A Slayer's Love

"Changelings are tricksters. No matter what face it shows me, it's a lie." Sunset pushed aside a low branch to continue her path, tracing back her steps from the previous night. In lieu of letting her thoughts settle on Adagio again, she instead looked forward, shifting all her attention on the hunt, and on reminding herself of her prey's tricks.

"Twilight is in Canterlot. Pinkie is in Canterlot. So is Rarity. None of them have a reason to come out here." She moved the hammer from one hand into the other, taking a swing just past a nearby tree, getting used to the weight and momentum. "Applejack is with her family. Rainbow and Fluttershy are in Cloudsdale. They cannot be here."

Her hand drifted to the dagger at her side, gripping the hilt but leaving it sheathed. She could draw it at any moment, a quick thrust when she got a chance and it could be over. As long as she struck its heart. Or crushed its head. She slowed her steps when the trees shifted in a strong breeze, feeling a warning tingle run up her spine. She was getting close. But she knew what to do, she was prepared this time.

The crumbling ruin became visible through the trees only minutes later. Sunset crouched between the bushes to watch for a moment, though she saw no movement besides the trees. Maybe the changeling wasn't here, off to lure another victim. Or maybe it was hiding the same way it did before, ready to sneak up on her. After another tense moment, she pushed forward, hefting the hammer into both hands.

A quiet thrum emanated from inside the tower, in time with the ominous glow of the pods. Rather than go through the archway, Sunset went around the other way and quickly climbed through a collapsed spot in the opposite wall, keeping her eyes on the walls. She didn't have to wait long for a sign of her adversary.

"Sunset..." Rainbow sat slumped in the corner, a hand pressed over a nasty wound on her side. Her cloak and already messy hair were covered in grime and her complexion was pale. "She's still here somewhere--"

Not leaving any time for the doubt to set in, Sunset hurried over with two long steps and swung the hammer at her wounded friend, who scrambled aside and flipped up on her feet, the wound not impeding her in the least. The scorched head of the weapon hit the old brickwork with a loud thump, dislodging small fragments of stone.

"Vicious!" Rainbow noted with a wide smile. "I knew you'd be back. You don't taste like a coward."

Sunset turned and tried to close the distance quickly to use the same momentum, swinging for the creature's head. It leaned away from the swing, the cloak fluttering against Rainbow's back and closing around her, becoming a green travelling robe, her hair spilling over her shoulders.

"Y-you wouldn't," Fluttershy stammered, her hands clutched over her chest. "You wouldn't hurt us, w-would you?"

"Stop," Sunset said sharply, swinging from the left. This face was a mask, nothing more. And yet, she flinched when the hammer brushed by Fluttershy's side, the dull impact of metal on flesh making her tense up.

The mask faltered, black, chitinous skin showing under the ripped robe, not broken but fractured. Fluttershy's voice twisted into a snarl and she backed off quickly, stumbling towards one of the pods lining the walls. Her fingers stretched and blackened, as if rapidly going through atrophy, and the sharp claws burrowed into the pod's membrane, sending a sudden burst of sickly green liquid out from the puncture, obscuring Sunset's view of the creature.

She quickly stepped around the gushing liquid, but found no one there anymore. Her back tensed, her hands tightened on the shaft of her weapon, as she sharpened her ears, trying to hear past the sound of liquid, quickly reduced to a trickle. She heard the scraping just a moment too late. As she turned, the sharp, piercing pain of the changeling's claws raked across her back, mostly scraping leather and metal but piercing through to her skin somewhere. She faltered on her swing and only caught a glimpse of the creature as it skulked out of view again, blending with the long, convulsing shadows of the tendrils across the walls.

The thrumming seemed almost deafening now as she closed her eyes, trying to strengthen her other senses. The air felt heavy and stagnant, but she knew somewhere above her, beyond the tangled branches and darkened clouds, was the sun, shining its protective light. "Sun preserve me," she whispered under her breath, before slowly releasing it.

She didn't hear or feel anything, but her body moved regardless, turning and leaning left, dragging her arms behind to build momentum quickly. Her eyes snapped open just before the moment of impact. Rarity's eyes were wide, her mouth open in a silent scream as all air was forced out of her, the head of the hammer striking the left side of her chest. The moment passed agonisingly slow, the sound of cracking bones filling Sunset's ears and the red spray of blood clouding her vision, though before it hit her chest and the stone floor, it was green once more.

Rarity's breath rattled as she fell backwards, clutching at the gushing wound, before a piercing scream erupted from her. Sunset quickly lifted her arm to wipe blood from her face, ready to lift the hammer again and finish the struggle. And then she hesitated.

Princess Celestia rose to her knees, gleaming armour dented and blood staining her pure white cloak. She looked up at her with a look that was equal parts pleading and pitying. "Sunset, you have to stop," she said quietly but firmly, despite her shallow breathing. "There is no changeling. You've been tricked. Come back to us."

Sunset panted. She hadn't realised how quickly her heart was racing until now. Fake! She couldn't do it, not after she had raised a weapon against her already. This isn't real! She could never forgive herself for what she'd done. You would lose! She would lose. Celestia would never kneel before her.

She swung. The hammer impacted into the side of the princess' head, blood gushing from her skull as she crumpled to the floor with an angry whimper. Despite her conviction, Sunset's hands trembled. She had pulled the swing at the last moment, ruining her own momentum. But it only took one more. Even if it looked like the princess, just one more...

"Please don't," Adagio whimpered. She looked up at Sunset, tears streaming down her face, blood trickling from her chest to the cold stone floor and running down the side of her head, staining her curls a much deeper red. For just a moment, all strength left her and the shaft slipped through her fingers. The hammer heavily impacted with the floor.

The mistake was evident to her immediately, but it was too late. Adagio's blackened hand shot forward and the dull pain spread from her gut throughout her body. Her knees buckled and gave in, her back hitting stone a moment later when the creature pushed itself on top of her.

"Oh, it's this one, isn't it?" A wild look stretched Adagio's face. The pain shot through her body again. She felt as though she was screaming, but couldn't hear her own voice. "I want it. All of it. But first, a little safety." The clawed hand rose up above her, poised to strike at her arm, as vines seized her wrist.

And then, in a flourish of green cinders and the sudden rush of sweet scents, a hand clasped the dagger at her side. Quickly it was slipped from the sheath and forced up into the arm of the changeling, making it yell out as the red-tinted blade erupted into a small flame. The creature's skin rapidly hardened as it recoiled, the jaw splitting at the chin and horns curling from the wild hair.

Sunset gasped out with the changeling's weight off of her, clutching her stomach with one hand while the other flexed against the sudden binding. A figure rose up next to her, as if emerging from the stonework, and from the corner of her eye she saw a second Adagio, the dress exchanged for boots and jacket, brandishing the flaming blade and launching herself after the monster.

"You!" The changeling's voice was still Adagio's, but twisted, grating, like a blade losing its edge as it was ground down too far. "Get out!" It caught Adagio's next stab, quickly overpowering her and pushing her to the ground, holding her wrist with one claw and her throat with the other.

Sunset reached for the vine with her free hand, scraping with the tips of her glove to try and get a hold, while the sound of choking struggle rung back in her ears. "Witch! You stink! Don't get in my way!" She managed to close her fingers around the tendril and yanked at it, only partially managing to tear it, but tugging at it enough to pull her wrist free.

The hammer had slipped her mind. Instead, she threw herself at the twisted mirror image choking the life out of Adagio, grabbing its arm with one hand and wrapping her own around its neck from behind, trying to pull it off of her. It felt like trying to snap a tree by force of strength alone, the chitin creaking and clicking as it started to close over the open wounds, green blood spurting out of head and chest with each snarling grunt. Sunset's muscles screamed but she only quickly adjusted her grip before straining and pulling again.

Adagio's grip on the dagger loosened, audibly struggling for breath through her clenched teeth. Until a moment when the changeling's hold wavered, just enough for her to lift her arm, reaching over with her other hand to grab the hilt, then push the blade forward into the open cavity before her.

With a loud hiss, accompanied by an angry scream, a burst of flames erupted out of the creature's chest, blasting cinders back into the witch's face. A moment later, the fire spread through her insides and out the side of her head. The body jerked and Sunset dragged it to the side, tossing it onto the stone, but its hand was still clutched on the witch's throat like a vice. Adagio croaked, blindly stabbing at the hard chitin, clawing at the wrist with her fingers.

Sunset's mind raced, suddenly remembering the other weapon. Darting back, she pulled it off the ground and turned, using the momentum to swing down, snapping the arm at the elbow, the claw extending and releasing Adagio's neck. She pushed herself away from the burning carcass, gasping and coughing, while Sunset sunk to her knees, her legs growing weak.

Her blood was rushing in her head, her heart thumping in her ears and the sharp, searing pain of her punctured guts finally arrived in force. She felt the panic start to set in and took a deep breath, halting it before breathing out, actively trying to slow her heartbeat. "Why..." she began when she found her voice again. "How... are you here?"

Adagio dropped the dagger where she lay as she pushed herself up enough to quickly shuffle over to Sunset, grabbing the handkerchief tied to her armour strap. "Have I ever given you something I didn't enchant?" she asked her seriously, before slipping the cloth away and quickly undoing the straps, enough to loosen the breastplate and open the padded clothes underneath and get at the wounds. Sunset slumped, resisting the urge to lie back and instead sitting as still as she could manage.

"Idiot!" Adagio barked sharply as she pulled a small flask from her belt. It smelled of grapes and herbs once the cork came loose. "You nearly kill yourself twice in just as many days, and for what!" With trembling fingers, she poured the contents onto the wounds. Sunset breathed in sharply and grit her teeth as the pain returned manifold, her flesh pulsing and twisting.

"Look around," she squeezed out, "at how many it already had. How many more could it... the whole town? The county?" Her eyes stung with tears, from pain and exhaustion both.

"So what! People die! All the time!" Adagio dropped the flask and reached for a smaller vial, keeping it tight in her hand as she said her piece. "More will die today somewhere! And tomorrow! What does it matter!?"

"It matters to them," Sunset said as evenly as she could, looking past Adagio as her vision went black for a moment. "It... matters to me."

Adagio's nostrils flared. She opened her mouth, ready to yell more, but faltering. "And you think your death won't matter?" she finally said, opening the vial and pouring the liquid into her own mouth.

"I... would you..." Sunset began to ask, but Adagio's hands gently touched her cheeks before she could finish and their lips found one another. Her lips parted at Adagio's urging and the witch's long tongue slid past them, pouring a trickle of bitter medicine onto hers. As soon as it slid down her throat, a prickly warmth spread through her body, numbing the pain. Sunset reached up, placing her hand on Adagio's shoulder to keep her there just a little longer, pushing into the embrace.

She could feel the sharp points of her teeth, carefully still to not injure her tongue or her lips. It lasted only a moment more before she pulled back again. Sunset breathed out slowly, looking up at her deep, glassy eyes. "Would you... miss me?"

"How can you even ask that?" Adagio said coldly, before lightly punching her shoulder, the rings on her hand dully hitting the pauldron. "How dare you ask that? I miss you every night. You're sitting right in front of me and I miss you!"

Sunset forced herself not to avert her eyes again, holding Adagio's gaze, before she felt exhaustion drag her down. Resisting this as well, she pushed herself up, walking a few steps to pick up the dagger. "These... these people are still alive. Let me finish my work."