Kingdom Hearts: Keys of Equestria

Chapter XVIII: Sunset Before Twilight

Perspective: Sora

This place felt familiar. It was nothing more than a wide, open space of nothingness. There were a few small platforms dotted with treasure chests.

This was the End of The World, but different from how I remembered. How it was different, I just couldn't put my finger on it. It just was.

"Ah don't like the looks 'a this place." Applejack noted, stepping gingerly out into the open.

"What's in the box!?" Pinkie shouted, running forward and opening one of the chests.

"Don't!" Before she heard me, the chest was open. An orb of purple light swallowed us all.

[I opened my eyes,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCH8O7kOSaY\) only to see two figures in black cloaks.

"Alright, who are you?" Roxas questioned, summoning his Oathkeeper. The glow from the walls of purple energy around us seemed to reflect off of his Keyblade's silver handguard. The taller of the two figures stepped forward, removing his hood.

"Don't you remember me, Roxas?"

"Axel?" He asked, lowering his Keyblade and staring at the man under the hood. It was Axel, all right; that fiery red hair, those stark green eyes, and of course, his deadly chakrams. I stood up and summoned my Kingdom Key.

"You should remember me, too." The other figure joked, lowering her hood and revealing a smiling face rimmed by flat black hair.

"Wait." Roxas stated. "Xion? How? How is this possible? You're part of me!"

"I'm not Xion, you dolt." Her smile turned from cheerful to sadistic as her body changed, turning into a light yellow unicorn mare with a red and yellow mane.

"Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight looked at the mare with confusion.

"Yep. It's me! Good to see you again, Twilight Fizzle." She walked forward, shoving Twilight away.

"If Xion was really this 'Sunset Shimmer', then are you really Axel?" Roxas asked.

"In the flesh! You miss me, Roxas? I'd like to introduce you to our new No. XIII, Sunset Shimmer, The Spirit Breaker. She may be our current No. XIII, but you're still the best."

"What's her attribute? Mine was originally Light. Is that a tradition for No. XIII's?"

"No. Her attribute is Spirit. There's a reason why her title is The Spirit Breaker."

"Who are you?" I inquired, looking at the unicorn.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer. What these idiots don't know about me, though, is that I'm technically Twilight's Nobody. You see," She began, pacing back and forth in front of us, "Xemnas has known about Equestria for quite some time, but he just recently decided to go after its heart. When he first discovered Twilight's power, he extracted the darkness from her heart and created me."

"But Celestia said that you were her student before me!" Twilight reminded her.

"Zip it, Fizzle! I was getting to that!"

"Leave her alone!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"You too, jock. Xemnas worked together with two other members of the Organization to travel back in time, placing me in the position of Celestia's personal student long before Twilight, so that she would never know about our relation to each other. Everypony else was none the wiser."

"Who did he work with?" Twilight asked her.

"Luxord." I told her.

"And Zexion." Roxas and Riku added at the same time.

"Right. Twilight has a truly pure heart, since I was created from the darkness inside it. Every time a bit of darkness accumulates in Twilight's heart, it becomes part of me and makes me even more powerful. If I wanted to, I could destroy you with next to no effort. Xemnas, Zexion, and Luxord sent me back in time to make Celestia think in the present that she had another student before you. I'm your Nobody, but I've existed longer than you. Just let all that sink in for a moment." She taunted, levitating what I assumed to be her weapon: a long red staff with two heads, one of them an axe blade, and the other a spear. The weapon seemed to radiate an unnerving aura.

Twilight crouched down, contemplating everything she had been told.

"No." She stated flatly, staring straight at the ground.

"No, what?" Sunset probed.

"I refuse to believe you. There is no way that even Xemnas could have manipulated Celestia's mind that much. She's simply too powerful. If I cannot be controlled, neither can she!" Twilight's body floated into the air, her eyes a blinding white. Her voice was unimaginably loud.

"I will not believe your lies! You cannot alter my mind, much less that of a Princess of Equestria! You will be punished for this!"

Her entire body flashed, revealing what I assumed was her Keyblade. Its guard consisted of a deep pink circular shape that almost seemed to sparkle in this unnatural light. Its shaft was what appeared to be a narrow bookshelf. Keeping in line with the Keyblade's book-based motif, its teeth were made from half of an open book. Naturally, the Keychain was a light pink star just like her cutie mark.

"Come near me, and you will die. Your sins will be attoned for!"

"You sure about that?"

Sunset flung her staff at Twilight, letting it slash at her a few times with its axe blade, then pulled it back and tried to attack her a few times with its spear head. Each of her attempts was denied by Twilight's Keyblade. I had already made quite a few observations on Sunset's role in the Organization. She was a master of disguise. She was fast, but far from deadly in combat. Her title matched her personality. The Spirit Breaker. She was sadistic and cruel, and clearly focused on destroying her opponents' will before actually hurting them physically. Their spirit would be broken, stripping them of their will to fight, then she would strike. But Twilight's will was too strong. Her logic overcame Sunset's expertly woven web of lies.

She was superior to her Nobody.

Twilight rushed forward, teleporting around Sunset and practically slicing her to ribbons. She reappeared in the air above her Nobody. Another Keyblade, this one identical to my Spellbinder appeared in her magic. Twilight dropped to the ground, creating a wave of purple energy and nearly destroying Sunset with it. However, she remained in existence, laying on the ground bruised and battered.

"Before I go, I want you to know the truth about me."

"Tell me!"

"Celestia's old student was named Sunset Shimmer, but I am not that Sunset. Xemnas trapped the old Sunset Shimmer inside that mirror world by replacing the one that belonged to Celestia with a normal mirror, then he created me with a sample of her soul. There is another Sunset Shimmer, I am no more than a copy of her created by the darkness in your heart. I am your Nobody, and at the same time, a simple replica, just like the old No. XIV, Xion. But there is one good thing in this."

"What? Tell me now!"

"D-Do you really think you can defeat me that easily?" Sunset croaked. "As long as there is darkness accumulating in your heart, I will still exist. I cannot be defeated. I am truly immortal."

"SILENCE, NOBODY!"

Twilight dropped her own Keyblade on Sunset's body, causing her to dissipate in a flurry of small Nobody sigils.

"You gotta be kidding me." Axel complained, dropping one of his chakrams and facepalming. "What is it with these No. XIII's always disappearing somehow? Then again, there's a reason why thirteen is an unlucky number."

"You do realize that you're next, right?" Rainbow Dash asked him dubiously.

"No, I'm not." He replied confidently. "I'm here to help you guys. I can help you take Xemnas down."

"I don't really trust you," Roxas said, dismissing his Keyblade, "but you're my best friend, so I can at least give you a chance."