The grand hall of Twilight's Castle, as opposed to the town it was built in, was anything but silent in the night that overtook Ponyville. If somepony looked through the window, one could see teal and light blue magic bursts exploding in many random places. The muffled sound of explosions, fortunately, never escaped the walls.



The cause of the ruckus was simple: Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer were sparring.



The two mares slowly levitated themselves down from the ceiling. They were sweating, panting, and deviously grinning. They had been practice-dueling for almost an hour-and-a-half. Both of them were exhausted, even though neither of them wanted to admit it.



"How... was that...?" gasped Starlight, whose horn was smoking magic fumes.



"You're getting... better... all the time, Star..." Sunset puffed. "But... phew... if I sent a blast reflecting off that window over there, it would've nailed you right on your horn. Remember: ALWAYS watch your sides, and don't let 'em get behind ya."



"Y'know... There were plenty of times I could've teleported somewhere and blasted you... right from behind..." Starlight cockily grinned. "Lucky for you... I thought better of it."



"Heh..." Sunset chuckled. "I'm surprised you didn't use your Timeout move to slow me and the rest of the room down."



Starlight sneered confidently. "Yeah? Well, I was expecting you to blind me with a Solar Flare."



The two Unicorns quietly eyed each other



… … …



"Wanna grab some Sparkle Cola?" Sunset suddenly asked.



"Sure. I could use a recharge..." Starlight followed her sparring partner to the kitchen.



Before long, the two mares who once duked it out in a fashion Goku and Vegeta would've been proud of were calmly sitting side-by-side, sipping on two nice, tall glasses of carrot-flavored Sparkle Cola.



Starlight looked over to her friend and interrupted the slurp-fest. "As a wise pony once said, 'It was a great fight.' You sure didn't have any trouble getting used to having a horn again, Sunny."



Sunset only smiled proudly. "Thanks, Glim-Glam. And I noticed that you're not letting your anger control you anymore. Instead, YOU'RE controlling IT, and using it well. If I were one of those psychos out there, I'd think twice before ever messing with you or the others!"



"I'm flattered." Starlight took another big swig. "Y'know... Tonight, we've been testing our skills on each other. And because we're friends, and because we don't want our teammates to get the wrong idea, we have to limit ourselves. You know what we should test our powers on instead?"



"...The bad guys?" Sunset quizzed.



"Bingo," Starlight eagerly smirked.



Sunset seemed to like Starlight's proposal. "Yeah... Imagine how much trouble the Blackhorns would be in if you and I laid into them together. They better watch out, because Twilight's band has two powerful magic-users to contend with."



Starlight nodded. "Yep. It's too bad Twilight herself doesn't join us. I know she hates it when friends fight, but... C'mon! It's just a training duel! I mean, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't make sure we kept each other's skills sharp?"



"That's just Twi," Sunset reminded her comrade. "Her best weapon isn't her horn, but her mind. She's good at outwitting just about everypony that opposes us... Plus, you and I do good as the 'magical muscle' of our gang."



Starlight looked at Sunset with a pleasant smile. "Yeah... You, me, Twilight... All of the magic-users in the team use it for different things. But... at least it's for a common goal: looking out for each other... and beating back the Nightmare Forces wherever they turn up."



Catching Starlight's thought like a butterfly in a net, Sunset returned her ally's warm smile. "You know it. And thanks. It's... nice to be able to have these little sessions. Helps blow off steam, y'know."



Starlight only gave Sunset a tired nod. The two decided to call it a night, in order to avoid the risk of waking Twilight and getting scolded like two misbehaving foals. They both crept to their room for a good night's sleep.



But when the lights went out...



"Tomorrow, we try space-warping, Glim-Reaper," Sunset whispered.



Starlight turned and grinned. "You. Are. On."

