"Mercy."

King Sombra was completely and utterly satisfied with his life and his reign.

He didn’t need all of Equestria. All he needed was that Celestia knew he was there– And that she would never get her pupil back.

After all, in a war of light and shadow– The Light’s goal is to save the world… And the Shadow’s goal is to cause pain.

Everyday, losses on both sides.

But Sombra had the luxury of not caring about his soldiers. Mindless drones that followed his every command– And what’s more, many of them were ponies. The forces of good’s friend and families. Their neighbors.

Demoralization.

That was the key not to winning the war, but to enjoy it.

And he enjoyed it.

Very, very much.

“Front lines. Report.” He spoke coldly, raising another glass, lounging on his throne of dark crystals.

The throne room was cold– Much like the rest of his Crystal Empire. His banners decorated the area, candles on stands reflected their dim light off the walls, the windows were open, without glass; For he enjoyed taking glances at his empire often. The morning sun approached, peeking from the mountains, but being covered by cold clouds soon after.

One of his drones came forward, a pegasus pony, wearing one of the same masks that all of his mind-controlled servants did. “Sire. All quiet in the front lines. Nothing to report.”

A toothy grin manifested on the king’s face, as he placed the drink down. “Heheheheh… Excellent. Let’s see if we can make it to a decade. Laugh.”

The drones in the room obeyed immediately, a laugh without joy or comfort, a laugh without meaning.

“City. Report.” He spoke coldly once more, turning his head to another one of his drones.

Another one stepped forward, and spoke robotically, much like the others. “No unrest. No resistance. No celebration.”

This time, the king snickered. “How delightful. Perhaps I know just what would raise their spirits. I could parade the Princess of Friendship around town again. That ought to put a smile on all their little pony faces.”

Turning to the right of his throne, there was a spot dedicated exclusively to this topic of conversation. “Isn’t that right, Twilight Sparkle?” He spoke, with delighted callousness.

The Princess of Friendship stood, bound by chains in every part of her body, horn and wings included, which forced her to stand in an uncomfortable position. Her head hung low, and her eyes were not open. She was malnourished, and barely conscious.

“What’s the matter, Princess?” He mocked, waving his glass around. “I’m sure your friends are very close to mounting a rescue plan. That is, the ones that are still alive, of course.”

No response. She didn’t even move. Not a twitch of the ear or a wince.

He sat back in his throne, speaking in that same glee. “Or maybe it’ll be your precious courageous mentor. Maybe Celestia will come for you.” He took a swig of his drink, delighting himself with the idea. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? The Queen of the Sun, blessing us with her presence. What I wouldn’t give to parade her around, too. Kingdom of fools…”

And still, the Princess of Friendship didn’t move nor make a sound.

He left his throne, coming closer to her. “My city is impenetrable. And what's more, no substantial forces could possibly ever cross the front lines. The only possible way anypony could even try to reach you is if they were already in the city.”

Still, no response. “And who would ever? A handful of slaves? Or perhaps one of my drones? Brave contenders, I’m sure.”

He forced her head to face him, and forced her eyes to open; But they could barely meet the target. Her open mouth contorted into an exhausted, pained grimace, while his grin reached ear to ear, and he narrowed his eyes at her. “Oh well. I like to jest. You know I’m a jester at heart. But we both know the funniest joke here is to imagine that Celestia, or anypony in this world could ever save you. Laugh.”

His command forced his captive audience to laugh at the expense of the Princess, the same laughter without warmth, the same snide. The Princess had no reaction– Except for a guttural, dehydrated sound, and a wince of pain.

The slightest hint of annoyance flashed on the King’s face, as he bared his fangs at the princess, to no reaction of hers. He simply dropped his hold on her, and her head hung low once more, with her letting out a gasp, and short breaths of pain.

He turned around, dismissing her, addressing one of the drones in the room. “Such a fragile thing… Hasn’t spoken in a week… Servant. Schedule her to have a drink of water tomorrow. I'm feeling generous.” Before sitting on the throne, he turned at her, with a smirk. “Or perhaps right now…? Would you like a drink, Princess?”

He picked up the liquor glass he was drinking from and flung it at her with magic.

He missed. The glass shattered on the floor around her, and the little liquor that remained on it served for nothing.

“Oh well. I missed. Too bad. Laugh.” This time, he joined in the laughter of his drones, being the one filled with the most joy in the room, but no comfort.

Lounging back on his throne absentmindedly, he waved a hoof. “Statue. Report.”

No answer. He looked around. A minor inconvenience went a long way to a pony like him. “Where is the supervisor drone for my statue? COME, NOW!” He snarled.

Moments after, a pegasus rushed into a room from one of the windows, breathing heavily, but behaving in the same way as the others, robotically.

Narrowing his eyes, the King scoffed. “You’re late! Statue. Report.”

“Construction has halted, sire. There’s a commotion at the site, just now–” He was thoroughly interrupted by the King, with an angry snarl. “What could a bundle of slaves POSSIBLY do to raise a fuss when building my next statue?!”

“Not the slaves, sire. An alicorn of the sun just appeared out of nowhere–” Loud, joyous laughter echoed in the halls of the throne room, as the King delighted himself. “Oh, how amusing! You drones should not be capable of joking! Celestia would never leave the front lines, and if she did, our canons would blow her out of the sky before she reached the city gates–”

An explosion blew one of the walls of the throne room, and the Alicorn Valkyrie entered it like a meteor, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

The Princess of Valor was here.

The King raised an eyebrow, scanning his opponent, amused.

Sunset Shimmer allowed herself only one second to behold Twilight Sparkle. Then her gaze, filled with hatred, rested on the king.

“Let her go.”

The command was snarled. Her wings were raised. The drones took a fighting stance, but with a wave of a hoof, the king dismissed them– Giving him and his opponent a chance to be in the throne room alone.

He was not laughing, but he was amused. “My, oh my. It’s a Valkyrie. Celestia must be getting desperate, if she’d train more of you now…”

Stomping a hoof on the floor, with a sound that shook the hall, the light from Sunset’s horn tripled in potency, removing the shades of dark from the crystals around them.

“LET.” Her razor-sharp wings sheened.

“HER.” Her eyes widened with rage.

“GO.” She took a battle stance.

A smirk appeared on the king's lips. He stood from his throne, and with a flash, adorned silver armor. “Before I kill you, may I inquire as to how you snuck your way into my city? I’d like to qualm that security mistake, for next time–”

Sunset teleported beside him and bucked him in his flank, sending him flying, denting and bending his armor.

The fight became hectic. The King wasn’t going to allow himself to be caught off guard again.

Dark smoke began slowly seeping into the floors, and barring the windows. Their clashes sent the fog flying and twisting in a way akin to a dance.

Slicing with her wings with great agility, Sunset kept teleporting to get strikes in, as well as use her horn, always closing the gap.

The King often tried teleporting out of range, shooting projectiles of dark magic at her, only on occasion fencing with his horn.

Her breathing was quick and sharp. She focussed on speed over deadliness, not allowing herself to be caught. Dodging skillfully with flips in many directions, as well as teleporting, and sometimes even parrying the projectiles back at him.

With a decisive motion, she managed to deliver a swift right hook to his muzzle, and then flipped to buck his side once more, of which he finally felt, with some reaction.

Wiping blood off of his nose, he narrowed his eyes, measuring his opponents swift movements. “Your fighting style certainly resembles that of a Valkyrie, but your legwork is unorthodox. What kind of a Valkyrie does pirouettes?”

She did not reply. Leaping forward at high speeds, she continued to keep the fight at close quarters, slicing at him with her horn, of which he’d block with his own, or with barriers that struggled to hold against her barrage.

It was quite clear to him that keeping the fight at close range was a bad idea. Her fencing was aggressive, and it hit hard, he would often get slashed and stabbed, when he tried countering with an elegant technique, being punished for his dark regal style.

Grinning with sharp teeth, he waved his horn, teleporting out of her range, and shards of crystals began flying from the walls and towards her with violent speed.

Twisting her body, blocking with her armored wings, and even stopping them with barriers and levitation, she ignored the pain of the crystals stabbing her armor in places, more than one.

He attacked primarily with magic, so when she forced him to defend himself with his horn, overpowering him, that’s when he’d take the most hits, with her slicing and stabbing savagely, finishing with a buck.

Being sent flying, he recovered with magic, inverting his gravity, and landing with grace on the ceiling, wiping blood from a cut in his cheek. “Your way of fighting– So aggressive. I am certain Celestia would disapprove. You lack a lot of what she has.”

No response from the Valkyrie, Other than teleporting with a leap forward, grabbing him from behind, and intensifying her own gravity with magic, pulling him down.

For a brief moment, they hovered, spinning, as both changed their own gravities exponentially, attempting to surpass the other.

Sunset let go of him with a leap and a teleport, and him, with his gravity entirely misaligned, crashed against a wall violently.

The dark fog continued to spread in the room. Sunset Shimmer was nearly the only source of light; As her horn was alight, and her armor, its reflection.

Recovering from his crash on the wall, he stood, maintaining regal composure. “Admirably done. If combat was an art, you’d be painting a masterpiece.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

With that answer, she ignited herself, flames surrounding her body, as she leapt forward viciously, and began slicing with her now burning metal-covered wings.

This barrage lit the room. She was like a tornado of fury, the dark smoke was dispelled around her as fast as it approached, and the King could do little to defend himself.

His composure waned, as his smile faded, with his increasingly failed attempts to protect himself from her vicious strikes.

He attempted to use more pieces of the walls to attack her, but they soon enough simply added to her maelstrom; Disintegrating entirely.

He attempted to teleport out of range, but she would close the gap incredibly fast, shooting through the air like a meteor, aflame.

He attempted to cast more and more barriers, but they broke quicker than he cast them.

With one fierce buck, one imbued with flames, she tossed him across the room.

He coughed only twice, breathing increasingly unsteadily. And as the dark fog enveloped him, he smirked.

“Impressive. But this battle is over.” He stood once more. The room was darker than ever, embraced by his shadow.

“You really thought you could come into my empire, my kingdom, my throne room…?” He said, with a malevolent grimace, as she approached him with murderous intent.

The fog she ran through seemed to warp the dimensions of the room, as if the corridor got longer, and he gained distance from her without even moving. “You’re out of your depth. And soon, your mind will be mine. Another soldier in my army.”

Her breathing was sharp, quick, as her eyes narrowed, and her strength faltered. The fog surrounded her completely, she couldn’t see him anymore.

“Another pupil of Celestia I will happily parade around my kingdom.” His voice echoed around her, loud, increasingly louder.

The darkness was pitch black. Her light did nothing against it.

Sunset Shimmer inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes, allowing him in.

Sombra had done this exercise countless times. He was rarely surprised, and rarely caught off guard, upon entering a foe’s mind. But immediately upon going inside the mind of the Valkyrie, he could tell that something was wrong.

The scenery was one thing– He was in the Canterlot throne room that supposedly belonged to Celestia and Luna, but there was a bizarre change to it.

It was a cage.

A cage surrounded the throne room in its entirety. It was dark– nearly entirely so. The only light was one that dimly passed through stained glass windows on one side, it was the light of the setting sun; Faintly filtered by the glass on the windows and the bars of the cage.

His eyes were naturally drawn to the darkest corner of the throne room.

He was not alone.

There were two ponies, each in one of the thrones of the sun and moon. But only the sun spoke.

“Cute. Downright adorable.”A raspy, conniving voice spoke calmly from one of the thrones, as the figure stood– But he could at least recognize the voice of his opponent; The Valkyrie.

There was a chain. Tied to her neck, that led to the throne of the moon, and the pony that held it.

Slowly, she stood from the throne and walked towards him, and the moment she did, the chain was released. “You really thought you could just waltz into her mind and take over? Adorable.”

He attempted to cast his magic, light the surroundings, and see his foe; But it seemed to fail; It seemed weaker. For once, it didn’t seem like he was the one in control. His shadows did not spread. “Valkyrie! Show yourself! Your mind will be yours no longer!” He attempted to threaten.

Her silhouette was bigger than anticipated, and it was twisted. He was not yet sure of what he was seeing.

But it wasn’t an Alicorn.

The green eyes of a predator glowed in the dark as she rose her wings, approaching him slowly, relishing every word. “Clearly, you don’t understand who you’re fucking with… Because Sunset Shimmer doesn’t yield. And she sure as hell doesn’t kneel.”

Now he began sweating. Now he began releasing the mistake he might have made, coming in here. There was no way out of this cage, he was locked in here with that thing.

And that thing was a demon.

“You’re out of your depth.” She took great joy in seeing him recoil from her approach. Slowly, behind him, outside of the cage, a fire began burning. And the light of that fire illuminated his foe.

It could have been seen as an Alicorn, in the darkness, but it wasn't. It could have been seen as the Valkyrie he fought mere moments ago, but it wasn’t.

This demon, with long bat-like wings, crooked horn, and a long row of incredibly sharp and misaligned teeth, towered over him with a delighted snicker. She was wearing armor, too, much like the Valkyrie– A twisted, spiked, obsidian-like rusted armor that seemed to be poorly fitted. Her mane, long and unruly, moved behind her like flames.

Sunset Shimmer bared her fangs with a wicked smile. “You made a lot of mistakes today, Sombra. Not fleeing from her was one of them. Coming in here was another.”

He attempted to recoil, but his back was pressed against the walls of the cage, there was nowhere to go.

“But the most important mistake you made…” Her wicked smile turned into a threatening grimace, as if she was about to eat his head whole in a mere bite. “...Was hurting Twilight Sparkle.”

A delighted giggle could be heard from the second throne behind her, which was still bathed in darkness. He could not see who it belonged to; And he did not try. His gaze was firmly affixed on the demon before him.

“We don’t like that.”Her smile widened even more.

“Not.” Her wings readied themselves.

“One.” Her tail flicked about with anticipation.

“Bit.” Her stance changed to that of a pounce.

‘Evisceration’ Could be an apt description to summarize what she did to him– ‘Obliteration’ would be a merciful one. ‘Vivisection’ would be too clinical, but certainly not incorrect. But none of these would be violent enough to do it justice.

In the mind, you don’t have a physical form per se– Things are more fluid.

But you can still feel pain.

And he felt everything that Sunset Shimmer did to him.

Ridding herself of Sombra’s ‘control’ felt like sneezing.

The word ‘control’ is a generous description. Ridding herself of Sombra’s ‘visit to her mind’ was easy.

She sneezed, and he came out, crashing upon his throne, destroying it, with screams of pain and desperation. And she felt better than ever.

The dark fog that surrounded her dissipated near instantly.

“That– That willpower– What– What ARE you?!” He attempted to desperately stand, his crown nearly sliding off of his head, his armor, which was already damaged, almost slipping off, his mane, an unruly mess.

With a toothy grin, she snarled. “Did you have your fun crawling around in there? Because I haven’t even begun to have mine.”She approached him, much like a predator, with that same horrifying grimace that she wore inside her head, much to his desperate wailing.

His whimpers were the only response she got, as he desperately attempted to crawl away from her; His armor broken nearly completely, his crown rolling on the floor.

With an inhale, she centered herself. “It’s time I show you another way in which I differ from Celestia. Another attribute that she has that I lack… Mercy.” She stated coldly, as the light of her horn shined on the surroundings, blindingly.

Twilight Sparkle couldn’t discern fully what was happening, she struggled to open her eyes, she struggled to remain conscious.

She heard the distinct sound of magic, and visceral impacts. Sounds of flesh ripping, and bones crushing. The screams of pain and horror that King Sombra let out echoed in the castle, but only for a moment.

As soon as they ceased there was a handful of tearing sounds and splatters. A thud.

Then she heard hoofsteps slowly approaching her. And quick breathing.

Sunset breathed incredibly fast. Her adrenaline was still high from that battle. Inhaling from the nose, exhaling from the mouth, steadying herself. Her heart pounded furiously.

She approached the prisoner, and stopped. Twilight couldn’t raise her head to look.

“Twilight...”

The Princess of Friendship tried raising her head, open her eyes, but she failed.

With magic blasts, the chains that held her gave way, and she fell.

But Sunset caught her.

Holding her gently, like she was a piece of glass, or the wings of a butterfly, the princess of Valor spoke softly. “Twilight. I’m going to carry you out of here, okay? I’ve got you.”

The Princess of Friendship could not respond. She felt herself being placed upon the back of the Alicorn that rescued her, and she felt the unwavering movements of her being carried through the throne room.

Her eyes, narrow, unfocussed, could make out only a few shapes and colors.

She saw red, a huge clash of red, spread and splattered all over the floor of the throne room, with only a few chunks of solid matter.

She attempted to speak, her voice raspy and quiet. “Wh… What… What happened…?”

A wing was raised to cover her field of view. The Valkyrie spoke, as softly as she possibly could. “It’s okay. It’s okay. He’s gone. He won’t hurt anyone anymore.”

Reaching the ledge of the hole she had blasted into the wall of the throne room, Sunset prepared herself, with infinite caution. “We’re going to fly, okay? I won’t let you go.”

And so she flew.

Incredibly carefully, she glided down towards the kingdom, towards the unfinished statue of King Sombra.

She could see, even from above, his drones were collapsed. Plenty of the ponies that wore the same masks that signified the hold that the King held on them, were now moving on their own volition, for the first time in years, struggling to discern their surroundings, struggling to discern where they were.

And then she finally made it. To her other self.

Sunset Shimmer had her neck and horn bound by chains, and those chains bound her to other prisoners, and then on, in a line of prisoners that surrounded the unfinished statue. She looked above her, witnessing the Princess of Valor return, with the Princess of Friendship on her back.

“H-holy shit.” She stated, in quiet surprise. There were flames coming from one of the highest parts of the castle of King Sombra, and the one who caused it was coming back, successful.

The Valkyrie landed with a soft thud, ignoring the many surprised and curious eyes that were on her. None of that mattered.

“Hey, other me… Y-you’re bleeding. Like, all over.” Sunset stated, looking at her armored, battle-scarred self.

“It’s mostly not mine.” She stated, shaking her head, ignoring her surroundings, ignoring the sharp pain of the handful of crystals that were lodged on her side.

Carefully, incredibly carefully, she leaned, and gently, incredibly gently, she held the Princess of Friendship, and laid her on the wooden floor of the rafters that held them.

“You’re okay. You’re okay.” She muttered, placing her down with incredible delicateness. She leaned her forehead on the side of the Princess, feeling all that she felt, all that she had felt.

Seeing all that she had experienced, in captivity. All these years.

One of the prisoners bound to the Sunset, scratching herself in surprise and confusion, spoke carefully, afraid that she might anger the bloody Valkyrie. “U-um… King S-sombra, is he, uh…?”

“Dead.” Was all that she heard from the Princess of Valor, who still leaned on the Princess.

With a smile, the prisoners cheered and proclaimed, and those cheers spread throughout the city, echoing, repeating, gleeful, joyful, exhausted cheers.

“KING SOMBRA IS DEAD!!!!!!!”

Sunset Shimmer, however, quietly observed her other Alicorn self, who was now crying, leaning on the Princess of friendship.

The city echoed with weary joy. Slowly, the drones ridded themselves of their masks, and regained consciousness. The crystal ponies and prisoners of war were now waking up, after years.

“Y-years…” The Valkyrie muttered, as she raised her head. She beheld Twilight, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the blood. “Years… So many years of pain, spent here…!”

She shook her head. Ponies around her started thanking her profusely, but she ignored them. With three quick slices of her horn, she rid her other self of chains on her sides, and then of the one that bound her horn.

“Free the others.” The Valkyrie commanded simply, having stopped crying. After all, those tears weren't hers. “I’m going to get her some water and food, and make sure there are no loyalists to the king in this city.”

The Prisoner nodded profusely, and started freeing her friends; Her horn alight like a blowtorch, releasing them one by one– And the free ones would free the others.

“Sunset.” The Valkyrie garnered her attention quickly. She then pointed at the unconscious Princess of Friendship, while piercing her other self with a dagger-like gaze, giving her one simple, incredibly important task. “Take care of her.”

That command pierced through the unicorn like an arrow. And she complied with emphatic nods. “O-okay…!”

The Valkyrie remained only for a second, leaning her forehead against the Princess’s forehead, inhaling, and then exhaling, standing and taking flight once more.

There was a lot of confusion about the reports of what happened that day.

After all, plenty of prisoners could ascertain that an Alicorn that looked exactly like one of their own had saved them, and killed King Sombra, no less.

The confusion remained. Sunset Shimmer refused to take full credit for what happened. She had other priorities.

The strange mysterious sun Valkyrie, of course, disappeared less than an hour later, and was never seen again.

All she could think of, through that entire experience, is how painful it was, that it felt like it had been so long since she had visited the Crystal Empire– Even though, in her universe, it had been only a single week.

Cold. Sunset hadn’t felt cold in a long time.

And she didn’t feel cold now, either.

“Are we sure it’s worth it to search for rogue changelings in a friggin’ BLIZZARD?!” Rainbow Dash complained loudly, for the whole group to hear, and for once, none disagreed, it was bitterly cold.

Sunset narrowed her eyes through the white fog, then gazed to her side, with a concerned smile. “What do you think, Twi? Should we call it for today?”

“I-I…” Twilight sneezed, then shook her head. “Cadance and Thorax are counting on us. We should press on a little longer!”

With a nod, Sunset smiled, and got closer. “Okay. We got this.” Then she turned her head, addressing the others. “We’re pressing on a little longer, everypony!”

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack all begrudgingly complied, with a few groans of annoyance. Every one of them wore winter outfits that covered them nearly fully, (Rarity’s being the most fashionable, of course) as they shuffled through the snowy wastes.

Pinkie was the first one to complain audibly, with the cold being so bitter it stopped her from bouncing and skipping about. “W-we BETTER not miss Sunset’s Alicornaversary because we got lost in this friggin-fraggin snowy NOTHING!!!”

Chuckling, Sunset pointed at a southeast direction with her wing, while looking back at her friend. “Pinkie, the Crystal empire is right there– only a mile or two out– Besides, we’re not missing my party, it’s like, in a week.”

Sputtering with the cold, the party pony still had her doubts. “I-I-I can’t party if I’m a Pinkie Popsicle…!!!!”

“Dude, I can’t see the empire at all…!” Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the horizon of white wind. “A-are you sure…?!” She extended a wing, bringing fluttershy closer, who shivered.

“I’m sure. Just look for the lights.” Sunset said confidently.

Rarity, who was being carried by applejack, and clung tightly to her, couldn’t muster much energy to complain. “It would be nice if we found a place to rest soon, darlings– Even Applejack is not hot enough for this weather…!”

With a haggard chuckle, the Farmer looked back at her. “Are ya tryna flirt in a blizzard, sugarcube?”

Shivering, the Seamstress rubbed her face on her love’s neck. “M-maybe…! Is it working? I can’t tell… Oh my goodness I’m so cold I can’t even endear you with my wiles…!!”

“It’s okay, sugarcube…!” The Farmer exhaled, suppressing a chuckle, trying to stay warm, and conserve oxygen.

Fluttershy, trembling, muttered something, which Rainbow translated to “We should REALLY find a place to rest, guys! My girl can’t feel her hooves!!”

Nodding, Sunset narrowed her eyes forward. “I think I see a ridge or a crevice, this way. Follow me!”

Shivering a bit, Twilight walked closer to her wife. “D-despite regularly visiting the moon with Luna– I still haven’t really gotten used to this kind of c-cold!! Oof…!”

“You’ll get there, Sparkles. I know you will.” Her wife responded with a warm smile, having unending confidence that Twilight would master the power of the moon, and the entire night, at that. “Lean on me as much as you need, okay?”

Twilight nodded shortly, as she walked closer and rubbed her cheek with Sunsets. They had just entered some sort of cave, which provided them shelter from the wind, at least. All of the seven ponies quickly made themselves as comfortable as possible, on that frosted crevice. Upon physical contact with Sunset, Twilight gasped in surprise. “Y-you’re s-so warm! Oh my gosh, SO warm!! H-how?!”

Snickering, Sunset could notice that her wife was so cold, that her usually incredibly high intellect was a bit stalled. “Um, Princess of the Sun? Hello? Heh.”

“D-do you mind if I…?” Twilight came even closer, with pouty eyes.

“Not at all.” Sunset embraced her with a wing, And Twilight rubbed herself along her side, flank to flank, cheek to cheek, letting out shudders and exhales of relief. The two Alicorns were significantly bigger than the other ponies, and Sunset was the biggest– And Twilight was ever thankful for that, the warm cuddles of an Alicorn of the sun were a heavenly gift on this blizzard.

Less than a second later, she spoke for all to hear. “Everypony huddle on my wife for warmth!!”

To which, much to Sunset’s surprise, they all complied instantly. Twilight climbed on her back, much like Rarity had on Applejacks, and clung tightly, letting out sighs of relief, rubbing her cold muzzle against the warm nook on the side of Sunset’s neck.

Pinkie simply materialized herself below Sunset, like she was a shuddering pillow, making herself comfortable in between her legs.

On her left, Rainbow had placed Fluttershy on her own back, and quickly huddled as close as she could, allowing her girlfriend to have as much of the warmth as she could below Sunset’s wing, and on the right, Applejack did the same for Rarity.

“Twenty minutes of break, then we head out, okay everypony?” Sunset spoke with a warm smile, as she increased her heat by shuffling a bit, and lighting her horn, almost akin to a heater. Every one of them muttered and mumbled affirmations, which only made her giggle.

They all fell asleep in that cuddle pile and woke up three hours later, when night had fallen and the storm had passed, warm and content.

And yet, they remained for a little longer, beholding the impeccable clear night sky of the Crystal Empire, and the aurora borealis that danced beautifully in it.

That was the last time Sunset Shimmer had visited the Crystal Empire in her universe.

Author's Note

SUNSET SHIMMER VS KING SOMBRA.

INFO: Sunset has never fought King Sombra, but has certainly heard about him and what he was capable off. Choosing to keep the fight at close range was the right choice. And perhaps we should discuss the elephant in the room, or should I say, demon in the cage...

VERDICT: Sombra should have never gone within the enclosure of a beast. A somewhat challenging battle for the Valkyrie Phoenix, but one she won nonetheless.

Well that was a bit of a heavier chapter! Not all of them will be like this, I prommy. I just realised that with King Sombra around, things shouldn't ever be light. May just be my interpretation, but I decided to write him as evil incarnate.

I don't plan on making every chapter action heavy either, but hey, I love writing characters beating the crap out of each other. Good times.

Oh and a very small detail. There's a part where King Sombra mentions "what kind of a Valkyrie does pirouettes?" That's a direct reference to return of midnight, where Sunset trained her agility with Pinkie Pie lmao. She trained to be a Valkyrie after, but she uses all she learned in combat, nyeheheh

And nah, I don't feel like psychoanalyzing what is going on inside Sunset's head. Girliepop has a healthy way of coping, clearly, and is thriving, so lets not worry about the demon in the cage. She seems happy, after all <3

No matter what i'm at least glad I crafted a Sunset Shimmer that has the willpower of fucking batman lmao

I quite enjoy doing these little snippets of 'The Prime universe' As I like to call it! The main canon, Sunset's life of becoming an alicorn after having bonded with the mane 6 and fallen for Twilight. It's very fun to have a couple of scenes here and there showing a bit of her life! All that she misses. Cuddles with wife.......

The good news is that we're getting closer and closer to my absolute FAVORITE universes, you'll know it when you see it, heheh. Theres some fucking bangers that I'm SO excited for

Up next we have an intermission! Twilight continues to work diligently.