits, she looked at Arcana and had flashbacks of whenever she saw Arcana eating back at Canterlot, it was always grapes, she stopped remembering and ate the fruits and followed the three outside.

---

Sunset Shimmer began stretching while the other three stood and watched her,

"You ready?" Paladin asked,

"Almost." Sunset Shimmer replied, and she stretched her hind legs and turned around,

"Alright, I'm ready." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"Okay, choose which one of us you want to spar with first." Robin stated, Sunset Shimmer looked and saw Paladin standing with her entire armor on in front of her with Arcana to Paladin’s right and Robin to Paladin’s left,

"I'll start with Arcana." Sunset Shimmer remarked as she pointed at her, Arcana walked forward,

"Alright, magic training, Sunset, prepare yourself." Arcana said, and the two got ready.

Sunset Shimmer shot beams out of her horn and Arcana put up a shield that blocked and deflected the beams, Sunset Shimmer yelped as she dodged her own two beams, they changed trajectory and homed on her, she teleported around and the beams still homed on her. She decided to try something and teleported to Arcana and teleported away when the beams were about to hit her, she put up another shield and blocked them again, they continued to home on Sunset Shimmer and she shot beams at them and they canceled each other out. Sunset Shimmer faced Arcana and shot fire out of her horn, she made a shield of ice appear around her and the fire extinguished while the ice melted. Arcana cast a spell and Vermilion Bird appeared, her body became engulfed with red flames and sun rays came out, Sunset Shimmer yelled as she covered her own eyes. Arcana jumped and slammed her hoofs on the ground and sent out waves of fire. Sunset Shimmer shot beams at Arcana and she was unfazed by them, she growled and shot out a bigger beam, Arcana grunted as she slid back. Vermilion Bird appeared again and cawed as it absorbed sun rays into its body, it flapped its wings and sent out gusts of fire, Sunset Shimmer cast a magic spell to absorb the fire and shot it back, the two absorbed it.

Arcana made Vermilion Bird disappear and she changed back to normal, Black Tortoise appeared and Arcana's body changed to blue water while snow and ice floated around her. She shot water out of her horn while controlling the snow and ice with her front hoofs, Sunset Shimmer shot fire out of her horn and canceled out Arcana's current spells, she realized it was not going to work and she changed back to normal while making Black Tortoise disappear. Arcana made White Tiger appear next and her body became made out of dull gray metal while flowers grew around her. She made trees grow around Sunset Shimmer and she shot fire at them to burn them down, Arcana swung her front hoofs forward to make vines come out and wrapped them around her. Sunset Shimmer burned them with her fire magic while White Tiger appeared and tried to slash her with his claws while he roared, she jumped away and Arcana cast a spell to make metal wrap itself around Sunset Shimmer, she cast fire on the metal, it heated up and turned red, she panted and sweated and teleported out. Sunset Shimmer appeared and shot fire at Arcana, she shrieked as her metal body heated up and turned red, she quickly dismissed White Tiger and changed back to normal, she panted while she had black marks on herself and her clothes. Arcana summoned Azure Dragon and her body became made out of brown wood while gusts of wind and leaves surrounded her, she shot the gusts of wind and leaves at Sunset Shimmer while Azure Dragon tried to constrict her, Sunset Shimmer smirked and shot fire at Arcana, but the gusts of wind blew it away, she teleported to behind her and shot fire again. Arcana caught on fire and screamed, she quickly dismissed Azure Dragon and cast a water spell on herself to douse the flames.

Arcana turned around and glared while Sunset Shimmer restrained herself from laughing at seeing black stains on her body and her clothes, she summoned Yellow Dragon and her body became made out of dirt, rocks, and plants, flowers grew around her, sun rays shined out of her body, gusts of wind and leaves flew around her, and snow surrounded her. Arcana shot fire and water out of her horn while Sunset Shimmer shot fire at her, her beam and the water beam extinguished themselves while Sunset Shimmer cast another spell to absorb the fire into herself, tree roots wrapped around her and restrained her while metal appeared around her and entrapped her. Sunset Shimmer grunted as she tried to free herself, she cast a teleporting spell and teleported out, Arcana quickly teleported her back in, she growled and shot fire at the tree roots to burn them, she thought about how to escape and decided to teleport again, she appeared behind Arcana and shot a zap at her, she put up a shield that deflected the zap and it began to home on Sunset Shimmer again. She shot another zap and they cancelled each other out, she sighed in relief and Arcana teleported her back into the metal encasement, she growled and shot a big beam that destroyed the metal encasement. Sunset Shimmer got ready to fight Arcana but Yellow Dragon roared and the ground began to shift. Sunset Shimmer exclaimed as the ground broke apart while Yellow Dragon created earthquakes with his mind, Sunset Shimmer shot fire at Arcana but the fire around her absorbed it while the snow canceled it out. Sunset Shimmer tried shooting a zap at Yellow Dragon but it went through him and did nothing, Sunset Shimmer growled again and she shot out a big beam of fire while she channeled her anger, Arcana screamed while she saw her fire took out the snow and it was too much for her absorb, Arcana dismissed Yellow Dragon and the ground returned to normal alongside her body.

Sunset Shimmer panted while Arcana cast another spell and twenty two cards floated in front of her,

"Huh?" Sunset Shimmer asked as the cards floated, one card came forward and it turned upside-down, Sunset Shimmer suddenly felt no desire to do anything,

"What the?!" Sunset Shimmer asked, Arcana turned another card upside-down and Sunset Shimmer began shooting random spells in random directions,

"What's going on?!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed, Arcana turned another card upside-down and Sunset Shimmer began to wonder if she should fire a beam at Arcana or not, Arcana then turned another card upside-down and Sunset Shimmer began blasting beams at Arcana on impulse, she made a shield appear to deflect them all. Sunset Shimmer shot a fire blast at the cards on impulse and burned them, they exploded and Arcana grunted as she fell. Sunset Shimmer regained control of herself and sighed with relief,

"What were those?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Tarot cards, I can use them to change how my opponents behave." Arcana replied, Sunset Shimmer just froze in place and thought about what Arcana just said,

"That is scary." Sunset Shimmer remarked,

"I usually only use them as a last resort, so you won't see them often." Arcana replied,

"What cards did you turn upside-down to change my behavior?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"I took away your confidence and desire to fight by reversing the Strength card, I took away your sense of direction on where to fight by reversing the Magician card, I made you stall for time and unable to decide if you should attack me or not by reversing the Hanged Man card, and I made you impatient and try to find quick solutions to problems by reversing the Wheel of Fortune card, that one also brings bad luck." Arcana explained,

"Wow, I'm confused, what are the cards called anyway?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, and The World." Arcana answered,

"Well, I won't ask what they represent, I was never good at memorizing stuff like that." Sunset Shimmer remarked,

"Well, we're done training for now, go choose Paladin or Robin as your next opponent now." Arcana replied, and Sunset Shimmer looked at the two and thought about who she should choose as her next sparring partner,

"I'd like to spar with Robin next." Sunset Shimmer said as she pointed at her, Robin walked forward while Paladin and Arcana stepped back,

"Hope you'll be able to keep up." Robin said, and Sunset Shimmer focused.

Robin reeled up on her hind legs and took two daggers out of her coat, she swung them around while showing off what she could do,

"I assume you're the martial artist of the group." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"Stealth member, Paladin's the combat oriented one." Robin replied, and she flew to Sunset Shimmer at high speeds and swung her daggers at high speeds. Sunset Shimmer shrieked while she blocked Robin with her front legs and Robin cut them, she shot her away with a beam from her horn and Robin grunted as she got shot back, she did a flip in the air and landed on all four of her legs. Sunset Shimmer shot zaps at Robin and she dodged them by simply moving to her sides, she reeled up on her hind legs again and aimed one of her dagger's handles at Sunset Shimmer and pushed up a small trigger on the handle, a loud bang was heard and Sunset Shimmer yelped as she dodged the projectile, she looked on with disbelief at the fact that Robin's daggers had guns in their handles. She smirked and aimed the handle of her other dagger and pushed up a small trigger on the handle to fire another bullet, Sunset Shimmer quickly moved to her side to dodge it.

Robin flipped her daggers over and flew to Sunset Shimmer, she tried to slash Sunset Shimmer again but she grabbed Robin and threw her over herself, Robin landed on Sunset Shimmer's back and rolled off, she stood up and touched her sides with the tip of her daggers and Sunset Shimmer screamed as she got electrocuted. She quickly threw Robin over herself with telekinesis and Robin landed perfectly again, she saw blue electricity on her dagger blades that were activated by pushing a button right under the guards, she glared and used her telekinesis to snatch the daggers out of Robin's front hoofs and threw them away. Robin flew at high speeds and Sunset Shimmer got ready to zap her, but she flew over her and then flew down. Sunset Shimmer felt something on her neck a few seconds later and began to gag and gasp for air, she felt her own neck and felt a garrotte, she cast a spell to teleport away.

Sunset Shimmer reappeared and gasped for air,

"So you're not fast enough to keep up with me after all, better luck next time." Robin remarked as she flew to get her daggers while Sunset Shimmer growled,

"Well, Sunset, it's just you and me now." Paladin said as she walked forward,

"Hold on, I need to catch my breath." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Very well." Paladin responded, and she caught her breath and stood up,

"I'm ready." Sunset Shimmer stated, and Paladin walked forward.

Paladin walked to Sunset Shimmer and was about to punch her with her front right hoof, Sunset Shimmer ducked and dodged it easily because Paladin moved very slowly, she continued throwing punches and Sunset Shimmer dodged them with minimal effort. She watched Paladin continuing to throw punches and she waited for an opening, she shot a zap at her and Paladin grunted as she staggered a little. Sunset Shimmer noticed that zaps staggered her, she began shooting more zaps from her horn at her, Paladin took out her shield and blocked the zaps, they bounced off and went elsewhere,

"How did you...?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"My shield's magic resistant." Paladin answered, Sunset Shimmer focused while Paladin got ready to punch her again, she did the punch while Sunset Shimmer ducked under it and then turned around and bucked her, she grunted and staggered since Paladin's armor was too hard. She hit Sunset Shimmer with her shield and she screamed as she flew through the air and landed on the ground and slid. Sunset Shimmer groaned while Paladin walked to her,

"I may be slow, but I can defeat most of my opponents in one hit." Paladin stated as she walked to her,

"So strong." Sunset Shimmer groaned, she panted and recovered, she quickly looked back and shot a beam out of her horn, Paladin jumped over it was about to land on Sunset Shimmer. She quickly got up and moved back while Paladin landed and put four craters in the ground, she got ready to push Sunset Shimmer in the ground and she quickly pushed her front hoofs on Paladin's and the two wrestled,

"You're really slow, you know." Sunset Shimmer remarked while grunting,

"That's because my armor's heavy, I'm a lot faster without it." Paladin replied, and she pushed Sunset Shimmer back easily, she exclaimed and quickly shot a zap at her abdomen, it did not faze her,

"Please, you're not fighting Robin, fight fair." Paladin spoke, she shot a zap at her helmet, Paladin turned her head from the zap but quickly refocused, she threw Sunset Shimmer in the air and turned around and bucked her. Sunset Shimmer screamed as she flew through the air and landed with the front half of her body buried in the ground,

"You still have a long way to go before you're ready to face me, Sunset Shimmer, come see me again when you think you're ready." Paladin stated as she walked away.

Sunset Shimmer got herself out of the ground and panted while Arcana walked to her, she slammed her front left hoof on the ground,

"Still don't like losing, I see." Arcana stated,

"I hate losing." Sunset Shimmer grumbled,

"Well, if you're going to continue showing me how much you've changed, I'm waiting." Arcana said,

"Just let me catch my breath." Sunset Shimmer replied, and she did and stood up,

"Alright, this way." Sunset Shimmer stated, and she trotted while Arcana followed her.

---

Princess Celestia was flying up in the sky in Canterlot and watching Sunset Shimmer and Arcana, she flew down and went into her throne room and sat, she heard knocking at her door,

"Princess Celestia, I have something I'd like to ask." Twilight Sparkle spoke through the door,

"You may enter." Princess Celestia replied, and the doors opened and Twilight Sparkle walked to her,

"What is it, Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked,

"Is it true that Sunset Shimmer had other rivals to compete with before she became your pupil?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Yes." Princess Celestia replied,

"Why didn't you ever mention them?" Twilight Sparkle questioned,

"I didn't think one of them would show up again after all of these years seeking her." Princess Celestia answered,

"How many rivals did she have?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Several, Arcana was her biggest one." Princess Celestia replied,

"What happened between those two?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Sunset Shimmer messed with Arcana's potions and created an explosion that sent her to the hospital, I chose Sunset over her in hopes of being able to teach Sunset friendship, not only that, Arcana was more concerned about improving her already powerful magic, that is not the reason why I was looking for a pupil." Princess Celestia replied,

"I'm still surprised because I didn't have any rivals to compete with to be your pupil." Twilight Sparkle stated,

"That's because of how bad some of the rivalries got, I mean, Sunset injured Arcana in hopes of succeeding." Princess Celestia explained,

"I still don't understand Arcana's magic, her magic aura is four different colors." Twilight Sparkle said,

"That's because Arcana's teacher trained her in using the Elements of Nature." Princess Celestia replied,

"Wait, Elements of Nature?" Twilight Sparkle questioned,

"There are more elements in this world than the Elements of Harmony, Twilight, the Elements of Nature can be learned by any unicorn, there are four elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, Fire is red, Water is blue, Earth is yellow, and Air is green." Princess Celestia replied,

"What about the astral plane?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Anycreature can enter, you need to meditate since its five rulers used their powers to seal off any magic from opening it, those five rulers give their powers to those who impress them with their magic, and just to let you know, Twilight, I used to have Vermilion Bird's powers when I was younger." Princess Celestia explained,

"Really?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Hmm-mm." Princess Celestia replied while nodding,

"Why did he leave you?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"Discord took him away with his powers and I never got him back." Princess Celestia answered,

"Wow, well, that's all I wanted to know." Twilight Sparkle stated,

"Very well, Twilight, you may take your leave." Princess Celestia replied, and she left and flew back to Ponyville.

---

Sunset Shimmer was helping Scootaloo fix her scooter while Arcana watched and gave the tools over with her magic,

"Here you go, Scootaloo, try it now." Sunset Shimmer said, and she did,

"It works, thanks, Sunset." Scootaloo rejoiced, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got into the wagon and Scootaloo drove away while they cheered,

"So you really have changed, I still can't forgive you, though." Arcana said,

"Is something the matter?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Even if you have changed your ways, that still will not undo the damage you've done." Arcana replied,

"Come on, Arcana, if you wish, I can heal your wounds and finish whatever project you were working on before that incident." Sunset Shimmer spoke,

"I'm still stuck with the memories of that incident." Arcana replied,

"Oh, um..., there might be a memory erasing spell somewhere." Sunset Shimmer remarked,

"No, I'm not doing that, it won't undo what transpired, you still have to answer to what you did." Arcana responded,

"*sigh*, I understand, Princess Celestia still remembers what I did, too, but she forgave me." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"On the surface, but deep down inside, she probably still resents you." Arcana replied,

"What? Why do you think that way?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Think about it, Princess Celestia is the most powerful ruler in the world, she forgives most people so it will not escalate the problem, same with those who do get forgiven, they change their ways not out of a change of heart, but out of fear of suffering Princess Celestia's wrath." Arcana explained, Sunset Shimmer began to remember the many arguments she had with Princess Celestia,

"Now that you mention it, Princess Celestia was kind of strict and had no sense of humor." Sunset Shimmer said,

"See, there you go, don't forget she also had a pretty short temper when we were competing to be her pupil." Arcana replied,

"I did come back here once when my friends in the other world lost their memories of me, Princess Celestia kind of mellowed out." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"I find that hard to believe, it's possible she just got better at hiding her true self." Arcana responded,

"I doubt it, her changes looked genuine." Sunset Shimmer remarked,

"Be careful, some of them can be very convincing." Arcana replied,

"How about you, are you convinced I changed for the better?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Somewhat, but I'm still keeping my guard up, you also still have to apologize to my hometown for what you did to me." Arcana replied,

"Yeah, I figured that would pop up eventually." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Well, if you're done helping the townsponies, you can start helping me." Arcana spoke,

"Sure, what do you need?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"I can use some help arranging a clock, I'll give you the details at where I'm staying, let's go." Arcana replied, and they walked away.

---

Sunset Shimmer went to where Arcana was staying and she made a chart appear for her and several white ceramic statues and stickers of constellations, she lined up the twelve animal statues in a circle, the statues started at the twelve o'clock position and went clockwise, the order was rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. She put up the stickers above the statues and on the ceiling, they also started at the twelve o'clock position and went clockwise, the order was Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. Arcana floated in the air and meditated while fire, water, a rock, wood, and metal floated around her,

"What is this?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"A clock, Dreaming Paradise uses this to look back in time, record history, and travel to the past, it is also a device we meditate at to improve having control over our own magic and enter the astral plane." Arcana replied with her voice echoing,

"So, how does this work?" Sunset Shimmer questioned,

"When the Zodiac and the Horoscope are together, the entrance to the astral plane becomes more open, I also record history in this with my magic, see the five elements around me, they are fire, water, earth, wood, and metal, those five elements are used to determine what year we wish to look at." Arcana responded,

"I'm still lost." Sunset Shimmer remarked,

"Well, to put it into basics, the Zodiac and Horoscope are time tellers, the Zodiac tells the year, and the Horoscope tells specific days and months, fire, water, earth, wood, and metal are used to determine what type of zodiac animal it is, the animal itself is used every twelve years, but if it was only one type of animal, it would be harder to tell what year that event took place." Arcana explained,

"Oh, I get it now, the five elements narrow down what years you have to look at so your search on historical events will be shorter." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Exactly, because going through each animal every time will take forever." Arcana replied,

"Still, I gotta admit, seeing you unicorns get to do something like this is pretty cool." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"Not just unicorns, Sunset, the Pegasi and earth ponies of Dreaming Paradise have to meditate at this, too." Arcana responded,

"Wait, them too?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Yes, Pegasi and earth ponies have to remain calm in battle, it is when you get mad that you start to make mistakes." Arcana replied, Sunset Shimmer thought about her own temper and the times she got mad, she trotted into the circle and began meditating,

"Good, I'm glad you want to learn patience." Arcana said, and the two meditated, the door opened and Paladin and Robin returned, they trotted into the circle and meditated as well.

The four meditated and the elements around Arcana disappeared while she opened her eyes and stopped floating,

"Come on, you three, the sun's setting, it's time for dinner and then evening training." Arcana stated while her voice did not echo anymore, the three stopped meditating and she put the statues away and took the stickers down. The four had dinner and Sunset Shimmer noticed the three mares eating the same fruits as before while they shared them with her,

"Tell me, Sunset, what was it that made you change your ways?" Arcana asked,

"I took Twilight's crown, put it on, but turned into a she-demon for not understanding friendship, I changed back, and Twilight offered me her friendship." Sunset Shimmer explained,

"That's it? That's all that happened to make you change your ways?" Arcana asked,

"Well, that's the main one, another reason is because she kind of won over my boyfriend, too." Sunset Shimmer answered, the three mares' eyes' widened,

"Wait a minute, you, of all people, managed to get a boyfriend?" Arcana asked,

"Yeah, don't tell me you're jealous." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"It's not that, I find it hard to visualize someone as arrogant and selfish as you having a boyfriend." Arcana stated,

"I did date him just to get more popular, I kind of regret it now." Sunset Shimmer responded,

"Him being abusive didn't change you?" Arcana asked,

"No, Flash Sentry was a really nice and friendly guy, he didn't abuse me at all." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I assume you two still get along." Paladin spoke,

"Yeah, he and I are on good terms, he has feelings for Twilight now." Sunset Shimmer answered,

"Who knows, maybe she will forget him when she gets older." Robin said,

"We'll just have to wait and see." Arcana replied; knocking was heard at the door,

"Arcana? You there?" Twilight Sparkle asked, Arcana opened the door with her magic and she came in,

"Sorry I didn't arrive earlier, I had a busy day, I was hoping you would teach me some of your magic." Twilight Sparkle stated,

"Which ones?" Arcana asked,

"I was hoping you could teach me how to control fire, water, earth, and air, and how to enter the astral plane." Twilight Sparkle answered,

"Sure, I can teach you the basics." Arcana stated,

"Thank you, I'd like to be the sparing partner for you three this time." Twilight Sparkle said,

"Sure." Robin chirped,

"Alright." Paladin replied,

"Come on, let's get started." Twilight Sparkle said, and the five headed outside.

---

The five went outside and saw Twilight Sparkle's friends alongside Spike and Starlight Glimmer,

"What are they doing here?" Robin asked,

"Oh, they just want to watch." Twilight Sparkle answered,

"Alright, so, which one of us do you want to spar with first?" Paladin asked,

"Isn't it obvious? Arcana." Twilight Sparkle replied, and the others stepped back.

Twilight Sparkle faced Arcana and she quickly cast a spell and shot a zap at her, Arcana simply cast a shield that blocked and deflected it back, Twilight Sparkle moved to her right to dodge it and the zap homed on her, she quickly shot another zap to cancel it out,

"A shield that blocks and deflects and makes the spell home on you? That's a very advanced spell." Twilight Sparkle stated, Arcana cast another spell and it made a white flash appear, Twilight Sparkle yelled as she covered her eyes,

"My eyes! I can't see!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, Arcana cast another spell and made vines with thorns grow out of the ground and tangle around her. She regained her sight and she teleported out of the vines, she shot a zap at Arcana and she shot out red, blue, yellow, and green zaps at once, the red zaps turned into streams of fire, the blue zaps turned into streams of water, the yellow zaps turned into small gray rocks, and the green zaps turned into gusts of wind, Twilight Sparkle used her magic and turned the fire and rocks into sponge balls,

"There, I don't think the water and wind are going to do any harm." Twilight Sparkle said, she shrieked when the gusts of wind cut her, she cast a spell to redirect them while the streams of water flew into her eyes and nostrils, she screamed and cast a spell to make them disappear. She rubbed her eyes and snout to regain her composure, she looked and saw Arcana summon Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Yellow Dragon, her body became covered with dirt, plants, wood, metal, fire, and water, flowers grew around her, sun rays shined out of her body, gusts of wind, leaves, and snow floated around her. Arcana threw her front hoofs forward and waves of fire and water shot out, Twilight Sparkle cast a spell to mix the two and cancel each other out, she then got entrapped by metal and wood grew out of the ground to restrain her, she shot a big blast out and destroyed all of the wood and metal, Arcana saw the shards coming and put up a shield around herself.

Vermilion Bird flew and picked up Twilight Sparkle from behind, she screamed while her friends gasped, he flew and took her to White Tiger, he began to slash her with his claws, she shot a beam at him and it went through him without harming him,

"This isn't fair, Arcana!" Twilight Sparkle fumed,

"Well, they are my pets, so you have to deal with them, too." Arcana replied, Twilight Sparkle pouted and groaned angrily, she teleported away and Black Tortoise jumped and tried to land on her, Twilight Sparkle flew away from her and Azure Dragon wrapped himself around her to restrain her, Yellow Dragon made the ground open and Azure Dragon let her go, Twilight Sparkle screamed as she fell in while Yellow Dragon closed the ground.

Sunset Shimmer looked on with shock alongside Twilight Sparkle's friends, Arcana waited and she did not teleport back up, so she made her five pets disappear and changed back to normal. Twilight Sparkle reappeared, she huffed at her,

"You make mistakes when you get angry, Twilight." Arcana said, she shot a big blast at her, she stopped and she was gone, she reappeared behind her. Twilight Sparkle panted heavily and began to calm down, she sighed and turned around and saw Arcana was ready to shoot a beam at her if she did not calm down, she sighed and began to cast another spell. Twilight Sparkle made Arcana freeze in ice but it melted quickly, she saw Arcana cast heat while frozen, she then made her twenty two cards appear,

"Are those...?" Twilight Sparkle asked, she looked more carefully,

"*gasp* Tarot cards!" Twilight Sparkle hollered, and she quickly shot them away,

"So you do know what they are and what they do, I still have more spells." Arcana said, and Twilight Sparkle got defensive,

"Azarath metrion zinthos." Arcana chanted while her voice echoed, black shadows appeared and engulfed Twilight Sparkle while she screamed,

"Twilight!" Spike cried out, she shot beams at the shadows but they got blocked, she teleported out and saw Arcana had black arms come out of her horn, she shot light magic at her horn and disabled the live shadows,

"Klaatu barada nikto." Arcana chanted, her voice echoed again and Twilight Sparkle tried to cast a spell but could not,

"What?! I can't cast any spells? I can't cast any spells!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed,

"Rin pyo toh sha kai jin retsu zai zen." Arcana chanted, and her eyes glowed white alongside Twilight Sparkle's. Light blue flames appeared in the sky and they went into Twilight Sparkle's body, she began to grow bigger alongside claws and sharp teeth, Arcana got pushed back by Twilight Sparkle resisting her spell and flew off while casting a spell, she came back a few minutes later,

"Anymore spells you have besides cards and chanting?" Twilight Sparkle asked, Arcana's eyes glowed green with purple mist coming out of them and a purple haze on her horn, she made dark crystals appear out of the ground,

"Wow, she has dark magic, too." Applejack said,

"Yeah, thinking that she could've been Princess Celestia's student is kind of scaring me." Starlight Glimmer added, Twilight Sparkle shot beams at the crystals to destroy them, Arcana cast another dark magic spell and skeletons rose out of the ground,

"What the?!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed,

"I practice necromancy, too." Arcana explained, and the skeleton ponies and animals went to go attack her. Twilight Sparkle shot the bones apart with one beam and Arcana cast another spell, her magic aura was back to its regular colors,

"What is she doing now?" Twilight Sparkle asked, light blue ghosts and light blue flames appeared in the sky while the skeletons reformed, the ghosts and flames went into them and their bodies grew back. The others except for Paladin and Robin moved back a little,

"I can see you all have never learned or seen magic that bends the souls of the dead to your will before." Arcana said, they went to go attack Twilight Sparkle and she cast a shield around herself. She watched the revived ponies and animals trying to break through her shield shortly before a yellow light appeared and made them all turn back into skeletons and fall apart. Princess Celestia flew down and walked forward,

"We've been through this, Arcana, no magic or spells that involve reviving or controlling the dead, they are to rest." Princess Celestia remarked,

"Yes, Princess Celestia." Arcana replied,

"Good, you two may get back to practicing, I'm having a joy watching you two train." Princess Celestia said, and she flew away. Twilight Sparkle shot a big beam at Arcana and she teleported behind her and shot her with her blast, Twilight Sparkle screamed as she got burned, filled with water, pelted by rocks, and cut by gusts of wind all at once, the water came out of her mouth and nose and she coughed, she cast another spell and turned Twilight Sparkle into stone, her friends gasped while Starlight Glimmer cast a spell to undo it, she gasped for air,

"That's all of my basic spells, I'll show you my more advanced ones later." Arcana said as she walked back.

Twilight Sparkle panted as she caught her breath,

"Well? Who do you want to spar with next, me or Robin?" Paladin asked, Twilight Sparkle went back and forth while looking at the two,

"Robin." Twilight Sparkle responded as she pointed to her, she walked forward,

"Twilight, wait." Sunset Shimmer spoke as she ran to her,

"Be careful, she has weapons hidden in plain sight." Sunset Shimmer warned, the two looked and saw Robin carrying lipstick,

"Um, Robin, you shouldn't have something like that right now." Twilight Sparkle remarked, Robin opened the container and began to put it on,

"Robin, darling, I personally think you look better without the lipstick." Rarity said, Robin stopped applying it and looked at them,

"Put it aside, Robin, we have to practice." Twilight Sparkle said, Robin grabbed the lipstick with her right wing slowly,

"Toss it aside, you can apply your makeup when we're done." Twilight Sparkle added, Robin got ready to toss it aside but quickly aimed the lipstick at Twilight Sparkle and used her digits to turn the tube's bottom to the right and a loud noise was heard. Twilight Sparkle yelped as she jumped to her right and a hole appeared in the tree, everypony and Spike looked and saw smoke coming out of the tube, Sunset Shimmer became shocked and speechless at seeing that Robin's lipstick holder was a gun,

"Alright, let's begin." Robin said, and she tossed her lipstick aside and flew forward. Twilight Sparkle shot a beam at her and she flew over it and went behind her, she reached into her coat and took out a garrote and wrapped it around her neck. Twilight Sparkle gagged as Robin choked her, she teleported out of it and reappeared and shot a zap at her, Robin turned her body to her left and dodged it, she threw the garrote and it wrapped itself around Twilight Sparkle's neck. She screamed as it wrapped itself and began gagging, she used her telekinesis to get it off and threw it behind herself while Robin took her two daggers out. She flew forward again and did vertical slashes while Twilight Sparkle stepped back to avoid getting cut, she flew back and Robin aimed the handle of one of her daggers,

"Twilight, look out!" Sunset Shimmer hollered, Robin pulled a small trigger on the handle upwards and shot a bullet, Twilight Sparkle screamed as she flinched to her right, she panted as she saw smoke coming out of the dagger's handle. Robin flipped the dagger back over and flew to her and tried slashing her again, Twilight Sparkle teleported behind her and shot a beam at her while her ears ringed. Robin quickly flew up and turned around, she aimed her other dagger's handle at her and pulled the trigger upwards to shoot the bullet, she fired it and Twilight Sparkle flinched to her left and her ears ringed again, she flipped the dagger over and flew to her while pushing a button just below the guards and the blades became electrified, she got ready to put the tips on Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle used her telekinesis and flung the daggers out of Robin's hoofs, she shot a zap at her and Robin flew over it, she teleported to behind her and shot another zap that Robin dodged by flying to her right, she kept coming and let out a grunt when she hugged her with her wings. Twilight Sparkle screamed while the others became confused as they watched, Robin let go and they saw she stabbed Twilight Sparkle, they looked and saw spiked rings on each digit of her wings, they were painted to be the exact same color as her body.

Twilight Sparkle growled and used her telekinesis to take the rings off of Robin's wings and tossed them away, Robin flew around while dodging beams shot by Twilight Sparkle and lifted up the bottom of her vest, she had a white belly band under it, she reached into a hidden pocket and took out a pistol. Robin began shooting and Twilight Sparkle shrieked as she covered her ears since the pistol's gunshots were a lot louder than the guns in the daggers,

"My ears!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, Robin aimed her pistol at her head,

"If this was a real fight, I would've won right here." Robin said, and she flew away while putting the pistol back in the belly band under her vest.

Twilight Sparkle panted and Paladin walked over to her,

"We'll start when you catch your breath." Paladin spoke,

"You're not going to attack me now?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"You're thinking of the Pegasi of Dreaming Paradise, unicorns and earth ponies are trained to have a sense of honor." Paladin replied,

"Really?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"We only try to win fights by any means necessary in life or death situations, but when it comes to training and challenges, we have to fight fair so everybody can have a chance." Arcana explained,

"What about the Pegasi?" Twilight Sparkle questioned,

"Mostly, they still have to let their opponents catch their breath in training." Paladin replied,

"She's pretty slow, Twilight, but still be careful, one hit from her, and it's over." Sunset Shimmer warned, Twilight Sparkle nodded and she stood up,

"I'm ready." Twilight Sparkle declared, and Paladin began walking to her.

Paladin walked to her slowly and Twilight Sparkle became unamused, she shot a beam from her horn and Paladin staggered a little but kept walking to her, she shot another beam and hit her front left hoof, Paladin staggered just a little bit but still kept coming forward, she shot another beam and Paladin took out her shield and the beam bounced off of it,

"Okay, a magic resistant shield, so you do have a defense against magic." Twilight Sparkle remarked, and she shot more beams but Paladin moved her shield around and blocked all of them. Twilight Sparkle tried casting a transmutation spell on the shield but she fell back as the shield deflected the spell,

"I guess the shield resists all spells." Twilight Sparkle said,

"You have to use your physical abilities on her, Twilight." Sunset Shimmer stated,

"Well, in that case." Twilight Sparkle remarked, and she stood up and flew to her, she turned around and grunted as she bucked her, it did nothing, she flew back and got ready to hit Paladin's helmet, but she lifted up her front right hoof and punched her in her jaw. Twilight Sparkle screamed as she flew through the air and the others watched while speechless, she saw a tree up ahead and she flew into it with the front half of her body coming out the other side,

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as the others ran to her, Twilight Sparkle groaned and did not move, her friends pulled her out and put her on the ground, she fell immediately,

"So strong." Twilight Sparkle said weakly, they looked and saw she flew about sixty yards away from where they originally were,

"How are ya feelin'?" Applejack asked,

"My body's numb." Twilight Sparkle replied weakly, Paladin, Arcana, and Robin arrived at the scene,

"I'm disappointed, princess, I thought you would be more durable." Paladin stated,

"How are you so strong?" Rainbow Dash asked,

"I'm an earth pony for one, and I've been doing strength training ever since I was four." Paladin replied,

"Come on, y'all, it's almost dark, we need to sleep." Applejack stated, and they all left while Spike and Starlight Glimmer carried Twilight Sparkle home and got ready for bed, Sunset Shimmer saw Arcana taking medication,

"You sick or something, Arcana?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"No, sleeping medicine, I have insomnia." Arcana replied, Sunset Shimmer had flashbacks and remembered that Arcana was always up late at night when she and her were rivals, they laid down on the floor and slept.