Sunset pulled her motorcycle up to a street and parked it. Kicking down the kickstand, the woman removed her motorcycle helmet and shook her head to free her face of her obnoxiously long hair. Staring at her reflection in the glass of the helmet, she could see that she really let herself go. She hadn’t had a haircut in years and her long locks had become unruly and impossible to contain. Her left eye was perpetually covered with red and yellow strands of hair, making it impossible to see her entire face.

While she had neglected personal grooming, her body had not received the same negative treatment. Despite living a very fast-paced lifestyle where she rarely had time to eat properly, she had managed to keep in shape. Before bed, she would do a good 800 stomach crunches and at least a few hundred pushups. Whenever they had downtime, she insisted they hit the gym and spend the rest of their time sparring to keep their skills sharp.

In that time, Eclipse had definitely shown that he was a formidable fighter, though not as skilled as her, he certainly had excellent formal training. She had asked him a few times where he learned to fight, but he always scoffed at the question and refused to divulge any further information. She had grown somewhat used to his aloof and mysterious behavior though, and instead of getting annoyed, she brushed it off and decided it was best not to try and understand him. Eventually, he would either tell him more about himself or he would remain an enigma. Sunset knew she couldn’t control which.

Looking behind her, she watched as Eclipse lowered his hands around her waist and removed his own helmet as he ran a hand through his silky light hair. She was somewhat jealous that despite being a man, he could remain so beautiful even after taking off a helmet. Eclipse never really seemed to have a bad hair day, nor did his natural beauty ever seem to waver.

Holding his helmet at his side, he stepped off the bike and grinned at his companion. “So, we’re finally here.”

Sunset stepped off the bike and removed the keys. She stuffed them into her bra and said nothing to him.

“That’s unsanitary.” Eclipse shook his head.

“You’re just jealous.” Sunset smirked.

“Of what? Those fun bags are so big, you could probably hide a shotgun between them. It’s amazing you don’t have cows chasing after you for milking time…” Eclipse made a fake retching noise.

Rolling her eyes, Sunset shoved her helmet into his chest, causing him to grunt as he placed his arm around it. “Instead of being a smartass, do something useful and hold this for me.”

She began to walk toward the house across the street as Eclipse called out to her. “And what exactly am I supposed to be doing while you’re off having all the fun?”

Sunset looked over her shoulder and shrugged. “Just try to keep your dick in your pants for a little while. The last thing I need is to come back to you fucking the tailpipe of my bike or something.”

“You must be mistaking me for some kind of promiscuous slut.” Eclipse flicked his hair elegantly as he spoke.

“No, I would never do that. Slut doesn’t even begin to describe what you are, I’m not sure the spoken language has a word for it yet…” Sunset smirked as she wandered toward the house, not hearing what he was saying back, but assumed he likely called her a bitch, something she was beyond used to.

Sunset took a deep breath as she adjusted her leather jacket while approaching the door to the house. She had on a crop top underneath it which exposed her impressive abs, but made sure to keep a black leather glove over her “bad” hand.

As she stood at the door, she noted the plate next to the doorbell read “Dazzle Residence”. It was odd to think that two musicians lived in such a casual neighborhood in Maryland, but they were still rising stars, and most in the area were older people who didn’t listen to young music, so she surmised that most around them didn’t know who they were.

She had read up a bit on the two, both immigrated from Russia after the war there some time ago. She wasn’t particularly interested in the details, but she knew that strain between Russia and most of Asia had become quite tense which had led to a war with other nations nearby. After the dust settled many Russians fled to greener pastures, and Adagio was one of them, carrying her young sister with her on her back.

Looking at a photo that she had acquired on her phone, Sunset really wondered if this girl could actually be connected to the Adagio she knew. Was it possible? Could Adagio have somehow been reborn? Could she have transferred her memories into this girl? Or perhaps there was another connection that she didn’t quite know yet. Still, Sunset froze as she pondered it. If she opened that door and was face-to-face with the girl who murdered Shimmer, could she contain herself? Would she end the girl on the spot?

Shaking her head, she convinced herself that she would only take measures that were absolutely necessary. This girl was likely just another human with no real connection, but she had to rule it out. If she really was the Adagio she knew then she had to take measures that were only appropriate. Killing her was unwise, instead, she needed to assess the risks and determine the best move from there.

Inhaling and then exhaling, Sunset composed herself and knocked on the door.

There was a brief eight-second silence before the door opened. There, standing at the entrance was a woman who bore the uncanny resemblance to the girl she hated with every fiber of her being. It was unreal how similar the two looked.

With curious eyes, Adagio looked her up and down and her lips parted slightly as she had a look of awe on her face, a look as though she had seen this woman before.

Sunset stood with a serious expression. “Adagio Dazzle?”

“Y-yes?” The girl stuttered.

“My name is-“ Sunset was cut off.

“Sunset Shimmer.” Adagio finished her sentence.

“How did you know that?” Sunset raised a brow.

Adagio shook her head. “I am not quite sure I understand myself… So much strange things happening to me these days… You wouldn’t believe if I told you…”

Sunset noted her Russian accent and continued. “Try me.”

“I… I met girl who looked just like you. She say she was Sunset Shimmer as v’well.” Adagio gulped.

“That’s… Not possible…” Sunset squinted, not sure if she believed that explanation.

“I know you v’won’t believe. That is okay…” Adagio replied.

“What else did she say?” Sunset asked.

“She say to expect you…” Adagio spoke quietly.

“I’m here to confirm a few things and potentially help you, may I come in?” Sunset said.

Adagio hesitated for a moment but then nodded and opened the door to let the redhead into her home. As Sunset entered, she shut the door behind herself and wandered into the living room, and glanced over at Adagio with discriminating eyes. “I can sense it… That demon has come into contact with you hasn’t she?”

“The girl that looks like Serenade?” Adagio asked.

Sunset nodded. “Yes. Her.”

Adagio nodded back at her. “Y-yes…”

Approaching, Sunset reached out her good hand in front of Adagio’s face. The girl stepped back with a yelp. It was hard to believe this woman was connected to the overconfident Adagio that she was so familiar with, but looks could be deceiving after all.

“V’what’re-“ Adagio was paused by Sunset.

“If you want my help, I need to know if I can trust you first.” Sunset said.

“V’what are you going to do?” Adagio gulped.

“I need to sense your emotions… I need to know if you’re her…” Sunset spoke quietly.

“The other Adagio…” Adagio guessed.

“Correct.” Sunset nodded.

Adagio inhaled and then exhaled before nodding. “Okay, go ahead.”

Gripping the girl’s forehead in her hand, Sunset focused her powers. She raced through Adagio’s mind, trying to find any familiar memories of Shimmer, of herself, of anything connected to the Adagio that she knew. A few seconds passed that felt like hours, and she could find nothing. This girl was completely genuine, she had no knowledge of the Adagio she knew.

Removing her hand, Sunset closed her fingers and let her hand rest at her side as Adagio was visibly shaken. Nodding, Sunset looked down at her hand and then back at the fearful Adagio. “So you’re telling the truth… You really aren’t her… I guess that only leaves the question of how you’re involved in all of this…”

“V’what exactly is going on?” Adagio questioned.

Ignoring her question, Sunset stepped forward. “What did that demon say to you?”

“I-I don’t know… She say a lot that does not make sense…” Adagio pleaded.

Sensing the energy of Serenade still in the house, Sunset looked toward a stairwell. “Where is your sister?”

“Upstairs…” Adagio said quietly.

“Call her down here…” Sunset demanded.

“W-why?” Adagio gulped.

“I need to see what the demon did to her. It could be life or death…” Sunset explained.

Nodding, Adagio called out to her sister. “Serenade, come down here.”

Only moments after she called a young teen bounced her way down the stairs and froze as she saw Sunset Shimmer standing there. She was perhaps the most rugged and unruly woman she had ever seen.

Sunset froze for a brief second as she was stunned by how much this teenage girl looked identical to her greatest enemy. The same golden hair with red tips, the same shining red eyes (though she had both of her eyes), and the same soft features. The two were practically identical, but this girl was far younger looking and a tad smaller.

Sunset had to control her anger. Just seeing the face of Serenade was enough to blind her with rage, but she had to control herself. This girl may have looked like her foe, but she was not. She was an ordinary human, at least for now.

Approaching Serenade carefully, she raised her voice so the girl could hear her better. “Don’t be frightened… I’m here because that demon visited you, is that correct?”

Serenade nodded and stood quietly.

Coming within inches of the girl, Sunset offered her gloved hand to the girl. “I’m here to help, may I?”

“Who are you?” Serenade asked.

“There’ll be time for all of that later, for now, I need to see what that thing did to you…” Sunset explained.

“O-okay…” Serenade replied.

Could this weak little girl really be the Serenade of the human world? Sunset had her doubts.

Placing her hand upon Serenade’s neck, she closed her fingers lightly and focused the demonic power of her hand. Inside of Serenade, she could feel something reacting to it, and the girl’s hand twitched in response as Sunset saw black veins grow in the girl’s eyes.

Releasing her, the veins dissipated, and Serenade fell back to the wall coughing.

Nodding, Sunset sighed. “It’s exactly as I feared… She put a part of herself in you…”

“V’what does mean?” Adagio asked.

“It means she is in serious trouble…” Sunset responded.

“Can you help her?” Adagio pleaded.

Sunset nodded and reached into her jacket. When her right hand came out of the jacket, she was brandishing a 9mm handgun that she pointed directly at the teenager.

Upon seeing this, Adagio quickly reached into her waistband and produced a revolver of her own. “Put the gun down!”

Sunset glanced over at Adagio and didn’t seem intimidated at all. She could see the woman was shaking holding the gun. “You won’t shoot me…” Sunset replied.

“Stop pointing that gun at my sister!” Adagio demanded.

“I’m doing you a favor, trust me…” Sunset said.

Closing the distance between the two, Adagio quickly managed to get in front of Serenade blocking Sunset’s line of fire. She dropped her own gun in the process and wrapped her arms around her sister protectively. Serenade was trembling as tears ran down her cheeks.

Sunset didn’t lower her gun even an inch. “Move out of the way, I don’t want to kill you if I don’t have to, but if you stand in the way, you give me no choice.”

“Please! She’s just a child!” Adagio begged.

“It’s nothing personal, trust me…” Sunset assured.

“Please…” Adagio continued begging.

Sunset’s concentration was broken though as she heard a familiar effeminate voice from the doorway. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and this is what you do?”

Looking in that direction, she saw Eclipse stroll in with his hands in his pockets as he shook his head in disapproval. “You’d kill a child, Sunset?”

“Stay out of this Eclipse…” Sunset growled.

“I have to keep you from doing anything stupid.” Eclipse grinned.

“She’s infected…” Sunset explained.

“Oh then, by all means, murder a child,” Eclipse spoke sarcastically as he gestured for her to go ahead. “After that, we can go beating defenseless baby seals to death too.”

Sunset was getting annoyed with him as she struggled to speak in a normal tone. “Eclipse… It’s only a matter of time before she turns. She’ll turn into a demon just like her, you have no idea how hard it is to kill even one of Serenade, do you want to take the risk of fighting two? It’s wiser to stop it before it’s too late…”

“I guess the demon inside of you is finally starting to do the thinking, huh?” Eclipse raised a brow.

“I’m in control…” Sunset hissed.

“Yeah, I’m sure Serenade said the same thing at one point…”

“This is a strategic move, Eclipse…” Sunset argued.

“And I’m sure Serenade was able to justify the first innocent that she murdered too…” Eclipse smirked.

“I’m nothing like her!” Sunset yelled.

“Really? Because the two of you seem pretty similar right now… Prove me wrong.” Eclipse looked at the trembling Serenade who was staring at him with tears running down her face.

Sunset’s hand shook for a few seconds before she lowered her gun with a sigh. “Fine… But we could be making a huge mistake…”

“Well, considering your life thus far is a long list of mistakes, this should be par the norm then…” Eclipse joked.

Putting her gun away, Sunset grumbled. “You better hope this doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass…”

“Only time will tell… So I take it they aren’t who we’re looking for?” Eclipse asked as he looked at the two women who were now trying to stand up.

“No.” Sunset looked away and faced the wall in shame.

Eclipse shook his head and offered his hand. “I apologize for my… acquaintance… She’s not much of a people person these days. Admittedly neither am I, but I seem to have more manners among the two of us…”

“W-what is going on?” Serenade asked.

Eclipse tapped his lip as he thought of how to explain it. “Well, to put it simply… Sunset was trying to spare your sister from becoming a demon. See that other Serenade planted a part of her demonic energy in her and it’s going to grow over time until it takes over your entire body…”

“W-what!?” Serenade stepped back in shock.

Sunset nodded as she glanced over her shoulder at the young girl. “It’s true. It’ll continue to grow until you lose control of yourself. You’ll become a mindless husk serving it… Slaughtering any and all, even your own sister. You won’t even hesitate… I was trying to spare you such a fate…”

Adagio fell to her knees upon hearing this. She trembled and looked to the floor. “There must be some cure!”

“There isn’t. Your sister will turn into a demon and then she’ll kill you…” Sunset spoke plainly.

“There must be something!” Serenade pleaded.

Eclipse sighed and crossed his arms. “Well… There is one possibility…”

“What is it!?” Serenade stepped forward and grabbed his hands.

Eclipse blinked and pulled himself free. He brushed himself off and adjusted his hair before speaking. “Since this isn’t a voluntarily demonic infection, it’s possible that the demonic energy is still rooted in the host…”

“V’what does that mean?” Adagio looked up from the floor.

“He’s saying it’s possible to save her if we kill the other Serenade before that demonic energy in her takes over her entire body…” Sunset explained.

“So there is chance to save her!?” Adagio smiled happily.

“You think that is an easy task? The demon lord is extremely powerful and extremely cunning. She’s not an easy creature to kill, we’ve been trying for years…” Sunset stated.

“H-how much time do we have?” Serenade asked.

Sunset was silent.

Eclipse sighed and spoke up. “You examined her, Sunset. You should be able to tell the rate of growth, right?”

Sunset sighed. “Given what I saw… So long as she keeps her emotions in check and doesn’t give into its power… I give her… Maybe a year before it grows large enough?”

“Can you kill that girl in a year?” Adagio asked.

“I’ve been trying for almost eight now…” Sunset said.

“Can it be done though?” Serenade asked.

Looking at the two women, Sunset sighed and nodded. “It’s possible, but I can’t be certain of anything. We’re fighting against time, and I can’t even promise that I am capable of killing her…”

“Please…” Adagio pleaded.

Sighing, Sunset nodded. “Yeah, okay… I’ll do my best…”

“I’ll help as well.” Eclipse winked.

Somehow his assurance didn’t seem to make Adagio feel any better about the situation. While he treated the two of them far better than Sunset had, his demeanor suggested he didn’t take much too seriously. His youthful aura made him seem a bit childish.

Sunset approached Adagio and bent over to pick up the revolver she had dropped. Scooping it up in her hand, she offered it to Adagio, who hesitated for a brief second and then took it gingerly.

“I suggest you keep this close, because if it comes down to it… You may need to shoot her yourself… I think it’s best if you do it instead of me…” Sunset explained.

Adagio looked down at the gun and then back at her sister. There was no way she could kill her younger sister. However, she knew that there was a chance she would have to protect herself if things got out of control. She prayed it would never reach such a place.

Looking Sunset in the eyes, she spoke seriously. “Please, save my sister… I don’t v’want to be in a position v’where I v’would have to shoot her… I couldn’t… I can’t…”

Sunset glanced down at the revolver and smirked. “You’d be surprised at what one can do when put to the test. I suggest you don’t write anything off so soon.”

Adagio was silent as she lowered the gun.

Eclipse reached into a pocket on the jacket wrapped around his waist and produced a set of eight syringes. “Here.” He offered them to Adagio.

The Russian woman stared at them confused before taking them. “V’what is?”

“Special serum made with light magic and a few other ingredients. The stuff to make them is pretty hard to come by here in the human world, and it’s a time-consuming process so I can’t spare any more than that, so try not to lose them and only use one in case of an emergency,” Eclipse explained.

Serenade walked over and glanced at the needles. “What do they do?”

Eclipse met her eyes with his own. “They can temporarily stop the spread of the demonic growth inside of you. However, I would only use them if you feel yourself about to lose control or turn. Their effects are not permanent, and they weaken over time after use, so it’s best to use them when they really count. It might buy you some extra time, but it all depends on your self-control and the strength of your body.”

“A strong-willed person can resist for much longer than a weaker person…” Sunset explained.

Serenade smiled as she leaped forward and embraced Eclipse. The hug caught him off guard and he just stood there with his arms in the air.

When she released him, she smiled. “Thank you, you two. I know we didn’t exactly meet under great circumstances, but I’m thankful that you’re helping us…”

“As am I.” Adagio bowed.

“Don’t thank us yet, after all, you may still need to kill your sister,” Sunset reminded.

“I have faith that you both v’will solve problem.” Adagio nodded.

“Hear that, Sunset? Someone believes in us.” Eclipse grinned.

“Let’s go.” Sunset gestured to the door.

“How will we contact you if we need your help?” Serenade asked.

Sunset and Eclipse made their way toward the front door before Sunset looked back. “We’ll be around.”

Not giving the two a chance to finish, Sunset and Eclipse headed out and toward the motorcycle where Eclipse had carelessly left their helmets sitting on the seat unguarded. Sunset would have scolded him, but she honestly couldn’t bring herself to care anymore.

Taking her own helmet in hand, she passed him his as she sat upon the bike.

As Eclipse got on behind her, he spoke. “Think we’ll be able to save that girl in time?”

Sunset retrieved the keys from her pocket and stuck them in the ignition, turning the bike on. “She’s a goner.”

“I thought the same thing.” Eclipse nodded.

“Then why did you waste syringes on them?” Sunset asked.

“Well, there’s always a small off chance that I’m wrong. Unlike you, I accept that possibility,” Eclipse stated.

Revving the engine a few times, Sunset spoke up so he could hear her. “I’ve been wrong more times than I can count.”

“Let’s hope this is one of those times then,” Eclipse said.

Sunset had left her home to begin her mission to stop Serenade only eight days ago. It was a difficult decision, but one that had to be made. She loathed the idea of what her daughter might think of her down the road, but she didn’t have the time to focus on that now. She would have to move forward.

She had come to the same facility that Moondancer had spent years assisting her when she was back in Equestria. It was hard to imagine someone actually living in this facility for so long, but if anyone could do it, it was the social recluse that was Moondancer. Prior to meeting Shimmer, she had made a life for herself as a loner and seemed quite content that way.

Sunset felt guilty for asking so much of the girl but more guilty for asking so much of her wife.

She cleared her head once more and focused as she typed away on the computer in the lab. She noted that most of the equipment now was out of date, and reminded herself she would need to update all of it eventually when she was finished pursuing Serenade. The future potential demon lord needed to die before it was too late.

The redhead had stored the portal to Equestria in the lab some time ago and had hoped that she wouldn’t have need of it any time soon, if ever again. The last place she wanted to go was Equestria. It was odd to think that a place that was once her home had now become a place that she loathed so much just to think about. She never wanted to see it again, all that it carried for her were bad memories now.

Princess Twilight had taken advantage of her to a degree that she couldn’t forgive. She couldn’t let go of how the princess had destroyed her life, how she had involved her in matters that had consumed her, matters that destroyed her family.

Regardless of all that though, she needed to see this through. Serenade had escaped to her world and she needed to find out how and where. It was obvious that she didn’t use the portal, as she would have had to come through the very room Sunset was sitting in and there were no signs of such an event happening. Furthermore, a demon of her level would be unable to force the portal open, so she would have to wait for it to do so naturally once every thirty moons.

Another factor was that the Princess had studied the portal for a considerable amount of time and determined that for a higher tiered demon such as Serenade to pass through, she would have to shed a tremendous amount of her power to do so, something that she likely wasn’t willing to do. She would need another means, and that was what concerned Sunset the most. If she had other methods of traveling to and from the human world, that meant that any number of demons could follow her.

If there was such a means for her to travel to the human world, it begged the question of how many demons had followed her and if she had already amassed an army in the human world.

Sunset considered this, but she then realized that if she had brought so many with her, why didn’t she strike right away? It was clear that she lacked the means to do considerable damage, so that meant her entourage was likely small. Perhaps there were limitations to how many she could bring?

Then again, Serenade was clever, despite her power. The demon would likely be far more cautious this time around, and that meant she would plan her assault carefully. If she really did know that Sunset Shimmer was indeed Glitch, the mare that had bested her before, she would not confront her directly so quickly. She would plan, and bide her time, and only confront Sunset when she believed she had the upper hand.

Sunset brushed a strand of hair out of her face and noted the sweat left on her palm. She hadn’t turned the air conditioner on, but when she smelt the sweat, she noted that she hadn’t showered in some time. She decided to take a break and see if the bathroom in the facility was still in good shape.

Wandering from her desk, she approached the back of the facility and turned the light on for the bathroom. Sure enough, Moondancer had kept it in semi-messy condition (which was par the norm for her), but it was certainly serviceable. She’d have to give a quick clean some time later, but she could have a nice shower now.

Turning on the water, Sunset wandered away from the bathroom to go and find the towels. When she located the drawer that they were kept in, she threw a black towel over her shoulder and headed back to the bathroom. Carefully, she placed the towel on a nearby hook and removed her jacket, tossing it into the sink, then followed with her long sleeve shirt, leaving on her undershirt and an orange sports bra.

She was about to remove the undershirt when she heard a strange sparking sound coming from outside the bathroom.

Suspicious, she turned off the water and reached into her jacket to retrieve a 1911 handgun which she clutched tightly in her right hand as she gently opened the bathroom door, with the gun pointed forward. “Who’s there?” She asked with a threatening tone.

Sunset was greeted by silence.

She took a few steps out of the room and kept her gun aimed as she wandered into the room proper.

Her eyes were drawn to the statue base that acted as a portal to Equestria. She noted that a small bit of energy was trailing off of it, like it had just been used. Could the Princess be trying to contact her?

Looking around the room, Sunset called out to her. “Princess? Where are you?”

There was no answer. She continued looking and checked in a storage room, calling out to her once more. “Princess?”

“Not quite.” A voice came from behind her.

Quickly, Sunset ducked and rolled out of the way as a sharp blade came down where she was previously standing, scratching the floor harshly. She aimed her gun at the cloaked figure wielding the blade and fired without question.

The tall figure sliced at the air, blocking her bullets with nearly impossible swordsmanship. A human wasn’t capable of stopping bullets with just a blade, which meant her foe had to be otherworldly and most likely aided by magic.

She continued firing as she got back up to her feet and emptied the clip on him, only for him to dodge and block every single round. She tossed the gun aside and got into a fighting stance. He sliced at her a good eight times, with her dodging every single cut and the blade scratched the floor.

“Looks like you need to work on your aim…” Sunset taunted.

As if responding to the taunt, the left sleeve of his cloak came up and another long silver blade came out of it.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…” Sunset said as he came at her with both blades.

Quickly she grabbed a combat knife she had on a nearby table and blocked the two blades as he pressed her down against the table, pushing to try and break her block. She struggled and groaned as she held him back and managed to slip out from under him and slice at his leg.

He growled in pain as she rolled away and knelt down for a brief moment to check the wound. Black blood oozed out of the fresh wound and Sunset instantly realized what he was. Keeping the knife at the ready in her right hand she spoke to the intruder.

“A demon? How?”

Standing up, he seemed to be over the pain as he allowed the blood to drip out. He removed his hood to reveal messy black hair and piercing yellow eyes. His face had numerous cuts upon it. “So, the famous Glitch hasn’t grown rusty after all these years?”

“You didn’t answer my question…” Sunset repeated.

He chuckled and came at her again, slicing with both blades. This time, Sunset moved to the right and slashed at his mid-section, but only managed to get his cloak, putting a large tear through it.

When she turned around to face him again, she watched as he removed the robe by tearing the entire thing off and ignited it in a black flame. It was then that Sunset could see that the blades in question were his arms. Both of his arms had transformed into his weapons.

“I see, so that’s your demonic power, is it? You can turn your arms into swords?” She asked.

“Not just my arms…” He replied.

His mouth opened and his tongue quickly transformed into a blade that lunged across the room at her slicing a strand of her hair off, but Sunset deflected the blade with her knife and his tongue returned to him.

“I’ll bet the ladies love that…” Sunset said.

Quickly he charged her, but Sunset moved faster and was able to swing behind him and trip him. She pinned him down to the ground and held her knife to the back of his neck while she held him. “Alright, start talking sword boy, who are you, and how did you get here?”

“Kiss my ass.” He hissed as he struggled to get out from under him.

“Sorry, dinner and a movie first, now start talking,” Sunset threatened.

He was able to throw her off of him and turned his swords back into regular arms to help himself off the ground before turning his left hand back into a blade. “My name is Slice, and I was sent here by Serenade to kill Sunset Shimmer, I guess I just got lucky that you were already here…”

“So you waited behind in Equestria?” Sunset asked.

Looking at his blade arm, he smiled. “Serenade has a few allies still back in Equestria. Demons can’t force the portal open, but some of us lower-tiered ones can cross through when it opens naturally…”

“So I guess you’re a weakling then.” Sunset taunted.

He swung his blade at her, and Sunset deflected it with her knife as she stepped back with her knife still raised, ready for another strike.

“I’m still more than a match for you,” Slice said.

“We’ll see about that… Where is Serenade now?” Sunset asked.

“Heh, she’s already here in your human world… She’s been here for some time actually…” He laughed.

“How? You just said only lower-tiered demons can use the portal?” Sunset raised a brow.

He laughed again and swung, only for Sunset to block once more. “Serenade has other methods at her disposal.”

Serenade has another way to get to the human world? Sunset thought.

“What methods are those?” Sunset asked.

“As if I’d tell you… Let’s just say she’s good at thinking outside the box… Now I think I’ve told you enough, it’s time to die…” He concluded and rushed her with both arms turning into swords, swiping madly.

She blocked swipe after swipe, but she couldn’t keep up with him. His slashes were getting more and more aggressive, and while Sunset was in considerable shape, she wasn’t prepared for a fight like this. Slice seemed to be running off of pure adrenaline.

He hacked and slashed at her over and over, with her blocking as many as she could, until finally, it happened.

He felt his blade cut through flesh and bone as Sunset’s attempt to block miscalculated. Instead of her blade blocking him, it was her wrist.

The sword pierced through her wrist and cut through the bone. She fell backward and dropped her knife as she screamed in pain. Her hand was almost completely severed, only being held on by a small bit of skin.

Slice laughed as he watched her squirm and grip her wound, trying to keep the blood from rushing out.

Sunset knew she couldn’t sit there and try to keep herself from bleeding out, she needed to act quickly. She only had precious moments left before Slice would finish her off. She needed to act and act now.

He thrust his blade downward at her, but Sunset rolled out of the way, blood spraying from her arm as she did. Quickly, she snagged the knife she had dropped in her left hand as she dragged herself across the floor, tucking her left arm and the knife under herself to keep it hidden.

Slice walked over to her rather casually as he laughed. He stood over her and knelt down with his sharp blade pointed to her back. “Turn around… I want you to look at me when I kill you…” He spoke quietly.

Obeying his order, Sunset quickly rolled over and surprised him. With the knife in her left hand, she tossed it at him, the blade piercing his chest. He gripped the new wound as Sunset jumped up and knocked him over. While on top of him, she pushed the knife in deeper.

Slice couldn’t concentrate his powers as black blood oozed out of him. He struggled to breathe as Sunset sat on top of him and began punching him with her left hand as her right arm bled.

After a good eight punches, he stopped moving and his body slowly dissolved into a black mist. Rolling onto her side, Sunset whimpered as she gripped the bleeding wound. She took a deep breath and gripped the cut hand and tore it off, throwing it aside. She cried in pain as she tried to sit herself up against the computer desk in the room.

The redhead panted as she whimpered in pain. She gripped her wound, but she could already tell she had lost too much blood. She would never make it to a hospital in time, and she definitely wouldn’t make it out of the facility alive.

She groaned in pain as she pulled herself up to the computer desk and grabbed a nearby paper. She needed to leave a message to warn any who would find this place, she needed people to know about Serenade, she needed them to act in her place.

It’s over.

Sunset Shimmer is dead. What is done can’t be undone. I wish there was something I could do, but it’s too late. I’m going to die and that is all there is to it.

If anyone is reading this, I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. You’ll need to get in touch with the Princess though if you want to solve things.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for that to be possible. If enough time passes, she’ll likely come looking for me and then you can meet with her.

Forgive me, Twilight.

Once she was finished writing, she slid off the desk and slumped down to the floor, her face now laying in a pool of her own blood. She looked to the distance and could see her reflection in a nearby mirror. That was it, she was going to die laying on this floor, she couldn’t do anything about it either. She would bleed out and it would likely be months or even years before anyone found her.

She wanted to see her daughter again, she wanted to see her wife’s face one more time. Tears ran down her face as she waited for the end. She could feel the life leaving her.

As she was about to close her eyes, she could hear a voice speak to her. “It doesn’t have to end here…”

Forcing her eyes open she could see a face in the mirror standing behind her, a face she had hoped to forget. The demon she had become in the past, the same demon she had suppressed, the same she had wanted to simply disappear.

“What do you want…?” Sunset managed to get out through strained breaths.

“You don’t want to die do you?” The demon spoke.

“What are you getting at…?” Sunset coughed.

“I can save you, Sunset… We can live… Together…” It spoke.

“Make a deal with you? I’d rather die…” She forced out a laugh.

“And when you die, Serenade will kill everyone you love… She’ll destroy this world…” The demon said.

Sunset couldn’t argue with that. Death wasn’t what concerned her, it was what would happen after that. She didn’t have time to debate over it.

“I can’t allow myself to die just yet…” Sunset said.

“Then we have a deal?” The demon asked.

“As much as I’ll regret it… Yes… We have a deal…” Sunset spoke quietly as her eyes began to close. “I accept your offer…”

“I knew you’d stop resisting eventually…” The demon laughed.

Sunset said nothing.

The demon hovered over her and leaned down, placing their claw over her severed hand, covering the bloody stump with both claws before injecting their talons into her flesh. Sunset yelped in pain for only a brief second before the demon released her and stepped back. It disappeared and Sunset could still hear them laughing as now a sharp pain shot through her arm. She screamed in agony as she could feel a burning sensation through her.

She banged the severed hand on a desk to try and get the pain to stop, but it continued. She watched in horror, screaming in the worst pain she had ever felt as black tendrils began to grow from the stump, slowly forming the shape of a claw. The black claw grew sharp talons on what appeared to be leathery skin that stretched over sharp bone.

The black flesh blended into her regular skin, leaving a dark coloration where the two met. She could hardly believe what she was seeing, but when she willed her hand to open, the claw obeyed. Sunset looked into the mirror and placed her new claw onto the glass, she placed her head onto the glass and sighed as she looked at the ground in disgust at what she had become.

The same laugh could be heard in the back of her mind as the demon goaded her further. “Now, we’re inseparable…”

Eclipse sat across from Sunset with his hands in his lap while he leaned toward her as she told her story. He had always assumed that the process of becoming a demon was horrific and painful, but the way Sunset told her story made it sound far worse. She had been brought to the brink of death, only to be saved and turned into the monster she was now.

Sunset looked at her ungloved claw and laughed at the irony of her situation. “I had to become what I was fighting in order to live long enough to stop it…”

Eclipse laughed at the prospect. “Always a victim aren’t you?”

Raising a brow, Sunset inquired what he meant. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You are always playing the victim, face it, you’re in the situation you're in because of your own doing, so don’t go around acting like you’ve somehow been wronged by the universe…” Eclipse rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t choose this, Eclipse…” Sunset hissed as she came to a stand.

He laughed again. “Oh? Who was the girl who tried to steal Twilight’s crown?”

“That was… A mistake… I paid for that…” Sunset looked away in shame.

“But it was still your choice. So was the choice to leave home to chase Serenade by yourself,” Eclipse explained.

“There was no one else who could face her!” Sunset insisted.

“Was there? Or did you simply think no one could take her but you? Regardless of the circumstances, you made these choices, no one else. You can blame the circumstances for forcing you to make them, but at the end of the day, you could have just let things happen as they wanted. You chose to get involved, and thus you’re the only one to blame for your predicament, so why not start owning your responsibility?” Eclipse asked.

“I really don’t like you…” Sunset said coldly.

Eclipse looked up at her with serious eyes. “I’m not very fond of you either. Hell, I think you’re a piece of shit that constantly tries to blame others for her own problems, but as it stands, we have to work together…”

“Why did you come looking for me then?” Sunset asked.

“I never imagined you’d be like this,” he said.

“What did you imagine?” Sunset raised a brow.

“To not find a demon…” Eclipse said plainly.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you…” Sunset scoffed.

Eclipse sighed and leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. “Yeah, so am I…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sunset questioned.

Glancing over at her, his demeanor seemed to stay quite serious. “I’m not obligated to tell you anything. If I choose to, it’ll be because I wanted to, but otherwise, I’m not divulging what I don’t have to. After all, you’re a demon just like the others, so I can’t just give you 100% of my trust… More like 80%…”

Sunset squinted in annoyance at him. “So is that how you see me then? A monster? Nothing more than a small step above Serenade?”

“Now you’re putting words in my mouth…” Eclipse sighed.

She stepped forward and gripped him with her left him, pulling him up by his shirt. “I’m about to put my whole fist in your mouth…”

“Heh, most demons can’t control their anger, so that’s typical…” Eclipse mocked.

Gripping his shirt tighter, Sunset spoke in a low tone. “I’ll have you know that I have fought against the darkness inside of me for longer than most. I did what I had to do, to survive. I had the chance to become just like Serenade, but I chose not to. Darkness may have a permanent relationship with me, but I am in control of my own anger. I’m nothing like Serenade, or her sister for that matter.”

“Where does all this passion come from?” Eclipse asked.

Releasing Eclipse, she shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand…”

Eclipse adjusted his shirt and gave a scrutinizing look at her. “You wouldn’t know what I don’t understand…”

“Maybe if you actually talked to me…” Sunset replied.

“Forget it, I’m going to bed…” Eclipse spoke as he turned and headed toward the bedroom of their hotel room.

Sunset scoffed and wandered over to the fridge as he left. She grabbed a bottle of water and chugged the entire thing before throwing the bottle in the recycling bin. Glancing in the direction that Eclipse went, she wondered how someone like him got by. He came off as fairly cold, but for very specific topics he held insanely strong opinions.

She sat on the couch watching the clock for a good eighteen minutes before her mind came alive. Curiosity toward Eclipse got the better of her, and she pulled herself up and wandered toward the bedroom where he slept.

Carefully, she crept in and kept herself silent as she came up beside him in the bed. The boy slept lazily with his face buried in the pillows and his arm laying off the side of the bed. She noticed the necklace he always wore dangling from his neck over the side of the bed as he laid precariously close to the edge.

She had been curious about it for some time, but she was certain that Eclipse wouldn’t tell her a word regarding it.

Sunset’s gloved hand reached up and touched the geode that she had fashioned into a choker around her own neck. Its power was still very potent, and now she had mastered its capabilities. She focused her energy and the geode gleamed for a split second as her left hand had a gentle glow around it. Reaching down carefully she placed her hand onto the back of Eclipse’s head, gently.

The boy’s hair was interestingly soft, which was expected as he splurged on expensive hair products whenever the two weren’t training or pursuing some kind of lead. Money wasn’t much of an object to Sunset as she had made sure to place a considerable amount of funds into a separate account that had been generating interest since she had left home, and it was far more beneficial to just let the boy get what he wanted rather than listen to him complain.

Closing her eyes, Sunset began to feel around in Eclipse’s thoughts. Something odd happened right away though, his mind was strangely guarded. Sunset had never encountered someone who could resist her abilities when she had full focus, and while he was asleep as well.

Could Eclipse know of my powers and thus formed a way to protect himself from them, even in his sleep? Sunset thought for a brief moment.

It was definitely possible, considering he knew so much else about her and wouldn’t tell her how.

Despite his mental defenses though, Sunset concentrated harder and managed to start getting some glimpses of what appeared to be fragments of memories.

She could see a young effeminate unicorn, and that same necklace wrapped around his neck, but everything else was hazy. She concentrated harder and the rest of the image started to appear, but only slightly.

Around his hooves were chains. She could hear the sound of yelling, and the longer she focused on the memory, the more she could see. Eventually, she could see herds of ponies gathered together, all in chains, and then she could see a statue of Serenade being constructed by several ponies. Some that had been working, however, lay dead in the dirt. A few were being dragged away by guards, but most were left to rot while the others worked.

Is this what Serenade forced ponies to endure? Sunset thought. She hadn’t seen the horrors up close like some had. By the time she had shown her face, she had arrived only to liberate these kinds of work camps, but she had never seen the conduct inside prior to her arrival.

She kept her mind clear though and tried to find anything else that would bubble to the surface, anything at all which could give her some kind of clue as to who Eclipse was or what his motivation was.

The only thing that popped forward, however, was a name, a name that seemed to have a great attachment to Eclipse, a name that was connected to some kind of precious memory.

Galeal.

The moment she could see the name, however, Eclipse had sprung up, and grabbed her arm and twisted it. Before she could react, the man flipped out of the bed, still holding onto her arm while he brought her down to the ground. Sunset tried to utilize her other arm to push him off of her, but Eclipse moved too quickly and powered his hand with light magic, pinning her demonic appendage down.

He used his weight to pin her good arm under his knee before drawing his butterfly knife from his pocket and held it tightly to Sunset’s throat.

“I suppose I surprised you…” Sunset joked.

Eclipse kept the knife to her neck and said nothing.

“You were a slave. I didn’t know… That must have been horrible… I guess I understand now why you always get annoyed hearing me complain about my own shortcomings… Anyone who lived through something like that… It must have been truly horrible…” Sunset stated.

Eclipse didn’t respond, he just looked her in the eyes with a serious gaze.

“I was the great and mighty Glitch… The supposed savior of Equestrian… But in the end, when you got to see the mare behind the mask… All there was was me; Sunset Shimmer… A failure unable to control the darkness inside of her. I guess I can see why I’m such a huge disappointment to someone like you…” Sunset gave a gentle smile to him, to show she was being genuine in her words.

“That was when I was weak… I grew stronger, and I escaped… A spoiled brat like you wouldn’t understand…” Eclipse’s voice was low and dangerous.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. However, I know what it means to be alone, Eclipse. You’re trying so hard to stay alone, to not let anyone inside, and I know what that can do to someone… Just look what it did to me…” Sunset glanced over at her demonic arm as she said that.

“You and I are nothing alike…” Eclipse hissed.

“Maybe, maybe not. I can’t tell just yet…” Sunset said.

There was silence between the two before Sunset broke it. “So, who is Galeal, then?”

Eclipse pressed the knife harder to her neck at the mention of that name. She coughed and smirked at his reaction. “So, even you have someone that you care about then? That’s a surprise to me. Who is he to you? Family?”

Growling, Eclipse came inches from Sunset’s face as he spoke in an aggressive tone. “Let’s get something perfectly clear… At the end of the day, you’re a demon. If you ever turn completely, I will kill you. Do not mistake me, I don’t trust you, Sunset Shimmer. Don’t try and get to know me, and don’t try to get closer to me, because I have zero interest in getting closer to you. We are partners, nothing more, got it?”

“I guess he really is that important then… This Galeal… I wonder what he’s like…” Sunset teased.

Eclipse quickly parted her lips and stuck the blade into her mouth. Sunset remained still as she watched him carefully. “Don’t ever say that name around me again, got it? I don’t want to hear it out of your fucking demon mouth, you hear me?”

Sunset didn’t respond, she laid there with the blade in her mouth, not moving until he pulled it out and pointed the sharp edge at her. “Stay out of my head. If I catch you trying to go through my memories again, I’ll kill you right then and there.”

“You can’t kill me, Eclipse… I’m more than a match for you, and you know it. I’m stronger and more powerful, not to mention I have years of experience over you… Fighting me like that would just be suicide…” Sunset reminded him.

“I don’t give a shit. I would rather die than continue to be violated by the likes of you… Going through the memories of others while they sleep… Heh, you’re already making the perfect demon…” Eclipse shook his head.

“I do what I have to, and sometimes that blurs the line between right and wrong, maybe when you’re older and have more life experience you’ll come to understand that. I’m sorry about what you went through with Serenade, but you have to start realizing that our enemy uses our sympathy and compassion against us. She will kill innocents just to get to us, to defeat an enemy like that sometimes requires bending the rules…” Sunset explained.

“All demons seem to know how to do is bend the rules. What would have happened if I hadn’t been there at that young girl’s house, Sunset? You would have splattered her brains onto the walls, and probably killed her sister too…” Eclipse said.

“I would not have harmed her sister…” Sunset denied.

“Sure you would. Once you start killing innocent people, it becomes easier to make excuses to keep doing it. After all, her sister looked identical to the woman who killed your sister, didn’t she? What would have held your anger and resentment back? What would have kept the demon inside of you from manipulating your emotions to justify killing her? Face it, you’re a walking time bomb, a creature that will eventually destroy everything around you…” Eclipse said.

“Is that what you really think about me, Eclipse?” Sunset asked.

“What reason do I have to believe otherwise? All demons ever do is kill, that’s the only part of their nature that stays true no matter what…” Eclipse spoke.

Sunset remained silent for a moment as she looked into his serious eyes. He wouldn’t waver on his beliefs on the subject, that much was sure.

“Perhaps you’re right… But before then, I want to stop Serenade… What happens to me after that, well… I guess if I go too far, you will stop me before it gets to that…” Sunset said quietly.

Pressing the knife tighter to her neck, Eclipse made his tone more threatening. “Just stay out of my head, got it? I won’t warn you a second time, Sunset Shimmer.”

“You trained yourself to fight against my power, didn’t you?” Sunset ignored his request.

“Don’t try and probe me, just stay out of my head…” Eclipse replied before lifting his knife and stepping off of the woman.

Sunset helped herself up as she side-stepped him and carefully made her way out of the room, facing him the entire time, as he watched her leave. His intense stare never leaving the woman.

Hey! Sorry for the long delay! I am trying to get these out faster, but life gets in the way. I am glad for everyone still reading though!