A long time ago, Equestria's ancestors had discovered the secret to immortality, a power that would rival the alicorns' themselves. An amulet, darker than the night itself, with a crimson red crystal in the middle. When covered with just even the littlest bit of blood, it could turn its wearer into something sinister, less than equine...

***

While storms weren't really something new in Equestria, the storm that had been brewing all day seemed to be the worst one yet. Rain poured heavily as thunder and lightning clashed among the skies. The storm wasn't in just certain areas of Equestria either. It was everywhere. Nature wasn't safe from this sheer assault of raindrops.

Over yonder toward the mountains held a much more gruesome sight. At a nearby cliff overlooking the town of Fillydelphia, the royal carriage that had belonged to one Princess Celestia had crashed while driving through the accursed storm and laid sideways. One of the drivers was on the ground dead, his body mangled. Meanwhile, the other driver drowned in the nearby ravine and was swept away by the current. Celestia laid on the cold, harsh ground, seemingly lifeless. As the thunder grew much louder, two ponies trotted up to the wreckage.

"Well, look what we have here. Looks like these guys took a nasty tumble." A stallion in a dark black coat cackled silently to himself. He examined the wreckage with nasty looking eyes. His beard was snow white while the rest of his face was all scruffy looking, his teeth rotten, most of them missing. He turned towards another unicorn, this time a frail, weak mare with a depressed look upon her face. She wore nothing but a coat as she held up a tattered umbrella with her magic.

The old stallion took a few steps closer towards the wrecked carriage until he noticed a pure white body laying on the rocky ground. "Wait a minute..." He squinted his eyes as he moved his head closer to get a better look at the body. "I'll be damned, that's Princess Celestia! This is her carriage! She must have been on her way to some important meeting or something." He looked around and noticed a slightly opened case next to Celestia's body. "Now, what's this?" He went over and opened the case all the way and noticed a black amulet with a red crystal in the middle. "Oh," He said disappointed with what he found. "It's just some stupid amulet." He slammed the case closed and kicked it aside with his front side as he walked closer to Celestia.

The mare looked around the carriage. She had heard a sound one would not expect to hear. The crying of a foal. "Oh my goodness! Dawning, I think there's a child in the carriage!"

The stallion only spat at the ground and looked back at the woman in anger. "Forget it, woman, we don't have time for that!" He shouted. "Now, get your plot over here and help me!" The mare went over to where the stallion was and looked at him with confusion as he carefully lifted Celestia's crown carefully with both of his front hooves.

"Dawning, what are you doing?" The mare asked.

"What does it look like, you stupid mare? A princess' crown, especially one like Celestia's, could be worth millions! I'll be rich beyond my wildest dreams!" His imagination began to run wild as he pictured what he could do with all those bits. Power, fame, mares as far as the eye can see. A wicked smile grew upon his face. However, he was knocked out of his stupor when a white hoof was placed on his shoulder. He looked back in surprise to find Celestia's eyes had opened and noticed him. All those dreams were dashed away and were replaced with fears of being put in the dungeons.

"Y-You, sir. What is your name?" Celestia asked. The stallion was now confused. Was he in trouble or not? It was hard to tell the future from here. Nonetheless, he decided to play along.

"Uh, m-my name is Dawning Shimmer," he pointed toward the mare. "And this is my wife, Sparkling Waters." He looked back at Celestia. "We saw your carriage crash and were looking to see if you were alright." Dawning placed his hopes on Celestia not knowing his true intentions and kept up this facade of his as much as he could.

Celestia coughed up a bit of blood as she looked around her surroundings as much as she could. "Th-The foal..."

Dawning raised an eyebrow. "Foal?"

Celestia nodded the best she could. "Yes. Is she alright?"

Sparkling Waters stepped forward beside Dawning. "Your child is alright, your highness."

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle a bit despite her current predicament. "Oh, heavens no. It's not my child. But, I suppose her parents would never forgive me if I had brought harm to their daughter." Celestia turned her attention back towards Dawning. "Good sir, I must thank you for salvaging me. I am indeed indebted to you for your kindness."

Dawning tried his best to hide the shock on his face. This whole ordeal was a lot to take in. 'The ruler of Equestria is indebted to me? She actually thinks that I saved her life! She shall know me as her savior!'

"Mr. Shimmer, was it? I shall never forget my debt to you..."

12 years later...

At Celestia's estate, Twilight ran in circles with Owliscious around the fountain near the front entrance of the school. Celestia watched her student from the balcony as she ran around laughing. Celestia couldn't help but smile and remember the promise she made to Twilight's parents when she took their daughter under her wing. If anything would have happened to this poor, innocent child, she would never be able to face even herself let alone her parents.

Twilight turned and looked towards Celestia, who was still watching. "Okay, Miss Celestia! I'm off now!"

"Alright, Twilight," responded Celestia. "But, be careful."

"I will!" And with that, Twilight ran off with her owl past the gates.

***

Nighttime. In a cabin not far from Canterlot, Dawning Shimmer laid in his deathbed, coughing loudly. He reached out to his daughter, who was sitting near the table, reading her book. "Sunset! Get over here!" Sunset paid no attention as she continued reading. "Sunset, do you hear me?! I said get over here!"

Sunset closed her eyes and let out an irritated sigh. She closed the book and set it down as she walked over to her father. "What do you need this time? More medicine?"

"Medicine?!" Dawning spat at the ground near Sunset's hooves. "That crap does nothing! I need cider! Gather up some bits and get me some cider!"

***

Twilight and Celestia sat at the dining table, that was as long as the room itself. Celestia sat at the end, using her magic to eloquently wipe away bits of food on her mouth with a napkin. She turned and watched Twilight as she ate away ate some hay and gulped down some water.

"Twilight," Celestia said softly. "Please, remember your table manners."

Twilight swallowed some more hay and smiled as she gave Celestia the most adorable giggle. "Sorry, Miss Celestia." She returned eating, this time more slowly and politely.

Celestia smiled back.

***

Sunset walked down a rather dark street, only lit up by a few streetlights, and entered a cider bar in downtown Canterlot. She surveyed her surroundings as she closed the door behind her. The bartender payed no heed to the cider bar's newest visitor as he continued cleaning glass cups. Sunset walked up to the bar and asked how much the cider was. Without even looking at Sunset, he responded. "50 bits."

Sunset silently let out another irritated sigh. The errands she had to do for her dying father was just plain ridiculous by her standards. She looked to her left and noticed two other ponies, one gray and one blue, playing chess. The gray pony got up angrily and walked out the door as the blue pony gathered up the bits on the table and put them in a small bag, laughing to himself as he did it. Sunset walked over to him. "How much bits are in that bag?"

The blue pony looked back up at her. "Pfft, I dunno," said the blue pony, smiling ever so smugly. "60 bits or somethin'. Why? You wanna play me, little girl?" He spat at the ground.

"Sure. I'll play," Sunset said, a stoic look upon her face.

"How much ya got?"

"I've only got 10."

The blue pony simply scoffed. "Alright, it'll do. Have a seat." Sunset took her seat across from the blue pony as he set the chess pieces back to their original positions.

***

On a hill a few decent miles away from Celestia's home, two colts pushed around an tan pegasus with a blue mane. They laughed teasingly as the pegasus was pushed to the ground with sheer force. "Oh wow, this guy's pathetic!" yelled out one colt. "And you want to be a royal guard?" The two then resumed their laughter.

The other colt then took a closer look at the tan pegasus. "Dude, I think he's crying!" he pointed out. "He's actually crying!" They guffawed at the top of their lungs. "Flash the crybaby! Flash the crybaby!" They laughed and teased to their hearts' content.

Suddenly, one of the colts was pushed back a small distance from Flash by a bolt of magic. "Hey! You guys leave him alone!" A voice shouted out to the bullies from a distance. Twilight stood with an angry look on her face.

The colts continued their laughter. "You need a girl to fight for you, Flash?"

Twilight galloped towards the two. "I'm not fighting because of him! I'm fighting because I can't stand watching a pony being helplessly pushed around!" Twilight then used the weight of her body to push the other colt away from Flash. However, the colt wouldn't budge. "Now, leave him alone!"

The colt only scoffed as he pushed Twilight to the ground.

***

"Checkmate." Sunset set down the chess piece as her opponent sat there, frustrated beyond belief.

"What?! How did you-?! Ugh, fine." The other player huffed as he picked up a small bag of bits with his teeth up from the ground and threw them on the table Sunset's way. Sunset was about to reach for the bag until the other pony's hoof slammed her head on the table. The colt simply laughed as Sunset picked up the bag with her magic.

***

Twilight fell down on the grass as the colts continued laughing. Then, the colts noticed something peculiar. "Hey, wait a minute. I've seen that cutie mark before." One colt said. "You're Princess Celestia's student, aren't you? Twilight Sparkle or whatever."

"Hey, yeah." The other colt began to take notice. "So, think you're so high and mighty just cause you're Celestia's apprentice, do ya?" The colt then kicked Twilight as she just laid there, taking the pain the best she could. "Come on, dude. Let's get outta here. This is just getting boring now."

***

Back at Sunset's house, Dawning still coughed as bottles of cider laid on the coffee table, more were scattered across the floor. Sunset stood there, watching as her father breathed his last few breaths. "Sunset, I fear that these...*cough cough* are my last moments in Equestria." Dawning reached out to the coffee table to grab an envelope, causing another bottle to fall to the ground. There was ink writing on the envelope that said, "To Princess Celestia"

"Here, take this. Send it to Princess Celestia, live with her," Sunset's father ordered. "Believe it or not, the princess is actually indebted to me for helping her a few years back, just around when you were born." Dawning continued coughing profusely. "Sunset, you're a smart girl. Live under her and you could be rich! You might even be the next heir if you use that thick skull of yours."

But, before he could say anything else, he had finally drawn his last rotten breath.

***

Flash walked up to Twilight, who still laid on the ground. He could hear her silent sobs. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked softly.

Twilight sniffed as she got up. He managed to catch a glimpse of the tears running down Twilight's face before she wiped them off with her hoof. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "But, don't think I did this for you."

Flash was left confused. "Then, why?"

"Because Celestia told me that I should do what I feel as right. I knew I wouldn't be able to beat those two, but like my teacher always said, bravery is much more better than strength."

Twilight turned around and walked on back to her home.

'And one day, my magic will be strong enough.'

***

Sunset stood above her father's grave. Her carriage waited for her to pay her respects. However, Sunset had no respect for her father whatsoever. Every moment she thought about her father only made her more and more angry 'You monster. You tortured me and my mother, even on her last day on Equestria, you pathetic waste of life.' she thought. 'You want me to be the next heir to the throne? Fine. I'll will use everything and everyone to achieve my goal. Even the ruler of Equestria herself. But, I'll never do it in your favor.'

Sunset then spat on her father's grave as she used her magic to pick up her suitcase and walk away towards her carriage.

'And one day, I will be the best.'

***

Twilight walked past the front gates as she noticed a carriage flew in and landed right beside her. Seconds later, the door swung open with a suitcase shot out from the carriage and fell to the ground. A orange unicorn with a red and yellow mane and three dots on her left ear jumped out and landed perfectly. She raised her head up, causing her bangs to fall back behind her ears, and put her head back down, in a near foreboding way. Twilight was left more confused than astonished, but soon figured it all out.

"Ah, you must be Sunset Shimmer!" she stated with a smile.

Sunset looked towards her. "And you must be Twilight Sparkle."

Hooting could be heard from the distance. Twilight and Sunset both looked in the direction it was coming from. Sure enough, Owliscious flew out from one of the windows of the second story and headed towards Twilight and Sunset. "Oh, this is my pet owl, Owliscious! Don't worry, he won't hurt." All of a sudden, a bolt of magic shot down Owliscious from the sky and made him fall down to the hard ground harshly.

"Owliscious!" Twilight cried out. She ran over to his fallen body. Luckily, he wasn't hurt too bad, but it was enough to bruise his wing. Twilight turned back towards Sunset. "What did you do that for?! He wasn't even doing anything!" She shouted.

Sunset got into a stance, cautious of what Twilight might do next. 'So, this is Princess Celestia's apprentice, eh? She sure looks spoiled enough to me. But, I bet if I can break her, then I'll sure to earn Celestia's trust in no-

Sunset's train of thought was soon cut off as she and Twilight noticed Celestia standing at the door. "What are you two doing?" she asked sternly. The mares got out of their stance as Sunset bowed before the princess.

"My apologies, your majesty," she said. "The owl flew towards me and I reacted out of instinct."

"That's quite alright. Both of you, come inside please." Celestia began to walk inside. Twilight looked over to Sunset and noticed her looking slightly in her direction and smirking. She watched her cautiously as she followed the princess.

As the two got inside, the royal guards stood at attention by the stairs. Sunset couldn't help but notice an amulet hanging from the wall behind them. It must have been a hundred years old by the look of it. She continued staring at it until Celestia began to speak.

"Gentlemen, this is Sunset Shimmer. A few years ago, her father saved me and Twilight from a horrible accident. But he has recently passed away and sent Ms. Shimmer here for me to look after her in his stead. So please, treat her like you would treat Twilight. Is that understood?"

The guards gave their salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

Sunset bowed once more. "I thank you, your majesty. You have my gratitude."

Celestia simply chuckled. "Now, now, Sunset. There's no need for that. This is your estate now. Just call me Miss Celestia, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Celestia then walked over to Twilight and put her front hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure you two have a lot in common, especially since you're both unicorns. So please, get along with each other." She then leaned over to Twilight's ear. "Don't worry, Twilight. Owliscious will be fine. Just forgive Sunset just this once. If she does it again, you let me know, okay?"

Twilight turned back towards the princess. "I just want to be friends with her."

"I know, and you will, trust me."

"Okay." However, Twilight couldn't help but feel uneasy of the estate's newest resident.

"Now, follow me, Sunset. I'll show you to your room."

Twilight noticed that Sunset's suitcase hadn't been taken up yet. She decided it would be best to walk over and pick it up with her teeth. However, Twilight recieved a whack from the back of her head.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Sunset demanded.

"I was just gonna help you with your bag."

"I don't need your help." Sunset used her magic to pull back Twilight's ear. "Now, you listen closely. I will become the best around. And nothing is ever going to keep me down. Not even you, you little peasant."

"But-"

"Oh, and one other thing. I hate pets. Not just owls, but all of them. So you better keep your stupid bird away from me or there will be consequences. Are we clear?"

Twilight was almost on the verge of tears until Celestia called out. "Sunset, are you coming?"

Sunset immediately let go of Twilight's ear. "Yes, ma'am. Just a moment." Sunset soon followed Celestia.

And as Sunset climbed up those stairs, it was at that moment that Twilight's happy life began to spiral downward.

***

Outside, in the estate's backyard, Sunset and Twilight were practicing their levitating magic on a couple of books. Twilight's hold on her books was weakening and they soon fell down to the ground, scattered everywhere. Celestia only had the look of disappointment on her face. "Twilight, you've failed again! Look at Sunset. She's doing it perfectly!"

Twilight looked over to her side to notice Sunset levitating the books in the air without a sweat while Twilight, on the other hand, was only able to manage to get them to hover over the ground. Sunset smiled proudly as she easily set the books down and smirked back at Twilight.

***

At the dining table, Celestia sat at the end again while Twilight and Sunset sat across from each other. Twilight began to gulp down her hay and water as Celestia only watched disgusted.

"Twilight Sparkle!" She shouted. "You continue to forget your table manners! Why, ever since Sunset arrived, I've only begun to realize how much I've been spoiling you!" Sunset simply ate her food and sip her water eloquently as a proper mare should. Celestia got up from her seat and called for one of the guards. "Take Twilight's dinner away. She's had enough for tonight."

Twilight began to sob as she ran out of the dinner room and up the stairs. As she got inside her room, she slammed the door behind her and leaped on her bed, stomach first, and continued crying.

After a few solid minutes, Twilight managed to calm down and wipe away the rest of her tears. "I wonder if I'll ever die like this. Alone, cold," her stomach then growled. "...and hungry." She looked over to the end table and noticed the chocolate bar she hadn't finished since the afternoon. "My chocolate! It didn't melt after all!" She picked up the chocolate with her magic and began munching on it profusely.

***

"Oh, where is it?" Twilight searched through her drawers thoroughly. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. Where could I have put my watch." Just then, Twilight felt a presence behind her. She turned around and noticed Sunset standing by her door. She also saw her watch being carried by Sunset's magic.

"Oh, I'm borrowing your watch for a while," Sunset said. She then took a look at the watch. "Oh, and I must hurry. I'll be late to visit my friends." As Sunset ran back out and down the stairs, Twilight couldn't shake off the feeling that she would never see that watch again.

As Sunset got off the stairs, her attention was drawn back to the amulet on the wall once more. It had an eerie feeling about it. She walked over and used her magic to take the mask off the wall. She then stared at it, drawn in by how mysterious it was.

"An interesting artifact, wouldn't you agree?"

Sunset turned around to notice Celestia sitting down, reading her book. "I apologize, Miss Celestia. I should have asked."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Sunset. You did nothing wrong." Celestia put down her book and walked over to Sunset, still surveying the amulet. "I actually found it in a gallery in Trottingham and liked it enough to buy it from the owner. He said that he had found it in some old ruins, left over from our great ancestors. On the way back was when I had that carriage accident and your father had saved me."

Sunset turned the amulet over and noticed something more peculiar. "There are some engravings on it. What does it mean?"

Celestia simply shrugged. "Nopony knows. It's in the dead language of our old ancestors. I guess the owner never really had time to study it."

Sunset put the amulet back on the wall and headed out the door. "I'll be going now, Miss Celestia."

"Alright, then. Be back by lunch."

***

Twilight laid on the branch of her favorite tree nearby the lake, with Owliscious beside her. Sure it wasn't the most comfortable spot in the world, but it was nice to get away, especially from Sunset. Before she was able to doze off, her ears perked up to the sound of a couple of ponies she recognized. They looked over to Twilight and started backing away slowly, whispering to each other. This left Twilight puzzled. "Hey!" she called out. "What's going on?"

"Oh, man. It's that Sparkle mare," one of the ponies said. "We better get outta here before she snitches on us."

"What?!" Twilight grew rather irritated. She hopped off the tree and trotted over to the others. "I'm not a snitch! Who told you that? Was it Sunset?"

"Let's get outta here!" The ponies ran off as Twilight attempted to give chase. Unfortunately, they had managed to outrun her as she was left alone once more.

"It has to be Sunset. I mean, who else would spread a lie like that." Twilight stomped the ground in anger with her hooves. "Sunset! Sunset, Sunset, Sunset, Sunset!" She fell down to the ground and rolled down the hill, stopping right next to the river. Owliscious flew and landed beside her. As Twilight laid on her back, she looked back up at Owliscious from an upside down point of view, lightly patted his head with her hoof, and sighed. "But, you'll be my friend no matter what, won't you?"

Twilight's ears perked again as they heard the sound of a twig break. She got back up on her hooves and turned to see who it was. She had hoped and prayed that it wasn't Sunset again to ruin more of what she was. Much to Twilight's best wishes, it wasn't. It was a more familiar face. It was that tan pegasus from the other day. He held a basket of apples in his mouth and set it on a nearby branch. Twilight walked closer to greet the pegasus. "Uh, hey! Are, uh, are those for me?" she asked, pointing to the basket. The pegasus ran off before Twilight could get another word out.

She levitated the basket off of the branch and watched as the pegasus ran off. "Thank you!" she yelled out. "I'll be here tomorrow! If you'd like, maybe we could hang out sometime!"

The very next day, Twilight did as she promised hoping the pegasus would come by. Sure enough, he did. They exchanged their hellos and had the most fun a pony could have. She learned that his name was Flash Sentry, a pegasus who wished that one day he would be able to join the royal guard to protect his family. Over the course of the next few days, they ended up playing games together, walking together, and everything. With each passing moment, they would soon fall in love. Flash even carved "TS + FS" on her favorite tree. Twilight couldn't help but blush.

As the sun began to set on another day, Flash and Twilight said their goodbyes and went on their way.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Twilight yelled as she ran down the road to her home.

Flash waved back at Twilight and walked his separate way, smiling as he thought to himself how he managed to meet somepony like Twilight. It almost seemed like a dream at first, meeting someone as amazing as her. Meanwhile, Sunset hid behind a tree. She felt Flash's carving with her hoof and began to smirk.

Flash continued on walking until he bumped into somepony. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry," he said. He looked up to find Sunset and two other ponies in front of him.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about," replied Sunset. However, Flash had every right to be worried. Sunset started making circles around him as her entourage just stood there and watched. Flash furrowed his brows. "So, word around the horribly paved street is you and Twilight have been spending some...time together, is that right?"

Flash tried to swallow down his fear as Sunset got back in front of him. "Uh, y-yeah. Wh-why?"

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering what's been making Twilight happy all this time. Especially after everything I've done to her." Sunset smiled the most devilish smile. "So, tell me. Have you two done...everything?"

Flash became intimidated. He didn't want to admit that it was because of a girl, but it was. "E-Everything?" he stuttered. "I-I-I guess so..."

"Uh-huh. Even...this?!" Just then, Sunset wrapped her front hoof around Flash's head and pulled him in hard for a kiss. Their lips meet. Sunset's tongue invaded Flash's mouth. Flash tried to push Sunset away as hard as he could but Sunset kept hold of him with her magic. The two ponies behind her just stood in amazement as the kiss continued. "N-No way! Is Sunset really that bad enough to go and steal Twilight's own boyfriend?!"

As soon as Sunset finished the kiss, she pushed Flash down next to a puddle. "So, I take it you haven't kissed Twilight yet, have you? No. You didn't, did you?! Then your first kiss wasn't with Twilight! It was with me, Sunset Shimmer!" She laughed hard until the two ponies behind her pointed at Flash.

"Hey, look!" they said. Sunset stopped her laughter to notice Flash dipping his hoof in the puddle and wiping it with his face. "Why is he cleaning his mouth with muddy water? Doesn't he know that there's a clean ravine not too far from here?" One of the ponies asked curiously.

Sunset immediately realized what this meant symbolically and slapped Flash as soon as he got back on his hooves. She turned back around and slammed her hoof on a nearby tree. 'Drat. How could I have lost my patience to a pathetic colt like him?!' She regained control of her anger and moved on ahead. "Come on, you two. We're leaving." The two complied as they followed Sunset away from Flash. This was not something Flash was looking forward to telling Twilight.

***

The next day, Twilight was trotting around Canterlot, getting groceries for dinner so she could get back on Celestia's good side. As her bags were filled to the brim with ingredients, she decided it was good enough to head back home. She stopped when she saw Flash walking by. "Hey, Flash!" she called out. But Flash didn't turn around. He just kept walking, his pace getting faster to where it got to the point where he was galloping. Twilight was left perplexed. "Huh? Why'd he run off like that?" She then heard ponies snickering like gossiping schoolgirls behind her. She turned and saw the ponies from Sunset's little entourage. "What are you guys laughing at?"

"Oh, so you haven't heard, have you?" one of the ponies asked. He then nudged the colt next to him. "Hey, you wanna tell her?"

The other colt raised his hooves in defense. "Oh, no. I'd rather not see a mare like her cry."

Twilight's anger began to grow. "You...tell me. What did you punks do to Flash?!"

***

Twilight galloped back to the estate as fast as she could, hopping over the fountain. What she had heard made her burst with rage. She slammed the door open to find Sunset sitting at the table, reading her book.

"SUNSET!!!" she cried out.

Sunset slammed her book down and got up. "How dare you use my name in vain, you scum!"

Twilight just kept charging towards Sunset. "I can take whatever you throw at me, Sunset. But this? This is unforgivable!"

"Oh, so I take it you've heard about me kissing your darling little boyfriend, eh? You know, to be honest, for a colt, he can be such a mare."

"You've gone too far this time, Sunset! I won't let you get away with this!"

But Sunset quickly dodged Twilight's charge in the nick of time and blasted her with some magic, making her hit the wall. "You don't really want me to beat you that badly, do you Twilight?"

As Twilight slid down against the wall, the thought of losing to Sunset was unbearable. Having to live under her shadow was not something she planned on doing. She had to keep fighting. For her relationship with Flash, at least.

Meanwhile, Sunset was getting ready for Twilight to get back up. This was finally her moment. The moment that would bring down Twilight once and for all.

Twilight got back up and charged at Sunset once more but was knocked back down again by Sunset's magic. 'Yes!'she thought, 'This is finally it! I, Sunset, will finally bring Twilight to her knees!' But just then, Twilight caught herself before she fell and zapped Sunset with her magic.

"What?! You were able to attack me after a hit like that?!" Sunset was tried to fight back but Twilight kept repeatedly shooting her with magic over and over again.

"Sunset!!" Twilight screamed.

"I won't."

Zap.

"Let you."

Zap.

"Ruin."

Zap.

"My life."

Zap.

"Anymore!" And with that, her horn was charged enough to bring a brutal blow to Sunset, enough to have blood spew from her mouth and splatter it on the amulet hanging from the wall. As Sunset hit the ground, the amulet started to shake and soon spikes shot out from the edges of the amulet, detaching itself from the wall, and hitting the ground.

Twilight and Sunset were both out of breath. Twilight heard sobbing coming from Sunset. "How...how could I..." Sunset turned towards Twilight, tears running down her face. "How could I be beaten by scum like you?!"

"What in Equestria is going on here?" The two unicorns both looked up. At the top of the stairs, Celestia looked down at the two with a scowl. The spikes suddenly retracted back into the amulet. "This is not what I expected from you two at all! Both of you, go to your rooms! I shall discipline you both later." Twilight and Sunset exchanged glances at each other with burning eyes before going upstairs.

***

As the sun set the next day, Twilight watched as Flash walked down the road alone and sad. 'Oh, Flash. I wish Sunset never brought you into this.' She then began to cry silently, making sure Flash couldn't hear her. Later, she noticed a royal guard was running up to her at an extremely fast pace. "Miss Sparkle?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"I'm afraid...I've some bad news for you, ma'am."

***

Celestia, Twilight and other guards stood above a small dirt grave where Twilight's pet owl had reportedly been buried. "I'm sorry, Twilight. But Owliscious' burnt corpse was too gruesome for you to see, so I wanted the guards to bury them posthaste," Celestia said solemnly. She put a hoof on the sobbing unicorn's shoulder. "The authorities think someone might have tossed him in the incinerator during a robbery."

"Sunset..." Twilight uttered.

"Lady Sunset?" One of the royal guards asked. "I do believe she said that she would be out in Canterlot tonight."

A few minutes later, after paying her respects, Twilight went up to her room and slept for two hours. Shortly after she awoke, she came to accept Owliscious' passing, and wept.

***

Meanwhile, Sunset was out on an abandoned street in Canterlot at night, her body was lit up by a single streetlight as she contemplated the previous events from the other day.

"I was too stubborn," she muttered to herself. "That's twice now where I've let my impatience and anger get the better of me. Not only that, but I've let Twilight defeat me in a duel as well. No matter. At least I've gotten rid of that dumb bird, and I now know of Twilight's true strength. I need to control my emotions and demeanor, should this ever happen again."

Seven years passed since the fight between Twilight and Sunset, but it will not be their last...

Author's Note

*cue Roundabout*

Well, there you go! Chapter 1 of what I hope to continue as Twilight's Bizarre Adventure! I'll keep this chapter up to see what people think, and if I get some good reception from it, then I'll continue with chapter 2 with Spike as Speedwagon. Oh, joy. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this.

And yeah, I can not name any canon ponies' parents to save my life.

...Sooo many asterisks...