INTERMISSION: The boulder falls down the mountain

Four days.

“It's ready, right? It can’t be any more ready than this!” Spike observed the oversized machine that went all the way to the ceiling. After what felt like too long, yet too little time building it, they were all pretty tired, and they were all finally done.

The machine resembled something akin to an archway surrounded by coils and wires, many of which were connected to rune stones and crystals, all leading to one substantially, nearly chair-sized power conduit crystal.

The little dragon let out a huge exhale, stretching. “I mean, only four days to build an interdimensional lasso to find Sunset… that has GOT to be some sort of record.”

“Record or not, I must say…” Hermes had a delighted smile on his face. “This is an incredibly sophisticated technomagical device. I am simply overjoyed!!”

All the other occupants of the room frowned at him. Spike, Fluttershy, Twilight and vitally, Queen Luna, who still had time to assist before the sun would set, and she would be needed elsewhere.

“It was kind of rushed…” Fluttershy tilted her head, analyzing the machine, despite not knowing it’s inner workings, she was still worried she would see a loose wire or other. “Do you think it works now…?”

Twilight inhaled deeply, then exhaled, turning to the prisoner. “Only one way to find out… Okay, Hermes. Let’s run by this one more time.”

He nodded emphatically, containing his excitement. “Yes! Step one, program the genetic directives into the finding runes.”

“All done.” Twilight double checked the few notes on a barren console, and the runes she had already prepared and encoded with Sunset’s hair for this.

“Step two!” He perked up even more, and pointed at the huge crystal that was connected by dozens upon dozens of wires. “Charge the battery crystal, being very careful not to overcharge it, and it’ll conduct all the power the machine needs!”

Luna nodded, stepping forward. “That is why I’m here. Together, it will be easy.” And Twilight nodded right back. “Right. Two Alicorns would make this a sitch. You and I will charge it, and then…”

“Step three!” This time, Hermes was a bit more quiet. “You pull the switch, and in theory, you will pull your Sunset across the multiverse into that gateway, and she’ll materialize here…!”

“...Easy peasy...” Spike exhaled, still feeling the exhaustion.

“Lemony squeasy!” Fluttershy added, then started walking around the room, handing out goggles. “Don’t forget eyewear, everypony! We don’t know how bright this will be!”

Every resident in the room accepted the goggles wholeheartedly, and she also gave Owlicious and Ray their own animal sized goggles.

Before settling, Fluttershy turned to the leader. “Twilight, are you sure you don’t want to wait for the others to be here…? Celestia, especially…?”

She shook her head emphatically. “No point in waiting another second, especially because this might not work.” And because it might.

“My sister still has plenty of duties in Canterlot before she can come here tonight, and I must leave as soon as the sun fully sets.” Luna affirmed sternly. “If we must do it, the time is now.”

Twilight tried not thinking about the possibility of failure. “...Okay. You all know your positions. Luna, you and I will charge the conduit.” The Queen of the Night took a dutiful position beside the oversized crystal.

“Spike, you’ve got the fire extinguisher just in case me and Luna get knocked by the blast, or in case… Well, the whole room catches fire.” The little dragon gave a salute while holding the extinguishing device, and decided not to make a joke regarding the irony of a dragon putting out a fire.

“Fluttershy, you’re on the balcony to check and see if the kinetic blast will damage Ponyville in any way.” Nodding, the pegasus flew towards the balcony, keeping a watchful eye.

“Hermes, you’re sitting in your cage and doing nothing.”

“Hear hear…!” The scientist unenthusiastically agreed from his cell.

Everyone was ready. Twilight suppressed that knot in her gut. High hopes, low expectations. If it didn’t work, they could try again. Rebuild if necessary, but they could try again.

But if they were lucky… They could put this whole matter to rest. And her bed wouldn’t be empty tonight.

She tried not thinking about how much danger her wife might have been, or might be, at this very moment.

Inhaling, then exhaling, her nerves were at an all time high. “Ready, everypony?”

They all nodded affirmatively, wearing their goggles.

This was it.

She made a countdown, and the two alicorns in the room readied their horns, observing the Crystal intently.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…!

“...GO!” Together, the two alicorns touched the oversized crystal with their horns, and began feeding tremendous amounts of energy into it.

Lightning crackled, the glow seeped into its core, and began increasing exponentially. Soon enough, the entire room was bathed in light, the goggles were emphatically necessary.

The wires hummed and buzzed, and the energy was directed to the archway.

The runes lit to life, the entire archway hummed and began heating up.

Soon after, the coils were connecting arcs of lightning among them.

“WAIT UNTIL YOU’RE SURE IT’S FULLY POWERED UP!!” Hermes yelled over the sound of the machinery, right as Twilight was nearing the switch with a hoof. She waited, just a bit longer.

The entire room vibrated, no doubt the people in Ponyville could tell that something BIG was happening in their Community Center.

Some crackles of lightning pierced the air, hitting the floor. Spike leaped into the air dodging them, readying the extinguisher.

It sounded as if the energy in the archway had built upon a peak, and then…

“...NOW!”

Twilight pulled the switch.

After a blast of light they all recoiled from, the room went quiet, accentuated only by the sounds of the machine powering down.

There was smoke emanating from the device, and all in the room coughed… With an additional voice coughing that wasn’t there before.

Luna shook her wings, fanning the smoke. “Fluttershy! Any collateral damage?!”

After a brief period of silence, the Pegasus returned to the balcony from outside. “Doesn’t seem so! The ponies out here are a bit confused, though!”

“Spike, the fire!” The Queen of the Night bellowed. As she assisted by fanning her wings and casting magic to erase the few flames on the floor. Shaking his head vigorously to stave off dizziness, the little dragon waddled around diligently using the extinguisher.

“...Sunset…?” Twilight begged, as, with her magic, she moved the smoke away.

“...Twilight…?” The unmistakable voice of her love spoke through the fog.

And the smoke finally cleared.

Everyone in the room was shocked.

Sunset Shimmer stood beneath the archway, immensely confused, as she looked around, in a wary battle stance, her face grimaced in confusion and weariness…

…But it wasn’t their Sunset.

Their eyes met, and Twilight felt a pit in her stomach. This Sunset was a unicorn. She had burn marks on her hide and face in several places, many scars, shorter hair that looked like it had been well taken care of recently, and was wearing a professional looking suit with a couple of medals on it.

Any pretense of a battle stance or grimace of weariness faded as Sunset looked Twilight up and down in confusion, surprise, and slight fluster. “Wow, you are super tall.”

“That’s… Not our Sunset.” Spike was dumbfounded, in utter confusion.

“I was afraid of this…!” Hermes, removing his goggles, observed the scene in analytical surprise. “We’ve pulled a random version of her from the multiverse…!”

Twilight went through all stages of grief in a mere moment as her head drooped low, trying to consider just how many problems this would arise. “Why, why, why did I even think this would work on the first try…? What have we just done…?!”

“Wait…!” Sunset’s ears twitched, as she looked at the strangely tall Twilight Sparkle. “You…! You’re the wife, aren’t you…?”

“WHAT?!” Twilight’s head rose, and she immediately pulled that Sunset closer with magic. “What do you mean?!”

Restrained, a bit confused, this strange other version of her wife spoke. “Your S-Sunset told me about you, when she just appeared out of thin air and saved our world…! I’m in another universe, aren’t I…?!”

Twilight’s jaw was dropped, her eyes utterly unfocussed.

Spike waddled forward, scratching his chin. “Woah!! So our Sunset must have been thrown into your universe at some point!! What happened?!”

She looked around in confusion for a bit, but then focussed on the dragon. “...It was a couple of days ago. She killed the Storm King easily and let me and my friend Tempest take the credit…”

Looking at Twilight with a head tilt, Sunset let out a nervous grin. “Um, this is so weird. My– The Twilight in my universe is like… Yay high.” She hovered a hoof below her own head level, then looked at this Twilight, who towered over her.

She then turned to the machine behind her, with an awkward smile. “Um… Any chance you could send me back…? I was literally in the middle of getting like… A ton of medals for saving the world with Tempest. Everypony saw me vanish out of thin air…!”

Spike’s eyes widened, and he looked awkwardly at the machine, to Sunset, then back at the Alicorns. “Um. Did we uhh… Did we install that feature?”

“NO!!” Twilight bellowed, as she ran to the runes inscribed on the console. “I NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED WE WOULD NEED MAKE IT?!”

“Quick!!” Hermes motioned with a hoof to the console. “Copy the current readings of the locator runes, inscribe them into blank ones!!”

Twilight hastingly did so, before the powered runes faded, and ran to the other side of the room, where blank runes could be inscribed. Her breathing was uneasy, her gaze panicked.

Approaching her cautiously, Luna inspected this new, other Sunset Shimmer. “Incredible… And unnerving. We’ve got the wrong Sunset, and she is small.”

“Nice to meet you– Again, Luna. I’m Fires– Sunset. Sunset Shimmer. …But I guess you all already know that…?” She corrected herself mid sentence, offering a hoof that the Queen shook, still in confusion.

Fluttershy flew into the room, none the wiser. “Did it work, everypony? EEP!” She yelped in confusion, seeing the new Sunset, who also looked at her with just as much confusion.

“And you are… Who?” Sunset tilted her head, observing the shy pony.

“I’m Fluttershy! Um, and you’re Sunset! Another Sunset!? What happened?!”

“Yeah, we messed up!” Spike ran by her towards the princess of Friendship, who hastingly worked with some back up runes, intent on helping.

“Fluttershy…?” Sunset pensively tilted her head, then her eyebrows furrowed in realization. “Oh, I heard Twilight and the others talk about you, I think… I think you died, in my universe.”

The sad pegasus’s face and ears dropped in concern and shock, with the stupendously abrupt news. “Um. Sorry.” Sunset grimaced in awkwardness, and began looking around.

Her gaze landed on Hermes who studied her with his own gaze. “Who’s the poindexter in the cage?”

Turning only for a moment, Spike scoffed. “That’s the jerk responsible for this whole interdimensional mess. You wanna thank somepony, thank him.”

Sunset’s look hardened. It turned into a glare, as she approached him, and a flame lit from her horn. “I was in the middle of the best day of my life, asshole.” She snarled.

“Um, Uh,” He recoiled to the opposite end of the cage, terrified of her disposition, but luckily it didn’t last long.

Ray, the fire salamander, from his enclosure, climbed onto Sunset’s face and snout, who beheld him in confusion. “Um. Hey, why is there a Salamander on my face now? Is that a thing you ponies do in this universe…?”

Fluttershy’s demeanor lit up instantly. “Aww!! He thinks you’re his Sunset!! He’s her pet, and he misses her very much…!”

“I haven’t had a pet since before I was a foal…!” The Sunset with burns’s eyes were fixed on the cute little guy climbing on her face. This stirred up some emotions within her she did not think she had anymore. “Hey there, little guy…!”

but she didn’t have much time to process, because Twilight came in near galloping, carrying a few runes. “OKAY! OKAY! Other Sunset. Hi. Hello. Um. These runes have some of the data assigned to your universe, so when we build a feature capable of reversing the pull through the archway, we can send you back, okay?”

Blinking a couple of times in confusion, she barely got to respond. “Okay, so whe–”

“You saw my wife, right?! How was she?! Was everything okay?!”She hounded the Sunset, towering over her,

“She was fine!! She was super tall, buff, and an alicorn, right?! She was fine last time I saw her, at least. She killed the Storm King in like– Two moves. It was nuts. Then she hounded me and Tempest about getting girlfriends or whatever, and told us to take the credit for saving the world, and left to take a nap. That was all I saw of her!”

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the circumstances. “...Well that’s definitely our Sunset.”

Exhaling out of relief, but still worried, Twilight nodded.“Okay. Okay. Okay. She’s alive. Okay…!”

“Told ya she was too tough to quit, hehe.” Spike gave her a warm smile and a nod.

Sunset was about to say something, but Twilight didn’t let her, moving back to the crystal. “Everypony, get back in position, we’re trying again!!”

There was only a little bit of hesitation, but they started moving again. Fluttershy quickly moved about the room, and handed this new Sunset a pair of goggles. “S-sorry for the inconvenience, other Sunset– Will you please stand by…? Oh, and let’s get Ray back in his enclosure!” She gently moved the Salamander back.

“Wait!!” Hermes called out. “We need an easier way to record the universes we tap into, so we can send them back home, maybe we can add a function that automatically decodes and records the telemetry data!! If we got a random Sunset now, we’ll definitely get more–”

“No time!!” Twilight affirmed sternly, slamming a hoof on the floor. “She’s out there, she’s alive, we try again!!”

Luna hesitated, as her gaze moved from Hermes to the machine. “Twilight, perhaps we should consider–”

“Counting down!” The Princess of Friendship announced, as she stood by the Crystal.

They repeated the same process, with a bit of hesitation, and the room shook even more, the light overtaking it with a blast again.

Sunset, coughing, stood and shook her head. “This seems incredibly unsafe…!” And Hermes was quick to agree.

Twilight ran to the podium and immediately began removing the smoke with her magic.

“...Sunset…?” She begged once more.

“...Present…!” That same familiar voice coughed from the podium.

Luna was the first one to gasp in confusion. “Wait, it’s a Canterlot guard…!?”

The newcomer stood, shaking herself. She was adorned with that same simple silver Canterlot guard armor model, but the pony who wore it was unmistakable.

Sunset Shimmer.

Another Sunset Shimmer.

“Oh jeez, this isn’t working, Twilight…!” Spike tried reaching for her.

Finally regaining her senses, Sunset looked at the princess of Friendship up and down. “Wow, you are super tall. Who are you?”

Suppressing a groan and maybe a scream of frustration, Twilight pulled her out of the podium and scanned her with a gaze. “Okay, other Sunset. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I–”

“Woah, wait, are you the wife?! Oh wow, she wasn’t kidding–” Sunset gasped, recoiling a bit in surprise. “Um, am I in another universe? Her universe?! Where’s Princess Moondancer?!”

“Princess Moondancer?!” Twilight’s eyes widened in confusion as she tilted her head, and the others followed suit. Twilight wasn’t often in contact with her friend from Canterlot so this was a shock to her.

“And why and how are you so tall?!– You’re so much taller than her– Like, Moondancer is yay high.” She hovered a hoof below her own head level, then looked at this Twilight, who towered over her.

Luna rubbed her own temples in annoyance and exhaustion. “This is getting incredibly hard to follow. Twilight, perhaps we should take a step back–”

“You saw my wife, right?! The other Sunset?! Was she okay?!” She hounded this new Sunset, examining her from top to bottom.

“Y-yeah!! Kinda rude, tall and buff, She chatted a bunch with Starswirl then was zapped into another universe, it was a few days ago–”

“STARSWIRL?!” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “H-HE’S ALIVE IN YOUR UNIVERSE?! D-DID SHE GET AN AUTOGRAPH?!”

Nodding, still in shock and confusion, Sunset stood, jaw dropped at her circumstances. “Yeah, I think so. Hey, could you send me back? I was just at the end of my shift, and I promised Moondancer I would–”

“Not yet!!” Twilight moved her aside with magic, placing her down next to the other Sunset, then ran back to the console.

But just then, Fluttershy came back flying into the room. “No signs of damage in Ponyville! Did it work– Oh no…!” She noticed the other, armored Sunset, beholding her surroundings with confusion.

“Who’s that…?” The guard pointed at her, but then she turned to the other Sunset. “And what the fuck are you?!”

The medal-wearing Sunset shrugged. “Yeah, I’m just as lost as you, man.”

Rainbow Dash came flying through the balcony. “Yo Twilight! Mayor Mare is getting complaints about the weird light blasts you guys are causing– WOAH! WHAT THE SUNSET’S²?!”

The two Sunsets tilted their heads in confusion, with only the medal-wearing one having some inkling at who the newcomer was.

“We’re firing it up again!” Twilight announced, waving her wings from the console area, after having written down more details on locator runes. “Everypony get back in your positions!!”

There was more hesitation this time. Fluttershy was quick to address her girlfriend. “Um, Dashie, I’m running out of goggles, could you go get some more…? Oh, and you should probably go tell the Mayor this will still happen once or twice more…!”

“Alright babe, but you watch it okay?! I’m coming back later so all of you explain what the fuck is going on…!” The rainbow-clad pegasus took flight, not before taking a confused glance at the two Sunsets, leaving the room.

Quickly waddling over, Fluttershy handed the new Sunset a pair of goggles, who accepted it, confused. “Thanks. What the fuck is going on here…?”

The other Sunset nudged her. “See Twilight over there? She’s trying to bring her Sunset back to this world. The idiot in this cage here is apparently the asshole responsible for all this.”

Narrowing her eyes with a glare, the Guard approached the cage. “Hey asshole. I was about to have a pretty fun night.”

All that the scientist could do was stammer, but luckily all of their attention was drawn elsewhere.

Luna quickly ran to Twilight, with tremendous concern. “Twilight, I don’t believe this is working! We should reconsider–”

“Counting down!” The Princess of Friendship announced, as she stood by the Crystal, her horn already glowing intently.

They repeated the same process, with even more hesitation, and the room shook even more, the light overtaking it, with that same blast shaking its foundations.

Twilight moved the smoke aside even faster, the machine seemed to be overheating, Hermes tried complaining, but she ignored it. “Sunset?! Hello?! Please be you…!”

A groan of confused exhaustion came from the podium, and all looked upon it with expectation…

…And once again, it wasn’t their Sunset.

From that fog, another unicorn Sunset stood, yawning, confused. She wore a leather jacket and an inordinate amount of punk accessories such as spiked bands, sunglasses on her forehead and piercings, including in her eyebrows, nose and ears, and she even had a guitar on her back. “Bwuh. What the hell just happened– When I say I need my beauty sleep, I mean it, girls-– W-WOAH A HOT BABE!!” She recoiled, falling on her back clumsily, seeing Twilight Sparkle tower over her, an action that surprised the Alicorn.

Helping her up, the Princess of Friendship was quick to hound her, from very close. “Hello, other other Sunset– Quick question, have you seen my wife? She’s also a Sunset, and she’s been cursed to travel across the multiverse–”

“Woah, lady, buy me dinner first, heheh…” The Sunset replied with a snarky smirk, pulling down the sunglasses that were resting on her forehead to cover her eyes. “Full disclosure I’m suuuuper hungover right now. Is this a dream? Cause I’m just sayin, wanna have some fun?” She made kissy faces, and Twilight’s face reddened instantly.

“Okay, DEFINITELY not our Sunset, Twi!” Spike waddled forward, still waving the fog away. “We should slow down here…!”

Sunset tilted her head with that same flirtatious grin, and Twilight could smell the alcohol on her. “Want an autograph, hottie? You’re fiiiiiine looking, and wow, you are super tall.”

It took a lot of willpower for Twilight to stave this off and to also shake it off, considering the voice and face that said it, getting back on track. “Listen! You’re not dreaming. You’re in an alternate universe, you’re here because I'm looking for my wife– Big and strong Sunset, has wings, did she stop by your universe?!”

A moment of silence passed where the punk unicorn processed the information, and then gasped. “Ohhhhhh!! You’re the wife! Yeah, that other me talked about you, she helped me and my band with the pyrotechnics of our show– and wow, she could really play, heh, though, no big surprise, ‘cause she’s me. Damn, no wonder she bragged about you, though… Meeeeoow.”

With only magic, and with her face even more red, Twilight moved this Sunset to be next to the others, who watched with confusion. “Wassup.” She stated simply, seeing her other selves.

Scanning her up and down, the medal wearing Sunset scowled. “I can’t believe there’s a dimension where I’m not a warrior. Disgraceful.”

“Hey don’t judge, I’m a rockstar! What are you? Some sort of…” She narrowed her eyes, scanning the other Sunset seeing all the burn marks on her face and body. “...A line cook that got medals of honor…?!”

Snarling, the other was quick to retort. “I could break you in mere seconds.”

The guard one simply rolled her eyes. “...I wish I was drunk right now.”

Fluttershy had to fly into the room to hand another pair of goggles, and to ask the Sunsets to please not fight.

Twilight was heading back to the console, and Luna raised a wing in front of her. “Twilight, let us reconsider our strategy, this isn’t working.”

Hermes, from his cage, attempted to reason as well. “She’s right! We need to construct telemetry data processors, we need to make energy readers, we definitely, definitely need some more coolants, that is way too much smoke, the machine is overheating…!”

Twilight was moments from biting back, while Spike was about to complain about the fires he was having to put out, until…

A certain visitor walked into the room happily. “Cuuuupcake delivery! Fluttershy asked me to bring you guys some while you work, you better keep your bellies full and–” Pinkie Pie stopped in her tracks, holding a cake box, eyes widened, as she looked at the three Sunsets. “Um! Okay! Something’s different here.... Hi… Sunsets?”

Both the burned and the guard narrowed their eyes and spoke in unison. “I have never met this mare before in my life.”

The Rockstar, however, smiled widely. “BABE! You’re a sight for sore eyes! C’mhere, hot stuff!” She brought Pinkie closer with her magic, and started making out very sloppily with the cupcake toting earth pony, whose box of sweets tumbled on the floor.

The whole room went quiet, as eyes widened in confusion. Pinkie spent approximately one second being surprised, and then just went with it, intertwining herself with the rockstar.

Scratching the back of his head, Spike turned to the Princess of Friendship. “Umm… Should we stop this?”

Deadpan, frowning incredibly, eye twitching, the Princess of Friendship gave her two scents. “This makes me unreasonably angry.”

A couple more seconds passed with the room being quiet, outside of the sloppy sounds of the two ponies making out.

“PINKIE!” Twilight yelled a bit too loud, spreading her wings. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Um, whu, what” Pinkie undid herself from the makeout, returning back to the moment, then looking around, her face getting red. “What, uh, what am I doing? Huh?”

The Rockstar lifted her sunglasses off her face, narrowed her eyes, and then took a couple of sniffs of the mare she was just kissing. “Okay. hang on. somethin’ ain’t right here. Pink, did you get a haircut?”

Twilight, with a quick burst of magic, separated the two. “Sunset!! This isn’t your Pinkie!! Is she– Are you– Are you dating Pinkie in your dimension?!”

Adjusting her glasses, Sunset leaned back. “Oh, hot stuff, she’s my drummer– the best drummer in all of Equestria– And we’re doing a lot more than just dating.”

Pinkie stood incredibly still, like a statue, dumb grin on her face, gazing at nothing, face quite red.

Twilight groaned audibly, rubbing her temples with her hooves, then looked at her friend. “Look, Pinkie, if you want to stay and help you can, but–”

The Pink Pony shook her head with that same smile and prepared to rush out of the room. “--I have to go process what just happened now! Bye Twilight, bye Spike, bye Luna, bye Hermes, bye Fluttershy, bye Sunset 1, Sunset 2, hot Sunset– I mean BYE!!!” She skedaddled pinkiely.

“Call me!” The Rockstar waved a hoof goodbye, while reaching for a cupcake from the box.

The guard, chuckling, joked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m hot Sunset, right?”

“In your dreams.” The Rockstar leaned back on the wall with a grin, munching on a cupcake.

The burned Sunset frowned, gazing at nothing. “...I’m ashamed of me.”

“Whatever! Whatever!” Twilight shook her head vigorously, then ran to the console once more. “Okay, let’s go again–”
Luna stood in front of her with a concerned, yet stern gaze. “Twilight, slow down– We are gaining nothing from flooding your Community Center with Sunsets. Besides, my nightly duty calls for me, I have to go–”

“--Please, Luna, PLEASE! Just one more time! Let’s just try one more time!!” She pleaded, emphatic.

Closing her eyes and exhaling, the Queen of the Night nodded. “...One more time.”

“Everypony take your positions!! Counting down!” Hastingly, even if all tired, they once again took the same positions, and did the same song and dance.

The room shook, the machine overheated so much it was releasing even more smoke, and the light blinded all in the room once more.

This time, it felt like it had been a strenuous effort from the machine, it sputtered and made noises akin to something being wrong with the wires, and it emitted certain sparks. Spike had to immediately rush forward with the fire extinguishers at some of the blazing remains on the floor, and Fluttershy cried from outside. “The roof is a little bit on fire!! Oh gosh I’m getting Dashie–”

The smoke was clearing, but this time something was different. Spike gasped. “W-what?! No way…!”

From his cage, Hermes removed his goggles, flabbergasted. “I-incredible– The machine you built is so powerful, you– you brought two ponies back…!”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed, as she tried dissipating the fog, a clumsy large mass of two new visitors was in the room.

Spike was the first able to discern what they were seeing, as his eyes narrowed. There were definitely two ponies in there, but…

Something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

“...AaaaAAAAHH!!! DEMON!!!”

Sunset had never had the hope that she could possibly beat Midnight Sparkle.

So she joined her.

And she never lived to regret it.

After all, she had loved Twilight with all her heart. This, no matter how twisted, was still Twilight. It never mattered what form she took, after all… And the same went the other way around.

This demon now ruled Equestria, side by side with her love. And she was more than happy with the knowledge that she had never been more fulfilled.

She had wings. She had power.

Finally, stronger than Celestia. Stronger than all.

And most importantly of all, she had her.

Nothing else mattered. Nothing else should matter. So it didn’t.

The time was coming for her to lower the sun again, as she had done for nearly five years now. And what a thrill it was, everytime.

But, more importantly, homecoming. She had been away for a few days, and that had been more than enough for longing.

As she landed on a balcony of their castle in Canterlot, greeted by a handful of pegasus guards, she dismissed them with a wave of her bat-like wings, but smiled nonetheless.

“I’m hooooooome!!!” She bellowed with a grin of her sharp teeth.

Instantly, the sounds of teleportation could be heard approaching, and her tail wagged in anticipation.

Midnight Sparkle appeared, and leaped into her arms with emphatic glee. No words were exchanged, they spun around in each other’s embrace, giggling, and kissing a handful of times.

“Oh, the wait for you has been dreadful, Sunny Bunny!!” She spoke with joy, nuzzling her mane that glowed akin to flames.

With a delighted grin, the demon spoke. “Two days, Sparkles.”

“Two days too many.” The dark Alicorn gave her own mischievous smirk, not before kissing her emphatically once more.

They continued to embrace each other and kiss fiercely, and tumbled to the floor for good measure. One of the pegasus bowed respectfully. “My queens, I believe the caterers would like to address you in the throne room, at your leisure.”

It took a few seconds of sloppy makeout before Sunset rose her head, baring her fangs with a sly smile. “Tell them we’ll be there…! Eventually.” Midnight quickly pulled her down for more kisses.

The guard nodded quickly, and took off, and the others followed.

Letting go of nuzzling and kissing only for a moment, Midnight cradled her love’s cheeks. “I take it your voyage was okay? No questioning or interference?”

“The dragons once again folded like little fillies, heheheh.” The demon snickered in a devious delight. “Though I wouldn’t expect any different, after I ate their last champion’s wings in front of them, HAH! I’m almost sad; I haven’t had a good fight in ages.”

Flustering with a mischievous smile, Midnight spoke softer, but commanding. “Ugh, you are SO hot…! Show me some teeth, Sunny Bunny!!”

The demon obeyed implicitly, baring her fangs, and licking her loves face for good measure, resulting in her giggling with delight. Only after this continued for a bit, did Sunset speak, with the same loving closeness. “How about your side? I take it the griffons did not put up a fight either?”

With a sly smile, Midnight continued to nuzzle her as she spoke. “They were spineless. They’ll no longer interfere with our supply lines, and have fully integrated our currency into their cities. Equestria thrives…”

“...And all others kneel.” The demon grinned with endless delight, completing her sentence, which only resulted in them kissing more, furiously.

Hearing more than a handful assorted sounds of pleasure coming from the dark alicorn as she received kisses, the demon snickered. “My, you really missed me, didn’t you, Sparkles?” Letting out the same smirk filled with teeth, she tilted her head.

“Our bed has felt so empty without you, Sunny Bunny… I need some R&R. Right now.” Midnight commanded, sternly, and a bit desperately.

Tilting her head, the demon was going to make her work for it. “How about we check on the caterers, then I’m all yours…?”

Letting out an annoyed groan, Midnight shot her head back, still on the floor. “Uuuuuuuugh fine, if we must. But if I tackle you on top of one of the dinner tables again, it’s on you.”

“I can live with that.” Snickering, Helping her up, Sunset continued that same closeness, as they walked together, embracing her warmly with one of her bat wings.

They walked through their castle side by side, flank to flank, delightedly nuzzling each other with affection at any chance, being greeted by any servants and residents with respect and a bit of intimidation.

They had walked the halls of their home a thousand times, and still, it filled them both with joy. Canterlot was theirs. The world was theirs. They were both at the peak of their power, and were endlessly enjoying each other, nothing else mattered.

They entered the throne room, nearly tumbling on kisses once more, where a group of caterers of a certain event gathered diligently.

Quickly taking places with teleportation upon their thrones, they lounged, and Midnight was the one to speak. “Go on, then, speak.”

Bowing respectfully, a pony stepped forward. “It is a simple matter, my queens. There are more than a handful of leftovers from your demonanniversary celebration, we were simply wondering what we should do with them.”

The two rulers looked at each other, and quickly nodded in agreement, with Midnight waving a hoof. “Same as last time, caterers. Distribute among the staff as you see fit, and offer it to the prisoners for good measure.”

“--Except for the cake!”The demon interjected with a smile. “Whatever cake leftovers there are, please deliver them to our room, at the earliest convenience. After all, the Queen of the Night is insatiable.”They exchanged knowing, flirtatious smiles.

They remained gazing at each other with desire, only after one of the caterers cleared their throats did their ears twitch and they addressed them once more. “--If that is all, you are dismissed!”

And moments after, they were alone once more, gazing at each other from the small distance the thrones provided.

“Last thing.” Spreading her wings, straining, the demon lowered the sun, which could be seen through gorgeous stained glass windows behind her.

Breathing only a tad haggardly from the effort, she turned to her wife. “Shall we?” The demon raised an eyebrow with a toothy grin.

Vibrating with excitement, Midnight perked up in her throne, ready to leap at her. “Oh, I’m too lazy to go back to our room, we’re doing it here–”

But tragically, they were interrupted.

The Princess of Valor appeared out of thin air, still snickering, reeling on the previous universe she had visited.

But the laughter did not last long.

The two queens observed this newcomer analytically, and Sunset looked right back at them.

Her adrenaline spiked. Her eyes widened as she darted back and forth between the two. She knew exactly what this implied.

Instead of fighting Midnight, winning and becoming an alicorn, this Sunset chose to join her. And worst of all, she looked pretty happy. Not that that was a surprise.

Narrowing her eyes, she couldn’t help it. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Now isn’t this… Curious.” Midnight tilted her head, observing the newcomer, still lounging on her throne.

Slowly, with a demonic grin, the other spoke, relishing in the sight. “Now, now, what the fuck are you? Please don’t tell me you’re a changeling– This would be the most pathetic trick you vermin pulled yet.”

Sunset’s stance was nearing a battle one, but she made no sudden movements as she scanned them both with her gaze. “...I am you, from another universe.” Fighting both Midnight and her demon self would be suicide, and she needed to consider every single one of her following movements with incredible precision.

“Really?”Snickering, the demon left her throne, approaching her slowly with a murderous smile. “You don’t look like me.”

“On that, we agree.” Sunset’s glare was utterly unintimidated, but she was entirely wary, observing every single movement her other self made. “You two… You’re ruling together, I presume.”

“How observant of you.” Midnight snickered, from her throne, making complete light of the newcomer.

The demon was very close now, and Sunset inspected her thoroughly. Her body had grown, morphed, crooked, like a deranged version of an alicorn; She was significantly taller than Midnight, and taller than Sunset. Her front hooves had claws, as if she was a hippogriff, her mane was unruly and glowed akin to flames, her horn was long and crooked, her teeth sharp and misaligned, her fur scruffy, and her eyes, dark, with only a hint of her green pupils.

Taking a quick glance to Midnight, some similar changes were noticed. She was tall– not as tall as her wife, but taller than the average Twilight she had seen in the multiverse. Her hide was darker, the magenta streaks in her mane glowed, and her crystal-like horn was even larger, spreading through her forehead like it was ice. She looked like magic incarnate. Fighting her would be suicide, and Sunset didn’t even want to.

“Do you still go by Sunset Shimmer?” Narrowing her eyes even further, the Princess of Valor was ready for everything.

“What else would I go by? I am Sunset Shimmer.” She raised her bat wings, with a grotesque grin. “And If you’re here for a fight, it won’t end well for you.”

“I’m not here for a fight.” The Valkyrie said sternly, wholeheartedly believing it, even if she doubted that her other self would resist, staring her back down with a glare. She knew that fighting both of them would be suicide– But just fighting the demon wouldn’t be. Her mind raced with thoughts of what actions to take, what to say and do. Could she fix this universe? Should she even try?

Tilting her head with a malicious grin, the demon snickered. “Ohohohoh, that’s rich. Why wouldn’t you want a fight? Are you scared?”

“No. I’m just not interested in murdering another version of me.” She spoke truly, decisively. “But if you make me, I will.”

Snickering, the two queens couldn’t help but make light of the situation. Midnight, amused, tilted her head. “So cute. Would you like to dispose of her together, my love?”

“Nah.”the demon came even closer, with that same toothy grin. “Remember when I told you I was missing a good fight? I think I just found one.”

Giggling, Midnight waved her hooves. “Feel free to go all out, sunny Bunny. We’re overdue for renovations anyways!”

Sunset missed her wife now more than ever. After all, if she was here, fighting alongside her, this wouldn’t even be a fight. Scoffing, the Valkyrie shook her head. “Again. I’m not here for a fight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you forget?”The demon was even closer now, still smiling. “We’re Sunset Shimmer. It always ends in a fight.”

She spread her bat wings wide, and her horn began crackling with magic. “Now, whether you really are just a weaker me from another universe, Celestia’s perfect little pupil, or an impostor, I wouldn’t mind knowing who you are, before I kill you.”

“When Midnight offered you a throne, you joined her. You joined her because you thought you couldn’t beat her, right?” She spoke coldly, fiercely.

“What the– How do you–”

“I’m the Sunset that beat Midnight. And you could have been me.” With a flash, Sunset adorned her Valkyrie armor, and the two others flinched.

“I am princess Sunset Shimmer. The Valkyrie Phoenix. I beat Midnight Sparkle, and marriedTwilight Sparkle. And you think I’m weak?” She couldn’t help but smirk, seeing the shock in the faces of the other two. “You underestimated yourself. And I’m going to show you.”

No more words needed to be exchanged. The demon had heard enough, and the Valkyrie was ready to deliver a lesson through pain.

Midnight remained lounging in her throne as she watched her wife tackle her opponent at breakneck speeds, surrounded by flames, as the entire room lit up with their clashes.

They jumped and leaped, bouncing off the walls and ceiling, cracking the stones they landed on, constantly clashing mid air. Sunset had armor, the demon did not, and she used that to her advantage.

She was playing defensive by choice. Dodging skillfully, blocking and parrying with efficiency, using her opponents aggressive fighting style against her, delivering swift counters with force and speed, ignoring the pain of the blows that did land on her.

They began moving incredibly fast all throughout the room, lunging at each other at high speeds. At first, neither used magic, keeping the fight at close range.

The demon began spewing flames through her mouth, and Sunset didn't even flinch, merely dashed forward, bathed in those flames, utterly immune to them, and attacked from up close, delivering a swift right hook.

Recovering, the demon lunged at her with her fangs, opening her jaws wide to bite down. The Valkyrie stopped that with a fierce, decisive uppercut to her jaw, pulled her closer with magic as she turned, and bucked her away.

“Yes, YES!! You really ARE me!! Now we’re talking!!!”The demon cackled, overjoyed to find a worthy opponent, relishing on the flames spreading in the throne room.

Sunset didn’t share in the same joy. Any other day, she would be thrilled at the test of strength, but this wasn’t just any opponent. This was her. And she didn’t want to kill herself, no matter how despicable her other self might be.

“C’mon then, let’s stop holding back!!” The demon became completely engulfed in flames, launching herself forward like a meteor.

With an impact the Valkyrie blocked, they broke through a handful of walls, and began striking each other with that same strength, pushing each other through the rooms of the castle as the flames spread; With many servants and guards being startled and fleeing.

They fiercely and quickly would throw furniture at each other, turning rooms into messes of debris, and spreading fire quickly, before jumping in another section of the castle.

A voice echoed throughout the castle, it was Midnight’s, and she spoke calmly. “Dear servants, evacuate the castle at will. My wife has found an interesting opponent, and you know how she likes to play. This is not a drill.”

Sunset delivered a swift kick to her opponent, then with a flip, stomped her from above, increasing her gravity with magic and crashing through the floor.

And she took that moment of physical closeness to do something really important.

Do you remember what it was like to study with her?

To desire proximity with her, but keep a respectful distance?

Do you remember that closeness?

“What the?!” The demon smacked her aside, recovering from the fall. “What did you just do to me?!”

“You tell me.” The Valkyrie charged once more, incredibly fiercely. This was still Sunset Shimmer, this was still her.

She just needed to remind her what it was like.

After all, they were two sides of the same coin.

Two choices, stemming from one offer that Midnight made.

They clashed, and the demon delivered vicious blows, damaging her armor in places, and finished it by biting her armored shoulder, leaving marks and bending it.

Sunset pulled her even closer, forcing that physical closeness to continue doing what she had started.

Do you remember your friends?

The cost?

Competing alongside Rainbow Dash in the race?

Learning to horn fence with Rarity?

Meditating with Fluttershy?

Helping Applejack in her farm?

Playing instruments together with Pinkie?

Your friends. Do you even remember them?

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP IT!!” The demon snarled, leaving herself open for a strike, which the Valkyrie capitalized on, throwing her through a wall.

They were outside now, falling and clashing through the rooftops of the castle, viciously striking each other, with sparks and flames remaining in their wake.

The demon attempted brute force too often, too recklessly, and Sunset capitalized everytime. A battering ram is worthless if it misses the gate.

Their combat was shaking the foundations of the castle. Behind them, one of the towers was slowly toppling over and falling in the castle gardens below.

Tackling her once more, the flames they both spewed were spreading on the air itself. Sunset forced her down, for a moment.

Do you remember when she saved you?

When she first saved you from being this?

When she beat you– And still forgave you?

When she changed you, when she saved you?

“STOP THAT!! STOP SHOWING ME MY PAST!!” It was the Valkyrie’s past– One they shared. Shaking her off, the demon kicked her through one of the windows, and the fight resumed inside.

Bursting through walls and floors, they landed on a grand hall, one that likely would have been used for parties, once upon a time. Now flames were spreading through it, and their fight was shaking the foundations of the castle, causing tremors.

Landing, tumbling on opposite sides of the room, they slowly stood, surrounded by flames, both spitting blood, breathing quickly and sharply, regarding each other with anger.

“You need to catch your breath?”

“I was waiting on you.”

They clashed once more, their vicious strikes shook the room, debris fell from the ceiling.

Shoving each other through columns shook the foundations of the rooms even more.

Midnight Sparkle teleported into the room, eyeing her wife with concern. “Everything alright, Sunny Bunny? Are you playing with your food? Do you need any help? I’m starting to worry–”

“--NEARLY THERE, SPARKLES! I GOT THIS–” That distraction was enough for Sunset to deliver on her another swift right hook. And with that same motion, she pushed the demon down to the ground, stomping her face.

Do you remember the song you wrote for her?

…My heart is full, but it’s aching,

I'm in for a rude awakening,

We move through the threshold together,

hand in hand we cross the line,

as we vanish, all I can think of–

“STOP DOING THAT!!” With a blast of magic, she threw the Valkyrie off of her who quickly recovered, stomping her with the momentum, cracking the floor. “FUCKING STOP IT!!”

The floor cracked, and the Valkyrie remained utterly focussed.

You could have been me.

But you choose this instead.

And the world paid the price.

Your friends paid the price.

Twilight paid the price.

“SHUT UP!!” She attempted to bite, to claw, to lunge, to burn, but the Valkyrie dodged, blocked and parried everything. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! WHAT IS THIS?!”

Their horns clashed, and the Valkyrie snarled simply. “I’m bringing the me out of you.”

Charging up her energy as they clashed in mid air, Sunset hit her with the side of her horn, bathed in magic, full force, as if bringing down a hammer, sending her crashing through the floor, multiple floors over.

The room went a bit quiet, accentuated only by tremors and the sounds of the flames spreading.

Sunset landed, bleeding and wounded, breathing sharply, and turned to the dark alicorn.

Midnight regarded her, almost disinterested, frowning. “You know she’ll get back up, and when she does, she’ll hit you even harder, right?”

“...Yeah.” Sunset breathed quickly, haggardly. Her blood dripped through her muzzle, and her armor was damaged in multiple places. “She’s Sunset Shimmer, after all.”

“You’re her kill. But come any closer, and I’ll vaporize you. Don’t test me.”Midnight’s crystal horn glowed thoroughly, as her dark energy was in full force. She respected her wife’s fighting spirit, but she wouldn’t hesitate to put threats to her down.

Sunset was merely a meter away from her. Her stance was more relaxed, even if exhausted. “Hey, Twilight…” She took a moment to breathe. To look her in the eyes, to see through her. “Are you still in there?”

With a quiet giggle, Midnight sighed, rolling her eyes. “Of course she is. I’m on the wheel, she’s just on the backseat. Do you honestly think I could keep control for years if we didn’t agree?”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought...” Sunset let out a frail chuckle.

“We are one. She is happy, because I’m happy. Because we both love her.”Midnight smiled almost… Warmly. Sunset’s suspicions were correct. They were both happy and fulfilled…

…At the cost of the whole world.

“Well…” She couldn’t wait any longer, the demon would be back any second. “...This world needs Twilight back on the wheel.”

Smirking deviously, Midnight tilted her head. “Good luck with that. I’ll–”

But she stopped.

Because Sunset used the calling spell. Right in front of her.

Midnight’s face became slightly flustered. Her tail wagged as she blinked in confusion. “U-um, did you just–”

Ceasing the moment, that small, incredibly decisive moment where Midnight was distracted, she striked.

Charging her horn with immense amounts of light energy, she clashed against Midnights, shattering it.

The ensuing blast shook all of the flames in the room, lit the entire surroundings, and it faded quickly, as Midnight’s crystal horn was shattered on the floor.

The pony that fell on the floor, unconscious, was Twilight Sparkle once more.

She had only mere seconds to breathe. The demon burst through the floor, and the foundations of the room shook direly.

“TIME TO END THIS!!” Ravenously, nearly berzerk, the demon unleashed blow after blow upon her, viciously striking the Valkyrie, who purposely played defensive.

The Alicorn was thrown against a wall, and landed, although exhaustively, skillfully down, glaring at her opponent quietly. Her armor was scratched and bent in multiple places. But she did not falter.

Smiling widely, manic, the Demon walked towards her. They were both limping. “You honestly thought you could beat me?! Bring the old me back, maybe?!!”

Chuckling, Sunset shook her head dismissively. “Heh… I already beat you, long ago. I’m Sunset Shimmer. The one that made it. This isn’t even a fight for me.”

“You think you’re above being what you were? What we were?!” The demon pointed at herself, as blood dripped from her mouth. “Snarling, vicious, bleeding creatures, crawling through the dark. That’s all that Sunset Shimmer is. Look at yourself.”

“We can be more.” She raised her head, sternly.

“ALL WE ARE IS THIS!!” She yelled out, spreading her wings.

“Not all of us.” Sunset’s look softened, if only for a moment. “Some of us have hope…”

She pointed at the unconscious Twilight, which the demon hadn’t noticed until now. “...Because of her.”

“What… What did you do?!!!?”

“Brought you both back.”

Sunset let go of her battle stance. She sat down, and allowed herself to be completely exposed, as she tilted her head, spreading her wings invitingly.

The room was shaking, and a part of the ceiling was giving in… Right above Twilight, any second now.

Snarling with unending rage, the demon roared at her other self, who stood completely still, unintimidated. “Twilight is in danger. Are you going to keep fighting me, or are you going to do something about it?”

Shooting quick glances between the two, the demon’s expression softened, as she saw the alicorn she loved on the ground, who was groaning of exhaustion, attempting to open her eyes, gather her surroundings.

And the ceiling was about to fall on her.

Sunset stood and did nothing, looking through her other self.

And the demon refused to stay still. “DAMN YOU!!!!” She bellowed, not before leaping towards Twilight Sparkle, intent on getting her to safety.

Carefully, she placed Twilight on her back, and ran.

She rushed through the collapsing castle, carrying Twilight on her back fiercely, refusing to let her go, keeping her safe from all of the destruction with her magic, fleeing everything.

The rooms collapsed behind them. Twilight clinged to her weakly, but desperately.

She burst through a window, and flew down to the castle gardens clumsily, bleeding, wounded, the landing was rough, but she made sure the alicorn was safe no matter what.

Carefully, gently, the demon placed Twilight on the grassy floor, ignoring the castle tumbling in the background.

A third of Canterlot castle had collapsed, and the rest stood, broken, burning, but standing.

And she ignored all of it, as she observed Twilight on the floor carefully, checking her for wounds. She was relieved to find out that all of the blood on her was hers, not Twilight’s.

“S…Sunset…?” The Princess of Friendship groaned weakly.

“I’m here, Twilight…! I’m here…!” She regarded her with desperation.

Wincing in pain, in exhaustion, Twilight managed to open her eyes, but only a little. She let out a huge exhale. “What…” She shuddered in fear, as she lowered her head. “What have we done, Sunset…?”

The demon had no justifiable response, no excuse. All they had built was in jeopardy in merely one night. Their castle burning was the primary source of light in this dark night.

“It's over.” The valkyrie landed next to them quietly.

Instinctively, the demon shielded Twilight covering her with a wing, snarling at the Valkyrie, and Twilight huddled closer. “No more fighting, Sunset, please…!”

Begrudgingly, she agreed, lowering her wings.

Observing the two with pity, still bleeding, still wounded, Sunset exhaled. “You two… What you did… It’s over.”

They looked at each other with sorrow and desperation.

“You can’t be changed back.” She regarded the demon, with only a bit of pity. “After all these years, what you did to yourself… It’s irreversible.”

She was a demon, now and forever. She did this to herself. And she would have to live with it.

“But… Sunset Shimmer isn’t dead.” The Valkyrie approached, sternly, but with no intent in fighting. “You’re right here. And Twilight needs you.”

They regarded each other with desperation. Sorrow. They had broken the world, and for what?

“What you two did… I don’t think this world will ever forgive you.” Sunset turned, limping towards the castle. “But you have each other... And that’s good.”

They nozzled each other with sadness, completely unsure of what the future would hold. The Valkyrie relayed one last message before taking flight towards the castle. “I’m going to free any of your prisoners I find. This includes Luna and Celestia. You two might not want to be here when they’re back. This is goodbye, so… Good luck.”

And so, she took flight, leaving the two.

Emphatically, desperately, the demon recoiled from Twilight. “Twilight, I'm sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn't know there was another way…! I… I wasn’t strong enough. This is all my fault… If I had beaten Midnight, long ago, just like her, all of this—”

Twilight shook her head fiercely, coming closer to the demon, cradling her cheeks with affection and sorrow. “Stop, just stop, Sunset… It’s… What’s done is done. And…” She leaned her forehead against her love’s. “What part of the last five years has implied that I’ve regretted being with you…?”

Shuddering, pitch black tears running through her cheeks, Sunset sobbed. “But look at me. I’m a fucking monster. I’m a fucking failure… All of this, all that I am… It’s irreversible…!”

“You’re my Sunset Shimmer. And we can’t feel regret… It’s too late for that. We have to go… We’ll think of what to do next when we’re both safe, okay…?” Ignoring the blood and the wounds, she nuzzled the demon.

They both nodded at each other, through tears and pain, and Sunset offered to carry her, which Twilight agreed, being too exhausted to fly.

Sunset took flight desperately, heading towards any direction that wasn’t here.

“I… What the fuck do we do, Twilight?”

“It’s not up to us anymore… Let’s just get a safe distance from here, Sunny Bunny…!”

The demon couldn’t help but snicker, through her tears. Twilight clinged tighter to her back. “S-sorry…! Old habits...”

Everything they had built came crashing down in one single night.

The irony was not lost on them. They had ruined the world, uplifted Equestria, and yet, waged war, all so they could be together.

But in another universe, they had been together without ever hurting Equestria.

And here they were, fleeing.

The future was uncertain.

But they had each other.

And as they flew through the night, completely uncertain of the future, something strange happened.

The demon was overtaken by a certain strange light, and mere seconds after, before they could even process it, they both vanished, being pulled into another universe.

“...AaaaAAAAHH!!! DEMON!!!” Spike yelled out, as he flew back, taking cover behind Twilight.

The demon Sunset clumsily and savagely walked out of the podium, while protecting Twilight with a wing, looking around frantically while snarling and grunting in pain, her blood dripping on the floor.

This room was incredibly confusing, filled with strange inhabitants they recognized and didn’t, and even… Other versions of her? Unicorns? They all regarded her with either fear or fierce battle-hardened determination, ready for anything.

“WHAT IS THIS? WHERE ARE WE? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”The demon bared her fangs in confusion, utterly distraught.

“Stand down!” Both Twilight and Luna bellowed at once, flaring their wings, with their horns crackling with energy.

She was completely, utterly flabbergasted at the sight. A much taller, seemingly normal looking Twilight, different to her own. Her fur wasn’t messy, her hide wasn’t as dark.

Beneath her, her own Twilight left cover, assuring her. “S-sunset, it’s okay…! I get it. I get where we are…!”

Regarding her with confusion, she saw her Twilight and the other Twilight meet, the taller one, significantly more puzzled.

The entire room was shocked.

“I get it…” Her Twilight affirmed, regarding the other one with sadness. “You’re the lucky one, aren’t you…?”

It had been a strange, strange night, for all of them.

Luna had left– And after they had restrained the demon, as a parting advice, she warned Twilight not to try to use the machine anytime soon. If a demon was anything to go by, pulling random Sunsets from the multiverse was a bad idea. The machine was clearly overheating, clearly dangerous, and yet…

Twilight discovered, from interrogating the demon and her other self… She discovered that they had fought her Sunset, merely moments before.

And those wounds were unmistakable. Twilight would recognize the damage that her wife’s right hook could cause anywhere.

In one final attempt, in one desperate, final attempt, she activated the machine again, against everyone’s better judgment, firing it up once more.

Upon clearing the smoke, upon the light fading, she hoped that these matters would be over…

But she was greeted with nothing but bones.

A horrifying sight.

The machine had brought nothing but remains of a long-dead Sunset Shimmer.

Nothing but bones.

The other Sunset’s in the room irked at the sight. And Twilight shuddered.

She was done.

Unplugging the wires, dismantling the junctions, she made sure that the machine was powered down.

The room was silent.

Twilight held the skull of the unicorn, a dusty, dirty old thing.

Was this all that she would find, if she found her wife?

That same shudder, that same twist in her gut.

Sunset was alive. That, she knew. And she had just fought another version of herself.

She couldn't let this thought linger. She couldn't hold on to this.

She turned to the others in the room, who were all silent.

First, Hermes. She brought him a pen and a few papers, and spoke sternly. “Hermes. We need to make several changes to the machine, like you said. I want you to write down what we’ll need here. We start tomorrow.”

“Y-yes! Good! Wonderful! I will!” He stammered, but nodded with determination.

Ignoring him, she moved to Spike and Fluttershy, who regarded her and Sunset’s remains with pity and concern. “Spike, Fluttershy, we need more sleeping bags, and more food and water. These Sunsets will sleep here in the community center for the time being; And make sure to grab horn cuffs for now… until we know we can trust all of them, they need to be restrained.”

The two nodded with determination, and set off together.

She then turned to the three Sunsets, with shame. “You three… I'm sorry. I don’t know when we’ll build what we can to bring you back to your respective universes, for now, bringing back my Sunset is my priority. I will take appropriate measures so that you are comfortable here for now, but please, don’t try anything, and don’t go walking around Ponyville. I’m not in the mood.”

The three of them nodded. The one with the medals was the first one to speak, with an exhausted, weary sigh. “I just… Fuck, I was at a really important day. Tempest can probably cover for me… But I hope my Twilight and Celestia don’t get too worried. If there’s any way I can help hurry this along, I would like to offer my assistance. Anything you need.”

“Noted. Thank you, Sunset…!” Twilight smiled warmly, seeing another version of her wife be pragmatic, as expected.

The guard one was the second to speak, as she sat down, with a disappointed exhale. “I… Fuck. This sucks. No prediction to when we’ll be sent back, then…? I just… I had a date…” She gazed at nothing, worrying about what her Princess would think of her absence.

Finally, the rockstar spoke up, with a shrug. “Well, hot stuff, I trust you! I’ve always heard that the Princess of Friendship is a real brainiac, so I’m sure you can take me back to my band whenever. And lucky me, I don’t have any more shows booked for a week or two– So I can chill around, I don’t mind! If y’all don’t mind me shredding once in a while, hehe. And hey, if you ever change your mind and feel like your bed is a little empty…” She winked and made a kissy face at the Princess of Friendship, who quickly turned away, flustering.

And lastly, she turned to the demon, and her Twilight, who were in the corner. Twilight had restrained the demon, bound her with arcane chains, connected to a wall. Her other self was diligently and quietly tending to the wounds of her wife with her magic, who remained still.

“Other me… Will she be any trouble?” The Princess of Friendship asked, observing the demon.

“I promise you, she will behave.” She said, sternly, keeping her focus on the wounds she was tending. “Won’t you, Sunny Bu– Sunset?”

“Y-yeah. I won’t try anything. I promise.” She spoke, her head hanging low in shame, feeling the weight of everything that had happened today.

Exhaling, Twilight nodded, and with a wave of her horn, she released the binds that held the demon, letting her lay down comfortably.

It was almost ironic. In her desperation to bring her wife back, she had brought another version of herself back– One that was happily together with her own Sunset. She felt almost envious– but she didn’t have time to mourn.

Nodding quietly, the Princess readied herself to double check the machine, ensuring that nothing was wrong. “Thank you, you two, please wait patiently, and don’t try anything. Whenever we are able, we can send you both back to your universe…”

“N-no rush…!” The demon shuddered, as the taller Twilight went back to her duties.

“But first…” The Princess of Friendship gathered the remains of the long dead Sunset Shimmer. “I… I need to bury her.” The room was quiet, as she left with those remains, to somewhere adequate.

The demon remained quiet for a while, as her own Twilight tended to her wounds diligently and carefully.

“M-maybe this is for the best… being trapped in another universe…” She muttered, focussing on the floor. “We wrecked ours. The whole world probably would have wanted us dead… Well, maybe not most of our Equestria, but…”

“We will go back someday. I’m not in a rush, but… we have to.” Twilight spoke softly, being careful not to hurt her love. “Like it or not, it was our mess, and we have to clean it.”

Sunset eyed her with concern and sorrow. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go back to them alone? Just… Leave me. I’d be fine on my own. You could say that it was Midnight controlling you… They’d forgive you.”

“I’m not leaving you. Not ever.” Twilight shook her head decisively. “The promise we made to be together forever stands, and I’m not going to break it. I love you, Sunset. What you look like doesn’t matter. I love you, okay?”

“I-I love you too…!” Letting out a frail chuckle, She nodded. “And I’m sorry that… I'm sorry that it’s me. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be the other Sunset.”

“Do I need to remind you…?” Twilight came closer, with a tired smile, muzzling the demon’s neck. “What part of the last five years has implied I’ve had any regrets about being with you…?”

They both shared frail, mournful chuckles. “I-I love you, Twilight. And I’m sorry…!”

“Don’t be. And I love you too.” She smiled warmly, continuing on that embrace.

They remained like that, quietly. The other Sunsets in the room did eye them with confusion and surprise.

After sharing a bit more of silence, Twilight continued to diligently work on tending to the many wounds that her wife had accrued battling her other self.

“You know… I can still feel Midnight. She’s still a part of me…” She muttered, lost in thought.

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, the demon spoke just as softly. “Is she… Okay…?”

For a brief moment, Twilight hovered a hoof over her forehead, feeling her horn. There were certain scars, and it hurt a bit. “She’s tired… And a bit sad. She’s sad that it’s over, I suppose, but… She’s happy that we’re still together.” She couldn’t help but let out a weary, happy exhale. “She’s also jealous of how tall the other Twilight is.”

The demon snickered, observing the incredibly powerful Twilight Sparkle working diligently in the distance. “She is super tall, heheh.”

Lightly smacking the demon with a wing, Twilight frowned and pouted. “Watch it, Sunny Bunny!!– S-sorry. Hihi… That was her.”

Snickering, the demon regarded her, with that same tired smile. “Good… Just… Good. I’m happy, despite everything... It's good to know you’re both okay. I love you both.”

“We love you too.” Twilight brought her closer for a slow, tired, loving kiss. Then, undoing the kiss, she placed a hoof on the snout of her wife, raising an eyebrow. “But I'm changing your diet. No more meat.”

“Heh… I can live with that.”

It had been a strange, strange night, for all of them.

It had been a long night, too.

Flare Shimmer, most of all, was reeling on that strangeness. She felt listless, as she stood on the balcony of the community center.

Having gotten out of a shower for the night, she had decided to check on her daughter in law, and had been shocked to see– Two daughter in laws, and what's more, four daughters.

Strange night. Stranger thoughts. She sat there, waiting for a certain someone to leave the lab, listlessly gazing at the night sky. It was very late, but she didn’t mind.

And finally, it happened. With a weary sigh, Celestia had finished checking on Twilight, and passed through the balcony, intent on leaving.

“It’s a circus in there, isn’t it?” Flare asked, looking in the distance, leaning on the railing.

Celestia remained silent, observing her, raising an eyebrow.

“...I just want to talk.” Flare nodded, no bite in her voice.

“Talk, or fight?” Celestia approached her slowly.

“Talk.”

They remained quiet for a while, as Flare gathered her thoughts. Celestia attempted to be casual. “No Gold tonight?”

“He’s out in Ponyville doing groceries. He hasn’t even seen Sunset yet– The Sunsets, I mean. He’s gonna freak out… Though he might be proud of the Canterlot guard one, he’s still gonna freak out when he sees the demon.”

“I would too…” Celestia gazed at the lab, at the very strange sights. “This is… It will take some getting used to.”

“One of my daughters– The one with the burned marks on her body– She hugged me on sight. Nearly cried. She said that I was murdered in her universe…” Her gaze continued on the night sky, beyond Ponyville, listless.

“I am… Sorry.” The Alicorn spoke genuinely.

“One of my daughters is a rockstar, heh...” She couldn’t help but snicker at the thought. “She followed her mom’s dream, and enjoyed it too, how about that…”

“It is certainly quite entertaining. I believe she is still a bit drunk…!” Celestia joined in the giggles.

“...And one of my daughters is a demon.” She finished, looking down.

“...That she is.”

Exhaling, hesitating, Flare spoke words she wasn’t expecting to say. “I’m… sorry about before. For being an asshole. It’s kind of… It’s kind of normal for me. To Flare Shimmer, being a piece of shit comes naturally. Queen of fuck ups.”

This surprised the Queen of the Sun, whose eyes widened, almost with a bit of pity. “You’re… You’re not so bad–”

“Don’t deny it, heh.” Flare grinned, looking at her, shaking her head. “Don’t even try to. Let’s not go there. This isn’t about me.” As she turned, with her mane loose, since she had recently showered, both of her eyes were on full display; Something she usually kept hidden.

“Your eye…! It’s…”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. It’s an old thing.” Flare turned away, hiding that her eyes opened unevenly.

She sighed, and continued.“Look, it's okay. I’m a piece of shit. I'm okay with that. But Sunset isn’t, she… She’s better. She outgrew all my worst qualities. She’s everything to me. I had lost her, then I got her back, and now…”

“...We lost her again.” Celestia nodded, with sorrow.

Flare tried not leaning her head on the railing in exhaustion. “I was so used to having her back in my life. My daughter, happier, more fulfilled than ever. I was so used to having her back…”

Also leaning on the railing, the queen agreed completely. “...And now it’s hard to imagine having a life without her… I know.”

“Ironic, isn’t it?” Flare snickered, in sadness. “You and me being the only ones that can understand how this feels.” It was ironic, considering the animosity they often shared.

“When I first banished Sunset, I… I thought I had lost everything. I thought I had destroyed my legacy, that I had no hope for the future… But she came back. Twilight brought her back, and…” With a frail exhale, Celestia couldn’t help but smile, despite the circumstances. “...And everything was okay again. The sun shined brighter in Equestria… because of her.”

Flare nodded slowly in agreement, quietly.

Turning to her with hesitation, Celestia tilted her head. “It offends you, doesn’t it? That I love her like she is my own daughter?”

After an exhale, Flare nodded, then shook her head. “It does– it did, I guess. But It's wrong to feel that way. Because I’m her mom. Because I know exactly what it’s like to care for her, and to miss her. Why should I be offended that I can share that sentiment with somepony? …After all, she loves you too, the very same.”

She turned to Celestia slowly, trying to smile. “You’re the only other pony in Equestria that gets how fucking shit it feels to have Sunset– To have your daughter missing like this… So I’m burying the hatchet, for her.” She extended a hoof, slowly. “Truce?”

With a smile, Celestia nodded, and shook the hoof. “Truce.”

“Attagirl, Celie.” Flare grinned with a nod, this time, it was a warm smile. They both turned and watched the stars together for a moment.

After sighing, Flare found more words to say, and she picked them carefully, as if she was in a minefield.

“When…” Her eyes were lost in the distance, reminiscing in the past. “Look, this is going to sound bad, but… When Sunset first told me she wanted to be your pupil, well, try to be your pupil… I… I didn’t believe she could do it.”

Eyes widened, Celestia regarded her with only a bit of anger and surprise but she listened attentively.

“I-I know that sounds bad. I know. I’m sorry. But… She was my daughter. She came from me. And I’m fucking nothing– A failed musician, a piece of shit.” She shook her head, her gaze still on the horizon.

Her eyes got teary, as she gazed at the night sky. “How… How could I possibly have expected that something that came from me, was… was capable of reaching so high…?”

“Something…” She laughed in irony, as a tear streamed down her cheek. “Something that came from me… Something that came from me can raise the sun… How the hell did that happen…?”

Nodding in understanding, Celestia leaned on the realling, her own eyes getting teary, as she gazed at the horizon, she reminisced on recent interactions she had with her daughter. “Last time I trained her, when we soared through the cosmos, I… She asked me what I thought that she was a ‘princess of.’”

Inhaling and exhaling, Celestia tried not thinking about how happier she was, merely four days ago. “I told her, that due to her bravery, strength, and even fearlessness, that through all of those qualities and more, I considered her the Princess of Valor.”

Flare grinned immediately, agreeing. “Oh, that’s a good one. I bet she loved it.”

“That she did.” Celestia snickered, reminiscing. But once again, breathing deeply, she reconsidered. “But now that we lost her… Seeing how the sun dimms, without her, seeing how all of us feel purposeless… And what's more, seeing the positive effect that she had on her other selves, and their worlds, as she is cursed to travel the multiverse… I believe I think differently.”

Flare turned to her with curious anticipation.

“Maybe she is instead… Sunset Shimmer. The Princess of Hope.”

Flare grinned widely– That did sound pretty good. She tried playing it off cool, but she felt the weight and the joy that came from that title. “It does feel pretty hopeless around here without her, doesn’t it…? I like that… My daughter, the Princess of Hope… I like that.”

They remained together for a little while longer, enjoying each other’s company for the first time.

And of course, thinking of their daughter, wherever she was, and how she brought hope with her.

Author's Note

SUNSET SHIMMER VS DEMON SUNSET SHIMMER.

INFO: Sunset has no interest in killing another version of herself. But she naturally did not underestimate her opponent. It was a simple case of throwing her off balance emotionally, and gaining the chance to take down Midnight Sparkle-- Not in a direct fight. If the two prideful queens had attacked together, it would have been a very different battle.

VERDICT: The thing about turning yourself into a demon for power... is that it'll never be as strong as the real deal. The battle was hard fought, and even with her holding back, the Princess of Hope had a decisive victory.

yeah so. Um.

This is only the mid point of this fic.

We've officially made it only halfway there. and I'm past 300 pages. goddamn.

This? All this? This intermission? This is the MIDDLE of this fic.

And goddamn, its only gonna get crazier from here. There's a lot to talk about this chapter, so I'll just say a couple of things!

heheh. Did you expect all the universes to be one and done? Not all of them. Twilight's meddling will yoink some Sunsets. And the demon one won't be the strangest.

I have been waiting for so long for this intermission because it establishes SO much stuff, lmao. And its just an epic one! It took me a bit to write, sadly, life stuff was getting in the way, and generally I kind of rewrote a lot of my original ideas for this! Like for example, when I first wrote the notes of this chapter months ago, I was gonna "Cure" the demon Sunset but then I realized how boring that is. Nah. That girl is irreversibly contaminated. (which, btw, is what I considered naming this chapter.)

Did I accidentally make sunlight into beauty and the beast? Imagine Twilight having to explain that lmao. the "hear me out" of the century. Also Twilight has just become Yugi moto exept yami just tells her to kiss wife

Honestly one interesting distinction I noticed is that Midnight Sparkle, in canon, was a separate personality, and alternate identity, while the demon Sunset is just that. its Sunset. Although I respect writers that would name the demon form, I think its more interesting to point the fact that she doesn't have a personality change, just power, and goes a bit madly with it. But Midnight can be like an evil personality just chiling inside Twilight's brain (and in that one sex fic I wrote, can just be kinda ok but horny lmao)

Yes they were about to fuck on that throne room. Sunset's timing was immaculate. But tbh if they were banging it out Sunset could have at least used their distraction against them lol

Firestorm is far from home, shame, she saved the world, but doesn't get to be there to help put it back together. her Twilight will miss her.

The Canterlot Guard certainly never asked for this. Poor gal. Things were starting to look up for her, too. She was going to have a good time with Moondancer...

The rockstar. Originally she would get her own chapter, but I realised she was funnier in this role. If the Community Center doesn't watch it she'll go mack on Pinkie some more heh

Also the rockstar Sunset's band is a whole polycule lmao. And when she saw Pinkie she instantly went to mack on it. If they were alone no one could have stopped them. Pinkie just went with it. I had spent too long on this fic without honoring Sunpie, and there will be more, heh. Cute ship!!

Imagine Twilight watching the other Twi and the demon sunset macking on each other and she's just envious lmao. I miss my wife. Id kiss a demon wife.

Where wife?

And of course, considering all that she has done... It is a befitting title, to be the Princess of hope. Saving universes like it's nothing.

Either way, like I said, I'll slow my role. next chapter is uneventful and fun, but the one after... Hoooo boy.