A chill blew across the street. Sunset’s flame sputtered again. Their archenemy, the person they were training so hard to defeat, was here before them? He had a body? He had Apalla’s body?

Sunset tried to keep her breathing steady. For Tirek to appear right in front of them in broad daylight… This had to be a trap. Her eyes fixated on Tirek’s neckline. She could see the chain of a necklace hiding underneath his cloak.

“Dumb enough to show your face to us?” Rainbow asked. “Cool! That means we can finally kick your butt and move on with our lives!”

“Rainbow wait!” Sunset yelled, stopping Rainbow mid-lunge. “His Soul Lock!”

Tirek gave a dark chuckle. “Do not worry. I’m not going to take your souls. Not yet anyway. I have need of you for just a little longer.”

“We’re not playin’ your game anymore!” Applejack shouted. “You’re here now; why don’t we settle this?”

“Tsk. The people of this age lack patience. Though I suppose I am one to talk, as I find mine running thin as well.” He lifted a hand from his cloak and traced a finger around the outline of the Soul Lock hiding beneath. “We’ll all get what we want soon.”

Sunset clenched her teeth, resisting the urge to bombard him with fire. “Why are you here?”

Tirek smiled again. “Straight to the heart of the matter. Well, Sunset Shimmer, I would like the Rainbow of Light.”

Sunset heard each of her friends suck in a breath. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, drawing on her old instincts.

Tirek gave a short chuckle. “Do not lie to me, child. I know you have it, or at the very least, you know of its existence.”

He shook his head, and his smile turned into a disgusted sneer. “In every age I walked, there were misguided fools on a crusade from the gods to stop me. Djinn and shamen. Wizards and knights. And now, ‘superheroes’. All of them wielding the Rainbow of Light to undo my work.

“You are merely the next instruments the gods will use to stop me.” He clenched his fist. “You and the accursed kin of Megan. It seemed obvious that you were their latest pawns, but your shows of so-called ‘heroism’ were so meager, that I found myself unconvinced. You wasted my time using these paltry powers, instead of revealing the rainbow to me. And so I had to escalate things ever greater, hoping you would show me what I knew you possessed.”

He locked eyes with Sunset. Sunset narrowed her own. Something clicked in her mind and she gasped.

“All the monsters we’ve been fighting this summer! They were from you! I thought Tempest was trying to get us to generate magic, but you were trying to see if we would use the Rainbow of Light!”

“I believe you call it, ‘killing two birds with one stone.’” Tirek stroked his bare chin. “I thought, surely a rampaging monster of Adagio’s caliber would get them to use it. Only to hear that you can’t. But you do have it.”

Sunset’s eyes flickered in Rainbow’s direction. Her jaw was tight and her cheeks were a burning red.

Tirek folded his arms behind his back. “So, as you cannot use it for whatever reason, I would ask that you hand it over.”

“Even if we did have it, why the hell would we hand it to you?” Sunset asked.

“Because I am trying to help this world!” Tirek bellowed. He held out his arms. “Created by careless gods who saw us as nothing more than playthings; they abandoned this place when they grew bored! During their rule, they allowed corruption to spread and disease to fester! No matter how pious one was, it was on the gods’ whims if they would help or not.”

Tirek lowered his arms and spat on the pavement. “And now, without them, humanity is worse. More corruption, more war, and worst of all, cut off from magic! We’ve been denied our true potential!”

He took a deep breath and folded his arms behind his back again. “So you see, I would use a tool like the Rainbow of Light against the true villains of the world: the gods that ignored and abandoned us. And in their place, become a new god that would usher in a golden age for humanity. But if it is truly inaccessible, then I would remove it from play so it can’t be used to stop my mission.”

Sunset threw her head back and laughed. “Okay, I get it now. I understand your whole deal.” She leveled a hand at him, flames burning brighter.

“You’re insane,” she finished flatly.

Tirek snorted in disgust. “I wouldn’t have expected you children to understand. Not with your minds tainted by Megan’s ilk.”

“No, we understand,” Pinkie said, shaking her head. “You’re just cuckoo for Coco Puffs.”

“Enough of this.” Tirek extended a hand toward Sunset. “This is the last time I’ll ask with civility. Give me the Rainbow of Light.”

Sunset widened her stance, fire dancing in her palms. “No.”

A shadow crossed over Tirek’s eyes. “You children clearly don’t value your lives or your souls if you think challenging me is wise.”

Applejack put her fists up. “We’d rather fight than give up the best weapon to put you down.”

Tirek raised his other hand, sparks of magic coalescing at his fingertips. “If you spurn my mercy then be forewarned: when I take your souls, I will mangle your bodies. So that when my new world comes and I release all those who aided me on this path, your souls will have nothing to go back to.”

Even with her attention focused on Tirek, Sunset felt the tension enveloping her friends tighten to a chokehold. She could also feel their unyielding resolve. Yet her own faltered. They were facing Tirek, a millennia-old warlock, possessing Apalla’s body, a witch who had to be comparable to Artemis. And a single misstep would cost them their souls.

“Wait!” Sunset shouted. She threw an out, signaling her friends to stay back. “I challenge you to a magic duel!”

“What?” Rainbow shouted. “Sunset, have you lost it?”

“Sunset, you can’t!” Rarity protested.

Sunset ignored them. “Just you and me. If you win, I’ll tell you where the Rainbow of Light is. But if I win, you go straight to hell.”

Tirek threw his head back and laughed with a sinister enthusiasm. “I have seen your soul, Sunset Shimmer, felt its radiance inside my lock. You are clever, determined, and yes, you have power worthy of consideration. But you are not a fool. We both know you cannot defeat me.”

“Yeah, seriously!” Rainbow said, flying closer to Sunset. “Not by yourself!”

Sunset kept her eyes forward. “I might surprise you.”

Tirek laughed again. “You’re certainly welcome to try. I accept your challenge, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset started forward, but Rainbow grabbed her arm. There was a rare look of genuine panic on her face. “Please tell me you know what you’re doing.”

“Of course I do,” Sunset said, forcing a smile. She slipped out of Rainbow’s grasp and walked forward.

With a sweep of his arm, Tirek erected another circle of black fire around them, trapping them in an arena that took up the entirety of the road. He rolled up the sleeves of his cloak but otherwise left it alone.

“And just so we’re clear, no soul sucking during the fight either,” Sunset said, taking a fighting stance.

“Oh, but of course not. Not that I’ll need it anyway.” Tirek flashed her a savage smile.

Sunset took a deep breath. It was a gamble with near-impossible odds, but there was still a chance. And this way, if she failed, her friends wouldn’t pay the price.

“Begin!” Tirek clenched a fist and thrust it skyward.

Sunset had a split second to jump sideways before a spear of earth and cement erupted from the earth and nearly impaled her. Two more broke from the ground, and Sunset propelled herself into the air, the fiery boundary of the arena rising with her. She threw her palms out and blasted a flurry of fireballs down at Tirek.

Tirek raised both arms overhead, and a funnel of wind enveloped him. The fireballs hit the wind tunnel and merged into it, creating a tornado of fire. Sunset halted her attack and watched Tirek reappear above the twister. With a flick of his fingers, it moved toward Sunset.

With a growl, Sunset flew right toward it at top speed. She broke through the funnel, feeling a sharp increase in temperature but little else. She launched up to a smirking Tirek and aimed a fist at his face.

Tirek blocked it with the outside of his arm and deflected all of Sunset’s follow-up punches and kicks. Sunset pushed back and aimed a fireball directly at his chest, but Tirek caught her arm and, with shocking strength, reeled her up before flinging her down to the ground.

She slammed into the cement, aching despite the protection her magic aura gave her. Gasping in pain and powers flickering for a moment, Sunset pushed herself onto her elbows and saw the fire tornado heading in her direction again. She forced herself to her feet, extended her arms, then yanked them back in. The fire rushed toward her, bathing her in its warmth as it spiraled like ribbons up her arms and around her torso.

Sunset took the rest of the fire and condensed it into a single sphere. She hurled it at Tirek, still floating in the air. As it approached, Sunset saw him ready his hands. She made a quick separating motion with her hands, and the fireball split in two before Sunset clapped her hands together and brought the flaming sphere back together with Tirek in the center.

Tirek, who had shot a spell forward, couldn’t move before the fire collapsed on him. Sunset clenched her fist to make it detonate, but instead of an explosion of fire, the flames flash froze into a sphere of ice.

“Come on!” Sunset opened her palm and took aim.

Sections of the surface of the ice ball melted into rippling water. Spouts erupted and turned into tendrils as they twisted down to Sunset. She blasted one of them, creating a spray of steam, but the watery tendril enveloped her arm and held fast. Another ensnared her leg, and the two pulled in opposite directions.

Sunset grit her teeth as her bones popped and tendons stretched. Another tendril reached down for her free arm. Sunset concentrated as much heat into her hand before the water reached her. Upon contact, it fizzled into vapor, and Sunset chopped a wave of fire at the water rope holding her leg. It burst into steam, freeing half of her body, but the one holding her by the arm then flung her into the wall of fire blocking them from the rest of the city.

The fire didn’t burn; it was like Sunset had hit a warm floor. Sharp, prickling pains erupted just beneath her skin. But Sunset didn’t scream or flail. She lay on the ground, powers fading, fog clouding her thoughts and dimming her vision. Despair dug its thick talons into her heart.

I can’t win, Sunset thought. The world is doomed. I’m sorry, girls. I’m sorry, Twilight.

“Sunset, get up!”

Through lidded eyes, she could see her friends just beyond the black flames. They screamed her name again, and a jolt of vitality struck Sunset. Despair’s grip slackened, and the fog cleared from her head.

Sunset pushed herself up onto shaky feet. “Not done yet,” she said, fire flickering back to life.

The sphere of ice and water above her shattered with an echoing crack. Tirek emerged and immediately fired a volley of crackling dark arrows down at Sunset.

With a few quick hops and twirls, Sunset dodged the initial onslaught before propelling herself into the air. She sped straight for Tirek, drawing her fist back to strike. Tirek merely smirked with superiority, raising his hand for another spell.

At the last moment, Sunset banked to the right and instead of coming in direct contact, shot past Tirek, her fiery wing cutting through his torso.

Tirek roared in pain as Sunset banked and came around for another pass. She crashed into a barrier and rolled head over heels backward. She extended her wings to catch and right herself, only for thin fingers to close around her throat.

“My amusement has run thin, girl,” Tirek growled. He tightened his grip and flung Sunset to the ground.

This time, Sunset caught herself before she hit the pavement, using her wings to come to a soft landing. She took a deep breath and massaged her throat. Above her, Tirek looked about the broken street. His eyes landed on one of the glass office buildings. With an upward strike of his hand, a black tear erupted up the front of the building, shattering the glass.

Tirek swirled his hand above his head, and the glass swirled with him, becoming a glittering tempest above the street. With a downward strike, the glass rained upon Sunset.

Sunset threw both her arms up, a pillar of fire rising with them and surrounding her completely. Hot shards of glass broke through and sliced into Sunset’s arms and legs. She cried out but increased the heat of her flames, shattering or melting a majority of the glass assaulting her.

Glittering dust cut her cheek and she winced, losing concentration and letting in more shrapnel. Her face, her stomach, her shoulders, every part of her was nicked and sliced, and with every cut, her concentration faltered further.

Sunset fell to one knee, gasping as the pain accumulated. She gave one final gout of intense heat before her fire extinguished itself and she collapsed onto her hands.

The few remaining pieces of glass dropped to the ground around her with soft tinkles. A cold wind scattered them away as Tirek descended in front of Sunset. She forced herself to look up and glare at him.

“Yield, Sunset Shimmer.”

The burning rebellion inside Sunset screamed at her to refuse. She looked at her arms, thin streams of blood running down them. She turned her gaze to her friends, looking on with concern and fear. She wanted to keep fighting. And if she was on her own, she would have. But if she went down, Tirek would just move on to the rest of her friends.

Survive.

Through clenched teeth, Sunset said, “Fine. I yield.”

Tirek made a throaty chuckle. “A wise decision.” He stepped closer and leaned down.

“Now, tell me everything about the Rainbow of Light.”

“Sunset, you can’t!” Applejack yelled.

I don’t have a choice. I’m so sorry, Artemis. Sunset closed her eyes. “Artemis has it. It needs six keys to open. We only have five. And no, we don’t know how we got them. They just appear when they’re ready.”

When she opened her eyes, Tirek had a sinister smile that did not belong on Apalla’s face. “Of course Artemis has it. I could have guessed, but one can never be too sure. As for these keys, well, all the more reason to keep you around for now.”

Triek gave an exaggerated bow. “My thanks, Sunset Shimmer. I hope you find that key soon. I’ll be back to collect it and your souls in due time.”

In a flash, he and the black flames were gone.

The girls rushed over to Sunset, Fluttershy quickly putting her hands on Sunset’s back. A healing wave washed over Sunset, closing her wounds and easing her physical exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” Rarity asked, kneeling next to Sunset.

Sunset shook her head.

“Why?” Rainbow asked, concern eclipsing her anger. “Why did you do it?”

“If we all tried to fight, he’d still win. And he’d take some of our souls with him. We were gonna lose no matter what. I just wanted to control how we did it.”

She staggered to her feet. “We have to get to the Lulamoons. Tirek will probably strike now when he thinks he has the advantage.”

Rainbow punched her fist into her open palm. “Then let’s get go—crap!”

In another flash of light, Adagio and her siren avatar appeared in the middle of the street again. High above their heads, she let out a scream of frustration.

“Damn that witch for interfering!” Adagio looked down and despite a vein bulging in her neck, she gave them a predatory smile. “You! You’re all still here! Good; I wasn’t finished yet!”

“You can’t be serious!” Pinkie cried.

Adagio threw herself into the air, dodging Rainbow’s initial attack, then erecting a barrier around herself to repel all of the follow-ups.

“Maybe you’re right: I can’t beat you on my own! So let’s even the odds!” She raised the Sacanas shard in her palm and vanished in a red light. Her avatar, however, remained behind. It opened its mouth.

“Aaah aaah ah. Aaah ah.”

The melody descended upon them, drifting on the air currents blowing through the streets of the city. Magnified by the hippocampus. Sunset looked up to find its source, but couldn’t spot Adagio anywhere. She turned her attention back to the beast and lobbed a fireball at it. It winced and writhed, but continued to sing.

The song played all around them, and the police force, previously hunched with tension now stood upright in a hypnotic trance.

The music stopped, but Adagio spoke, her voice coming from her avatar. “Can you really trust these girls to protect you? They’re hiding their faces behind masks and call each other little codenames to protect their identity. Look at all the destruction they’ve caused! The people they’re trying to hurt! I’m trying to stop them! And you should too, by any means necessary!”

Sunset’s fiery hair and wings flared. “You lying—”

She had never heard a gun go off before, outside of movies. Firearms smaller than airship cannons were a foreign concept when Sunset arrived in this world. It was far louder than she had expected and made her jump ten feet into the air and her breath catch in her throat. That two more shots followed in close succession didn’t help either. Two car windows exploded and there was a loud plink as a bullet pierced a lamppost.

“Holy shit!” Sunset yelled.

Rarity threw her arms out wide and brought up a dome of crystal around the group. The police were smart enough to stop shooting, but a few officers in riot gear made their way to the front and banged the butts of their guns against the barrier.

Sunset beat a palm against her heart to calm it down. It surged again when a dense ball of magic crashed against the top of the forcefield. Adagio’s laugh echoed from on high.

“Let’s see how you like being helpless and imprisoned!” She fired another blast, and Rarity flinched from the impact.

“Sunset, what do we do?” Applejack asked, hesitant fists raised.

“Uhh…” Another blast hit the dome. Sunset switched to her ponied-up form and laid a hand on Rarity’s back. The barrier solidified with an extra sheen, and Rarity stood up straighter and more vigilant. But Sunset knew that would only last a few minutes, and she couldn’t keep doing it.

A swath of officers moved aside, and two heavy-set men walked over from the armored truck, each carrying a battering ram. One moved to the other side of the prism, and they both began to hammer away.

Bam!

Rarity held firm, looking confident, but Sunset was all tension. They couldn’t fight the police, especially when they were already surrounded. She looked at the guns trained on them and the siren hovering in the sky.

Bam!

Sweat gathered on her forehead. She needed a plan. Her friends were looking to her for a plan. They couldn’t lose to Tirek and Adagio!

Bam!

“Sunset?” Rainbow’s voice lacked any of her usual confidence. Her eyes were on the fresh reinforcements of police vans and armored trucks.

Bam!

Sunset’s mind raced through scenarios, but they never got further than a twitching finger gunning down one of them when Rarity lowered her shield. No matter how fast Rainbow was or how strong Applejack. And if the officers did miss or show mercy, Adagio wouldn’t.

Harshwhinny raised her bullhorn again, now speaking from the back of the mob. “We will give you one chance to come quietly! Put your hands behind your head and surrender!”

The girls all turned and looked to Sunset. She had to make the call again; choose the best path for survival. If this was their only way out without dying, Sunset had to take it. She clenched her fist until her hand cramped. Twilight, Starlight, Tirek, Adagio. Nothing seemed to be going the way it should.

“This is your last chance! We will break through this barrier, and you will be subdued by any means necessary!” Harshwhinny barked. Green mist swirled in her eyes.

“Fine!” Sunset yelled. “We surrender! We’ll come quietly.”

“Sunset, you can’t be serious!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“We’re not fighting our way out of this!” Sunset gestured to the fifty-odd officers with varying levels of firearms, and the siren circling above them. “And I don’t think help is coming.”

“I… but we… we can…” Rainbow made a few wild gestures with her arms to emphasize the plan she didn’t have before they flopped to her sides. “We lost?”

“For now,” Sunset said, trying to reassure herself more than the others. “Just for now. We’ll find a way out of this.”

Five pairs of uneasy eyes melted what little confidence she had. Still, they all nodded and complied, putting their hands up and powering down one by one. Rarity took a deep breath and let the barrier fall.

Sunset flinched at the chorus of dozens of guns being cocked, but no shots rang out. The police troopers advanced on them from every side while Adagio laughed maniacally overhead.

“Take them far away! Lock them somewhere until they starve to death! Make sure they never see the light of day again!”

Her thralls obeyed, one officer roughly grabbing Sunset’s arms and forcing them behind her back before cuffing her.

“I’m sorry, girls,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

“It’s okay, dear,” Rarity said as they were marched toward the armored trucks. “Like you said, we’ll find a way out of this. Somehow.”

But as Adagio’s laugh boomed throughout the city, Sunset’s hope in her own words faded. She had spared her friends' lives but at what cost? She had sold the Lulamoons out to Tirek, gotten her friends arrested, and couldn’t stop Adagio. There was no backup this time. She had failed as a leader.

Sunset bowed her head, shoulders shaking as she held back a sob. “I’m so sorry.”

*******

Artemis drew a circle in the air with his wand. Inside it, he drew a sigil and capped it off with two more circles on either side of the first. With a flick of his wrist, the rune flew forward and pressed itself against the surface of the forcefield surrounding the entire Lulamoon home.

Beside him, Trixie copied his hand motions, drawing a shakier but still viable rune as well. It hovered forward and stuck itself just below Artemis’.

“One dispel rune alone is already very potent,” Artemis said, confidence rising over the frustration of the last half-hour, “so two should definitely be able to break this! On the count of three, Trixie!”

Trixie readied her wand and nodded.

“One, two, three, Lulamoon!”

In synch, they both thrust their hands forward, and the dual sigils glowed a bright blue against the black-tinted bubble. More symbols spiderwebbed out from the first two, weaving across the forcefield and bathing the lawn in blue light. The forcefield rumbled and Artemis heard cracks…

The sigils immediately disappeared and the blue light faded, leaving everyone in tinted shadows again.

“What?” Artemis yelled. “How? That’s one of my strongest spells!”

Selena ran up and slashed at the barrier with her longsword. Instead of being thrown back like she had the first time she tried, the barrier wobbled like gelatin. “It’s weakened though. If you try again, maybe we can break through.”

Artemis grunted in bitter agreement. He knew he was getting older, but his magic wasn’t that hindered yet. No, someone exceptionally powerful put this shield up. His only suspect was Tempest, and if she had gotten this much stronger since the last time they fought…

He shuddered and raised his wand. Problems for later. They needed to break out of this confinement and get to the city. He drew another circle in the air, and the bubble snapped out of existence, forcing Artemis to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight.

The glare faded, but he knew his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw not only Tempest but Apalla standing on the sidewalk in front of the house. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but Apalla was still standing there, arms folded behind her back. Artemis looked to Selena. Her pale face and wide-eyed shock confirmed he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Alli?” he asked, throat constricting.

Apalla placed a hand over her heart. “Aw, how precious. You have a nickname for your sister,” she said with a simper. “You know, a long, long time ago, I used to have a nickname for my brother. Then the gods decided to grant him an early and unjust death.”

It was as if an Arctic wind stripped Artemis of all his breath. His wand dropped from his trembling hands and he clutched his chest. “You… you… what are you… but you’re not… she’s supposed to be…”

Tempest chuckled darkly. “It was rather touching, you throwing a funeral and everything for her. But the truth is, Night Shade and little Moondancer kept Apalla’s body perfectly preserved, hoping that someday, we would give her soul back. And if Moondancer keeps cooperating, we might still grant that request.”

She gave a sinister, full-toothed smile. “But right now, you stand in the presence of Lord Tirek!”

Tirek. Artemis hunched forward. Tirek is out… and he’s using Apalla.

“You monster!” Selena shouted, tears falling down her face. “Get out of her body this instant!”

If he’s using her… then I can’t fight her. I can’t fight my sister.

Tirek pursed his lips. “Rest assured, I would be all too happy to remove myself from one that carries Megan’s blood. But my own body is not quite ready yet.”

I thought her body was buried. But if we can get her soul back and push Tirek out…

Selena brandished her sword. “Then return to hell where you belong!”

Tirek simply smiled. “You wizards are the same in every generation: brash and belligerent. You don’t even know why I’m here.”

“You got tired of hiding and want us to kick your butt!” Trixie said, pointing her wand at Tirek.

“Silence your whelp, Artemis, lest she end up like your sister.”

Artemis snapped his head up. He stared at his sister—no, Tirek—and clenched his fists, the bitter cold replaced with boiling magma. “Hurry up and get back in your own body so I can send you to kingdom come!”

“Hmph, of course the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” Tirek shook his head. “I am just as eager to get rid you you as you are of me. But, I need you to do me one small favor first.”

Trixie stuck her tongue out. “We would never help you!”

Tirek flung his hand out at Trixie, and a burst of black fire erupted from his fingertips. Trixie drew a circle in front of her lightning quick and produced a quick shield to take the blast. The impact was still strong enough to knock her off her feet and throw her back onto the porch.

Artemis bellowed and grabbed his wand on the grass. As he lifted it, tendrils of grass rose and coiled around his arm, bringing him back down and embedding his wand hand in the lawn.

Selena rushed at Tirek in Artemis’ place. Tempest leaped forward, pulling a shadowy sword from nothing and clashing with Selena’s blade. They exchanged a flurry of attacks, dancing off the front lawn and into the driveway.

Tirek looked on in amusement for a moment before striding over to a kneeling Artemis. “Your family has an unnecessary need to escalate affairs that could otherwise be rather simple.”

“There’s nothing simple about you conquering the world!” Artemis spat.

“Liberating.”

“What every tyrant says to justify their campaign.”

Tirek sighed. “Ignorant as always. This is a waste of breath, but I’ll ask regardless. Where is the Rainbow of Light?”

“Unfortunately, we lost it ages ago,” Artemis said between gritted teeth.

“I’d be inclined to believe that if your friend Sunset Shimmer hadn’t already told me you have it.”

Artemis went rigid, heart stopping for a moment before anger pulled magic into his free hand and sparks danced on his fingertips. “What did you do to her?”

“She’s unharmed, though currently occupied with one Adagio Dazzle,” Tirek said, curling his lips into a smile. “I spared her soul as thanks for the information.”

Charged with magic, Artemis threw his free hand up. Tirek grabbed his wrist and leaned out of the way of the fireball. Artemis tried to wrest his other hand free, but not only were the grass tendrils too tight, Tirek dug his heel down where Artemis’ wrist rested.

Tirek loomed over him. “Give me the Rainbow of Light.”

“I would rather die.”

“You will in due time.” Tirek tightened his grip, black flame igniting over his hand, and a searing pain shot through Artemis’ wrist and down his arm. “But not before I get what I want and you beg for death.”

“Unhand my father!” Trixie’s voice said in stereo.

Looking up, Artemis saw three Trixies flanking him and Tirek, wands at the ready. With an annoyed growl, Tirek fired a bolt of magic from his free hand at the Trixie on his left. It passed right through her, and the one directly behind him unleashed a line of steel cable that wrapped around his arm and connected to the tip of her wand.

Trixie yanked Tirek away from Artemis, and Artemis felt the grass loosen around his entombed arm. He wrenched it free and before Tirek could use his other hand to strike Trixie, Artemis copied his daughter’s spell and coiled cable around Tirek’s right arm.

The two Lulamoons pulled in opposite directions, but Tirek yanked back, grabbing each cable with the opposite hand and shooting fire up their length. Trixie and Artemis detached their coils and jumped back when the tendrils of fire reared up and struck like snakes.

Artemis danced back and pointed his wand at a sprinkler. The cap popped off and a jet of water streamed out to douse the fiery cables. With the water flowing onto them, Artemis snapped his fingers and the jetstream froze, immobilizing the rope.

A light cheer and a smatter of applause drew Artemis’ attention across the street, where a small collection of their neighbors looked on. They cheered again at the sight of Selena and Tempest moving their duel to the middle of the street, Selena delivering a lightning-fast parry and riposte to her opponent.

“Why the tense look?” Tirek asked, raising a hand. “You love having an audience, don’t you?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Artemis warned.

Tirek tilted his head toward the pedestrians, a malicious smile on his stolen face. “Only if you don’t force my hand. Though speaking of hypothetical hostages, I would like to remind you of your little niece.”

A vein bulged on the side of Artemis’ neck. “Leave her out of this!” He readied a new spell at the tip of his wand. He didn’t want to hurt Apalla, but he refused to let Tirek take Moondancer’s soul too.

The roar of an engine stopped Artemis before he made a move. Selena dove out of the way of a pink compact car, leaving Tempest to get slammed and caught on the front bumper. The car jumped the curb and crashed into Tirek as it screeched to a halt, sending both its victims flying two yards over. The gathered crowd screamed and fled in terror, finally catching on that this was not a show.

Shimmer stepped out of the car, laptop under one arm. “Real glad I took the surface roads now. Never would have made it here otherwise.”

Over on the lawn, Tempest and Tirek were already getting back on their feet, looking more annoyed than anything else.

“Dammit, she’s still alive!” Shimmer cursed.

Tempest rolled her shoulder and shot Shimmer an annoyed look. “So this is where you’ve been hiding? I’m surprised they took someone like you in.”

Tirek gave Shimmer a quizzical head tilt. “How did you get back so quickly?”

“My lord, that’s this world’s Sunset Shimmer. She’s deadweight,” Tempest said with a dismissive handwave.

Shimmer tossed the laptop into the grass and raised her fists. “Come over here and I’ll show you who’s ‘deadweight’.”

“No thanks.” Tempest moved to the side as Tirek fired a massive bolt of magic.

Artemis jumped over and cast a quick shield to negate it, but just behind the dissipating blast was Tempest. She delivered a roundhouse kick to Artemis, knocking him sideways into the car.

Shimmer jumped in and traded a quick series of flurry of jabs and blocks with Tempest until the commander struck like a viper and grabbed Shimmer by the throat. She hoisted and tossed Shimmer over her shoulder where she landed at Tirek’s feet.

As she scrambled up, Tirek reached into his coat, and Artemis watched as a quick flash of light danced across his vision.

Shimmer’s body slackened. “The laptop… for… Sunse…”

The spark of life faded from her lidded eyes. She dropped to her knees, then fell face-forward into the grass.

“No!” Trixie screamed.

Artemis jumped back to his feet. “Tirek, you monster! Release her!”

“She can have her body back when I rule this world,” Tirek said, stowing the Soul Lock back within the confines of his robes. “Now, surrender the Rainbow of Light, or the next soul I take will be Moondancer’s.”

Trixie raised her wand over her head, a spell charged at its tip. “Not if we stop you here and now!”

Tirek looked at her, unbothered. “You’re certainly welcome to test that idea. Let’s see who’s faster: your magic or mine. But if I get away, Moondancer’s soul is forfeit. I’m sure her mother will be very understanding.”

Trixie’s hand stayed aloft, but Artemis saw it begin to tremble. He tightened his grip on his own wand. Was he about to gamble Moondancer’s safety? He looked down at Shimmer’s soulless body. He had already failed to save one person today. His fondness of Shimmer wasn’t high, but Sunset cared about her. Now, he had to tell her of his failure.

All Tirek had to do was teleport. Artemis couldn’t outspeed that. And even if he could stop, the only way to permanently stop Tirek was to…

Kill my sister.

Artemis’ mouth turned into a salt flat, and he gagged at the idea. He knew it was what Apalla would have wanted. But standing before her, looking into her eyes, hearing her voice even if it was all in possession of Tirek… How could he put down his own twin sister?

“Fine,” Artemis croaked. He lowered his wand. “You win.”

Slowly, he reached up and pulled his hat off his head. Reaching in, he rummaged around until he felt the cool, smooth surface of the chest and lifted it out, keys still locked in their slots.

Tirek held his hand out, and the chest floated from Artemis’ grasp to his. He looked it over, the corner of his mouth raised in dull amusement. “So, this was Merlin’s plan? Lock away magic, lock away the Rainbow until only the chosen and worthy could use it? Typical magician.” The chest disappeared in a burst of dark flame.

“It’s funny what sentimentality can do to us,” Tirek said, flickers of flames still dancing on his fingertips. “Protecting your niece, even though she’s a traitor. I am a man of my word though: I will not harm her. You, however…”

He generated a black sphere in his palm.

“Die here.”

Tempest forward and slashed at Artemis with a reformed blade. Artemis ducked and spun out of the way, Selena quickly taking his place.

Tirek unleashed his stream of fire. Artemis threw up a wide shield, the flames ricocheting off in every direction. Tirek’s calm demeanor made it look like he was putting in little effort, but the force of the flames left Artemis straining to keep them at bay.

“Trixie, grab Shimmer and the laptop and go to the island!” Artemis demanded.

“But—”

“We’ll be right behind you! Go!”

Trixie bit her lip but nodded. She pointed her wand at the folded laptop sitting on the lawn, a foot away from being crushed by Tempest and Selena’s renewed dual, and drew it to her. Clutching it in her arms, she took a deep breath and vanished from the porch.

She reappeared again next to Shimmer’s unmoving frame. Trixie put a hand on Shimmer’s back, spat at Tirek’s feet, then vanished again.

Tirek ceased his flames. He raised both arms and the ground quivered, cracks splintering in the road behind him. A chunk of the street tore up from the earth, and Tirek hurled it at Artemis.

Artemis swiped his wand through the air, and the entire boulder turned into a collection of large bubbles. With another twirl, the bubbles turned into overly large doves that split into two flocks. One turned around and divebombed Tirek while the other flew over and harassed Tempest.

Tirek shot a bolt of lightning from his finger, reducing one dove to feathers while another landed on his shoulders and pecked his head. Tempest disengaged from Selena to slash at the birds, turning them back to bubbles whenever she cut one through.

Artemis sprinted over, grabbed Selena by the arm, and twisted the world around them. They drifted through nothing for one second, saw a thicket of trees another, then fell backward onto a rollercoaster that shot them forward through a tunnel of color and sound.

They both hit the sand, sliding forward and kicking up a cloud of dust. Artemis lay there, eyes closed. Everything played back in his mind. He couldn’t sort through it. All he could think was, what have I done?

“Mom, Dad!”

Artemis raised his head. Trixie came out from beneath the shadow of a tree. Shimmer sat slumped against its base, expression vacant.

Trixie wrapped her arms around Artemis, then shared an embrace with Selena. “I’m glad you’re both okay.”

Artemis opened his mouth to speak some of his usual bravado. Of course they were okay; they were the Lulamoons! It would take more than measly Tirek to stop them! But the words died before they even reached his throat.

Artemis looked up at the pinkening sky overhead. They weren’t okay. They were far from okay. He may have single-handedly doomed the world.

“What do we do now?” Trixie asked, helping her mother to her feet.

Artemis didn’t answer. He got up too, leaving his wand on the ground, and walked to the shoreline. The sea was glassy and blue. Waves quietly brushed against the shore in a slow, rhythmic trance.

His family joined him on either side. Trixie took one hand and Selena took the other. No one had anything left to say. They all stared out at the sun setting on the horizon, listening to the waves lapping against the shore.

Author's Note

Alternate Chapter Title: It's Brawl in the Family

The Volume IV Finale begins Friday, August 23, and will continue through the weekend.

Welcome to the beginning of the end.