Sunset was hanging upside-down, bound and gagged in the gates of Paradise building, which was much more like a shabby warehouse than either a prison or a proper terminal. Because of the enchantments on her bonds, Sunset couldn’t access her own magic, even with the power of Twilight’s soul.

But Nightmare Moon’s power wouldn’t be so easily stopped.

Sunset hated using her demonic powers. Maybe it was because she hated to acknowledge that she was too weak without Nightmare Moon’s help, maybe it was because of her past as a Paladin where she was taught to be unquestioningly afraid of the Underworld’s ‘Empress’.

Or maybe it was simply because she barely knew how to use it, and that despite the overflow of magical energy she got whenever she tapped into Nightmare Moon’s gift, it only made her feel even weaker.

Oh well whatever, she was using it now, turning her fur red and making wings come off her back and all that good stuff. And more importantly, burning the ropes binding her to cinders.

Sunset fell on the ground with a painful thud since she’d still been hanging, but she quickly picked herself up and grabbed her jacket off the floor, slinging it over her shoulder as she let the demon transformation go. Less time she spent with Nightmare Moon, the better.

It wasn’t long after Sunset started tracing the halls looking for Twilight that she ran into the siren girl; that friend of Applejack’s. Though calling her a ‘friend’ instead of a ‘simp’ was being generous.

“How did you get free?” the woman asked, a tinge of fear in her voice.

“You’re the girl who tied me up,” Sunset said irritably, though her frown quickly turned to a sadistic grin.

“I-it doesn’t matter. Get back to your cell if you don’t want to be hurt.”

“Let’s see if you can make me,” Sunset’s grin got even wider, fire burning in her eyes and around her fingers.

The siren was trembling, but her eyes were ice cold and filled with determination, and Sunset could respect that. In a blaze of neon lights her body transformed, her raven hair becoming strikingly white and violet, and her modest black dress changing into a sexy purple leather getup.

“Ah, this is like a glamour thing right?” Sunset chuckled. “You tryin’ to hype yourself up or something?”

“Make fun all you want,” the tone of the woman’s voice was completely different, like a knife dipped in jet black ink, and she pointed her fingers at Sunset like a laser, “but for the sake of the people I love, I won’t let you pass!”

“Funny,” Sunset scoffed, “cuz it sounds like the people you love aren’t super keen on your cowardly ‘safety first’ act.”

Coloratura didn’t say anything, just clicked her tongue for a sec before singing a haunting melody. It didn’t take a genius to tell that it was some kind of spell, but Sunset wasn’t sure what kind… until she saw a glowing hex rune appear on the wall by her head, Sunset’s ear burning before she jumped back, watching carefully as the hex hummed a haunting tune of its own as the air around it became choked with an acidic vapor.

Sunset was careful to run around the rune as she charged Coloratura, though in the cramped dull white halls of this prison that was easier said than done. The siren continued singing, undeterred by Sunset running toward her, and another hex rune appeared on the ground in front of her before lighting up and producing a solid beam of light that halted Sunset’s progress.

She didn’t know what it did, but Sunset jumped back regardless, not wanting to test her luck with an enemy’s unknown magic, though the melody aggravating her ears from behind her reminding her that she was now sandwiched between two runes didn’t make her feel great either.

“Ah, I get it,” Sunset said confidently; she was aware of her awkward position, but she was still pretty certain she had this thing in the bag. “Your singing lets you create hexes at like lightning speed. Interesting technique, but I’m guessing you can’t make anything too complicated.”

“What’s the matter?” Coloratura said teasingly, as the wall of light separated into two beams shooting in opposite directions and making the siren visible between them. “You’re not getting cold hooves are you?”

Sunset jumped even further back, curious about a theory. Coloratura didn’t react; just watched Sunset warily. Interesting. No long ranged attacks meant Coloratura’s little hex trick probably didn’t have a very impressive range, though it’s possible the siren was just gathering magic while she waited for Sunset to make the next move; even though hexes didn’t draw on a person’s own magic, it was likely that Coloratura’s singing did.

OR, maybe she was intentionally being coy about the limits of her abilities to draw Sunset into a trap. A lot of options to consider.

Sunset shrugged it all off and pounded her fists together. The only way to know for sure was to see how Coloratura reacted when Sunset got in close.

“I like your bravery,” Coloratura laughed sweetly as Sunset charged in; admittedly not a good sign, “and your foolishness.”

Sunset’s charge was stopped in its tracks as Coloratura’s fist collided with Sunset’s stomach. Sunset barely even saw the siren move before she pounded Sunset hard enough to make her throw up blood and stumble back awkwardly, leaving her open for another massive haymaker to her face that completely knocked the wind out of her, Coloratura finishing her assault with a kick to Sunset’s gut that sent her crashing to the ground on her back, a pained bloody gurgle all that escaped her lips as her spine crashed against the concrete.

Whatever Sunset expected, it sure wasn’t that. She cursed herself for underestimating the strength of an earth pony monster.

Sunset sat up and laughed.

“Damn girl,” she cackled, “you got me good! You used those weak hexes to trick me into charging into a melee fight you were confident you could win!”

“I also bet on your impatience,” Coloratura said proudly, sauntering toward Sunset. “I watched your fight with Applejack.”

“You got me,” Sunset nodded, “you got me. But you won’t be getting me agai—”

Sunset’s words were interrupted by a powerful kick from Coloratura’s hoof, directly slamming into her face and throwing her against the wall with a thud, blood trickling from Sunset’s nose and mouth. Before she could grab her bearings, she heard Coloratura’s singing voice and sighed in resigned irritation as the hex rune glowed on the wall her face was pressed up against.

The rune exploded in Sunset’s face, searing her skin and blowing her away right into the other wall, which perfectly lined her up for Coloratura’s incoming kick; Sunset grabbed the siren’s hoof in her hands, Coloratura yanking it back which bought Sunset enough time to push herself away and scramble to her hooves.

Sunset flicked her fingers and flames spritzed off of them. She took a deep breath; she didn’t have much going for her in terms of long range combat either, but this time she wouldn’t get caught off guard.

She charged in as Coloratura sang another song, only for Sunset to step right onto a hex placed right in front of Coloratura, who licked her lips as the hex activated with a piercing wail and drained Sunset’s magic, bringing her to her knees.

“Awfully predictable, aren’t you?” Coloratura sighed.

Sunset pushed herself back and got up on her hooves, but was only able to clumsily block Coloratura’s punch with her forearms, the siren’s magically charged fist still doing a number on Sunset’s unprotected flesh and bone.

This wasn’t looking good; Coloratura had an environment advantage, knowledge of Sunset’s abilities and fighting style, and on top of it all Sunset was thinking too damn rigidly for her own good.

She wondered… what would an idiot like Twilight do?

She remembered Twilight talking about being a conjuration specialist, and so Sunset figured that was good enough and conjured the first thing she could think of: a barrier to stop Coloratura’s punches.

Coloratura punched right through it, smashing Sunset in the face.

Sunset couldn’t stand another hit like that, so she teleported away, her magic exploding in Coloratura’s face as Sunset zapped herself to the end of the hallway, where she proceeded to just watch Coloratura for a sec.

The siren still wasn’t keen on rushing her down; she knew she had control of this battle and that Sunset didn’t have much going for her, so no reason to get too aggressive and risk jeopardizing her advantage.

If Coloratura was feeling the heat of Sunset’s magic, she wasn’t showing it, which was kinda pissing Sunset off if she was being honest. Coloratura just stood there looking totally unscathed, dancing to that accursed music. Like yeah if Sunset took a sec to listen to it, it was a jam for sure but—

Actually, that music was really nice. Sunset kinda wanted to just… stop and listen… and then she remembered she was fighting a siren and slapped herself in the face.

“What’s the matter, Sunset Shimmer?” Coloratura said sweetly, the gem in chest sparkling as if in tune with the music, Sunset watching in awe as Coloratura’s body bobbed and swayed to the beat as well.

“I, uh,” Sunset stumbled. It was easy to just say she was gay— and like, she definitely was and Coloratura’s deeply plunging neckline and leather combo was making Sunset sweat a little bit— but this was something else; prolonged battle with a siren was dangerous, so Sunset needed to get her head in the game.

Coloratura batted her eyelashes at Sunset and—wait, when did she get so close? Sunset wasn’t even at the end of the hall anymore, she looked behind her and realized she had been walking toward Coloratura, coaxed by the siren’s hypnotic magic.

“Ah, crap,” Sunset groaned, before immediately being punched hard in the face, knocking the demon limply to the ground as she passed out.

She wasn’t out for long though, waking up in her ‘cell’ such as it was, with Coloratura tying her up. Luckily she hadn't been gagged yet so she could still mouth off.

“You know, if all you wanted was to tie me up this badly, we could’ve come to some kind of arrangement.”

“Ah, you’re awake!” Coloratura said pleasantly. “Here then, take this.”

Coloratura stuffed a wad of cloth in Sunset’s mouth and she grumbled irritably before spitting the cloth out.

“Look, please don’t make this difficult,” Coloratura groaned.

“Making things difficult is what I do best,” Sunset chuckled.

“If you’re not going to think about your own safety,” Coloratura said, her voice dripping with frustration, “at least think about your friend Twilight. Don’t put her in more danger by—”

“I’m always thinking of Twilight,” Sunset said coldly. This girl had the damn nerve to think she knew what was better for Twilight than Sunset did? “And right now I’m thinking about how she’s practically helpless without any magic, and especially without her weapons, and I’m not about to let you bastards do whatever you want with her.”

It was cute that Coloratura thought her unfinished rope work and a single magic-draining hex would be enough to stop Sunset’s magic; without the fully completed ropework, the power of a soul just couldn’t be floodgated like that, so Sunset had no problem teleporting herself out of Coloratura’s grasp, burning the siren with an explosion for good measure.

With Coloratura reeling from the explosion, Sunset charged in and slammed her in the head with a fierce kick, knocking the siren to the ground. She got up shockingly quickly, but Sunset was keen to keep up the pressure, assaulting the siren with a flurry of punches that Coloratura was forced to awkwardly block with her forearms, which got pretty badly burned for her trouble.

Coloratura’s musical hexes had been deactivated, though her glamour was still in effect, so Sunset figured that the siren still had a few tricks up her sleeves, but if Sunset could keep her from renewing those hexes that let her just snowball this fight out of control, then Sunset could definitely still win this.

Sunset got Coloratura pinned up against the wall and just laid into her with punches, but despite the burns Coloratura was starting to figure out Sunset’s rhythm, blocking and parrying accordingly until Sunset just found her advantage slipping through her fingers.

“You’re a bit of a one trick pony,” Coloratura said breathily as she slapped Sunset’s fist harmlessly away, “aren’t you, Sunset Shimmer?”

Coloratura struck back and Sunset dodged instinctively, jumping away from the siren as the bruises on her face tensed up at the idea of taking another hit from her.

“What’s the matter?” Coloratura panted, but there was stone-cold confidence in her eyes despite how her body was utterly littered now with bruises and burns all across her arms, chest, and face. “You scared, Sunset? You’ll regret giving up your advantage.”

Coloratura began to sing and it immediately made Sunset panic, so she rushed in and was met by Coloratura blasting her in the stomach with a lightning fast punch, Sunset stumbling back and just like Coloratura predicted, becoming filled with regret as she dropped to her knees.

Sunset blocked the siren’s kick with her arms and it didn’t feel quite as bad as before, leading to Sunset having a bit of a revelation, though the epiphany would have to wait as Coloratura just hooked her leg behind Sunset and plowed her in the back of the head, stunning her for a sec before kicking her right into that magic draining hex she already set up.

“Damn,” Coloratura licked her lips as Sunset’s magic was drained and pooled inside the siren instead, “I could keep this up all day with the amount of magic you have.”

“That’s kinda how souls are,” Sunset snarked as she stumbled to her hooves.

This wasn’t working; Coloratura was right, Sunset was a completely one-trick pony, and if she didn’t come up with a second trick—one that could actually win her this fight—she was going to be in trouble; it wasn’t just a matter of defeating Coloratura, it was a matter of defeating Applejack, and Autumn Blaze, and Rarity, and every other challenge that would come Sunset’s way.

If she couldn’t overcome this wall, this was the end of the road for her, and she wasn’t going to accept that.

And honestly, y’know what? As much as she despised to admit it, those same words could be true of her own demonic powers as well.

Sunset’s brief stint on the Second Circle after she first traded her soul for demonic magic… didn’t go well. She thought she’d be able to tear through every enemy with ease, and ended up being imprisoned for her trouble. Twice.

It left her understandably gunshy about using those powers. They let Nightmare Moon whisper into her mind, and for what? She was able to beat ropes. Wahoo.

But maybe… she just needed to get a bit more creative with them.

“Hey Coloratura,” Sunset growled, staring daggers at the siren. “Here’s an adage for you: where there’s fire, there’s smoke.”

Sunset wept her hoof in an arc in front of her, flames erupting from the ground in her wake before the flames transformed into a slowly spreading cloud of dense black smog. It was a bit of a challenge, flexing Sunset’s magic to turn her waves of heat into a visible cloud of smoke, but between Autumn Blaze’s smoke attack, and Coloratura’s light show that stopped Sunset in her tracks, Sunset was starting to understand the importance of a strong visual in battle.

Plus, it would make her actual plan that much easier to execute.

Sunset jumped her left, around the cloud of smoke; Coloratura couldn’t risk having her sight line of Sunset obscured, so she was naturally going to have to move to either the left or right of the cloud. If she jumped left, she would be jumping right into Sunset’s claws, and if she jumped right then she was still in an awkward spot with no time to set up a hex and Sunset coming at her.

Coloratura jumped left.

Sunset let her body be taken over by Nightmare Moon’s magic, let it be transformed into that of a true demon… but only in her fingertips, and only on her right hand. She brandished blood red claws as Coloratura realized the gravity of her mistake only too late to do anything about it, Sunset goring Coloratura with those claws and taking a page out of the siren’s own book, draining her magic like taking a big sip of a soda.

Coloratura stumbled back, weakened. Sunset advanced, fearless.

“I’m not going to lose!” Coloratura said desperately. Her confidence sure faded fast when she was the one having her magic drained.

“Is that right,” Sunset said drolly.

“Yes,” Coloratura said coldly, staring Sunset down with eyes that leaked blood down her face. She really was desperate now, using her own life force in lieu of magic to cast spells. It was pretty hardcore, but it wasn’t going to lead to anything good for anyone, so Sunset needed to stop her before—

A blinding flash of light stunned Sunset, and when she recovered she was already under attack, forced to block Coloratura’s flurry of punches with her arms. Whatever that flash of light was, it blew away Sunset’s smoke cloud and her superheated aura, forcing Sunset on the defensive without a lot of options.

Even her magic drain wouldn’t work if Coloratura was just going to use her life instead, though Sunset considered forcing her into a grind game and seeing if Coloratura was desperate enough to—

No, that was gross. Sunset didn’t like that, and she knew Twilight would hate it.

Lucky for Sunset, it wouldn’t have to come to that; she had one last trick up her sleeve, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle.

Coloratura charged at Sunset, who simply held her hand over her heart and activated the hex that she had inscribed onto her chest, pulling a blazing sword from her breast that she swung fiercely at Coloratura, the blade of flame passing through her like mist but severely burning her on impact, causing her to release a piercing scream as she fell to her hands and knees.

“No… I won’t—” Coloratura groaned and Sunset stomped on her back, flattening her to the ground.

“You really just don’t care about your own safety, huh?” Sunset said dismissively. She could relate, and she didn’t like it.

“No,” Coloratura lifted her head and drooled blood. “All I care about is protecting Applejack.”

Sunset sighed.

“You can’t beat me,” Sunset said. “I can drain all of your magic to nothing from this position, and if you think this little gimmick of using your life will help you, well it’s only cuz you haven’t seen-” Sunset let herself fully transform into a demon, her wings flaring behind her and her body overflowing with a visible dark red magic aura “-this yet.

“So,” Sunset let the transformation go, “let’s call this one a draw.”

“I—er—uh, okay,” Coloratura panted, letting herself collapse onto the ground and pass out. Sunset rolled her eyes and grumbled; she couldn’t believe herself as she squatted down and poured a little bit of her own magic back into Coloratura’s body with her claws, and then banished the claws cuz they were starting to creep her out.

Coloratura wasn’t out for too long, but Sunset was way better and faster with ropework, so the siren wasn’t going anywhere. She mumbled and huffed a bit as she came to and struggled against her bonds, but Sunset just chuckled.

“So was all this ‘draw’ stuff just an excuse to tie me up?” Coloratura spat.

“No,” Sunset smirked devilishly, “though that is a perk. Anyway, you know you’re dumb as shit, right?”

“Oh, so you’re just using this opportunity to insult me now,” Coloratura sighed, and helplessly struggled against those ropes.

“I’m not insulting you, I’m helping,” Sunset said irritably, and Coloratura responded with an incredulous scoff. “Look at how much pain and misery you’re going through, for a woman who doesn’t even care about you!”

“Applejack does care about me!” Coloratura barked, giving off an air of genuine indignation, though she quickly softened up and became more reflective. “She just has a hard time showing it, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“You don’t know anything about her!” Coloratura lashed out, nearly tipping herself over before clumsily regaining her balance, but Sunset just tipped her onto the ground on her side with her hoof anyway. “You don’t know anything about what she’s been through.”

“Don’t I though?” Sunset said tiredly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Like, I know that emotional unavailability crap, that’s for sure. All that ‘she does care, she just has a hard time showing it’ stuff is just shit.

“Don’t waste your time with that shit. Don’t waste your time on someone who makes you struggle for their affection. You shouldn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get someone that supposedly ‘loves you’ to show it, or to express care for you.”

“Applejack does care about me,” Coloratura attempted to sit up, but Sunset just pushed her down again until she was ready to actually listen. “She shows me! She expresses care!”

“But is it enough?”

“I don’t get to decide how much affection she shows,” Coloratura muttered, sounding like she barely believed her own nonsense at this point. “She keeps to herself a lot, and I respect that.”

“But you do get to choose how much you’re willing to put up with,” Sunset said. “And that’s something you should consider, cuz I promise you that this road you’re on right now with her is a dead freaking end.

“Anyway,” Sunset shrugged, losing interest in the trial of patience that was Coloratura’s thick skull, “I gotta go rescue my uhhhh, my Twilight.”

She didn’t really feel comfortable saying ‘friend’ or ‘partner’ like she wanted to.

“Here,” Sunset grinned in perfect satisfaction as she brandished a wad of cloth, “this is for you.”

“Don’t you da—rrfgh!” Coloratura complained as Sunset stuffed the cloth in her mouth, before wrapping a similar cloth around to keep the stuffing in place. Coloratura squirmed and muttered into her gag, and gawd it sure was nice revenge after suffering humiliating capture at her hands.

And then suddenly Sunset got a very good idea.

Sunset picked the squirming siren up and lifted her over her shoulder, Coloratura squealing into her gag as Sunset took her prisoner.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you or anything,” Sunset shrugged as she walked outta the cell with a brand new damsel in tow. “You’re just gonna be a useful bargaining chip, I think. Plus this is revenge for capturing me, and I’m gonna enjoy every second of it.”

Sunset left the cell and headed into the narrow halls of the prison, but it wasn’t long before she ran into yet another obstacle instead of Twilight.

Applejack.

She looked surprised at Sunset’s freedom, but her face quickly twisted into an enraged snarl as she spied Sunset’s little hostage.

“Let her go,” Applejack growled.

“Oh?” Sunset laughed once. “You gonna play the tough guy act now? After you told her how much her opinion really means to you earlier?”

“I ain’t askin’ you again!” Applejack clenched her fist and bared her fangs.

Sunset slipped Coloratura from atop her shoulder and into her arms bridal style, the siren letting out a muffled squeal in surprise, before Sunset unceremoniously dropped her onto the concrete with a painful sounding thud and a bemused moan.

She stepped over the tied up siren and smiled at Applejack.

“Come get her.”

Honestly it was kinda a blessing to see Applejack here; Sunset felt like she’d learned a lot from her battle with Coloratura, and she was itching to see if she could now crash through the formerly impenetrable wall known as Applejack.

The werewolf snarled at Sunset and charged her, and while she was lightning fast, she was also blunt as a rock, and Sunset could see through her pattern as if Sunset had written it herself. She waited for Applejack to reach the perfect distance before breaking into her own run and then quickly teleporting; Applejack looked behind her, cuz like of course that’s where you would look first for a teleporting opponent.

You would be less likely to suspect a demon to teleport right underneath your chin.

Sunset leapt up with a furious uppercut, her fist exploding with flame and rage as it connected with a very shocked werewolf, knocking her off her feet. Sunset then channeled her magic into her palms and unleashed another explosion into Applejack’s stomach that sent the werewolf flying back and crashing to the ground, after hitting the wall.

Applejack was back on her feet way faster than Sunset could react and press her advantage, and she was coming in hot, so Sunset prepared her next pre-emptive counter attack, as it were. She teleported behind Applejack who, expecting Sunset to appear beneath her again, took a second to turn around and face her, and that second made all the difference as Sunset’s fist exploded in Applejack’s face once again.

Only this time, Applejack dug her claws into the floor and refused to move, tanking Sunset’s hit and digging her claws into the demon’s shoulders. She threw Sunset against the wall and her drool dripped onto Sunset’s chest as she bared her fangs, but to her surprise and Sunset’s, the demon was teleported out of her grasp…

…and behind an armed Twilight Sparkle, standing protectively in front of Sunset and Coloratura with a brand new lance and shield, her body radiating with a familiar magic.

“Sunset,” Twilight said, “just this once, let me be the one who protects you.”

Sunset had no clue what was going on, but she wasn’t exactly in a position to refuse, so she just said nothing cuz she couldn’t think of anything cool to say in response.

“Now how did you escape?!” Applejack balked.

“A gift,” Twilight said, “from a friend. Now, speaking of friends…” Twilight picked Coloratura up in a raspberry glow from her horn, Sunset’s eyes widening as she saw Twilight somehow using magic again. She gently placed the bound and struggling siren in the center of the hallway, between herself and Applejack. “Maybe you should help yours out. Because just you alone against me and Sunset Shimmer, now that I’m no long held back by a lack of magic? It isn’t going to go well for you, I promise.”

Sunset chuckled as she recognized the predicament Twilight had put Applejack in; if the werewolf tried to untie the siren, she’d be leaving herself open to attack from Twilight and Sunset. But if she left Coloratura bound, then not only would she be fighting two enemies against one, but her helpless friend would be caught in the crossfire.

It was remarkably devious, and Sunset was kinda shocked to see it was a plan that Twilight came up with.

Applejack clicked her tongue, sweat dripping down her forehead. She was clearly at a loss, and Twilight knew it, if the confident and relaxed grin on her face was any indication. Sunset had no clue what had happened to Twilight in her cell, but damn she was a fan.

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Twilight said teasingly, a chill running down Sunset’s spine. “You don’t look too good.”

thinking of switching up azure edge and sunlight's update schedule to updating both 4 times a week instead of both 6 a week or sunlight 6 and azure edge 0 like i'm doing now lmao

i had a whole plan to keep both fics updating daily alongside each other but that plan requires me to Be healthy and to Stay healthy and i, a dumbass, didn't factor in my chronic illness into that plan. OOPS (said illness isn't anything life threatening btw so don't worry, the primary symptom is just alot of fatigue)

For now tho, if u enjoyed this chapter please let me know by leaving a comment! The lovely feedback I get from y'all is literally the driving fuel that keeps this train on its tracks, and I really couldn't do any of this stuff without y'all. So thank u for reading, and I hope u enjoyed!