His chest burned with every breath as he brought the aluminum bat, coated as it was in oil that one of his classmates had gotten blessed by their priest, down on another shadow beast. It crumbled apart, just like the hundreds of others he had struck…and two more took its place. Mac fell back, getting a bit of breathing room, even as the cop stepped up, hitting both with a home run swing of his own. Both of them were soaked with sweat and rain and most breath was saved for powering their muscles, but the officer exchanged a glance and a nod with him.

Mac had no idea how long it had been since they had charged out of the woods, catching the shadow army by surprise and managing to thin their numbers by close to half by the time they had recovered. Long enough that his muscles had gone past the burning of use and into that numb stage that he just ignored in favor of ‘one more swing.’ It was something he would pay for over the weekend, and no amount of hot baths or medicated muscle rub was going to help…and if that was his state, he knew everyone else would be worse off.

Already the fight had dragged on too long. Granny had run out of shells ages ago, and RD had relocated the old woman into the rotunda at her request, where she was patching up a hundred different cuts and bruises. Most of their range was depleted—even the backpack soakers only had so much water in them, and they’d even dipped into everything they had in reserve, and people were starting to get sloppy.

The cop seemed to share his thoughts. “We…can't…keep going…like this,” he panted.

Mac nodded. They were already being pushed back towards the school as more and more of them were taken out of the fight with injuries and exhaustion that meant they couldn't keep going. “Not much choice,” he grunted. “It's our Thermopylae.”

“…we’re not…Spartans…”

A shrug as he bashed a shadow before it could take out Caramel from behind. “…we stop…everyone dies. Nothin’ doin’.“

Dark Tide glanced over, her hair plastered to her head from the storm still raging, face lit in flashes of lightning that Rainbow kept directing into the masses of shadows. “…just gotta…buy Sunset…a little more time…”

Setting his jaw, Big Macintosh grunted in agreement and with the two of them at his side, waded deeper into the writhing black. Apples were not quitters, and if he was gonna face Mama and Daddy before the day was over, he’d be able to say that he gave it his all to protect his family.

Cranky was too old for this. He cleaved a dangerous arc through the masses, his eyes on the possessed girl responsible for all of this. A goddamned demon…of all the things the Fae Lord was in league with, he’d considered that, but not one like this. He’d read the texts, ages ago. He knew there was a Demon of demons, that all their ilk cowered before…but to have it be in league with some out of the way Fae on the far side of the world had been…unexpected.

Everything had been, from the moment things went to shit.

His eyes focused on the shadow encased teen girl. Sunset Shimmer had challenged what might have very well been the most powerful demon in the world…and then had vanished from the fight with whispers of some kind of plan. Some kind of win condition that she needed time for.

Adjusting his grip, he moved closer to the enemy, cutting down shades like a farmer would wheat. She had a plan, but so did he. If she didn't show back up soon, he was going to end this his way. By burying his sword in that thing’s black heart—the poor girl was already dead, her soul consumed by the monster now using her body. It would be a mercy, and it would save more lives…he just needed to get into position.

Hopefully before someone else was killed.

It was more than rage that kept her going now. She was far too old to keep up physical effort like this, her body firmly reminding her that she wasn't in her twenties anymore. Celestia twisted away from Abacus’ sword, her own blade darting in to score another line along the shadowy armor, cutting through it to leave a wound that smoked and blackened.

She could not falter—this was no bout with a whistle to call time, no rules to protect her from unsporting blows, no armor or blunted tip to keep her from injury. Already, she bled from half a dozen wounds herself, small ones, thankfully, but together they were sapping her strength.

Cinch came in fast, and Celestia brought the rapier up to block that dark sword, caught in the very type of stalemate she didn't want—instinctively, she knew it was a challenge of strength and stamina she could not outlast the monster in…but she could not break free.

“Surrender,” Abacus said tightly. “I will at least make your end swift.”

“To you? Never,” she spat back. “You cost me my loved ones, and you torture and target children. I will not surrender to a monster like you.”

“Sentimental fool, just like your ancestor.”

Celestia glared. “Bonds of love and compassion for others are not weaknesses. They are strength. If they weren't…then why are things like you urban legends and faded myth while mine are seven billion strong?”

She could not see the face behind the mask, but from the sound made, she rather imagined Abacus’ face was contorted with fury and hate as the dig struck home.

Flash kept firing, his arms heavy and his head pounding from a blow that had left a lump on his skull and blood pouring down the side of his face as it mixed with the rainwater. Sunset was counting on them—they couldn't give up.

The girls were spread out nearby, their magic making them glowing beacons of light in the dark and gloomy storm and endless parade of shadows. Dash had saved lives, more than he could count, but she was trembling so bad when she came into focus that he was worried she’d collapse. Applejack had bruises forming on exposed skin, and Fluttershy was a nightmarish sight of ever shifting flesh and grinding bones as she met each challenge with a different animal shape. Rarity was next to him, her arms casting dozens of glowing shields in and out of existence to protect their friends and classmates and more than a few teachers, her makeup and hair so destroyed by the downpour that she resembled a drowned rat. Only Pinkie seemed unphased, but he had noticed that there were nowhere near as many Pinkies in play as there had been.

“…are you even going to be able to do the rainbow thing when Sunset gets back?” Flash asked Rarity, not worried about being overheard by the enemy as thunder roared and rumbled overhead.

Rarity flicked a slight glance his way, her wavering voice revealing her own exhaustion. “We will manage, darling. While we have never pushed our powers quite so hard, Sunset’s return earlier acted as some kind of restorative. I am…confident that we will find a way.”

“I hope so…”

As they focused on the battle, Sombra raised his hands and flung shadow outwards, sending Mr. Doodle flying back from his person and almost all the way to the steps of the school. “Enough!” came the bellow from their enemy. “You are prolonging the inevitable—your army thins and Mine is endless. What’s more, is that My Challenger has quit the field! This victory is Mine! Surrender and I will spare your lives and grant you a place among My forces. For all your mortal weakness, your Courage is admirable, and of use to Me.”

Applejack scowled, and as the closest to the dark figure, provided an answer in the form of a surprise haymaker that struck one of those curving horns with an explosive CRACK! The sound echoed like a gunshot, and the horn snapped off, clattering to the ground. “Sunset ain't quit—she’s still abidin’ by yer terms ya overblown bag of shit an’ hot air. So Ah speak fer all of us when Ah say, stick yer offer up yer ass sideways.”

Stunned silence followed.

Sombra looked down, then at Applejack. “Very well,” he said, voice calm.

Then a fist lashed out, catching the farm-girl in the gut, making her double over with a wheeze. A second blow staggered her and sent her to her knees. “An object lesson then.”

Rarity immediately summoned a barrier to cover her downed partner, blue eyes blazing with the same violet light that covered her now from head to toe. She was moving even as she did, her feet carrying her through the hordes that shrank back from the light that burned them on contact.

She was not alone. The others converged on Applejack and Sombra, Rainbow Dash intercepting lightning and flinging it with a scream of rage at the demon in Twilight’s body.

Yet…something else caught Flash’s eye, from behind Sombra. A brilliant white light near the base of the statue that hadn't been there a moment before…

And then that light became Sunset Shimmer, wreathed in crimson fire, and clutching a swirling, magenta-white orb the size of a basketball to her chest, those fires curling around it like a protective skin. As he squinted against the brightness, he thought he saw wings for a moment, but they vanished with the light, and it was just Sunset, Ponied-Up.

Flash jumped forward, aiming a shot he figured wouldn't matter, but it should buy Sunset just enough time to get to the girls…

He took aim for his one-in-a-million shot, begging the universe to give him this, and fired that nail gun…

Embedding the nail right into the broken off end of that crystal horn. Sombra roared in actual pain, and now Flash had his undivided attention.

The blue haired youth really hoped Sunset appreciated this.

Sunset reoriented herself into chaos. She heard her enemy roar in agony and as her vision cleared, she could see his back as pulled something from his head. A…nail?

His attention was fixed on someone. “You will be the first to die, whelp!” he growled, even as he was fending off lightning courtesy of Dash.

A quick glance told her that she was intact and that the soul of Twilight Sparkle had made the transition with her, manifesting as a beautiful magenta-white sphere that was warm where it was pressed to her chest and arms. Spike had reappeared beside her as well, once more a twenty pound ball of fluff.

This is going to take everything we have--the girls look exhausted, and Twilight’s going to need magical assistance to get her body back.

--Lucky for us we’re on the same page for once.-- The voice laughed, and Sunset felt her magic thrum inside her soul, ready to leap to her command. Despite the aching throb of pain that told her that her trip to Hell had done nothing to fix her wounded skin, Sunset felt…energetic, and her magic was as powerful as ever.

Now it was time to deal with the problem. She strode forward, and, just as Sombra was gearing up for a monologue—what was it about dark magic that made a being think it was a great idea to gloat before finishing off your foes, seriously? It clearly did some damage to the reality lobe of the brain or something—reached out and firmly tapped him on the shoulder.

Sombra did as expected, whipping around to see who or what had dared interrupt his moment of megalomania, the demand already on his lips. Sunset glared at him, gathering her magic and her courage, before shoving that brilliant orb right into the chest of the body that was rightfully Twilight’s body. She followed it up by letting her magic free of the tight shackles that kept the rest of the world safe from her, focusing everything she had on love and friendship, on her desire to help her friends, to help the girl she could admit to herself she loved, to protect and save the people who had given her a second chance. Please, she begged the universe, begged Harmony itself, for them. Make it right. Help me fix this. Hell was right--I don't deserve to be an Element Bearer, but if I am acting as one, then I’m doing it for them. The magic inside her pulsed, then roared as it tore free of the remnants of the cage, an inferno in her blood and a firestorm that engulfed her in crimson flames, and for a heart-stopping second Sunset was afraid she had miscalculated.

Until Harmony answered, and she felt her magic change from her soul out, the flames becoming a wave that crested and crashed outwards, filling her friends, pouring into Twilight’s body and bolstering the soul now warring with darkness, and finding its way into every crack and doorway and window of the school, her desire to strengthen those she cared about made manifest by the strongest magic she knew.

It touched them all, and she could feel them. Not just the girls…not just Twilight.

All of them.

They were her and she was them, and she could hear and feel and knew their emotions in that moment.

She was Applejack, with aching ribs and a quiet but powerful love for friends and family, and she was ready to answer Sunset’s call.

She was Rainbow Dash, jittery and drunk on magic and exhaustion, with muscles that felt like they were about to vibrate away from her bones and oh so ready to finish this fight and grind Sombra’s face into the dirt.

She was Fluttershy, full of quiet determination, glad that Sunset was alive.

She was Rarity’s gut wrenching relief so powerful it hurt, ready to hug her and chastise her at the same moment.

She was Pinkie Pie’s unfettered joy that her friends were alright and this was almost over.

She was part of Twilight, surrounded by love and the unwavering belief that Sunny would never, ever let her down.

…but she was more, and as Sunset pushed her magic to fuel theirs, to give Twilight the power to fight back for her own body, she cried out through that self-same magic, “NOW!”

…overlooking that she wasn’t just tied to the girls.

Sunset’s power had filled the school, had enveloped the students and staff within and without, giving back to flagging bodies and anxious souls, and when she called for aid?

A thousand and one souls answered, surrounded and connected by a magic born of friendship and love. Streams of light, in an array of colors as many and varied as the students themselves, raced back along the path of the flames, braiding together as they joined up with others, until they crashed into her.

She was Flash, screaming his defiance at Sombra, cheering her on with everything he had.

She was also Principal Luna and Principal Celestia, full of righteous anger and bursting with pride in her, in the students and staff.

And Cady, terrified for her little sister and worried about Sunset and Luna and Shining, but ready to do what she had to to help win.

She was Applebloom, worried about the still tearful Suri, but confident that her sister would win.

Trixie, with ego and self-doubt at war within, finally feeling seen.

She was Indigo’s hope and fear, her anger and relief.

She was even Suri Polomare, whose pain and regret was a familiar thing.

She was all of them and more, their hopes and dreams, their strengths, their support, their rage and defiance, their pride in themselves and each other…

Amidst it all, she could make out how Sombra began to convulse as the real owner of the body sought to take control back, shadow weeping from ears and eyes, and two voices screaming from one throat, and beyond that, how her friends were now suspended in the air, surrounded by their revitalized magic, columns of colored light so bright it made her eyes tear up. Those columns burst skyward, piercing the storm overhead, and then came powering back down to crash into her.

Sunset burned from the inside out, drowning in the Rainbow of Light that formed with her as its epicenter. It was Harmony, it was Light, and it hummed with the emotions and echoes of her friends, each one touching her and giving her strength, helping her bring everything together into one whole with a singular goal: to cleanse the darkness. Every cell, every neuron was a kaleidoscope of colors that had no name, and she wept tears that became droplets of pure power and glowing brilliance. The hands on Sombra’s borrowed chest pressed harder and with sheer grit she let the Rainbow of Light erupt from her hands, directing it to Twilight, begging it to help her and to drive the dark away.

It responded with a fervor that drove her almost to her knees, the ribbons of color now inside Twilight’s veins, driving back the blackness, forcibly expelling the shadow from her. It formed into a horned shape that fled with a howl of hate, chased by the Rainbow as it tore through its own forces to escape. The Rainbow of Light ripped through what remained behind, Fearlings and Nightmares incinerated in an instant, until the only foe remaining was the creature that was once Abacus Cinch.

The armor protecting it had borne the brunt of the Rainbow’s efforts, cracking and crumbling to dust, and as the black sword began to rust away, a polearm came down, severing the withered hand at the wrist.

Sunset sagged as the power faded, leaving behind that bone deep exhaustion that came with overtaxing her magic, but she still managed to catch Twilight as she crumpled, half conscious.

For a long minute there was silence other than the sounds of harsh breathing…Sunset clutched Twilight to her, hoping against hope that her plan had worked.

A cough, a ragged breath, and then, “…S…sunny?”

“…Hey,” she rasped, pulling back from the tight hold to look at Twilight’s face. “How do you feel?”

Her best friend wrinkled her nose, wiping away a thin trickle of blood leaking from it. “Like…like I’ve been through Hell,” she managed. “…and for the first time I understand the true depths of what that statement means…”

Sunset couldn't help it; she began to laugh, a low chuckle that turned into full on laughter, her head falling back as the rain clouds began to break apart, an errant beam of sunlight falling on her face. “Sparky!” she got out between laughs.

“…too soon?” the other girl asked.

She sobered. “Maybe a bit. Can you walk? I seem to remember a promise to let you punch your principal, and she’s still alive.”

“Fer now,” Applejack remarked, leaning heavily on several boys from the football team. Blood was running down her cheek from a wicked cut and also down one arm, her face was already showing the first signs of some really brutal bruises, and her breath sounded a bit hindered. “We gotta do somethin’ about her before the cops show up…can't exactly hand over some magical no good beastie ta the CCPD.” She paused, then reached out a hand to rest it on Sunset’s shoulder. “Glad ta see ya alive, sugar. Both of ya. Twilight here was a real trooper while you were out. Spat right in Sombra’s eye. But if ya don’t mind, Ah’ll skip the hugs ‘til after mah ribs get looked at. Think that bastard cracked some.”

There was still magic in the air, Sunset realized. A stretching, familiar presence…reaching…Hell. It was Hell, but it wasn't reaching for her this time. No…It was…

—It's after Itheadair-Anam,— the voice supplied. —It's probably really after Sombra, but he fled once he lost the Challenge. Hmmm…He lost the Challenge.—

Yeah, and?

—We Challenged his crown and his rule, too, remember?—

Her eyes went wide. That was mostly me goading him. I didn’t really want it…

—Little late for that, since it seems we sort of accidentally-on-purpose deposed a king. Hopefully it won't go to our head this time.—

“I’m not going by some stupid title,” she muttered aloud.

“Sunny?” Twilight asked.

She shook her head. “Later, Sparky. Hell is trying to reel Cinch in. I know you’re probably as rough as I feel, but I need to know if you can stand on your own. We have to deal with Cinch, and I suspect this might need my hands free.”

Wobbly, Twilight took back her own weight, but she refused to move more than a few feet from Sunset’s side. “...I still want to punch her.”

Arching an eyebrow, the former unicorn coaxed her into taking a few steps. “...You think you have enough in you to throw a proper punch right now?”

Twilight raised her chin defiantly. “I’ll manage.”

Yeah…she probably would.

Squaring her shoulders and pushing back the exhaustion that was making her vision a little gray at the edges, Sunset strode to the now defeated being. Her senses picked up on a twisted rift in space that oozed magic and power, with hungry tendrils that had the same feel as Hell slithering closer to wind around the Crystal Prep Principal anywhere they could reach, trying to real the form in. The principal was putting up a half-hearted struggle, every line of their body announcing their defeated state. Sunset reached down and hauled the withered frame up to a standing position, halting the tug momentarily, though Hell refused to relinquish its consolation prize. “I have won,” she told the creature. “Your master has conceded the field to my power, my army. All that remains is you. Do you yield?” The formality felt…stiff, but necessary, given what had played out before with this being.

“There is nothing left to surrender but myself,” Itheadair/Cinch said, sounding as tired as Sunset felt. “My people are gone, my kingdom is dust, and my dream was at its end ten centuries ago. I remain as but the fragments of the forgotten.” Even now, there was still pride in the strange thing as they straightened themselves to stand as regally as they could, before intoning in a rhythm and tone that spoke of a ritualism that Sunset was not privy to. “I, Itheadair-Anam, Last Lord of the Sidhe, hereby acknowledge your victory, Sunset Shimmer, Magus of Equestria, against the King of Demons, the Horned Shadow of the Great Rivers. You have bested his might in an honorable Challenge, broken his army, and driven him from the field in a defeat like he has never known.” Only then did they bow their head. “Long may you reign.”

--Don’t contradict it, horn-head, no matter how little you want it. Sombra got away, but you can take more of his power from him with this gesture. I think that’s what this is about--Itheadair-Anam is repaying his betrayal in the only way they can.--

Swallowing the bitter denial, Sunset hummed at the words, before eyeing the magic curled around the being’s arms and legs. Something told her she could make it let go, if she wanted to. “I can stop this,” she said, as much as she didn’t want to. There weren't exactly any prisons where she could stash a wrinkly elf-mummy.

“No,” was the response. “Let it end. I have earned my fate, and I wish to meet it on my own two feet…unlike my former Master…I am no coward or oathbreaker.”

—Proud bastard.—

“Are you certain?” Sunset asked. She was angry…but she owed it to Princess Twilight…and to herself…to try. To give them a choice.

“I am ready. Let me go, Sunset Shimmer.”

Out of nowhere, a lavender fist buried itself in the being’s solar plexus, making them stagger in Sunset’s grip.

Right. She’d forgotten about her promise to let Sparky punch her principal.

Then Twilight spoke, her voice quiet and monotone, and Sunset spared a glance her way. “You are a monster, Principal Cinch. You did terrible, horrible things. You hurt people. Hurt me. You are everything the legends say about the evilest of faeries. There is no way for you to ever make right all the things you have done, not to me, not to anyone.”

“I can offer no apologies,” Itheadair/Cinch said, wincing as they righted themselves with Sunset’s aid.

Her expression was intense and analytical. “...No. I suppose you are incapable of that.” Twilight took a breath, and when she spoke again, her voice had a modicum more warmth to it, meaning it was just slightly above glacial. “However…I will acknowledge that…you kept your word to Sunset as best you were allowed. You…did not break your oath.”

Surprise painted those withered features. “...I…appreciate that, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight turned towards Sunset, sighing and looking like there was a heavy weight dragging her down. “Let her go, Sunny. It's…her choice, even if you don't agree…and I think it's the first one she’s made in a long time of her own free will. She’s…earned the right to go out on her terms, if nothing else.”

Nodding, Sunset very gently let go and stepped back, putting an arm around Twilight, protective and supportive. Itheadair/Cinch exhaled, and the magic slithered around them, drawing them into that hungry portal.

Then they were gone with little more than a whisper.

Author's Note

*Exhales*

*slumps into a chair*

Not gonna lie. Did some last minute editing on this one. Completely redid that climax. Super happy with it now.

Sunset deserved the big finish, that climactic moment where all of what has happened comes together to make the whole thing happen.

We are the sum total of our merits, flaws, personalities, relationships, and experiences, all together in one imperfect whole. We have the opportunity to learn from our darkness, even as we embrace the light.

Sunset Shimmer had to go through a million words to get here, through guilt and shame and darkness, through healing and growth. She had to gain friendship, and be taught lessons by others, through word, through deed. It was a hard, painful journey, and she didnt always succeed. Sometimes she slipped. Sometimes she stumbled. Sometimes she made shitty choices or acted on fear.

But our little unicorn made it to this moment.

And so did all of them.

So did all of you.

I just hope that the journey has been a good one, that little or large, it left something behind for each of you, even if that something was a smile or a laugh or a quiet, introspective moment. I know its changed me, my life. Its done amazing things for my writing, for my storytelling.

We're not quite done. There's still some wrap up chapters that tie up some loose ends and get to a good stopping point for this volume. I'll be posting next week as normal, but I'll be following it up by posting the last few chapters over the holiday week before Christmas.

Also, yes, Twilight got to punch her principal.

After all I put her through, I felt she deserved the chance.