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The Return of Sunset Shimmer

by Never2muchpinkie

Chapter 12: Chapter 11: The battle begins

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Twilight was up and ready for the day to come. She had just eaten breakfast, woken up Spike, and completed her morning routine.

She had dusted the library until it was sparkling, but she didn’t think they would spend their time only in the library. She left Spike to start his chores and prepare for the princess.

Celestia had begun to insist she didn’t want a big fuss made of her visits, but she thought a few flourishes couldn’t hurt. She trotted over to Ponyville Park, gathering up flowers and wrapping them up, placing them around.

As she went to place another bouquet of flowers up she heard a whistling vibration, and she gasped as the flowers were blasted to ashes.

She looked up, annoyed, thinking one of her friends was playing a prank on her. She saw a pony flying in the sky, which she found odd. How could a pegasus have blasted the flowers? The pony was wearing a cloak that obscured their head and most of their body. Her orange hooves were the only clearly visible part of her. It didn’t match any of her friends, nor any of the alicorns.

“Hey!” she complained. “What did you do that for?”

The pony’s flapping slowed and they landed on the ground. Twilight’s annoyance faded as she saw the pony’s wings. They clearly weren’t ordinary pegasus wings. They had to be artificial. Though the constitution was different it reminded her of the gossamer wings she had made for Rarity way back when. This pony’s wings were translucent. She found herself pondering what their wings were made out of. She always loved learning.

Coming back to herself she put her inquisitive mind in the background for the time being. “Hey! Why did you ruin my flowers?”

The pony hung their head. In a quiet voice they said, “I had to get your attention somehow. It was vital I see you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Did you ever think of just saying ‘Hello?’ I’m not deaf, you know.”

“I could give them back if you wish.”

Twilight thought they sounded female.

The mare pointed to the ashes, and her horn glowed red. The ashes floated up into the air, restoring themselves into flowers.

Twilight’s interest was peaking again. Returning something to its previous state was something that required considerable magical talent. It wasn’t something your average, run-of-the-mill unicorn could accomplish. “So who are you? And why did you want to see me?”

“You already know who I am.”

“I do?” she asked, running through her memories again. No one she could recall had a red magical aura outside of her brother, but he certainly didn’t have an orange coat. “I’m afraid I’m drawing a blank.”

The mare ignored this. “As for why I’m here…” She flipped her hood back, revealing herself.

“Sunset?” Twilight responded, flabbergasted. Sunset had once been Celestia’s student, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Sunset had powerful magic, but she knew Sunset’s magical aura was a light green. She started to get a bad feeling that today wasn’t going to be as simple and wonderful as she had hoped. “Yeah? You’re here for what?"

Looking at Twilight with a sad smile she said desolately, “I… I’m here to kill you.”

Twilight’s insides went cold as she backed up a step. Her mind began racing for possibilities, anything to dismiss what she just heard. The different magical aura had to mean this wasn’t actually Sunset in front of her, didn’t it? After all of Sunset’s tearful speeches and sincere expressions of regret there was no way Sunset would just come back the next day with homicide on the mind.

“Who are you?” she said coldly. “WHO ARE YOU REALLY?” She couldn’t keep from shouting as worry for the real Sunset overtook her. “WHERE IS SUNSET?”

Sunset didn’t flinch at her outburst. “Twilight Sparkle, there is no need to fear it. There is only one Sunset, standing before you.”

“You’re lying!” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, her horn starting to glow.

“You going to kill me, Twilight?” Sunset began to laugh, a broken, mirthless laugh. “Isn’t it too early for that? Celestia would miss out on all the fun.”

“I don’t believe for a second you’re really Sunset Shimmer!”

“I haven’t become a new pony, you know. I’ve only awakened to the truth. Tell me something. Do you remember a letter from the princess, and going to Canterlot last night?”

Twilight gazed at her strangely, the glow fading. “What are you talking about? After everyone left I did a little sprucing up and went to bed.”

Sunset let out a knowing “Hmph.” She shook her head. “Of course you don’t remember. After all the brainwashing and despair you went through last night of course you wouldn’t be allowed to remember what was done to you.”

Twilight only felt more and more confused. This pony before her likely wasn’t Sunset, but their ideas seemed crazy. “And just what was ‘done to me’ last night?”

Sunset looked at the ground. “You really cared for Sunset, didn’t you? You believed in me when no one else did. You stood up for me when no one else did.” Tears splashed onto the ground. “But Celestia didn’t. She refused to think I had changed. She only saw me as the old me. And you spoke in my defense, defying her ideas and plans for me. She couldn’t have that.

“I saw it all. I saw her attack you.” Her eyes clenched shut as she thought of the vision. “I was powerless to help you! I could only watch helplessly as she assaulted you and stripped those thoughts from you, forcing you to hate me. Forcing you to fall in line with her thoughts.”

She looked up, tears dripping from her eyes. “And now you stand before me naïve and innocent, not even knowing the truth, only stalling me until Celestia arrives to take me away.”

Something felt very wrong. If it was a fake Sunset why did their emotions feel so raw and real? If it was the real Sunset then where did she get such outlandish ideas, and why did she even believe them in the first place?

“But I’m not going to just go quietly!” Sunset said angrily, a flash of red coloring her eyes for a second. “I’ll defend myself to my last breath for the good of this country!”

Something felt very familiar to Twilight. Sunset’s eyes had definitely changed color for a moment. When had that happened before? “AH!” she cried out, her eyes going to the front of Sunset’s cloak. She froze, seeing the Alicorn Amulet clasped around the cloak. Her insides felt like ice. Where had Sunset even gotten it? “Oh!” She remembered a few years ago that she had given the Amulet to Zecora for safekeeping, as so few ponies ever went into the Everfree Forest.

She began shaking. She had already gone through this experience once with Trixie. Sunset was being slowly corrupted by that thing she wore. If Sunset wasn’t stopped her soul would only grow darker and darker until she was unrecognizable.

In the past the Alicorn Amulet gave Trixie enough power to cast high level spells without repercussion. Trixie’s skills even surpassed her own, Celestia’s own personal student. She had been unable to take Trixie on power for power. She’d had to rely on outsmarting Trixie to remove the Amulet, as it could only be removed by its user.

She was an alicorn now, and thus her magic had gotten a gigantic boost. But it didn’t matter much in this situation. Even if she could defeat Sunset in battle it would do nothing to get rid of the problem of the Amulet. Thinking on it a little harder she retracted that thought. If she could knock Sunset unconscious then perhaps she could destroy the Amulet itself. It would be tricky to target such a small target in open battle without harming Sunset. Still, she didn’t want it to come to that.

Her other option was to trick Sunset as she had Trixie. She didn’t think that would be nearly as easy as it had been for Trixie. Trixie only wanted to humiliate her. Sunset was claiming she wanted her dead.

Looking back she wished she had done more research on the Alicorn Amulet after her duel with Trixie. The book her friends had found didn’t have any details that would be helpful in this situation. It granted a magic boost, but corrupted the user. It could only be removed by the wielder. That was the gist of what it said. It didn’t have any concrete info on who had created it, and why. It didn’t explain why it corrupted the user.

Twilight was curious, and as Sunset had not yet gotten violent she might as well ask, as she was genuinely interested. Any information, no matter how slight, might be useful in one way or another. “Sunset…” She took a step forward. “What… what was that you were saying before? About Celestia attacking me and brainwashing me? Why would she do that?” She shook her head. “Wait a minute, no. That’s not even the biggest issue. You said that you SAW this happening. But how?”

“Last night, when I was in bed.” She put a hoof on the Amulet, rubbing it. “It’s another one of the Amulet’s powers. It allows me to see visions of what’s going on in Equestria… and beyond.”

Twilight processed that. She didn’t know the full extent of the Alicorn Amulet’s abilities, so she couldn’t exact claim it couldn’t do that. “Sunset, the Amulet may have that ability, but if it happened when you were in bed doesn’t it seem more likely you were just having a nightmare? The idea of meeting Celestia was something that was causing you great anxiety. It’s not a stretch to think that fear would make itself manifest in your dreams.”

Sunset stared back at her blankly. “Oh, Twilight… how I wish that was true. I wish I didn’t awaken to the truth. Celestia… I had good reason to leave her behind. She’s a cruel, monstrous tyrant who isn’t afraid to abuse her subjects! I could easily believe she would torment you for defying her.”

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, trying not to cry. The Amulet’s influence had already gotten a strong hold over her. “Where is this coming from, Sunset?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions overcome her good judgment, but it was hard when a good friend was in danger. “You saw one thing in the middle of the night when you were likely just dreaming, and that alone is enough to make you abandon everything you said to me yesterday?”

Sunset saw a tear come down Twilight’s eyes, and she found a tear coming down her own in sympathy. “I know you’re fighting, Twilight. I know the real you is in there somewhere, but you’re not strong enough to break free. That’s why… t-t-that’s w-why… I’m going to save you… the only way I know how.”

Twilight looked at the ground. “By killing me?” she said quietly.

Sunset nodded. “It’s the only way.”

“Answer me this, Sunset.” She looked up, meeting her eyes. “Is this what you really want to do?”

Sunset met her gaze for a few seconds before she broke eye contact. “How could you even ask that of me? Of course not. I trust you with all my heart and consider you a precious friend. You saved me from myself when I was in a bad spot and helped to put me on the right path.”

“And I entrusted you to the care of my human-world friends. As equivalent beings to my pony friends I knew they would be perfect to keep watch over you and help keep you on that path.”

Sunset let out a sharp breath. “They watched over me, yes, but they never once trusted me. They distrusted me just like everyone else. They only pretended to be my friends for your sake.”

“Is that another ‘vision’ you had, or did you come up with that conclusion yourself?”

“It was a vision. My so-called friends revealed their true intentions, talking in the halls of Canterlot.”

“Come on, Sunset!” she said angrily. “Snap out of it! Isn’t all that just a little too convenient? I suppose you had one of our pony world friends too?” Sunset didn’t respond, but she shifted a little, making the answer obvious. “Friendship and trust is based on time and experience. You spent three years together. You want to tell me they’ve been putting on a perfect act for that long?”

Sunset turned away. “Facts are something that cannot be denied. And he revealed the truth to me.”

“He?” Twilight asked, perplexed. “Who’s ‘he?’”

Stardust quietly growled before saying angrily to Sunset, “Shut up! We don’t want to give her any information that could be used against us.”

‘Stay out of this!’ Sunset hissed in her mind. ‘This is my personal business. It’s hard enough without you butting in.’

Stardust’s temper began to flare up, but he forced himself to relax. So long as Sunset was still adhering to his will he didn’t have to interfere.

Twilight didn’t think Sunset was lying. She could only have had the Amulet for about twelve hours. It likely wasn’t enough time to completely brainwash her, but it had had some effect on Sunset’s thoughts. Sunset was clearly reluctant.

She stared at Sunset, but was seeing right through her. She had to infer that the Alicorn Amulet had some sort of consciousness. Or perhaps it had some kind of hypnotism spell on it that compelled a pony to obey his will, though that would seem to mean that the one behind the Alicorn Amulet was always watching from a distance. She couldn’t be sure. All she knew for sure was that the binding of the Amulet continuously grew stronger the longer it was worn and used.

From what she’d heard Sunset believed that everyone had turned against her. Everyone except her, Twilight, but now she had been brainwashed, so effectively Sunset was alone in her mind. In the past Sunset had relied only on herself and trusted no one. If Sunset was now convinced that everyone she had come to rely on didn’t really care about her it wasn’t surprising Sunset would begin to revert to her past self in order to survive. It had gone after her biggest weakness.

Twilight wondered what she would be like if she thought her friends didn’t care about her anymore. A cold shudder went through her. She did know. She had gone through it before, when Discord had first escaped his stone prison. Discord had corrupted each of her friends, turning them into the opposite of themselves. It had slowly grated on her nerves the way they were all acting, driving her crazy, and it all came to a head when they failed to use the Elements to stop him.

As all of them had left she had felt despair pulling at her. After the wonders of friendship had been revealed to her it felt like it was all being pulled away. She had been ready to leave Ponyville, and had even started packing, not knowing where she was going to go.

Now Sunset was being pulled back into that same cold, lonely place. She wouldn’t let that happen.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed. The Elements of Harmony! They were exactly what she needed. Sure, she couldn’t physically or magically remove the Amulet from Sunset because of the magical lock, but if she could hit the Amulet with the power of the Elements its darkness would be purified, and thus its power over Sunset would break as well.

Sunset shook her head. “Enough of this. I’ll end this quickly!” Taking to the sky her horn charged up, and a beam of magic came soaring towards Twilight.

Twilight let out a surprised, “Yeep!” The beam was huge. Her own horn began to glow, and just before the blast hit she teleported away.

There was an explosion and a cloud of dust covered the area. As it cleared Sunset was unsurprised to see the crater was empty.

“She’s gone,” said Stardust. “Are you going to just let her get away? She might have gone to call Celestia. She certainly wouldn’t be expecting you to have found me.”

“No worries,” Sunset said, slowly lowering herself back to the ground. “I saw that spark of light in Twilight’s eyes. I know exactly what she’s up to.” She chuckled to herself. “That’s right. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Twilight panted as she poofed into the middle of the library. “What power!” she said to herself. “Trixie certainly didn’t get that powerful… but that’s probably because she wasn’t as knowledgeable in spells as Sunset Shimmer is.”

Spike saw Twilight breathing heavily and asked, “What’s wrong, Twilight?” He jogged over to her. “You look kinda scared.”

Twilight turned to Spike, pulling him towards her and giving him a big hug.

“T-Twilight?” he responded, confused. It wasn’t like they never hugged one another, but Twilight was usually one to talk about her problems. That she was clinging to him for comfort worried him even more.

Twilight took in a few breaths to steady herself. Sunset had definitely made a move against her life. If she had been a second later in teleporting…

She released Spike, feeling a little better. Time was precious. If Sunset was really ready to kill her then who knew what she would do if left alone? Sunset might start blasting every house in sight looking for her.

She ran towards the glass case that held the Elements of Harmony, lifting it up in her magic. She grabbed the Element of Magic, placing it on her head.

“Uh-oh!” said Spike, interlacing his claws. “We have a new foe, and this early in the morning.”

Twilight paused, a sour taste in her mouth. She turned to Spike, shaking her head. “No, Spike. It’s an old one. When I sent Sunset to Zecora’s she somehow discovered the Alicorn Amulet.” Spike’s eyes widened. “I’m sure you understand where I’m going with this.”

“Sunset… attacked you?”

Twilight averted her gaze, giving a curt nod. “She’s not herself, Spike. The stuff she was saying…” She shook her head again. “Things won’t be the same as with Trixie. I know what I’m up against this time, and I also have the Elements of Harmony. One shot of this will turn Sunset back to normal just like the last time.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m NOT going to allow this to ruin Sunset’s redemption.”

“So…” Spike restlessly kicked his leg on the floor. “So I guess I shouldn’t tell Princess Celestia about this?”

“Absolutely not!” Twilight said with a bit of panic, turning back toward him. “Sunset has been terrified the whole time about meeting Celestia. Sunset would never want to meet her when she is freed of its influence and finds out what she did.”

Twilight shook her head. “Ah! I don’t have time to explain everything. Sunset is by Ponyville Park, and I don’t know if she’s gonna stay there. It’s still early, so all my friends should be near their homes.”

“Good luck, Twilight!” Spike said encouragingly, hugging her leg. “I know you can do it!”

Twilight beamed down at him, putting a leg around him as she nuzzled his forehead. “No worries, Spike. I would never let down a friend.”

Grabbing the other five Elements in her magic she let Spike go and teleported over to Sugarcube Corner. She found Pinkie and Mrs. Cake manning the register. “Pinkie, I need you to come with me right now. No questions. Just take your Element of Harmony.”

Seeing the dead serious look on Twilight’s face she only nodded as she put on the Element of Laughter.

She poofed around to each of her friend’s houses as she gave them their Elements. When she had all six of them she hoped that Sunset Shimmer hadn’t moved far as she teleported all of them back to the park.

To her relief she saw that Sunset Shimmer hadn’t seemed to move an inch. “Ah… you’re back,” Sunset said calmly as she turned towards the six. “Took you long enough,”

“Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight said strongly. “We have the Elements of Harmony. Even you have to know that the power of the Elements can overpower your Amulet. If you value your life and well-being then remove the Alicorn Amulet now!”

“The Alicorn Amulet?” asked Applejack. “How in the hay did she get that?”

“It was my fault. I was the one who sent her to sleep at Zecora’s place.” She turned back to Sunset. “Well? What’s your answer?”

Sunset didn’t respond. She only started rubbing the Amulet again.

“I will do what I have to do to protect Ponyville. This is my second warning, I’m not giving you a third!” Still nothing. With a big sigh Twilight felt a few tears come down her eyes as she said regretfully, “Girls...” Even if it was necessary, and wouldn’t actually hurt Sunset, she still didn’t want to attack Sunset after how far she’d come.

The Elements began powering up. “Last chance. I’ll give you five seconds. Five…four…three…two…”

Sunset Shimmer looked up at the great energy being created by the elements. As Twilight said “one” she grabbed the Amulet, growling as she pulled it off.

Sunset suddenly started blinking, looking confused as she gazed around. “Huh? What happened?” she asked in a confused voice. She suddenly focused on the others. “Twilight? How did I get over here? What’s going on?”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Using her magic to make sure Sunset couldn’t change her mind she levitated the Amulet over to her before handing it over to Applejack to hold on to. She walked towards Sunset Shimmer. “The Alicorn Amulet corrupted your mind. It’s over now.”

“The… oh my gosh. I shouldn’t have put it on. I… I just wanted to be helpful to you if an emergency happened. That way…” She turned around. “I just thought that if I could help you out with something big then Princess Celestia would accept my apology for abandoning her.”

“Princess Celestia ALREADY forgave you for what you did. That’s why she kept hoping you would return through the portal.” She moved around so she was facing Sunset Shimmer. “I understand why you did what you did, but you don’t have to do anything other than just show that you’re trying to change.”

“Thanks…Twilight.” She threw a hoof around Twilight, and Twilight returned the gesture.

“No problem.”

“For being such a trusting fool, that is!”

“Huh?” said Twilight as she heard Sunset’s voice turn cold again. Sunset’s hoof moved away from her and her head suddenly got lighter. “The Element!” she cried out as a red burst of magic covered it and it disappeared.

Sunset began to laugh hysterically. The only thing Twilight could use to stop her was gone. Now she could save Twilight for sure.

Twilight was horrorstruck. Sunset had just sent away her Element of Harmony. “I don’t understand. The Amulet’s power should have been broken when it was removed.”

Sunset Shimmer smirked. “Do you really think I’m so naïve, Twilight Sparkle? I knew what your response would be to me showing up with the Amulet. I came prepared.” She removed her cloak to show she was wearing the Alicorn Amulet underneath it.

Twilight looked over at Applejack, who was also still holding the Alicorn Amulet. “There are two of them?”

“Of course not, you dolt. That one over there is a fake. Just a simple duplication spell. I knew you wouldn’t want to hurt me, but I also knew you would do what you felt was necessary. I just needed a way to get you to drop your guard so I could remove that traitorous Element of Magic. Who knows where it ended up with that spell? Maybe the other side of Equestria, or even the moon. Now all your precious Elements are useless. Let’s play a little, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight quickly jumped out the way as a blast headed toward her. Now what was she supposed to do? Her magic had gotten a boost in power when she had transformed into an alicorn. Would that be enough to allow her to fight on an equal level with someone who also got a boost from the Amulet? If she could just prolong the battle long enough Sunset might run out of magic and then they could figure out where to go from there. Of course the opposite might also be true, and she herself would be left without magic.

Each time Sunset Shimmer fired at her she kept dodging out the way. Twilight saw she was only using low level spells now. She wasn’t firing large blasts anymore.

“Is running away all that you can do, Princess?” asked Sunset Shimmer. “It seems you’re not all that interested in fighting me. Is that because you’re scared, or because you’re still trying to figure out a way to win without harming me? I guess maybe I need to give you some inspiration.” She smirked.

Twilight let out a gasp as Sunset turned towards her friends. She quickly teleported next to them as Sunset fired a medium sized blast. Twilight jumped up, flying towards it as her horn began glowing. She deflected it around them as she blasted it point blank. “Sunset! Leave my friends out of this. Your fight is with me.”

“True, but it’s not a fight if only one of us is trying. I want to fully test out this power before I take out Celestia. You’re my test subject for that, so give it all you’ve got.”

“I don’t want to fight you! You don’t need that kind of power. Do you even really believe what you’re saying? That I’m a brainwashed pawn and Princess Celestia is a cruel tyrant?” She flew up to Sunset’s level. “Think about how ridiculous that sounds. It has no basis in fact.”

Sunset let out a laugh. It started out small, but it quickly increased in intensity until she couldn’t breathe. “O-oh. Now that’s funny. Of course you can’t see it. Celestia has done a great job on you. I shall become the new ruler of Equestria. Then I will usher in a new age of peace, safe from that horrible abomination on the throne.”

“You’re talking about peace while you’re plotting to murder two alicorns? What about everything you were saying yesterday? Was it all a lie? This isn’t YOU! There’s still time. You can still go back and fix things. Just throw away the Amulet.”

Sunset Shimmer gazed back at her, an inscrutable expression on her face. “I thought I knew what I wanted… and I was right all along. I underestimated your power back then. You defeated me through the power of friendship. I’ll acknowledge that. But if one can obtain a power even greater than that… then shouldn’t they be the ruler?

“Think about how many times Celestia has placed you in dangerous situations in the name of 'growth' and 'lessons,' while not lifting a hoof to help you. Or how about what happened to her sister Luna? Of course she was banished… because Celestia wanted to make sure nothing was stronger than her. What did Celestia DO with that thousand years, besides sit and be lazy? With so much time to practice she should have been able to easily handle Discord without the Elements. She is clearly incompetent. You’re an obedient minion who never questions her motives. That is why she favors you so much more highly than me. I alone was smart enough to say no to her.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand, but this is the power I’ve dreamed of since I was small. And with it I’ll take everything I desire.”

“And what of the other’s? Will you kill Princess Luna too, and then Cadance? And then everyone who disagrees with your ascension? If you do that you’ll be no better than the Princess Celestia you envision her to be.”

“Wrong, Twilight Sparkle. In order to have a healthy land first the impurities must be cleared away. Celestia is not fit for her post and has caused everyone enough torment. She had a long time to repent and change her ways, but she’s too stubborn to admit when she was wrong. Thus, even if she is deposed from the throne she’ll still be a major threat. It will take some time for the change to occur, but after she’s gone they can stop being afraid and live good lives.

“Now, I grow tired of this weary talk. It’s clear that you’re too far gone as well, and trying to fight two alicorns at once would be difficult even for me, so I think I better speed things along. I was hoping to draw out your full potential so I could test the limits of my power, but you’re clearly not going to entertain me.” A large glow came from her horn.

Twilight sighed. She knew talking would change nothing while Sunset was under its spell, but she had hoped that she could get through to her. She would have to fight. She closed her eyes, slowly lowering herself to the ground. Sunset did likewise. “Very well,” she said. “I’ll fight you, but only if you promise to keep my friends completely out of this fight.”

Sunset grinned serenely as the glow from her horn faded. “Of course, Twilight. I’m not a monster. I would never want to involve innocents in our contest.” She turned towards the other five, closing her eyes as she focused her energy. A sphere of energy came from the ground, wrapping them inside it. “Rainbow Dash! You’ll be my brave volunteer.”

A red aura appeared around the pegasus, dragging her towards the barrier. Rainbow braced herself for impact, but she went right through it without harm. Sunset moved her back and forth a few times before leaving her inside the barrier.

“As you can see one can enter or leave the barrier at their discretion without trouble. However…” Sunset’s horn glowed as she lifted part of a tree and chucked it towards the shield, along with a magic blast. Fluttershy recoiled, and Applejack got into a ready stance, but the tree bounced off and the energy blast was absorbed into it. “Nonliving objects, as well as magical blasts, can’t get through. And…” Her horn glowed again, and a similar spherical barrier covered most of Ponyville, leaving only the park uncovered. It was like a donut-shaped shield encircling them. “Are you satisfied, Twilight?”

Twilight looked around at the barriers around her. Having seen its power for herself she believed that Sunset was genuine in not wanting to get others involved, at least for now. As its power grew stronger over her then her morals would begin to slip as well.

In retrospect she felt foolish. True, she had no way to expect a duplication spell, but Sunset’s actions after removing the Amulet were to act like she had amnesia, with no memory of what she had just been doing. Trixie had continued what she had been doing for a short time, angry at Rainbow for taking the Amulet and attempting to electrocute her.

She sighed. “Guess there’s no way around it,” she said to herself. “A magic duel it is.”

Sunset powered up her horn. “About time. Let’s do it!” Raising her hooves she lifted up the water in the pond. Stretching it into a thin shape she snapped it like a whip towards Twilight.

Twilight’s horn glowed as well, and the ground in front of her lifted up a few feet, absorbing the blow.

“Not good enough!” Sunset cried out, moving the water into a wall shape and encircling Twilight inside it.

Twilight let out some bubbles as she felt the water squeezing her. With a flash she disappeared, appearing a few feet away. Twilight flung a clump of earth towards Sunset, who levitated the water back upwards.

Now Sunset had a giant ball of mud.

As it came toward her Twilight let out a cry of surprise as she began sinking into the ground. Unfurling her wings she flapped them hard, pulling herself out just as the mud ball crashed into where she had been stuck just moments before.

Twilight summoned earmuffs for herself and each of her friends before she also summoned a giant gong and mallet. She slammed it as hard as she could.

Sunset put her hooves to her ears as the sound reverberated through her body. She quickly descended, unable to focus. The auto-correct function of the wings took effect, keeping her airborne as she neared the ground.

Twilight decided to use a hypnosis spell. If she could control Sunset’s actions she could make her take off the Amulet. Her eyes opened wide, focusing on Sunset.

Sunset growled softly. Her ears were still ringing. She looked up with one eye towards Twilight. As she met Twilight’s gaze she found she couldn’t look away. A sudden absence consumed her, like she had just vanished as a person.

“Take it off,” a voice echoed in her mind. “Take off the Amulet.”

Sunset’s hooves moved automatically towards the Alicorn Amulet.

“Hmph!” Stardust said dismissively. “It isn’t going to be that easy, you brat.” He gave Sunset a mental kick, asserting control over her. “Wake up, Sunset!”

Sunset felt her consciousness returning. She forced her head away. “Stupid Twilight!” she said with a huff. Concentrating on her magic she used a healing spell to repair her ears. “It will take more than that to stop me! A lot more!”

Twilight let out a tsk. She had seen it start to work, but Sunset’s will had been stronger than she thought. Even weakened she could still fight back. She really didn’t want to actually harm Sunset, but it seemed she might not have a choice. If hypnosis could work she’d have to weaken Sunset considerably so she couldn’t resist her spell.

So what should she do? Stall as long as possible and hope that Sunset exhausted herself? That wouldn’t do. She had no idea when exactly Princess Celestia would arrive. She couldn’t afford to drag things out endlessly. She absolutely didn’t want Celestia to arrive and see Sunset attempting murder. She had to resolve this before Celestia arrived no matter what.

Options whirled around in her mind, but she kept coming back to a simple truth: she had to damage Sunset. Without the power of the Elements the only option she had now was to get Sunset to remove the Alicorn Amulet herself. Sunset wouldn’t do so willingly. Trixie only took it off because she had been tricked into believing a lie, that Zecora’s special neckless could grant even greater power than the Alicorn Amulet. She didn’t think that would work a second time, especially as Sunset wasn’t out to show off, but to kill.

Twilight wondered what it was that made Sunset so much more vicious in her actions compared to Trixie. Trixie had felt humiliated and ostracized, believing if she could prove she really was superior that others would back down, if only out of fear.

Sunset had felt humiliated and ostracized too, by Celestia. She had also attempted revenge, but the Elements of Harmony had turned Sunset good, just like Princess Luna. Luna had not yet reverted back to evil.

Maybe that was it. Trixie, before her downward spiral, had only been a braggart. So Trixie had far less of a weight on her soul compared to Sunset. Sunset had attempted to steal the Element of Magic, which would leave Equestria helpless against a powerful magical threat, as well as attempted murder. The guilt Sunset would feel would doubtless be greater than Trixie’s. If she was correct, it meant the greater the amount of bad deeds one committed the greater its hold over a pony.

Thinking back to what she had read it made a lot of sense from that point of view. ‘The Alicorn Amulet corrupts the user the more they use its power,’ Twilight mused. ‘It may be that it’s not the Amulet itself corrupting them, but the weight of their own misdeeds. Sunset made mention of a ‘he’ before in regards to the Amulet. It’s not like I asked Trixie about the Amulet before Zecora put it away, so it may very well be possible that there is a consciousness attached to the Amulet, promising great power in return for their cooperation. Or maybe just stirring up their fears and doubts and offering to sooth them by picking away at their morals until they’re eventually unrecognizable as the pony they used to be.’

It was all just theory, and she had no idea if she was right. She threw off the earmuffs she had on. “Guess it can’t be helped. I’m going to have to fight for real.”

In the back of her mind she thought about how she would explain away Sunset’s injuries if that was the route she took. ‘Well… Sunset did say she wanted to assist me in fighting some monster if it meant helping to convince Celestia of her good intentions. A little lie can’t hurt, if it helps them to mend their relationship.’ She didn’t have time to dwell on it any more. Sunset had finished recovering.

Sunset’s eyes were a little bloodshot. “Don’t mock me, Twilight Sparkle!” She lifted her hoof to the sky, and there was a rumbling of thunder as she gathered several clouds together.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw the yellow glow building up in the clouds above. ‘A shield?’ she asked herself. ‘Teleporting?’ She didn’t want to test it. Her shield might not stand up to such focused electricity, and lightning could have a high chance of scattering.

After a moment’s more thought she got a mental image of Sunset’s earlier spell. Lifting up the earth from the ground she made a barrier around her, blocking herself from view.

“Hmph!” Sunset said dismissively. “Idiot! Like a small piece of earth is gonna save you!” She spread her two front hooves out, then swiftly slammed them downward. Countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky, destroying the area around Twilight and scorching the ground black. Several fires broke out, but with a quick flash of her horn they were put out.

“Twilight!” Applejack cried out, her mouth hanging open.

“Hey!” Rainbow cried out, smacking her in the back of the head. “Have a little faith in her. Twilight knows what she’s doing.”

Applejack gave her a quick look, then turned back to the battlefield. “Well, I don’t see her.”

Fluttershy was cowering in the edge of the barrier farthest away from the battle. Pinkie Pie saw her distress and walked over to her, snuggling her close. “It’ll be okay, Fluttershy. Like Sunset said about herself, it’ll take a lot more than that to put Twilight down.”

Sunset slowly scanned the area. “Where are you, Twilight?” she said in a sing-song voice. “I know you’re still there. Come on out.”

As if in response to her call a small patch of ground began to stir, and Twilight came out of the hole, a small shield surrounding her.

“Twilight!” Applejack said again, happier this time.

“I told ya so!” Rainbow said triumphantly. “There’s no way Twilight’s gonna lose.”

“I sure hope so.”

Rarity was gently tapping her hoof onto the ground. She believed in Twilight’s skills, but she wasn’t as confident as her friends. Even if Twilight could reduce Sunset to a smudge on the ground she wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t be able to bring herself to use her full strength on someone she considered a friend.

“So… you’re a slave to the sun, huh?” Sunset said smugly. “Well, let’s see how the sun really feels about you. It cares nothing for you, just like the one that controls it.” Sunset summoned a magnifying glass as big as her.

“Gah!” Twilight cried out, seeing the concentrated light coming towards her rapidly. She just barely jumped out of the way, sure that she had lost the edge of her tail. She opened her wings, taking to the air and dodging as Sunset kept trying to aim for her. When she felt she had an opening she turned towards the magnifying glass and aimed a blast at it.

“Not good enough!” Sunset said sharply, summoning a mirror this time. The blast reflected off the mirror, heading right back toward her.

Twilight folded her wings quickly, descending right before the redirected spell hit her. She opened them again, continuing to dodge the magnified sunbeams.

All of a sudden she heard a cry of “Twilight, below you!” from one of her friends.

Twilight glanced beneath her, and her heart skipped a beat. Sunset was aiming the magnified sunbeam right at the mirror, trying to catch her off guard. She didn’t have Rainbow Dash’s level of skill, so stopping mid-air or doing a fancy maneuver didn’t seem in the cards. She would use what she did best: with a flash of her horn she vanished just as the beam was about to hit her, reappearing on the ground a few feet away.

Sunset clapped. “Very good, Twilight. You’re doing decently so far. What say we up the ante?” With a flash of her horn several dozen more mirrors appeared.

Twilight gulped. They would reflect all over the place, making it all but impossible to dodge. The beam would take up too much of the open space around her. Her mind kicked into overdrive. Attacking the mirrors themselves would be pointless, as they’d just reflect her magic, and there were too many of them anyway. Attacking the magnifying glass Sunset was using to increase the power of the sun would be similarly wasteful. In that case, the obvious solution was to cut off the source of her power.

“Let’s see you dodge this!” Sunset screamed, moving the light towards one of the mirrors.

In her mind Twilight thought Sunset was being reckless. Sunset was smart like her, but she didn’t know if even she could calculate the trajectory of all the reflections. One stray mirror, and Sunset might very well fry herself. It was another reason to stop this part of the battle now.

With a glow from her horn she focused on the clouds left over from Sunset’s lightning storm, stretching them out and gathering ones in the distance, blocking the light of the sun completely and rendering them all in shade.

Sunset looked above her, closing her eyes as she smirked. “I could easily get rid of this cloud cover, but I think I’ll just dispense of this trick and move on. After all, I wouldn’t want to hit myself with my own attack.”

‘So she did figure out the danger,’ Twilight thought. ‘So what will her next plan of attack be? I can’t keep playing defense like this, but I really don’t want to attack Sunset, either. Isn’t there something, anything, I can do to get her to remove the Amulet?’ Nothing sprang to mind.

Sunset rubbed her chin. “Hmm, what should I use to destroy you? Well, should I continue to be fancy and use the environment? Nah. I’ll defeat you with my own magic. It will end this for sure. You ready?” Spreading her magical wings she took to the air.

Twilight’s hooves scraped along the ground as she spread her front legs and raised her head. Unfurling her own wings she jumped up, flapping her wings until she was even with Sunset, a resigned look on her face. She kept trying to think of some way out of things without hurting Sunset, but it seemed to be impossible.

Sunset shot a beam toward her, and Twilight summoned a magical shield in front of her. As it dispersed around the shield there was a popping noise and Sunset vanished.

“Behind you!” Twilight quickly looked behind her, but saw nothing. She felt cold as she heard the sound of magic building up above her, moving the shield above her. She felt herself being pushed toward the ground by Sunset’s beam. It was too much. She teleported again to the ground a few feet away. The shield dissipated and the beam hit the ground harmlessly. She quickly looked behind her, then up to see Sunset Shimmer floating there.

“Why so timid? I mean it’s not like I’m about to do THIS.” She shot a blast towards Twilight.

Twilight went to put up a shield when she suddenly felt a pain in her side as Sunset teleported, tackling her back legs first, firing a blast after her as she skidded. She didn’t have enough time to react.

Sunset frowned as Applejack suddenly came in, grabbing Twilight and jumping out of the way.

“T-thank you, Applejack,” Twilight said, a little shaken.

“No problem, Twilight,” she responded.

“She’s good.” She clutched her side, rubbing it. Nothing was broken so she just needed a few moments to recover. “I thought we were only going to use magic, but it seems Sunset isn’t afraid to get physical. I can’t beat her in that department. I never was very active like you or Rainbow Dash.”

“Twilight,” Applejack said seriously, “I know ya don’t want ta hurt her, and I understand yer feelings on the subject, but she really is tryin’ ta kill ya. If ya keep hesitating like this she’s gonna succeed one of these times. Fer now focus on defeating her. If ya can knock her out then we can work on finding a loophole in the Alicorn Amulet’s protective magic.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “I know, Applejack. I just… it’s hard to attack someone I see as a friend. It would be like if I had to fight any of you. I know that these are just lies planted in her head by the power of the Amulet. She’s basically an innocent victim.

“I’ve been straining my brain like crazy trying to think of some way out of this without harming Sunset. I keep saying I’m gonna be serious, and I’ll do what it takes to protect everyone, but… I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do so.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll have to go at her like I mean business. Otherwise, as you said, I’m gonna wind up dead.”

Twilight thought back to her visit to the past from Zecora’s potion, when she got to see the actual battle between Celestia and Luna. She could understand now how difficult it had been for Celestia to attack her sister. But in the end she had done what had to be done to protect Equestria.

Sunset Shimmer had an amused expression as she saw Twilight walking toward her, her horn glowing slightly as she gazed determinedly at her. “So you do have a bit of fighting spirit after all. That’s good. But let’s make sure we don’t have any interference, hmm?”

Applejack let out a surprised cry as she began floating, wrapped in a red aura as Sunset turned her into a ball and threw her hard at her other friends, knocking all of them down. “Strike!” With a quick flash Applejack turned back into a pony. Waving her hoof in the direction of the shield it changed in appearance. “Now it’s nice and solid. No more coming out for you to interfere.”

“Guys!” Twilight cried out. All of them appeared to be stunned.

“We…we’re okay, Twilight,” said Applejack, one eye open. “Just go show her what for.”

“Sunset Shimmer! You go too far.” The shine of her horn increased in intensity. “I told you to leave them out of this.”

“Good! Good! Stop your hesitating and fight me like you mean to kill.” She teleported behind Twilight again, only to see her not there.

“Up here!” Twilight said angrily as she flipped, giving Sunset a hard kick to the top of the head and sending her plummeting back to the ground. The automatic spell placed on the wings stopped her just before she hit.

As Sunset rose up she blinked as she rubbed her head. “Hmm. Interesting. I wasn’t expecting that. That actually hurt a little. Maybe you will be good for a little fun after all.”

The two of them continued shooting energy blasts and teleporting around, trying to get an edge.

As time went on Twilight felt like something was off in her fight with Sunset. Sunset claimed that she was there to end her life, but it didn’t feel that way to her. Of course if she took most of the things thrown at her head-on she very likely would die, or at the least be heavily injured, but Sunset’s attacks just seemed… weak.

She thought back to what Trixie had done with the power of the Amulet. She stole Pinkie’s mouth, created a gigantic dome, fused two ponies together… powerful stuff for sure. If Sunset truly was coming at her with lethal force then why didn’t she, Twilight, have to work harder to stay alive? If anything, Sunset’s attacks were mostly for show. They looked impressive on the surface, but were easily manageable.

Twilight stared at Sunset hard, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. The Amulet was supposed to corrupt the user the more they used it, but it seemed Sunset was trying less and less in their battle. Sunset appeared confident on the outside, but on the inside she could practically hear Sunset screaming for help. Faced with the reality of the situation it seemed Sunset really didn’t want to go through with murdering her, even if she was deceived into believing it would ‘save her’ from Celestia’s ‘brainwashing.’

Sunset’s resolve was weakening. She felt that she could possibly talk Sunset down with one more good push. All she needed to do was get Sunset to remove the Amulet. In considering the best way to get Sunset to do that one simple solution presented itself to her. If Sunset’s doubts were as heavy as they seemed then why not let Sunset succeed in her goal? Once Sunset was faced with following through on her misguided goal she was sure Sunset’s guilt would be enough to get her to back down.

Of course she had no intention of actually dying. She smirked a little. She always was a quick learner at duplicating spells she’d seen, and this one was most appropriate given the circumstances.

Blasts flew down at her from above, and Twilight hopped back and forth, dodging them. With magic she lifted up a piece of earth under her hoof, making a show of tripping. She looked up into a beam of energy heading straight for her, her face set and her horn glowing.

There was an explosion. Fluttershy gasped. A bead of sweat came down Rainbow’s face, but she believed in her friend.

Sunset glared down at the cloud of smoke covering the ground, sharpening her senses. She looked around the area, looking for where Twilight had teleported to this time. She knew Twilight wasn’t that weak.

As the smoke cleared Sunset gasped. Twilight was down for the count in the middle of the crater, her coat burned away on her back. Sunset blinked. “I… I got her?” She felt a twinge in her stomach. “No, I… I actually did it?”

“No!” Applejack slammed her front legs into the ground. “This can’t be!”

“Twilight…” Rarity looked away.

Pinkie’s mane deflated, her lip trembling. “No…”

Rainbow slammed her hooves against the barrier, but it was no good. She couldn’t get through. “Darn it! Darn it! Break! Break!” Tears were streaming down her eyes, her strikes getting weaker and weaker.

It all felt unreal as Sunset landed, approaching the body. Each step felt like an eternity, and her legs trembled the whole way there.

She stood over Twilight’s body. There was no sense of happiness. She felt numb, in disbelief that it had been so easy.

She collapsed to her knees, her head in her front hooves. Tears came down her eyes. “I… I’m sorry, Twilight.” She had never felt so horrible in her life as she did then. “I… I didn’t really think you would die.” It was a necessary evil, but that didn’t make it any easier to take.

“What… what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked.

Applejack let out a heavy breath, pushing her hat over her face.. “We fight,” she said simply. “We ain’t got no other choice.”

Sunset was feeling lost and confused. Twilight was gone, but where did she go from here? She knew Celestia was to arrive sometime soon, but she didn’t know if she was in any fit state to fight.

“It hurts, doesn’t it, Sunset?”

Sunset quickly turned her body as she heard the familiar voice. “Twilight?” she said, confused. She turned back to the body in the crater, and it disappeared. She turned back to Twilight. “Wait, but… how?”

Twilight winked. “Duplication spell. I have you to thank for that one. Not bad for a first attempt, huh?”

The five in the barrier let out sighs of relief. Twilight was just fine.

“You’re alive!” Sunset cried out in joy, a big smile on her face.

Twilight looked at Sunset with some pity. There was such a look of relief in Sunset’s eyes it was clear her true self didn’t wish to continue this course of action.

“Sunset, it’s time to end this!” Twilight said, half scolding and half begging. “We shouldn’t be fighting. You’ve made it obvious you don’t want things to go on this way. Throw away the Alicorn Amulet now and let’s be friends again. You haven’t yet done anything unforgivable, so why don’t we start over and forget this happened?” She put a hoof out towards Sunset, hoping against hope that Sunset would find her inner strength to break the curse upon her.

Stardust was a little annoyed at Twilight’s deception. Her motive was obvious, but the guilt bubbling up inside Sunset was only going to strengthen his hold on her. Her grand plan was just going to backfire on her. He didn’t think he had to interfere yet.

Sunset caught herself, disliking the rush of emotions inside of her. When she thought she had really killed Twilight she had felt upset, but she thought she could get her emotions in check with a little time to process things. Seeing Twilight alive and well just made it worse. She had already experienced killing Twilight once. Did she have it in her to do it a second time?

The joy and serenity slowly left Sunset’s face, her eyes hidden by her mane. “No. No no no!” She shook her head. “No! You… you can’t be alive! I have to save you! I already resolved myself to do whatever it took to help you!

“Y-y-you… y-you… you you you you…” Her voice was trembling along with her body. Suddenly she glanced up, screaming. “You can’t be alive! YOU HEAR ME? YOU HAVE TO BE DEAD! Even if I have to sacrifice my happiness and my very life I’ll rescue you from Celestia’s control! That’s what it means to be a good friend!”

She let out a tortured yell as she gathered magic in her horn. Tears were streaming down her eyes. “Now… please… just stop resisting.” Muffled sobs gurgled out. “Just … just let me kill you.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open slightly, her own heart aching and feeling like it was being ripped in half. Sunset was truly convinced she was doing the right thing, and thus suffering deep inside.

What was she supposed to do now? She had hoped that seeing her ‘corpse’ would be sufficient to get through to Sunset, but it only seemed to harden Sunset’s determination to see her dead. She really didn’t want to battle, and it seemed clear Sunset didn’t want to either. Without the Elements to purge the darkness in Sunset’s heart was her only choice really to engage in a death match with someone she considered a friend?

Fluttershy put a hoof on the barrier, tears coming down her own eyes. Even though Sunset was doing something horrible she had never wanted to give someone a hug more.

The others were more restrained, but they understood how hard it had to be for Twilight more now. Somewhere inside Sunset’s real self had surfaced, only to be restrained again.

“Yeep! Ah!” Twilight cried out. Sunset was being relentless now, shooting blast after blast at her endlessly. She barely had time to dodge, much less think.

On one of her shots Sunset’s attack managed to skim her side, distracting her for a second. Sunset teleported on top of her, flying back hooves first and knocked her into the ground, once more shooting a large blast at her.

Twilight barely had time to register the attack coming towards her before it was right in her face. There was no time for her to use magic. She closed her eyes tight, hearing her friends calling out her name. They couldn’t help her now. And she hadn’t been able to help Sunset either. It was heart wrenching.

A large explosion enveloped the area, covering it in dust as Twilight’s friends each screamed out her name again.

Sunset Shimmer sighed, a hoof on her head as she panted slightly. Her eyes were dead. “It is done. Twilight is no more. Equestria is one step closer to being saved.”

Twilight felt unharmed for some reason. Had Sunset’s attack really just been for show like she had thought earlier? Her body felt strangely heavy, like something was on top of her. She opened her eyes a crack, having difficulty seeing through the cloud of dust around her.

As the dust cleared all of them gasped. On top of Twilight was Spike, who had taken the attack.

“S-SPIKE?” Said Twilight, her eyes going wide in surprise. “W-what are you-”

Spike was panting, one eye closed. “I… I was worried, so I… I came to watch the battle.”

His eyes closed for a moment, before he opened them again. He grimaced, a strained whine escaping him. “Unbelievable. That her spell… could do this much even… even to a magic-resistant dragon.” His eyes closed completely as he lost strength, his weight fully on top of her before rolling off her onto his stomach, revealing the scales on his back all gone and the skin looking pitch black from the burns.

“S-Spike! Spike…” Her stomach felt like it had worms in it. She could barely get the words out. Her brain felt like jelly, unable to process the scene in front of her. Tremors went through her body, tears forming in her eyes and traveling down her face.

Spike had been her partner for the longest time. He had always been there for her even during her worst times. How could she have let this happen?

He let out a mirthless laugh. “H-h-how pathetic. I… I’m… sorry I couldn’t do more. Please, Twilight. You… have to… win.” He coughed, his breathing getting slower. “Don’t… ever… forget… your number… one…assis… tant…” He let out a sigh as his eyes closed and his head fell to the ground.

“Now that’s more like it,” Stardust said to himself.

Next Chapter: Chapter 12: Shattered heart Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 20 Minutes
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