The temple hallway was dismal and cold, the two alicorns keeping close as they ventured onward, deeper into the bowels of the twin peaks of Huginn and Muninn. The two had each cast a spell that conjured bubbles of light that followed them and provided sufficient radiances, Midnight's was turquoise and Twilight's was magenta. The walls of the hall were both painted and carved, with some of the paintings worn away while the carvings had withstood the tests of time a little better.

But it was a discarded sword on the floor that caught their attention, the two of them examining it, and they confirmed from the glyph engraved onto the cross guard, Twilight affirming, "It's Horus's sword, all right. But look at these singe marks along the blade..."

Midnight stared at the sword and his horn lit up with mana, "Arcana Examana..."

His turquoise mana enshrouded the weapon, Twilight waiting a moment for Midnight until the spell ended, and he looked troubled, "That's strange..."

"What is it?" asked Twilight.

"It's definitely been touched by unicorn magic, but..." Midnight found himself making an involuntary shudder, "I've never felt a mystic signature like this, except it somehow feels... familiar. Like I've experienced it at some point."

"Can you remember where, or from whom?" asked Twilight as she conjured a magic bag and stored the sword away into it.

"Well, what's strange is, it sort of reminds me of Princess Celestia," explained Midnight, sounding stumped, "but different. Not gentle, more... raw. Passionate, angry..."

"Well, if this unicorn is the one who attacked Starlight's old village, that sounds like it could be her," Twilight conceded. But then she seemed crestfallen, "Midnight... why would somepony be involved in all this? What does this unicorn have to gain from causing so much trouble, especially for another nation?"

"...I don't know Twily," Midnight replied, pulling his wife into a hug, which Twilight immensely appreciated, taking comfort in their embrace, "I've seen all kinds of bad guys who were motivated by all sorts of things, but almost every single one of them had a motive that was rooted in personal gain. When you want something enough, there's almost nothing you won't do to get it..."

Twilight pulled back a bit to look her husband in the eye, "Then, what could this unicorn want so much that she's willing to kill and potentially cause a civil war in another nation?"

Midnight regarded the pony he loved for a long moment before he pressed his forehead to hers, touching horns and rubbing noses before he let go and gazed down the hallway they were still following, "You can ask her that yourself when we find her... stay close and keep your wits about you."

Twilight nodded and followed, readying a spell just in case.

The hall seemed to stretch on forever, with only their bubbles of light providing illumination in this eerie darkness. The air was musty and chill, but before long it seemed to change, as though a draft was flowing through at a subtle yet noticeable pace. It was at this time that they noticed something ahead and they hurried to investigate, finding a couple of unrolled scrolls and a lantern.

Twilight looked at the scrolls while Midnight examined the lantern and though it was out, he felt the heat coming off of it.

"It's still warm, so whoever was using it was just here," Midnight noted.

"And these scrolls..." Twilight held them up with her telekinesis, "This one is a list of names, of griffon nobles, I believe. But this one... This details an obscure arcane formula that would... oh goddess!"

"What is it, Twily?" Midnight suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"This scroll details how to make a magical contract that is binding once one signs their signature!" Twilight explained with a subtle dread, "And I mean 'binding'! As in, once you sign the dotted line, you can't back out or change your mind! Your only hope would be to burn the contract or for some kind of loophole."

"What would these be doing here? It seems kinda careless to just leave these lying around..." Midnight wondered before he began to puzzle out the details, "A list of griffon names... a magical contract... Wait, let me see that list."

Twilight hooved it over and Midnight ran his eyes down the list, and immediately he recognized most of the names, "These are the names of the griffon nobles that were forced to swear fealty to King Godric in exchange for leniency!"

"The ones that aren't sincerely loyal to him?" Twilight surmised.

"The ones he suspected would turn on him if they saw the opportunity," Midnight nodded as he puzzled it out, "an opportunity that might be offered... by Gar!"

"So then... why would this list be with a scroll detailing the making of a magical contract?" Twilight wondered.

"...because Gar is planning to recruit these nobles and ensure their allegiance via magical contract!" Midnight realized in horror, "This is worse than we thought! If we're right, then this is how Gar is gonna get the forces he needs to stage a revolt against his brother!"

The sound of a loud crash or impact, followed by a gust of wind and dust, and then literally highlighted by a distant light coming from deeper down the hallway alarmed the two unicorns, who stood there, stunned and uncertain.

"What was that?!" asked Twilight.
"I dunno... but I have a feeling this unicorn knows we're here," Midnight steeled himself and kept Nightfall raised as he took the lead, "Keep close and have a spell ready."

They ventured on, the light at the end of the hall steadily growing brighter... until the found themselves in a large, open chamber. The walls lined with mighty stone columns, the floor littered with stone and debris that clearly came from the large hole in the roof, letting the sunshine in along with the mountain chill. Here and there were mystical flames of burning red and gold, smoldering as they soon died out.

"What could have done this...?!" Twilight was aghast, the destruction of a historical site, the blatant disrespect to it all.

"Not what, who..." Midnight raised his sword, lowered his hood, and willed the seams in his cloak to open for his wings to unfurl through them.

Taking cue from Midnight's raising his guard, Twilight focused her magic to cast a life dowsing spell, "Revelite Vita."

She felt the effect release from her horn like a dulcet pulse of magenta light. It spread around them, washing over everything within the range of Twilight's power, and she felt a 'blip', alerting her to the sign of another life nearby, only for it to be discordant, its source seeming to echo mystically from all around, leaving her unsure of where it was, exactly.

"I sense a presence... yet can't pinpoint it," Twilight was already prepping some choice spells.
"She is here..." Midnight nodded, subtly raising his senses for shadow and gravity, perked his ears and flared his nose for the smallest sound or faintest scent.

As if to mock them with confirmation, a soft, feminine chuckle echoed from ahead, instilling unease into the two alicorns. To Twilight, the chuckle was goading and petty, like a bully trying to provoke a reaction. To Midnight, there was a subtle sense of dread washing over his skin, as though a chill that had long laid dormant inside of him was being forced into the harsh sunshine.

The husband and wife shared a look before nodding, and every so carefully began to move forward, sticking by each other's sides.

"I am Prince Midnight Blaze of Equestria!" Midnight called out, his voice strong and unyielding.
"And I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria!" Twilight did the same though her voice was a tad softer.

"You have aided and abetted an enemy of the Griffon Kingdom, unleashed convicted criminals, killed and harmed innocent griffons!" Midnight kept his sword and wings raised, "Your crimes against griffonkind are disgraceful and bring shame upon the ponies of Equestria! We know you're a unicorn, the evidence you left lying around, along with various reports and accounts of your existence, prove that much. Make this easy on yourself and surrender..."

The chuckles turned to outright laughter, mocking, derisive, loud enough to be heard but not from where. Midnight and Twilight looked around the chamber, keeping to the shadows as the sunlight bore down upon the debris-covered floor since the ceiling had apparently been blown away.

"She's mocking us..." growled Midnight, furrowing his brows.

"She's close, but where?!" Twilight was starting to get annoyed, and just as she took that first step into the sunlight-

"TWILIGHT!!!!" Midnight screamed as he threw himself at his wife, whose hoof had stepped upon the edge of a space on the floor that suddenly flared with the light, quickly taking shape as it outlined into a circle inscribed with arcane runes!

Upon full illumination, the ground upon which the magic circle was displayed erupted in a burst of pure force and heat, blowing stone, ancient grout, and dust outwards, the power so intense it reached the crumbling ceiling and destabilized it further, causing more cave-in.

From the other side of the sun-exposed chamber, a figure seemed to step out from behind a curtain of light, garbed in a wine red hooded cloak, a unicorn horn extending from the brim of the hood, as she chuckled in devious amusement. For she was not at all surprised when a second blast occurred, albeit one of less force, and from it appeared Midnight and Twilight, the both of them completely unscathed as a bubble of mana, intermixed with both Midnight's turquoise and Twilight's magenta signifying the Shield Spell had been reinforced with both alicorns' magicks, had shielded them from the blast.

Now seeing their quarry before them, standing over a dozen pony-lengths away, Midnight's horn blazed with power while Twilight's horn sparkled with a more focused intensity, the former growling, "If I had been even a second slower, that blast would have seriously injured my wife, and then there'd be no hope for you..."

"And I had a shield spell at the ready," added Twilight, her eyes narrowed reproachfully at their foe, "It took the worst of the blast, but I admit we still got rattled a little... I've only myself to blame for not even considering you'd set magic circles infused with trap magicks. I was only dowsing for your presence before, which you managed to distort so that despite sensing you I couldn't get a fix on your location."

Twilight cast another dowsing spell throughout the room, and immediately over a dozen magic circles in various different locations lit up. Twilight immediately followed with the most powerful counterspell she knew, dispelling every single circle harmlessly and without setting them off, which made the circles' light turn into flickers of mana that blew away like glimmering specks of dust before they faded away into nothing. The hooded unicorn scoffed in annoyance, but seemed to ho-hum at the fact her preparations had been for naught.

"This is your last warning," Midnight pointed Nightfall at the unicorn, "Surrender now and come peacefully... or this becomes an unpleasant experience."

The hooded unicorn threw her head back, releasing a barking and boisterous laughter that was arrogant, mocking, and incredulous, as though she had found their words so utterly absurd. Twilight rolled her eyes but Midnight felt that same dread from earlier, when he'd just heard the unicorn's subtle chuckling from the dark. It alarmed him, but it also irked him, that he snapped, "And what is it you find so damn amusing?!"

The unicorn's laughs died down into softened giggles that kept trying to take a calming breath, until finally she responded.

"I've just been waiting a long time for this rematch, Midnight Blaze...!"

The dread that had made itself known in his gut now spread across Midnight's entire body, that he couldn't help but shudder as he thought, That voice...!

"Rematch? What are you talking about? We've never met," Twilight was confused.

"You and I have never met, that is true," the unicorn said with a sneering tone at Twilight before pointing at Midnight, "but your hubby seems to have a clue as to who I am..."

"Midnight...?" Twilight finally noticed how shaken her Midnight was and moved closer to him to place her comforting hoof on his cheek, "Midnight, do- Do you know who this is?"

Midnight gulped as he shook it off and took a few steps forward before demanding, "Take off your hood!"

"What do you expect to see if I do?" the unicorn said with a snicker.

"...the face of the pony who killed me," Midnight answered grimly, causing Twilight to gasp softly at those words, confused.

The unicorn responded with yet another arrogant chuckle, before her horn lit up, her hood falling back... revealing a face Midnight had never expected to see again, but something was wrong.

"What is this...?!" Midnight was aghast. It was her, but not as he'd expected.

"What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you so choked up with emotion that you can't speak?" the unicorn mare sneered with spurious sympathy.

"Is that- No, it can't be! Can it...?" Twilight looked from her husband and saw his expression, a baffled recognition, as though he was seeing it yet not believing it.

"Sunset Shimmer...?!?" Midnight whispered as he looked upon her. It made sense now, how he'd found the magic he'd been sensing familiar but hadn't been able to put his horn on it until just this moment.

"Midnight, is she really Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight was shocked as well, trying to make sense of what was going on here, before thinking, Hold on... Sunset Shimmer was in her adolescence when she and Midnight, as his past self, first met. That was over twenty-five years ago! There's no way she could be this young!

"Or did my youthful beauty just leave you at a loss for words?" Sunset Shimmer threw her mane around in an almost flirty manner.

"You... you look like you're around my age, but you should be in your fourth decade!" Midnight finally began to get a hold of himself, "Explain yourself!"

Sunset raised her hoof and opened her mouth, almost as though she were going to do just that. But then she pantomimed zipping her lips while responding in singsong, "It's - A - Seeecreeeeeet...~!

"But..." Sunset then expressed a dark smile before adding, "if you really want to know, just ask our dear ol' teacher, Princess Celestia..."

"I'm sure Princess Celestia will be very interested in speaking with you, after we bring you to her," Twilight started to walk forward to join her husband at his side, which seemed to annoy Sunset.

"As much as I'd love to see the look on our old teacher's face when she learns about me," Sunset pulled something out from beneath her cloak, "I'm afraid we're gonna have to put a pin on that. As I already stated, I've been looking forward to this rematch for a long time..."

Before either alicorn realized what she was doing, Sunset had tossed what appeared to be a glass globe forward, radiating with a disturbing shade of green along with a shining flash of gold, followed by the sound of glass breaking-

Midnight braced himself, but Twilight was swept back, neither of them noticing a translucent sphere expanding from where the globe had shattered, and so much seemed to happen all at once. The floor of the chamber seemed to clear of all the debris. Large chunks of rock and stone, along with gravel and dirt, moved as though a giant invisible broom was sweeping them all aside. The edges of the ceiling broken up simultaneously were forced outwards, as though something were breaking free. But the debris that fell from them slid down an invisible slope.

Twilight had noticed the falling rocks and chunks of the ceiling and was forced to fall back while keeping a Shield Spell up like an umbrella protecting her from rain in the form of skull-crushing pieces of stone.

Almost as quickly as it began, the unexpected development settled, with only the sound of crumbling rocks falling and pebbles skittering. The hole in the ceiling was now as large as a stadium. The pillars that had been holding the ceiling up were now toppled, broken, with barely a few still intact. The sun glared down above it all, and standing in the center, surrounded by a vast spherical barrier, was Sunset Shimmer, smirking arrogantly at Midnight, who now stood only six pony-lengths from her position.

"Twilight!!" Midnight turned around and ran towards the perimeter of the barrier, raising his hoof to break it, only for it to repel his blow, sending him for a bit of a loop.

"What the-" Midnight gawked at it and strained at the feeling in his foreleg. It's like I just punched a wall of rubber...!

"Interesting, wouldn't you say?" Midnight spun `round to glare at Sunset, who seemed to be just admiring the barrier around them, "Quite a feat of magical creativity, if I do say so myself. And I do."

"What is this?! Lower this wall, Sunset Shimmer!" Midnight demanded with a stamp of his hoof, trying to shake off the pins n' needle sensation in his fetlock.

Mm-mm, no can do, Midnight," Sunset shook her head teasingly, "This barrier is only coming down until either one of us is defeated or gives up, and I've said it thrice already, so hopefully this will be the charm... I've waited a long time for this rematch."

"Rematch of what?! That insipid little 'duel' we had when you were a filly?!" Midnight growled, "All you proved was how little you knew about the right things, and how little you could be trusted with the magic you already had back then! I tried to give you guidance and you turned around shot me in the heart with a curse!"

"Yes, I admit, not one of my better moments, but you said something earlier that confuses me," Sunset narrowed her eyes, "What did you mean when you said, I killed you...?"

"That depends... are you working for Catrina?" Midnight retorted with a raised brow.

"I asked first," Sunset smirked with a tease.

"Answer me!!" Midnight snapped.

"Tell you what," Sunset shrugged, "Whoever wins gets their questions answered."

"Fine!" Midnight conjured Nightfall and pointed the blade at his foe, "You'll regret ever crossing me..."

"Ooh! Shiny," Sunset lit up her horn and in front of her something ignited as it was conjured in Sunset's mana, revealing a long polearm, the shaft lacquered red, each end with a golden fixture, the bottom a three-dimensional rhombus diamond that looked heavy and solid, while the top bore an elaborate halberd of gleaming gold, shaped to resemble half of the sun symbol that was Sunset's cutie-mark.
"Ready to play, Midnight?"

"Hold on," Midnight growled before calling over his shoulder, "Twilight! Are you okay?"

"Y-yes! Yes, I'm alright," answered her voice, making Midnight sigh in relief, that he peered over and saw Twilight approach the barrier, looking concerned. "I heard what she said about this barrier, and... I think she meant it. It's very strong and intricate magic. The only way it will lower is when one of you is defeated."

"In that case..." Midnight said softly before he zoomed straight into Sunset, his blade crossing with the pole of her weapon, which she had held at the ready, their clash resulting in a pulse of force that Twilight felt even through the barrier, leaving her impressed and just a little intimidated, while Midnight glared into Sunset's eyes, "I'm gonna knock you senseless and drag you back to Canterlot!!"

"Ha!" Sunset maneuvered her halberd while pushing Midnight and then using magic to enhance her jump backwards, "I bet you say that to all the mares you screw over!"

"RRGH!!" Midnight gritted his teeth and zoomed at Sunset again, their weapons meeting in dissonant clangs of metal. Midnight kept up his attack, but Sunset, as it turned out, was no amateur.

She kept her halberd up and poised, and blocked or deflected every blow Midnight threw at her with Nightfall. Every few clashes or so, she'd strike back, but Midnight would either dodge or deflect the attack himself. Only once had one come too close to impaling him through the shoulder that Midnight was forced to burst into shadow and reform away from Sunset's position. Upon doing so, he took notice of the arrogant smirk she was giving him, and though it grated on his nerves, he thought to himself, She's no slouch with that halberd...

"If you think that's impressive..." Sunset's horn ignited with magic and then so did the halberd's blade, wreathing it with mystic flames, as Sunset took a stance and gave Midnight a menacing look, and then she took a full spinning heave of her halberd, sending a vast inferno at the sapphire stallion like a tidal wave!

"MIDNIGHT!!!" Twilight cried out in alarm, and even Midnight was intimidated.

Can't dodge, turning shadow is too risky... Midnight thought before his horn lit up and he shouted, "PYRO SHIRUDO, GEMINUS!!"

His spell worked, forming not one but two spherical bubbles of turquoise mana around him, and he held his ground as the inferno crashed down upon his shields, creating an effect akin to water touching a heated surface as the fire collided with the magic of Midnight's shields.

Even safe in his double-layered fire shield spell, Midnight felt the intensity of Sunset's power. It flowed and surged around him, like a malevolent maelstrom. Midnight was impressed. Even Starlight had never shown such power under Twilight's tutelage, and while he wasn't strained by keeping his shields up against the fiery onslaught, he couldn't believe Sunset was able to unleash such power for even a short duration of time and yet here she was, the fires of her magic going on and on, the seconds turning into minutes before finally the fires began to die away and then recede.

As the fire began to clear up, Midnight gazed at Sunset, and was honestly not surprised to see she looked no worse for wear. A normal unicorn would surely have begun to pant from having expended so much mana for magic that intense.

She's no ordinary unicorn... Midnight thought as he finally lowered his shields, releasing the spell, the shields vanishing like drawn curtains.

"I've honed my magic for over twenty-five years..." Sunset said with a dark look as she glared at Midnight, "studied, practiced, experimented! All in preparation for achieving my destiny, to become what I always should have been... what you and your pretty wife stole from me!"

"Power alone doesn't an alicorn make," Midnight retorted, "and that's all you ever cared about, isn't it. Celestia told me that she, the highest station in all of Equestria, is but a servant to her people. She serves ponykind by protecting them, guiding them, looking out for their interests, and defending their rights. We have our disagreements... but on that, we are of the same mind."

"Ha! The Princess of the Sun a servant to teeming masses that adulate her? You really haven't a clue of who you serve, do you...?" Sunset huffed, giving Midnight a bitter look that seemed underlined with a strange sense of pity.

"I know more than most..." Midnight raised Nightfall, "I've done her dirty work for over ten years!"

"And yet you still haven't the faintest clue as to the kind of pony she really is!" Sunset twirled her halberd and stabbed it in midnight's direction, a burst of flame erupting as though from a dragon's maw.

"Find the Light, Nightfall!" Midnight raised his sword, which suddenly flared with the nocturnal power it contained, and Midnight's knightly armor appeared on his body while the sword became the clawed gauntlets on his hooves as he reared up and spun`round, shouting, "DARKEST LARIAT!!"

Spinning like a tornado, laced with his magical energy intermixed with the lunar essence of his knightly power, Midnight's attack dispersed the fire of Sunset's, blowing it all away into harmless cinders, snuffing out of existence. Growling, Sunset charged forward, her halberd poised to impale Midnight, but he easily deflected the attack with one of his gauntlets.

He returned the assault with several slashes towards Sunset's face, only for her to back up, raise her halberd to defend herself, and then spin it like a propeller when it got too dicey, forcing Midnight to back off. She then tried a few swinging slashes, Midnight deflecting or dodging, before he leapt back and cast, "Enfrigis Terebra!"

He held out both gauntlets, and from each jewel conjured and launched large icicles that zoomed like missiles towards Sunset, who speared the bottom of her halberd into the ground and cast, "Maho Shirudo!"

A gleaming spherical shield spell enveloped her, the icicles impacting and quickly being dispersed into harmless vapor. The shield dispelled and Sunset scoffed, "Was that supposed to hurt me? My shield barely felt a thing!"

"I have every reason to want to kill you, but I'd rather take you in so you can answer for the wrongs you've done to the Griffon Kingdom," Midnight glared while reaching his gauntlet's claws towards Sunset.

"Oh please, like these pathetic savages deserve anything less than destroying themselves," Sunset sneered while playing with a fireball on her halberd as though it were a game of lacrosse, "They enslaved thousands of creatures around the world, and it was only after they saw how small they are compared to other nations, especially Equestria, that they rolled over and exposed their bellies in submission."

"The griffons lost their way!" Twilight shouted from the sidelines, "Yes, they did so many things wrong, but King Godric is their chance to be the best of themselves once more! They placed too much stock into the Idol of Boreas, but Godric is the example from whom they can learn to be better!"

"A leopard can't change its spots, and species can't change what it is," Sunset said dismissively, "The griffons are freaks. Half lion and half eagle? I've heard them vaunt that, like being a blend of the 'king of beasts' and 'king of birds' is something to actually be proud of. All it does is give them a false sense of pride that they think gives them license to be the monsters they really are! Sooner or later, they'll let that arrogance go to their heads and they'll turn their eyes on the rest of the world, as they did before, and decide they're so superior that they can expand their borders and dominate whatever creature they want!"

"Spoken like every unicorn supremacist I ever met!" Midnight retorted before jumping up and holding both gauntlets to his side, charging them with his power, "CRESCENT WAVE!!"

He threw his forelegs forward, and from the claws of his gauntlets were flung an assault of crescent-shaped energy blades. To his and Twilight's shock, Sunset picked up her halberd, but instead of shielding or deflecting the energy blades, she suddenly began to move at incredible speeds! She dodged the energy blades by speeding around, creating a contrail of light in her wake, dodging every blade without so much as a scratch.

When it was over, she zipped back to her prior position, looking smug, and Twilight asked, "How did she do that?! Some kind of... speed spell?"

"It was magic, but no spell," Sunset shrugged while examining her halberd, "Just something I'm capable of..."

Then, Midnight noticed something about Sunset. It was subtle, but there seemed to be some kind of mystical fire emanating from her mane and tail, puzzling him. There was something else going on here, and he needed to figure it out.

Let's see how she reacts when she's surrounded... Midnight thought before he cast another spell, "Aviappareo, Ravens!"

With a spread of his wings, Midnight created over a dozen magic circles, from which were conjured what appeared to be flapping and cawing ravens! Twilight was impressed by her husband's spell, a type of conjuration that created Apparitions.

Apparitions are some of the hardest things to conjure, Twilight thought as she looked upon the ravens created by Midnight's magic, More than Illusion but less than Reality!

The ravens cawed and screamed as they flew overhead, flying this way and that as they began to surround Sunset. She raised her brow and smirked, "An Apparition spell, impressive! If you weren't an alicorn I'd think you were trying some kind of cheap Illusion or else using some kind of arcanum to boost your magic. Even Alpha-level unicorns have trouble mastering this kind of spell, but here you are, conjuring an entire flock of these things! Being an alicorn must really agree with you...

"But if you're gonna do a spell like that, at least show some imagination!" Sunset smiled wickedly as her mane and tail ignited with mystic fire! Her horn blistered like a sparkler as she cast her next spell, "Arcanappareo Ignis, Cyclops!"

The spell shot from her horn like a flare towards the top of the dome keeping Sunset and Midnight contained, and then it burst like a firework as the light and energy took shape. A massive shape, radiating with blistering heat, as large ape-like arms extended from a hefty torso akin to a gorilla's, held up by goatish legs and hooves, and the head formed into the frightening face of a monstrous goat, complete with large curling horns, but a huge singular eye taking up the upper middle of its face.

Even worse, this monstrosity was wreathed in flames while its physical form looked more like a hologram than flesh and blood, but the way it pounded and stomped the floor with its fists and hooves made it clear that this was no mere illusion.

As the beast towered over Midnight, its flames lashing out and burning his raven apparitions into nothing, a memory ran through his mind, of Horus's final moments. And his final words.

It came out of nowhere, a-a great... animal! It's not what it seems, it's not what it seems!

This is the monster that...! Midnight glared past the cyclops apparition at Sunset and her smug face, and shouted, "IT WAS YOU!!! You created this monster, the one that killed Prince Horus and his team!"

"That insufferable excuse of a 'prince' was poking around where he wasn't wanted," Sunset huffed, looking away from Midnight's condemning glare, "I conjured my cyclops apparition to drive him and his underlings away. All they had to do was leave... what became of them was their own fault for being stubborn!"

"How can you be so cruel?!" Twilight shouted from beyond the barrier, "How can you aid and abet someone like Gar and hurt innocent griffons?! They're different from us, yes, but in many ways, especially the ones that matter, they and we are the same!"

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, so studious, so educated, and yet so stupid..." Sunset spat with such contempt at the lavender princess, "For all your hard-learned knowledge, you can't help showing how lacking you are, in initiative, in perspective! It's why you're the least of all the alicorn royals, beneath even your precious, nose-wiping niece!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Midnight roared as he spun `round, his horn lighting up with another spell, "HYDROASIS TORRENS!!"

From around Midnight surged torrential water, spreading in a splashing burst of rushing waves that flowed forward like rapids, quickly engulfing the fiery apparition of Sunset's cyclops. The beast let out a roar of rage but also terror and it was quickly doused and seethed into a blinding flume of steam.

"Augh!" Sunset jumped back to avoid the scalding vapor while her monster was completely extinguished. "Rrrggh... Aeris Spiralis!"

Sunset's horn shined as she waved it around, a gust of wind twisting as it quickly blew the steam away and cooled off the heinous humidity. As soon as it cleared, she quickly noticed Midnight was nowhere to be seen. Even Twilight seemed uncertain as to where her husband had gone. Sunset was not fooled. There was no way Midnight could have escaped her barrier, especially without her knowing.

He's not invisible, so he's got to be... there! Sunset's eye caught there slightest movement around a piece of rubble. Or rather, it's shadow.

"That won't work with me, Midnight Blaze!" Sunset warned with a mocking rise of her voice as she reared up, her mane and tail igniting in mystical fire again as she gave off a blinding flare of radiant light, so bright that Twilight covered her eyes, but her ears heard him.

"AAAAUUUGGGHH!!!!!"

"Midnight?!" Twilight called out to him, a chilly dread washing over her. For Midnight's scream had been one of agony. "Midnight! What's wrong?!"

As the light dimmed, she saw him, writhing on the stony floor, his armor gone, his gauntlets returned to their sword form as Nightfall laid askew beside the sapphire stallion, whose body seemed to give off smoldering wisps of smoke or steam, Twilight wasn't sure. But Midnight was groaning in agony, as though any movement he made hurt, panting as he struggled to calm himself, and Sunset gazed upon him with a look of sadistic satisfaction.

"What did you do to him, Sunset Shimmer?!" demanded Twilight as she reared up and banged on the barrier, only making soft echoes of reverberation while slight ripples of force appeared at each point of impact for a brief second and then vanished.

Sunset chuckled to herself as she sashayed over to the suffering stallion, drinking in his pain, as Midnight managed to creak one eye open and shuddered as he looked up at her, uttering, "H-h-how...?"

For a long moment, Sunset simply glared down at him, until finally, she answered, "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun."

Midnight was confused, but the pain. Oh, the pain! Never had he felt something like this. He'd tried to sneak up on Sunset in his shadow form, hoping to sneak attack and take her by surprise. It was one of his favorite tactics and almost never failed. But never before had it failed so spectacularly, because never before had someone been able to counter it in the way Sunset apparently had.

She... she shined her light, and... the light! It- it burned...! Midnight groaned, for every part of his body felt as though he'd been set ablaze. Midnight had been burned before, but this was something else altogether.

"And now... it's just about time to end this," Sunset smiled wickedly, and Midnight gulped.

He was in pain, couldn't move, couldn't muster his mana for a spell, and he was afraid of turning shadow again in case Sunset did what she already had.

"Sunset, no! Please! He's beaten, you don't have to hurt him anymore...!" Twilight was on the verge of tears, her emotions throwing her off, preventing her from being able to focus on anything but what was happening before her. And how she was helpless to do anything about it.
"He'll yield to you, just show him mercy...please!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm all out of mercy, princess..." Sunset said with a devious gleam before returning her gaze to Midnight, "So, I'm going to do something neither of you will forget anytime soon..."

"NO!!!" Twilight begged while Midnight closed his eyes, awaiting the end.

"Mmm..." Sunset moaned as Midnight felt something soft press lightly against... his lips?!

"Whaaaaaa....?!?!" Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing, and when Midnight dared to open his eyes, they popped!

Sh- She's... kissing me?! Midnight was helpless to do anything about it, as Sunset put just a little oomph into the kiss before she pulled her head back up and bobbed her brows triumphantly.

"I yield." At her words, the barrier dispelled, a bell-like knell ringing as the walls seemed to vibrate a moment before they faded into an ethereal mist that soon disappeared completely.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" Sunset dodged a bolt of mana aimed straight at her head and quickly teleported away in a fiery burst while Twilight rushed over to Midnight's side, her wings raised in a display of aggression.

Sunset appeared only four pony-lengths away, looking far too pleased with herself, "Sorry to cut and run, Your Majesties, but I have a previous engagement to honor. Not that I really care, but if you are interested in maybe preventing a griffon civil war, you might want to get back to Griffonstone castle, on the double."

"You won't get away with this..." Twilight glared reproachfully at the unicorn, who simply responded with a mocking scoff.

"Ha! Poor little Twilight... I already have. Oh! I yielded the duel," Sunset pointed out as though it had slipped her mind, "So, I suppose I owe you an answer to your previous question, and it is... Yes! Yes, I am. Fare thee well, o great alicorns! Hahahahahaha....!!!!"

Sunset's fiery magic engulfed her as she teleported away, her mocking laughter echoing around them as Twilight turned to tend to Midnight... and noticed the stupefied look in his eyes. When he noticed the searing look his wife was giving him, he flinched before protesting, "Don't look at me like that! She kissed me!!!"

Arcana Examana: Arcana "mystery, secret, hidden" + Derivation of Examine - It's a dowsing spell to magically examine a subject and learn of its properties and whatever it's recently been exposed to

Revelite Vita: Revelite is Latin for 'reveal' while Vita means 'life' - Revelite is a general Dowsing Spell while adding Vita focuses it to detect anything alive within the caster's range of power.

Pyro Shirudo + Geminus: Pyro obviously means 'fire', Shirudo is a Japanese pronunciation for the English word 'shield', and Geminus refers to Gemini, as in twin or double - Pyro Shirudo is a shield spell to protect against fire and heat while Geminus modifies the spell to double its effect, making the shield double-layered

Enfrigis Terebra: En- is a suffix and Frigis is derived of Latin Frigus for 'cold, frost, chill' while Terebra is derived from Terbrare which means 'pierce' - Enfrigis Terbra conjures and launches icicles that can impale as well as freeze at the point of impact/penetration

Maho Shirudo: Maho is Japanese for 'magic' while Shirudo is a Japanese pronunciation of 'shield' - Maho Shirudo is a Shield Spell for magic in general

Aviappareo: A Latin portmanteau of Avis "bird" and Appareo "appear" - Aviappareo conjures apparitions of birds; Apparitions are magical manifestations of living creatures, more than Illusion but less than Reality. In other words, metaphysical manifestations

Arcanappareo: A portmanteau of Arcana 'secret, hidden, mysterious', and Appareo, Latin for 'appear' - Arcanappareo conjures apparitions of magical creatures

Hydroasis Torrens: A portmanteau of Hydro, referring to water, Oasis, and Torrens is a spell modifier, derived from 'torrent' - Hydroasis is a spell to conjure Water while adding Torrens conjures the water as torrential and turbulent waves

Aeris Spiralis: Aeris is Latin for 'Air' while Spiralis means 'spiral' - Aeris Spiralis conjures a twisting gust of air that is useful for blowing something away, such as breathing hazards or airborne problems.