"Twilight! It doesn't have to be this way!" Sunset pleaded, tears in her eyes as she kneeled, looking up at the purple skinned girl in front of her.
"Yes it does, Sunset. You know it does. It always has." Twilight said, turning around and walking away, her hair and skirt blowing in the wind as she did so
"Wait! We can stop this! Together!" She reaches out and grabs her arm.
Twilight yanks her arm away and laughs. "Together? You mean like how you pushed me away? Ousted me? Made my own friends hate me?"
"But... But I..." Sunset stammered, trying her best to think of what to say to her old friend.
"But what, Sunset?" Twilight snapped, cutting her off, her voice taking on a layered, echoing tone as she yelled back, "You wanted to help me? Let me guess, you saw that I was going down a dark road and wanted to stop me before I made a mistake?"
"Yes! That's exactly what it-"
"Hah! Spare me the speech." she laughed. "Face the facts, Shimmer." She spat out the name like it was poison on her tongue. "You wanted me gone! You wanted me out of your life because you thought I was losing it, just like all the rest of my friends. You thought I was going crazy, that I was insane for doing what I did, and so you stayed away from me. Kept your distance so that I wouldn't corrupt your mind with my 'foolish fantasies.' Well let me tell you something, Sunny. It wasn't a fantasy after all!"
Sunset's eyes widened as she looked at Twilight, horror in her eyes. "No. No, no, please, don't tell me you-"
"That's right! I did it! I finally found the answer. After all these years, who would've known that the key to immortality was right under my nose. Equestrian magic is quite something, don't you think?"
"Oh no!" Sunset yelled, her eyes tearing up as she stared at her old friend.
"Oh yes!" Twilight said in return, a ball of teal fire flaring to life in her hand. "I managed to do what everyone thought I couldn't do. Even you and the girls didn't believe me when I brought it up. We could've been together forever, Sunset. We could've been friends forever! But you just had to interfere, didn't you? If it wasn't for you betraying me and turning all of my friends against me, I wouldn't be like this right now. But I am, Sunset. And it's your fault."
Sunset seemed to get her voice back at that. "Twilight, wait. I know I messed up. We were all just scared, and afraid, and didn't know how to take what you said that day. But it's okay! We can still fix this. Come back with me. We can put it all to an end right now!"
"You know just as well as I do that this can't be stopped, Sunset. It was set in stone ever since that day. We started this, and now we have to end it."
"But... no... No, I don't want it to end this way! I'm sorry I pushed you away. I didn't think it would turn out like this. I only wanted to show you the error of your ways, like you did for me so long ago!"
"Silence! You think i'll believe you now after all these years spent alone?! You left me in solitude, Sunset. You, and the girls abandoned me! Let me go through this alone! No... I refuse! I will never return! Nothing you say will convince me to go back to that life! Not after everything I've sacrificed to get this far!"
"Listen Twilight. I may not know what you've been going through all these years, but that's why I wanna help. I wanna be there for you. I wanna make up for all the time we spent apart. I wanna be together again. Come on, come back with me. Be our friend again. Be...mine, again."
This seems to reach Twilight, as her eyes widen, and the glow in her eyes fades slightly, revealing dark purple eyes that were close to tears. "Believe me, Sunset. I don't want this either. But it is our fate. We cannot go against it. Now draw your sword!" Her eyes glowed again, and the only trace left of the old Twilight was the tears she let fall from her face as they did so. She threw out her hand, a sudden gust of wind blowing her hair every which way as a giant metal circle began to materialize behind her.
She floated into the air as her blade materialized before her. It looked similar in appearance to a cross, only more metallic, and much, much sharper. Neon blue lines spread throughout the blade, pulsing stronger and stronger as her power flowed through it.
Sunset looked down at the ground. How had she let it come to this? She should've stopped her. She should've stopped her long before it got to this point, but she was consumed with fear. She let it control her, and it cost her a friend.
'Well no more.'
She stood up slowly, feeling the power building up inside of her. She looked up at Twilight with a determined glare.
"I won't let fear control me anymore! I won't run, I won't hide. I will face my mistake and conquer it myself!" She yelled as her sword materialized before her, a giant metal clock hand that shone with bright neon orange light. A giant clock appeared behind her, ticking away, each movement of the hands a bell tolling, slowly counting down the time to Twilight's defeat.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore, Twilight! I will bring you back. Even if I have to do it by force!" She pointed her blade at the girl, a fierce glare on her face.
Twilight simply laughed, unimpressed by her former friend's paltry display. " Is that really all you've got. Very well, Sunset, I'll humor you for now. Come and try it. If you think you can!" Twilight said as she rushed toward her enemy, prepared to finally put an end to their little game of cat and mouse.
"Gladly!" She rushed forward, flying high into the air to intercept the girl. She was ready. If she couldn't get to her with words, maybe her blade could do the work for her. 'This is for you, Twilight! Hurry up and come back to us! Back to me!'
The two clashed violently, their furious battle cries audible throughout the entirety of the broken city below.
Sunset gripped her weapon tightly, pushing back with all her might as she struggled to maintain her composure. She knew she couldn't beat Twilight's brute strength. The amount of strain it took just to remain upright was proof of that. She knew that if she made one wrong move, she was done for. But if she could just find another way...
"What's the matter, Sunset?" Twilight asked in that same echoed voice that Sunset had come to hate. "Looking for a way to beat me? Well then, too bad!" She said as she pushed the bacon-haired teen further back, pulling back just long enough to bring her sword down hard on Sunset's own, launching her towards the ground at staggering speed.
She hit the ground hard, cracking the asphalt below and forming a crater where her body landed.
When Twilight heard her hit the ground, she began to laugh maniacally. "Ahahahahahahahahaha! It's too late! Just give up! I'm already 3 steps ahead of you! There's nothing you can do to stop-"
"Where are you looking?!" She heard a voice call out from below. She looked down to see that Sunset was charging directly at her, her sword pointed right at her throat.
She quickly sidestepped out of the way, narrowly avoiding having her head taken off and only getting a small scratch on her cheek as a result.
Sunset stopped her ascent and looked back at Twilight, smiling down at her with...was that an apologetic expression?
"Sorry about that, Twilight. I just wanted to scare you. Didn't mean to almost take your head off there."
Twilight grumbled under her breath. "Why, you insolent little- This is why you'll never have what it takes to beat me! You're too soft! Too merciful!"
"That's because I'm trying to save you, not kill you." Sunset said, a menacing glare returning to her face.
"How many times must I tell you I don't need saving?! Fine, If you won't get serious, then I will. Unlike you, I have no such hindrances. I can eliminate you whenever I so well please." Twilight's blade began to glow a dark neon purple, the energy escaping and wrapping around the blade in a vortex of dark magic. What was left in it's place was a dark purple broadsword many times smaller than the original, but the constant stream of magical energy that rolled off the blade in waves told Sunset all she needed to know about it's power. One hit from that, and she was sure she wouldn't see the next sunrise.
She gulped, but raised her sword. She was understandably nervous, yes, but, as she stared down the enraged form of her former friend, something about this whole situation made her heart race. She couldn't remember the last time they had fought like this. It was a long, long time ago, when times were simpler, and the fate of the universe didn't rest on her shoulders.
She smiled, but then shook the thoughts away. Now was not the time to be getting sentimental. She had a friend to save. She glared, an excited grin she couldn't help but display spreading across her face. She activated her own blade as she spoke her next words, blinding neon orange light encircling and converging around her weapon, transforming it and changing it into something much more powerful. Out of the light came a beautiful orange rapier which Sunset spun about expertly before letting it rest in a ready position. It had striking red accents and shone with an almost otherworldly glow that faded into a soft orange mist at the guard. Sunset internally cheered as she saw it. 'Nice!'
"Well then, Twilight! If you think you're so tough, why don't you stop talking and do it already!" With that she rushed downward, toward her adversary and into the fray.
"With pleasure!" Twilight growled as she charged Sunset head on. She wouldn't admit it, but she was excited too. She too could remember the old times, though they were faded and subdued. The thought that they were engaging in something from so long ago made her body shiver with anticipation. She was looking forward to seeing just how good Sunset had become.
The two clashed once again. Over and over they crossed swords, dodging and weaving between each other's attacks like it was some kind of performance. There were even times when Sunset thought she finally had the upper hand, catching Twilight off guard or surprising her with some kind of attack.
That is until Twilight decided to change the game a bit.
"Ahhh! I've had enough of this. Why won't you just go away! You've been a thorn in my side ever since I left our so called 'friends' behind. What. Is. With you?!" In her rage, Twilight knocks away Sunset's weapon, and uses her magic to blast her away, causing her to scream in agony as she was launched back to the ground. Breathing heavily, her chest heaving, her body aching and her pores sweating, Twilight stood high in the air above Sunset, who had once again fallen to her might.
"Hahaha! It's like I said, Sunset! You can't beat me! I'm too powerful for you! Oh, and let's not forget i'm immortal, too! Ahaha!"
She took a moment to bask in her glory, then decided it was time once again to end it. To put an end to all that they had suffered through these long years. But something, some familiar force inside her made her stop, and wait. Some long forgotten emotion she was sure she had left behind like her friends. Discarded it like the useless triviality that it was.
Was she...worried, about her?
No, no way, that couldn't be it. Sunset was her enemy, her foe, her arch-nemesis even! She hated her! She was her opposite, an ever present obstacle to everything she ever wanted to achieve! How could she, the very embodiment of knowledge itself, be worried about her!
She felt her body give in to the feeling. The more she tried to fight it, the more it took control, until there was nothing left of her but the feeling. It consumed her. Worry over a rival, a friend, her friend, her...
"Sunset...?" Twilight said in a shaky tone. She was surprised at her own voice. No longer did it have the majestic echo she had grown so used to. No longer did possess that commanding air that made others quake in fear. Now it was simply the voice of a weak, vulnerable girl. And that girl, was her. She called out some more, but when no reply came, she eventually gave up. maybe she really had done away with her. She smiled. That should be a good thing right? So then why did her chest feel so tight? Why did her heart ache so much? Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe?
"You looking for someone?"
Twilight was surprised. She hadn't expected to hear her voice at all. She thought she had finished her. Why was she still here? But at the same time. It filled her a strange sense of relief.
"You!" She roared at Sunset, her echo returning in full force as she turned around to see her smirking face.
Sunset simply raised her rapier, victorious smirk still plastered on her face as she said, "Oh, why don't you just cut the crap already!"
The two struggled for a bit, but Twilight could feel her strength failing her, and she was slowly being overtaken.
"No! How can this be?! How can you suddenly be this strong?!"
"I'm not." Sunset said. "You're just getting weaker. Hey, Twilight?"
"What?"
"Do you know why I never gave up hope that I would find a way to beat you?"
"No? Why is that?"
"Three reasons. One, back there, when we were having our little argument, you called me Sunny. You still remembered my nickname from all those years ago. That's how I know you're in there somewhere. Two, Whenever you talked about our friends, you always said, 'our'. Not once did you say 'your', or 'those' or anything like that. And Three, despite how much you talked about being able to kill me whenever you wanted, i'm still alive. Which means, you don't want to kill me do you, because a part of you is still in there. The part that's my friend. The part that's my..."
Twilight tried to push away, but found she was stuck in Sunset's grip. "Let me go! you're lying! The Twilight you knew is gone! There's nothing left of her!"
"Oh really?" Weill then let's see if this jogs her memory shall we?" And with that, Sunset planted a deep, passionate kiss on Twilight's lips, causing her eyes to widen in shock as the neon blue color slowly faded from them, to be replaced with her normal purple eye color. She then closed her eyes and leaned in to the kiss, deepening it and holding Sunset close.
When Sunset finally broke the kiss, the two of them stood face to face, inches away from each other.
"So? Did that help?"
"Yes, Sunset. Yes it did." Twilight said as she started sniffling. "I'm so sorry about everything I said. I wasn't myself and I did so many dangerous things..."
"Don't worry, Twi. I understand. You can tell me all about it back at the apartment, okay?"
"Yeah...i'll tell you then." Twilight smiled at that, hugging Sunset with all her might and crying into her chest.
And so, with their longstanding feud over, the two made their way down and out of the city, now content to live as they please, without all the troubles of their past weighing them down.
