As Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes, she wondered, not for the first time, whether or not the universe ceased to exist every time she went to sleep, only to be created anew every time she woke up. Did everything cease to be the instant she stopped thinking about it, only to pop back into being the moment she recalled it? Was the world destroyed and remade every time she blinked? Such heavy thoughts took deeper meaning when one was omnipotent. Not for the first time, she both pitied and envied mortals for being utterly powerless to control the world around them and at the same time too deluded to realize just how powerless they really were. Ignorance could sometimes be a blessing.
And not for the first time, she banished such thoughts as irrelevant. After all, she had work to do.
She gently slipped out of what could generously be called a “bed” if only because no other words could possibly be used to describe it, the sheets, woven from the fabric of space-time itself by her dear friend Rarity, neatening and tucking themselves back in without her even needing to think about it. Again, not for the first time, Sunset marveled at her cherished friend’s mastery of sewing. Then again, that was to be expected for one of the Fates.
The other person sharing the bed with her did not wake. Sunset did not wish her too, and so she remained asleep. For now.
Sunset gracefully rose to her feet and stretched, her glorious wings spreading behind her as her golden body, the very definition of physical perfection and beauty, flexed and bent to her will, her infinitely-long hair of red and gold flames flowing behind her. With a thought, a mirror appeared before her. She knew her immaculate beauty was, as always, flawless even though she had just gotten out of bed – – for she had wished it so – – but she was self-aware enough to admit she just liked to admire herself. She was, after all, the most beautiful creature in all of existence, bar one, and she liked staring at that one’s form even more.
With another thought, she banished the mirror, and after taking another moment to check that her spouse had not stirred in her sleep – – she had not – – she decided it was time to get to work.
She cupped her hands, and a tiny ember appeared in them. Bringing her palms close to her face, she gently exhaled on the flame, sparks flying off of it and filling the space around her. As she snuffed the ember out in her hands, the sparks multiplied exponentially, numbering in the billions, the trillions, and even higher, tiny pinpoints of light swirling around her, their light reflecting off of her shining skin. Each was a newborn universe, brimming with limitless potential.
Gazing at the multiverse she had just created, Sunset smiled, marveling at its fragile beauty as the worlds she’d breathed into existence grew and developed in the blink of one of her eyes, billions of years passing – – from her perspective – – in an instant. After all, time did not exist if she did not wish it to.
The universes continued to grow and change, each one distinct and yet, in many ways, exactly the same. Sunset took a moment to contemplate this; how infinite variables could lead to the smallest of changes creating a completely unrecognizable world or the biggest of changes bringing things right back to where they started, as the order underlying even the most chaotic of systems reasserted itself time and time again in so many different ways even her mind had difficulty grasping (but not her beloved, of course)…
Then twitched a wing, extinguishing over 90% of the sparks. They were uninhabitable, and so useless for her purposes.
Another twitch. All of the universes that could support life, but did not give rise to sentient life, were snuffed out.
Another twitch. All the universes that had sentient life but did not have a Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle in them were erased.
Another twitch. All the universes that had a Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle but were enemies, born in different worlds or time periods, or friends but nothing more, disappeared.
Of the remainder, she carefully selected the 100 million best and brightest, weeding, pruning, and discarding worlds where Sunset and Twilight’s love story ended in tragedy or heartbreak, seeking out the universes where their love not only stood the course of time, but bettered and enriched the lives of all among them. She chose both utopias and more mundane realities, worlds where they ascended to positions of power and prestige or settled down to a content life of mediocrity. All that mattered was that they were happy, and in love, and nothing would ever change that.
And then she crushed those hundred million worlds together between her hands, guaranteeing that nothing ever would.
As she opened her hands to examine the glistening crystalline singularity she just created, a warm smile crossed her face as she could feel the pure love and joy radiating from the bauble. The souls of the hundred million Sunsets and Twilights, and those they loved, and all the others who shared the world with them, would live on forever in a paradise greater than any Eden or heaven, their eternities filled with nothing but joy and love and everlasting happiness.
Taking a moment to congratulate herself on her craftsmanship, Sunset at last turned back to the bed where her beloved continued to slumber, willing her to awaken.
Twilight Sparkle willed herself right back to sleep. “Five more epochs, Sunny,” she mumbled.
“Wake up, Twilight,” Sunset said gently as she touched her paramour’s shoulder, a thrill of excitement racing through her as it always did whenever she touched her. For while all worshiped Sunset, and rightfully so, there was only one being in all of existence she would ever place above herself. “I have a present,” she added in a sing-song tone.
Grumbling and muttering half-hearted epithets and curses under her breath, Twilight reluctantly turned over and sat up in bed, stretching and yawning before blinking her eyes blearily and squinting at Sunset. Unlike Sunset, Twilight wasn’t vain enough to immediately will herself to be perfectly immaculate after waking, and so she had the divine equivalent of ‘bedhead,’ her infinitely long lustrous hair splayed all over the place and covering part of her face, her feathers were askew, some drool dripped from her open mouth, and the imprint of her pillow was pressed into her right cheek.
Not for the first time, Sunset told herself that she’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“A present?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eyes and wiping the drool off the back of her hand, a few flecks of spittle hitting the “floor” of their “bedroom” and quickly giving rise to a microscopic civilization revolving entirely around the worship and veneration of her which would inevitably be snuffed out when she accidentally stepped on it later. (It was the fulfillment of all their hopes and dreams.) “What is it?”
She knew what it was, of course. She WAS omniscient, after all. Sunset respected the fact that she pretended not to know, for her sake. Nobody liked a know-it-all, after all, especially one who really DID know-it-all. “Ta-da!” Sunset proclaimed, extending her hands and presenting the crystal singularity. “A perfect jewel for my perfect jewel!”
Twilight took the crystal from Sunset, her eyes widening as the last traces of sleep vanished from her mind. “Oh, wow! It’s so beautiful, Sunny! And the sheer love and devotion… It’s extraordinary!”
Sunset nodded happily. “Isn’t it wonderful how lesser and mortal versions of ourselves can find their way to each other in so many different worlds? Love and happiness are not solely the provenance of the divine, after all.”
“Indeed they aren’t,” Twilight agreed. “What a sad world it would be if that were true…” She gave Sunset a puzzled look. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you giving this to me? This isn’t an anniversary of anything. I would know if it were.”
Even though she knew Twilight already knew the answer, Sunset couldn’t help feeling a bit of pride and boundless affection when she said, “Do I need a reason to do something nice for you? After all, what’s the point of omnipotence if you can’t put a smile on the face of the person you love?”
The smile and blush she got in return was all the answer she needed.
Author's Note
Because sometimes, cosmic love and cosmic horror can go hand-in-hand.
