Spectacular Seven

Twilight was gone.

Sunset knew. She could feel her friends. She could feel Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. The Lulamoons. Even Shimmer, though she was faint. She could feel the tethers to their souls. They were all a part of her, anchoring her own soul, making her whole.

She couldn’t feel Twilight.

She was only aware of these tethers because she couldn’t feel Twilight. The bonds to her friends had been natural, ever-present. Twilight’s sudden absence was comparable to losing a limb; it had been such a part of Sunset, she couldn’t comprehend it being gone until it was.

She pushed herself up onto her knees and looked at the spot where the portal had been. Nothing. Sunset could still feel Twilight’s grip in her own. Her last expression of confusion and terror was burned into Sunset’s mind so that when she finally blinked, it was clear as day on the back of her eyelids.

Twilight was gone. Her soul was gone.

Even still, despite the growing, splintering pain in her soul, despite the space that Twilight had just occupied remaining empty, Sunset spoke out in a quivering, scratchy voice.

“Twilight?”

No response came.

She vaguely heard actions behind her, but none of them sounded like Twilight. Her mind discarded it, splitting into two layers. The top layer moved at a sluggish pace, replaying the last minute of her life over and over again, looking for a hint that would disprove the reality that Twilight had just been pulled into a collapsing void. The bottom layer moved at rampant speeds trying to decide her next course of action. Did she cry? Did she scream? Did she fight? Did she just run?

The two layers mashed together, and short-circuited her brain, forcing her to repeat her last action.

“Twilight!” she called again, a little louder this time.

Twilight did not answer her.

Weak sparks jumped between her synapses, urging her to do something. But she didn’t know what. And Sunset felt that if she moved, she would break. Not just her person, she would break this moment in time. If she made a physical action, it would push time forward and solidify Twilight being ripped from her. But if she stayed still, there was a chance things could be undone; she could call Twilight back.

She had to call Twilight back.

“Twilight!” she yelled.

But time moved forward. And Twilight did not return.

Sunset broke from her frozen position, desperately grabbing her chest like she could hold in the grief fighting to explode outward. She tried to breathe, but someone had stolen most of the oxygen from the room. She doubled over, trying to suck in what air she could, when she saw Twilight’s glasses upturned on the ground. Her hand went for them instinctually. They were warm.

A weak sob escaped from Sunset as she pressed the glasses to her chest. “Twilight…”

Her ears attuned to the world around her. She picked up muffled crying just behind her, and turned to find Moondancer on her knees, face pressed into the floor, hands gripping the back of her head as she sobbed. “No… no, no…”

Starlight stood next to the ruined remains of a machine, wearing a defeated expression. “My portal… my protege.”

Applejack held the two scientists by the back of their coats, staring at the spot where Twilight had been, grief and disbelief in her eyes. The rest of the girls stood crowded around the door, their pony features absent.

Sunset absently placed Twilight’s glasses in one of her vest pockets. She got to her feet, staggering backward and forward as her world tilted to and fro. Her foot nudged a glowing circular device, and she stooped down to pick it up.

Magic prickled her fingers as she held it. Equestrian magic. This device had touched the statue. This was the culprit. Sunset’s grip tightened, the urge to crush it rising.

“Aaaaugh!”

Every head turned to the source of the scream. Starlight stomped her foot several times and threw her shaking fists down. “We had it! I had it! We were this close! Now, my most brilliant worker is gone!”

“Bring her back!” Sunset screeched. The dam was breaking; every emotion threatened to pour out at once.

Starlight glared at her. “You think I wouldn’t if I could? Look at our machine! And I don’t even know what went wrong! It could take weeks to make another attempt!”

“I don’t want your excuses!” Sunset’s hair snapped like a fire trying to rekindle itself. “Give me back my Twilight!”

“I can’t!” Starlight slammed the side of her fist into the broken portal machine. “And you’re in no position to make demands of me, Sunset Shimmer! You’ve broken into my laboratory!”

“And you sent my girlfriend into oblivion!” Sunset’s eyes were wide with fury. She slipped the circular device into her other vest pocket and stepped closer to Starlight.

Starlight clenched her jaw and looked away. “And that is a terrible, terrible loss. Twilight was the most brilliant asset I had.”

Sunset froze mid-stride. Her throat convulsed as her vocal cords worked overtime to form a word. “Asset?” she choked out.

Starlight snapped her head back, eyes wide with guilt. “No, I didn’t mean—”

“Asset!” From deep inside Sunset’s soul, a blistering heat sparked. Whatever exhaustion that portal had inflicted on her burned away. Her blood boiled, possibly, quite literally as her internal temperature rose like she had swallowed fire.

“She was smart, considerate, compassionate!” Sunset seethed. She dug her nails into her chest again. The dam was on its last legs. “She saw the best part of me when I couldn’t! I loved her! I loved her so much! And you took her away!”

Starlight took a backstep toward the door. “I did no such thing! Twilight did everything of her own volition! She knew the risks involved. It’s deeply regrettable, and if there were a way to get her back, I would do it.” She tapped a finger against her chin.

“Perhaps if we worked together, we could bring her back? Surely, you have a similar understanding of magic as she did. Perhaps even better. We could make a new portal and rescue Twilight in due time.” Starlight paused to think. “If she’s still alive, that is.”

The dam broke, and Sunset yelled, the pitch rising until it sounded like a bird of prey. Her wings and tail roared back to life, blazing like a wildfire. Her hair was a dancing pyre atop her head. But instead of their usual orange and yellow glow, the fire blazing off Sunset was a molten red and hot enough that she could feel the spike in temperature. She didn’t care. Steam curled up from her eyes, her stream of tears evaporating the second they fell free.

Moondancer finally looked up from her kowtowed position and scrambled back to the wall with a yelp, hand over her mask. Sunset ignored her. She had only one target.

“You’re right, Starlight; my soul is fragile,” Sunset said her voice crackling like a bonfire. “And you found the one thing that could hurt me the most. Now, you’re going to reap the consequences.”

******

“You know once we go down there, it’s going to turn out just like Greece.”

Artemis didn’t respond immediately to his wife. He kept his wand up to his eye, using it as a telescope to see the ground floor from the abandoned high-rise his family occupied.

In the time that had elapsed between Sunset and her friends being arrested and the Lulamoons returning to the city, Adagio had made herself a queen in all but name. She lounged on a red velvet loveseat carried by four civilian thralls, eyes green and empty. A group of police officers acted as the procession as Adagio was paraded down Main Street.

She occasionally sang a few hypnotic notes, usually when any unenchanted officer or civilian got too close—that was to say—within a half-block radius. Adagio’s siren form circled above, amplifying Adagio’s voice and occasionally firing a beam of magic. Never to kill, at least. Adagio aimed at buildings or at the feet of fleeing groups of people. All of it was just so she could keep feeding off the city’s fear.

“I am well aware, turtle dove,” Artemis said, looking at the scene with disgust. On one hand, Artemis didn’t think it would be that bad. This time, there was only one Siren and three of them. On the other hand, this one Siren had more power than the other two ever did, and already had an armed guard surrounding her.

The second they made their move, Adagio would be on high alert. And like with Tirek, she would show little to no mercy. Adagio would go for the kill.

Artemis lowered his wand. “Our family sure has made a lot of enemies over the years.”

“And triumphed over each and every one!” Trixie said, raising herself to full height, pride in her smile. She only came up to Artemis’ chin. He was glad. No matter how old she got, Trixie would always be his little baby girl.

His heart hurt over how much she looked like Apalla, especially when she smiled with the level of bravado only a Lulamoon was capable of. Artemis fought the muscles in his jaw from turning downward. Tirek had the Rainbow of Light, but he didn’t have his own body yet. Which meant the easiest way to ensure the safety of the world was to…

He blinked hard. No, one thing at a time. First, they dealt with Adagio once and for all.

“That’s right!” Artemis said, regaining his vigor to match Trixie’s. “Which means the only question is: how do we take down this one?”

Trixie spun her wand around her finger. “We could just turn Adagio into a toad.” Her wand hit her thumb, and she fumbled before grabbing it with both hands and continuing like nothing had happened.

“While nothing would give me greater joy,” Artemis said with a longing sigh, “she has enough magic to resist a simple spell like that.”

“She does, but her guards don’t,” Selena said. “We neutralize her security force so we’re only dealing with magic instead of bullets.”

Artemis nodded. “We’ll all need to strike at once. The second one of her guards disappears, Adagio will know we’re here.”

“You handle the guards, love. Trixie, make as many illusions of us as possible—keep Adagio confused.” Selena raised her scabbard. “I’ll get the necklace off of her.”

Artemis rubbed his neck. “Try not to be too good at your job, dear.”

Selena just smiled. “Ready, family?”

“Trixie was born ready!”

“No more songs for this Siren!” Artemis pointed his wand skyward. “Lulamoon!”

He teleported and reappeared on a corner store awning just behind Adagio’s procession. Four more of him appeared at various spots down the street, including right in front of Adagio.

She sat up in her makeshift throne, eyes flaring with hatred. “Wizard!”

“Sea hag!” the copy said. The real Artemis fired a rapid round of frog spells, hitting all of Adagio’s guards and leaving only green amphibians behind when the smoke cleared. Adagio swiveled about, noticing the additional Artemises surrounding her.

They were joined by four Selenas coming from four different directions. Adagio jumped and floated away from the street, but a fifth Selena launched herself from a third-story window and grappled Adagio, wrestling her into a messy landing on the pavement.

“Unhand me, you worthless—”

Selena flipped Adagio onto her front and had one arm locked when two of Adagio’s throne bearers tackled her.

Artemis circled his wand over his head and flicked his hand forward, casting two coils of rope out. Both found their marks and bound the two men’s arms to their sides. Selena got to her feet, but Adagio was already high in the air again.

“Oh look, two Lulamoons,” she said, eyes vanishing into deep pools of red. “Now all we’re missing is—”

A bolt of magic hit her in the back. Adagio snarled before flipping around and spotting Trixie ducking out of sight in their high-rise hiding spot. Adagio flung a bright firework, exploding the wall and shuddering the building. Trixie fell out of the newly made hole, frantically waving her wand and disappearing halfway through her fall.

With a yelp and thud, Trixie landed next to Artemis. She jumped to her feet and brushed her hair out, smiling like it had all been part of her plan.

“And now, the family’s all here,” Adagio said with sinister sweetness. “I already took care of those blasted Rainbooms, so it’s only fitting you would be next!”

Artemis shared a quick look with his wife and daughter. All three of them nodded in silent agreement. They would add insult after the injury.

“How dare you lock our friends away!” Trixie said, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead. “I guess that means we’ll just have to fight harder for them!”

“Fight all you want! This city is mine, and so are the people!” Adagio clenched her fist and vanished in a red flash. The monstrous fish stopped aimlessly circling and opened its mouth, Adagio’s terrible song spewing from its throat.

Trixie fired bolts of magic up toward it, but Artemis closed his eyes and concentrated. In the darkness, he could see wisps of magic flowing through the air. Beside him was a bright font of it: Trixie. Across the street was a dim glow: Selena. And one block over, hiding in a parking garage was a bloody red silhouette.

“You can’t hide from me,” Artemis said with a smirk. He teleported, landing behind a concrete pillar. Adagio’s song echoed off the walls in a haunting stereo that made Artemis want to claw off his ears. He peeked around the pillar and down an avenue of parked cars. Adagio stood at the end, eyes closed.

Gunshots rang out from where Artemis had just been. His fatherly instincts almost took complete control to teleport him back to Trixie. He took a calming breath. Trixie had faced far worse than a few handguns. She would be fine.

Alright, Adagio. Let’s see how well you sing with your lips glued together! Artemis charged up a spell then leaped out from behind the pillar and fired. The sticky green substance he had conjured sailed and hit the wall behind where Adagio should have been.

Artemis heard the crackle of magic behind him but felt nothing. Adagio yelped and the crunch of metal echoed through the garage. Artemis turned around, cape swishing as he did. Adagio was scrambling to her feet, and the car behind her sported a scorched and dented fender.

“You forgot my cape reflects magic, didn’t you?”

Adagio aimed her palm at Artemis’ face and fired. He ducked to the side and retaliated with a rope spell that bound Adagio’s ankles together. She hobbled two steps before hitting the ground, then opened her mouth, no doubt to scream in Artemis’ face. He didn’t give her the chance. With another flick of his wand, more green goo shot out and covered Adagio’s mouth.

She lifted her hands to try and pry it off, only to succeed in getting her fingers stuck.

Artemis snickered. “You’re really not that tough without your sisters.”

Adagio’s eyes flared. With a hateful look, she disappeared in another flash of red light.

Artemis sighed and closed his eyes. She couldn’t have gone far. In the darkness, amidst the streams of magic, he could see Selena and Trixie fending off the unseen civilians. Twisting around, he saw a massive silhouette speeding toward him. He opened his eyes to see the siren’s maw yawning wide, a ball of energy at the tip of its tongue.

He teleported just as the beast fired, reappearing on an adjacent rooftop and watching the fourth floor of the parking garage explode. Dust and fire plumed out from the balconies, and a chorus of distorted alarms warbled beyond the smoke.

The beast snapped its head to Artemis and fired another mass of energy. Artemis widened his stance and gripped the hem of his cape. The ball was upon him, and he threw his cape out reflecting the attack. While the energy itself didn’t harm him, the force of the blast still sent him flying across the roof and over the edge.

The ground flew toward him. Artemis swung his wand in a wide circle in front of himself, and gravity slowed down, dropping him gently on the sidewalk. Across the street, Selena nerve-pinched an enthralled civilian and gently lowered him to the ground.

“How’s Adagio?” she asked.

In the distance, the siren beast let out a roar that shook the ground.

“Oh, you know. Angry as usual,” Artemis said.

Trixie warped in, panting. “Okay, Trixie has turned enough people into frogs to open her own aquarium. And yet, more officers keep popping out of nowhere!”

“The good news is, I’ve managed to shut Adagio up for…” Artemis tilted his head. It was faint, but he felt an… emptiness? No, something was leaving. The summer wind whipped through the streets of downtown, but Artemis felt something else brushing past him.

Trixie looked over her shoulder, then at her father. “Do you feel that?”

Artemis nodded. “I do but…”

Selena raised her hand and ran it slowly overhead like she was feeling for something. “The world’s magic… it’s… leaving?”

Artemis closed his eyes. Selena was right: the wisps of magic, once flowing in all directions, were being pulled somewhere. Then, it stopped. The streams hovered in place for a moment before aimlessly drifting through the darkness again.

“What on earth is happening?” he asked, mostly to himself. He opened his eyes to see Trixie looking befuddled, and Selena with a grim countenance.

“I have a bad feeling something’s happened to the girls,” she said.

Artemis nodded. He hoped they were still on the island, but whatever had happened to the magic, he had a sinking suspicion it involved them too.

A piercing screech dropped all three Lulamoons to their knees. The astral hippocampus loomed overhead, and hovering above it was Adagio. The slimy goop was gone, but Artemis could see claw and burn marks around the edges of her mouth.

“Unlike those spectacular losers, I’m not going to make you endure what I endured! I’m just going to kill you!” Adagio surrounded herself with diamonds and began to sing, her avatar amplifying her voice.

Like they had been hiding just out of view, police officers and enthralled civilians appeared and began to surround the Lulamoons from all sides. The song faded out, and the troopers cocked and aimed their guns.

“We WiLl Be AdOrEd!

“TeLl Us ThAt YoU wAnT uS!

“We WoN’t Be IgNoReD!

“It’S tImE fOr OuR rEwArD!”

Artemis clapped his hands over his ears and ground his teeth at the worst singing he had ever heard. It was enough to make his skin crawl.

It had a similar effect on the enthralled. They dropped their weapons, tried to cover their ears, and groaned in agony over the caterwauling. So strong was the awful singing that it was enough to lift the green haze from their eyes.

“You two!” Adagio screeched.

Artemis twisted around. Walking down the block, voices cracking as the warbled off-key, were Sonata and Aria. The closer they got, the more people fled, rushing to get as far away from the noise as possible.

Both girls paused to take a breath, and Aria glared up at Adagio and said, “Seriously, you’re just gonna go full supervillain now?”

“Half this city is under my control!” Adagio shouted. “I’ve gotten further on my own than I ever did with you two holding me back!”

Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Been here five seconds and she’s already blaming us for her screwups. This is why I left.”

Sonata clasped her hands in front of her. “Dagi, please, you don’t have to be evil anymore! And we don’t have to feed on hate and fear!”

“Although it is pretty tasty out here,” Aria muttered.

Adagio responded by having her siren charge up and fire another pulse of energy directly at her sisters. Both girls turned to run, but Artemis put himself between them and the energy ball and twirled his cape, reflecting it right back to its sender.

The hippocampus was struck, and Adagio cursed, doubling over in pain. In that moment of distraction, Artemis pulled a smoke bomb from his sleeve and threw it against the ground. A cloud of blue smoke engulfed half the block, and Artemis grabbed Sonata and Aria’s wrists, dragging them off to the side.

“Trixie, illusion time,” he called. He and the two Sirens settled into an alley, and when the smoke cleared, half-a-dozen Trixies, Artemises, and Selenas littered the street.

Artemis turned to Sonata and Aria while Adagio screamed in rage and started firing magic blasts at the dodging doppelgangers.

“Why are you here? And where’s your parole officer?”

Aria gave a blasé shrug. “Well, we were picking up trash by the side of the highway when we thought we saw Adagio. Then we heard Adagio’s screaming.”

“We decided we wanted to come and confront her, so we may or may not have used our screams to knock everyone else out and steal the bus to drive here,” Sonata said, palms up and smiling.

“Too bad traffic proved to be a nightmare to get through. We had to ditch the bus and start walking. Anyway, we’re here to help.” By her distant tone and perpetually bored expression, Artemis wasn’t sure if Aria even believed her own words.

“You’re going to fight your own sister?” Artemis asked.

Sonata nodded. “Remember what we told you? Dagi probably isn’t going to stop unless someone makes her. We just wanna make sure nothing super bad happens to her.”

“Better the hospital and jail than the morgue,” Aria said, crossing her arms.

Artemis copied her, giving the girls a discerning eye as he thought. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them at this point; between giving Pinkie her key to the Rainbow of Light, showing them the leygate, and just showing up here and driving the mob away was enough proof that they had a change of heart. Artemis still wasn’t particularly fond of them, but that’s what therapy was for.

No, it was their willingness to fight their sister.

They had it easy. They didn’t have to kill Adagio, just knock her out and lock her away. Tirek had the Rainbow of Light, and if he got into his real body, would be nigh unkillable. Meaning if Artemis wanted to protect the world, he would have to fight his twin to the death.

Never, in his entire life, did Artemis think he would ever have to raise a hand to his twin sister. They had been together through thick and thin, parting only for a few years when they separated for college, then joining for a world tour with Selena accompanying them. Losing her had been the worst day of Artemis’ life.

He envied the Sirens. Their situation, and their willingness to fight one of their own.

“Alright,” Artemis said with a nod, “you can help.”

Trixie teleported in with Selena on her arm, the hem of Trixie’s dress singed.

“There’s only two copies left, and they’re just running in circles, so Trixie thinks Adagio will catch on any second.”

“Aaah aah ah. Aaa ah.”

Artemis growled. “She’s going to throw as many people as she can at us and hope we get overwhelmed.”

“Our voices may totally suck now,” Aria said, making no attempt to hide her bitterness, “but they’re still magic. You saw what happened; we can nullify Adagio’s song.”

Trixie dug a finger into her ear. “Too bad it disorients us, too.”

Artemis gave his wand a thoughtful spin around his finger. “It’s risky, but I could cast a sound-dampening spell around the three of us. We either fight with no sound…”

“Or with the worst sound we’ve ever heard,” Trixie finished.

Sonata rubbed her throat, a hurt look on her face. “It’s not that bad.”

Selena walked to the mouth of the alley and peeked out. “We need to make a decision now. Our copies are gone and the mob is mobilizing.”

Artemis tightened his grip on his wand. “Alright then. You two,” he said to the Sirens, “stay close but try to keep out of sight. Sing as much as you can to keep the enthralled away. Trixie, Selena, once I cast the spell, keep moving and keep Adagio off-balance.”

Everyone gave an affirming nod. Aria followed up with a lazy salute. “Try not to die. I still don’t really like you guys, but you're our best hope at stopping Adagio.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Trixie said, sticking her tongue out.

The two parties broke off, and Trxie and Artemis joined Selena near the alley entrance. “I can’t believe we’re fighting alongside the Sirens,” Selena said.

“In times like these, I’ll take any ally we can get,” Artemis said. He raised his wand and drew a large circle above all three of their heads. “Lulamoon!”

Silvery dust drifted from the sky. and covered Artemis’ ears like warm hands. Adagio’s singing, the shouts of the civilians, the whispering wind; all of it faded until Artemis could only hear his heartbeat. He looked behind him. Sonata and Aria’s mouths were open, and Artemis felt his skin crawl. He couldn’t hear them, but his body still felt their distorted magic.

With a single gesture, he beckoned his family to follow him out to the muted street. The crowd Adagio had mustered was already dispersing, grasping their heads as they staggered into shops and offices. Overhead, Adagio mouthed something and pointed at the Lulamoons.

Artemis just smiled at her and shrugged.

Shaking with rage, Adagio threw her hand out, and her siren roared down at the street. Artemis held onto the brim of his hat, feeling the force of the soundwaves, but little else.

He drew a playing card from his sleeve and tossed it toward Selena. Halfway through its arc, he hit it with a quick bolt of magic. The card tripled in size until it was the length and width of a skateboard and hovered just off the ground.

Selena jumped on it, and it zoomed her up to the sky. She drew her sword and slashed at Adagio, the blade soundlessly striking a diamond barrier. Adagio retreated, nervousness starting to overtake her anger.

Trixie teleported away from Artemis’ side, reappearing on the lip of a nearby building. The hippocampus took notice and fired a blast of magic, destroying part of the rooftop. Trixie, however, remained standing.

From across the street, a greater burst of magic hit the avatar and sent it careening into the building. The real Trixie stood on the opposite roof and jumped up in victory.

Adagio, now looking panicked, turned and fled deeper into the city, Selena in hot pursuit.

Artemis smirked and twirled his wand, another spell forming at its tip. Maybe he couldn’t fight Apalla. But he could do this.

******

Starlight rushed past the rest of the girls, elbowing her way back to the central lab.

“Go ahead and run,” Sunset snarled, “but there’s nowhere to go!” She kicked off the ground and blazed past her friends and after Starlight.

“Sunset, wait!” Fluttershy called.

Sunset didn’t listen. She flew straight for Starlight, fist drawn back. Starlight looked over her shoulder and dropped into a slide, narrowly avoiding Sunset’s first swing. Sunset lapped the lab and dove at her again as she reached a workstation. Starlight grabbed a wristband off the desk and ducked, Sunset’s hand brushing through her hair.

Sunset wasn’t going to just throw a fireball at her. No, she wanted—needed to get her hands on Starlight and beat the apology out of her. She turned and threw herself at Starlight again.

The scientist held her wrist up, and a blue shield materialized and bounced Sunset across the room.

“This confrontation is meaningless!” Starlight snapped. “Both of us lost something today.”

Sunset shook herself off from the surprise defense. “You lost something? You’re the reason she’s gone!” she shouted, steam still pouring from her eyes.

“You’re really blaming me for a freak accident?”

“You shouldn’t have been messing with my way home! You shouldn’t have dragged Twilight into it!” Sunset dive-bombed her.

Starlight held her shield up again, and Sunset slammed into it, digging her fists in to break through.

“Stop, both of y’all!” Applejack yelled. Her pony features appeared for a few seconds, then vanished in a burst of light.

Tears ruining her mascara, Rarity looked between Sunset and Starlight and said, “We’re all hurting right now, but this isn’t going to solve anything!”

“I know that!” Sunset shrieked. Her hands shook against the hard light shield. It was taking all of her strength not to break down right at that moment. “But I need to… I need…”

“Need what?” Starlight sneered. “Someone to blame? You don’t want to blame Twilight for her own agency and decisions, so you want to pin the blame on me!”

“You exploited her!”

“I did not!” Starlight threw her weight into her arm and shoved Sunset away. “She came here of her own volition! I merely showed her what true progress and potential looks like!”

Sunset clenched her fists. “Oh yeah? Did you show her what it looks like when you rip out someone’s soul? When you tear it in half? When you put someone’s darkness inside someone else?”

Starlight waved a dismissive hand. “If she asked, I would have. Twilight came to understand that everything done here is done for the greater good.”

“What ‘greater good’ is there in reviving Tirek?” Rainbow asked.

“If he’s true to his word, a new golden age for humanity.” Starlight closed her eyes and said longingly, “And I get back what I’ve lost.”

She opened her eyes and said, “It’s not too late, you know. Help Tirek in his little crusade, and he might reward you by bringing Twilight back.”

“I refuse to help that lunatic!” Sunset yelled.

“Nor should you!”

Sunset turned her head. Leaning on Fluttershy, eyes red and swollen, hair disheveled was Moondancer. Fluttershy helped her further into the room until Moondancer grabbed a chair and collapsed into it.

She took several trembling breaths before speaking to Starlight. “I warned you after she found out. I never wanted her anywhere near all of this! Especially Tirek! I told you not to let anything happen to her!”

Starlight put her hands up. “Moondancer, we can fix this.”

“You can’t fix this!” Moondancer screamed, jumping up and kicking her chair back. She pointed up to the broken container hanging over the center of the lab. “How can you fix this?”

“We’ll get more magic!” Starlight said, an edge of desperation to her voice. “And if we have to rely on Tirek for just a bit longer, then so be it! We’ll all get what we want in the end; just trust me!”

“Trust you? Trust you?” Sunset spoke up, indignation spiking again. “Twilight trusted you and look what happened to her!” She rushed at Starlight again and met her shield once more.

“Enough, Sunset Shimmer!” Moondancer yelled.

Sunset kicked at Starlight. “Not until she admits she was wrong! Not until she apologizes! Not until she gives Twilight back!”

“Alright, you’ve thrown your tantrum, now enough’s enough!” Starlight said. “I’m furious about my machine exploding, but you don’t see me lashing out like a child!”

“You took away Twilight!” Sunset struck the shield again. “You used her for your stupid magic projects!”

“She was wonderful, and I do feel bad,” Starlight snapped, stepping back from the force of Sunset’s blows. “But I will use anything and anyone I have to elevate humanity and get my Sunburst back!”

Sunset’s eyes dilated. Starlight bit the corner of her lip and looked away.

Jumping back, Sunset curled her fingers, flames gathering at the tips to resemble talons. She rushed forward and blitzed Starlight’s shield, striking over and over, the hard light flickering and warping more and more with each strike.

With one final uppercut, the shield faded out, and Starlight fell backward onto the floor. Sunset pinned her, digging her knees into Starlight’s arms.

Starlight struggled to free herself, but Sunset proved herself immovable. She gave Sunset a defiant glare instead and said, “Now what? You’re going to kill me? Some ‘hero’ you are!”

Sunset looked down at her, claws raised. All of the anger inside her told her to strike. But a voice in the back of her head told her to stop. Starlight was misguided, amoral, and hypocritical. She was on Tirek’s side. But she didn’t deserve to die.

Still, Sunset couldn’t put her hand down. Even if Starlight wasn’t directly responsible for Twilight’s vanishing, she had led her down this path. Convinced her that bringing back Tirek would be good in the long run. Even if Starlight was right, the cost was already too great. Yet she was already prepared to move on. She didn’t understand the pain burning through Sunset.

Sunset’s hand trembled, her fiery claws flickering. “I want to hurt you… so bad,” Sunset choked out, watery tears running down her cheeks again.

“Go ahead,” Starlight spat. “Prove that deep down, you’re still that demon you fear so much.”

Sunset curled her hand tighter, claws, blazing again. She wanted to do it. It would be so easy to do it. Deliver a fraction of the pain she felt.

“Sunset, don’t!” Fluttershy called, echoing the voice inside her. “You’re better than that! Twilight knew you’re better than that!”

It was true. Twilight was the first person to truly believe Sunset was better than this. All of Twilight’s confidence in her. All of her compassion. All of their conversations. Twilight had told her again and again that she wasn’t evil.

But now…

Sunset let out a guttural scream. Her powers flared, fueled by the unrestrained release of her sadness, fury, and pain. She screamed until her throat was raw, then slammed her hand down.

There was an audible crack as the floor tile next to Starlight’s head split.

Sunset’s fire died. She rolled off Starlight, huddled her legs against her chest, and sobbed. Five pairs of arms wrapped around her, and Sunset cried harder, feeling the absence of the one pair she needed the most.