KILL DISCORD

“How’s the leg?” Pinkie asked while walking around humming to herself in the sugarcube corner, closing up shop.

Sunset looked down at the cast that enveloped one of her front legs– With dozens upon dozens of cutie marks signed into every side of it. All her friends, new or old, her new family– She couldn’t help but smile, even if she had to walk with a bit of a limp. “...It’s getting better. Still very broken, though.”

“Of course it is, silly!” She giggled, leaning on the counter. “And how’s the wings?”

Now there was a significantly harder question to answer– After all, with her broken leg, she hadn’t even been able to test them out yet, and there they sat on their back, diligently waiting for her clumsy inputs; But comfortably placed above her new jacket, styled to fit them.

Being an alicorn was new– But she felt it in her magic, she felt it in her body, a stirring, a purpose.

“...They’re awesome. Ugh. Sucks to have to wait before flying, though…” Once more, she pouted at her broken leg.

“You’ll get there! You just gotta do that thing I hate and be patient.” She resumed her work, moving away from the counter. “But in no time you’ll be soaring around, crashing a few times, you know how it is!”

“Psh. I’m ready. Hitting my face on the side of a building or even crashing is part of the euphoria.” She grinned, shrugging. “Drop and roll, right?”

“And rock and roll!” She repeated with rehearsed motions, winking. “Okay, almost done, then you can go!”

“Y-yeah! …Yeah.” Emotional support was desperately needed in these dire circumstances, and the pink pony was ready to provide it with gusto.

After precious minutes passed, Pinkie was before her, fiddling with her jacket, even slightly combing her hair. “...You’re nervous, aren’t you? You’ve got that look.” She tilted her head, with a warm, concerned smile.

“Is it that obvious…?” Letting out a weary chuckle, she looked at the windows, with the purple hue of her namesake announcing the end of the day.

“Girl you’ve got nothing to be nervous about. Twilight adores you, and you saved the dang world! If anypony deserves a nice date, it’s you!!”

“Y-yeah, I'm just… Getting used to it still. Like…” She stretched her wings, looking back. “It’s hard to remember I’m worthy. Of her or these, I mean… I want Twilight to be happy, above anything– But I’m wondering if– If we would have even gotten together, if I, well… If I didn’t have these.”

“Sunset. Look at me.” Pinkie grabbed her by the cheeks. “Twilight was crushing on you way before you got those wings. You’re tough, you’re strong, you’re really nice, you’ve got a sexy-ass mane, and you can treat a girl right like it’s nopony’s business. Whether you have wings or not, you’re Sunset Shimmer, okay? Twilight thinks so, and we all think so. And you’re the BEST!”

A tired, but delighted chuckle escaped the new alicorn.

Somehow, despite everything, Pinkie Pie always seemed to dispense true wisdom.

“C’mon girl. Say it with me. I am Sunset Shimmer, and I am the coolest!”

“I am Sunset Shimmer, and I am the coolest.” She repeated, smiling warmly.

“...See?” The party pony tilted her head. “You’re going to be okay, girl. This is the start of something incredible. You and Twilight were made for each other! I feel it from the tip of my ears to the end of my tail!!”

“Psh. Taking a page out of Cadance’s book, I see. There’s no such thing as soulmates, Pink.” She raised a skeptical eyebrow, grinning. “...But I don’t mind believing in it, just this once.” Her face flustered, as she thought about the Princess, and the enormity of her devotion to her.

“That’s the spirit, champ!!” Pinkie vibrated with excitement, grinning with teeth. “You two are going to shake things up in the BEST WAY!! Oh, the parties that await us… I can already envision them…”

“I’ll be more in a partying mood when I can fly.” She chuckled ironically, waving her cast, and her wings.

“IIIIIII!!!” Pinkie couldn't hold back anymore, and hugged her friend closely, careful as to not hurt her leg. “S-sorry, I’m just…! So excited! Two of my besties together, a-and they’re both alicorns– You two are going to do crazy stuff together!!! I can’t wait!!”

“Y-yeah. Me either.” She exhaled, smiling. “Thanks, Pink. I mean it. You’ve… Always been so damn awesome, you know that?”

“Hah! That’s a side effect of being a Pie. We’re all awesome.” She winked, wagging her tail. Then began making her way to the door, with her hide shivering. “Guess who’s heeeere!”

“There’s nopony here, Pink–”

The shadow of another alicorn sored down to the sugarcube corner, and the knock on the door was shy but swift.

“Told ya.”

“Wow, your Pinkie sense is nuts.” Sunset blew raspberries, shaking herself off, chuckling nervously. “Sooooo how exactly does it work?”

“Stop stalling, Sunsun.” Pinkie winked, waving towards the door. “Your destiny awaits.”

“Psh. Nothing gets past you, does it?” She grinned, making her way to the door. “Thanks again, Pinkie. I mean it.”

“It was nothing!” She said it lightly, but Sunset felt it– That despite everything and everyone, Pinkie had chosen to give her emotional support tonight, and she would never, ever forget this.

Opening the door, she was greeted with a beautiful sight.

The Princess of Friendship, flustered and nervous, in a beautiful flowing dress, and a wonderful hairdo to boot, illuminated by the light of the setting sun and the moon rising.

“H-hey…!” She smiled widely, red as a tomato.

“Hi…!” Sunset felt breathless.

She walked slowly towards the Princess, and they both behaved with a certain clumsiness. “...Rarity doesn’t miss, does she?”

“Huh? Miss what?” Twilight tilted her head, still blushing.

“Your dress– Your hairdo. You look… Really really good.” She affirmed, with slight embarrassment; Suppressing a couple dozen words she could have said about Twilight’s appearance.

“O-oh! Thank you!” Her face reddened slightly. “You’re totally right! Rarity doesn’t miss at all. A-and um, the girls, they prepared a nice place for us to have a nightly picnic in the outskirts of town…!”

“Of course they did.” Sunset smiled warmly. “Should have figured Pinkie wasn’t the only one suspiciously offering to help.”

“I’m not suspicious!! Bye!!!” The pink pony scarpered out of the sugarcube corner and disappeared into the streets of Ponyville.

Sunset smiled fully, feeling the affection and care of the party pony– And reveling on the realization that Twilight was even more nervous than she was, something that brought real relief.

The two chuckled, watching Pinkie disappear in the distance, and then turned to each other once more. “...So. First date.” Sunset noted.

“T-the first ever…!” She blushed, smiling truly.

“...The first of many.”

“I-I hope so.”

Clumsily, yet incredibly lovingly, they kissed each other, a slow, but passionate kiss.

The first of many.

The second Sunset arrived into this new universe, she knew something was wrong. Bitterly, horribly wrong.

She fell on a collective of soft objects that cushioned her fall, and didn’t yet see anyone nearby– But that’s not what concerned her.

The way she could feel the presence of people, feel their emotions merely on touch always flared in crowds.

And now, despite being alone, she felt like she was surrounded.

Looking down and around frantically, she only saw plushies– Life-like pony plushies, all huddled en masse, on piles around and below her. She noticed that she was inside a strange glass case, on a huge, strange contraption.

Looking up, she mostly saw darkness, some form of crane, as if she was inside a large machine. Lighting the way with her horn, looking around in confusion– She seemed to be in a kind of warehouse, or maintenance area, but wherever she was, she was alone, and it was abandoned long ago.

She felt voices. Not heard, felt. She felt concerned, confused voices.

Then a realization struck her, as she looked directly below herself.

There was a plushie of remarkable similarity to her own features.

Exasperated, she picked it up– It looked much like her– Minus the wings. Her eyes widened, as she came to a stark realization.

Touching this plushie felt like touching a living pony.

“...Hello?” She asked cautiously.

What she heard in response wasn’t like reading thoughts, not like normal. It was similar to incoherent screaming. It was similar to shouts or pleas or gasps for air all around her, and she began looking around frantically, sweating.

Still, only surrounded by plushies.

She clutched this likeness of herself, and teleported outside of this contraption.

Making her way to the door of the warehouse, she could feel it now– Much like she did, whenever she read the mind or memories of another Sunset Shimmer.

This plushie was very much alive, and she was scared.

“...I can hear you. Can you hear me?” She asked carefully, watching her surroundings.

Hello?? Can you hear me?? Please, what’s happening? I don’t understand…!

“...Can you not hear me?” her despair was tangible, as she grimaced, feeling the gut wrenching fear the object emanated.

I don’t know what’s happening, we were just hiding, please, can anypony hear me? We… We thought we could escape him, or just… Just lay low…

A shiver went down Sunset’s spine as she opened the door to the warehouse, being capable of deducing exactly what was happening.

I don’t know how long it’s been– Please, if there’s anypony that can hear me, run, run as far away as you can! He might leave you alone if you’re far, he might think you’re not worth the effort if you leave Equestria, just RUN!

Sunset gritted her teeth, beholding the world in its current state.

The Sun and the Moon danced in a sky full of polkadots and mishmashed stripes. Clouds hung in strange, unsteady positions, and buildings floated in ways bricks don't.

Storms formed in the horizon– A multicolored cyclone dragged buildings and mountains with it in a chaotic dance.

There was a large stadium with saturated colors illuminating the sky with dozens upon dozens of spotlights, and the sound of a crowd could be heard from within.

The strips of land that were once Equestria laid bare, broken, and chaotic, and with it, she had absolutely not an ounce of doubt of who was responsible for this world and its state.

How many Discords does it take to kill the world?

Only one, and he doesn’t even need to be dedicated!

Lights! Camera! Action! More lights!

It’s the weekly Discord’s Equestrian Takeover Show Huh I Should Work On That Title Wait Are You Still Writing Stop Show!

The spotlights flailed in random positions, often accidentally blinding onlookers– A line formed outside the stadium, composed only of mini-Discords, some in formal wear, others with foam fingers and cheering paraphernalia, few quiet.

“Now, now, here’s the man of the hour, Discord!!!” Discord announced, clutching a mic and gesturing towards the cameraman to get the best shot possible, with him being distracted filming a small two-headed insect.

A red carpet unfurled from nowhere, and a limousine crashed from the sky atop it, crushing a bystander. The sunroof opened and Discord hopped out, waving to his fans. “Good day, good day to all of you! What a wonderful meaningless joy it is to be with all of you today!” He twirled his tophat, tossed it aside, and it crushed a bystander.

“Discord! Discord! How do you feel about tonight’s show that hasn’t happened yet?” Discord had to fly over to Discord to reach him with the mic.

“Oh, what can I say? Some might claim I’m uncultured, but this little theater I’ve put together is simply a wonderful, dazzling, chaotic and wonderful show– I think you all know the stars, so I will refrain from spoilering, but we can all agree, due to the lineup alone, that this will be a wonderful night!” He tossed a bouquet over his head with a giggle, crushing a bystander.

Waiting no more, he flew inside the stadium. “You heard it here first, folks!!! Discord is about to put on his finest show yet, and I don’t know about you, but I wish I was real!!”

You are what you eat! And I’ve always been kind of crazy– the useless kind of mad.

A hush spread through the theater, as all was quiet– The lights dimmed, and the curtains covered the show.

Only a single seat was filled in the house, but of course, it sounded as if it was packed.

Discord walked in front of the stage, with a mic in hand. “Remember to keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times, and please, save your bouts of adoration towards the end–”

“GET ON WITH IT!” The only inhabitant of the theater with free will yelled out from the front row seats, groaning. Snapping his fingers, the curtains fell.

The spotlights above moved, and he munched on popcorn expectantly, hoping for a good show, for once.

Three Alicorns were on stage.

More accurately, what was left of them.

Celestia rode in on a unicycle with surprising skill– Her usually multicolored mane had been reshaped into a wig that matched her clown makeup, the cherry on top being the bulbous red nose attached to the end of her muzzle.

All with a winning smile, a goofy grin, she began juggling with plastic balls while driving that unicycle in circles, all while looking at Discord. All lights were on her.

“Hellooooo everypony!!” She enunciated to the empty theater with a wide grin, eyes on Discord. “You know me, you love me, the favorite by default of a thousand years of rule– It’s me, Princess Celestia!” She shouted out with glee, juggling with perfect precision.

And the Lord of Chaos nodded along.

She spread her wings– But not far. Never far. “I just love a fun goofy time, and enjoying myself on a pleasant afternoon with my favorite snack– A pie to the face!” Just then, as if by divine intervention, a pie flew from backstage and struck her on the head. Miraculously, she maintained composure and did not lose balance. Audience laughter was heard. “What did I tell ya?”

The Lord of Chaos chuckled, and the audience followed suit.

“Here’s a fun little secret…” Her tone became a mischievous hush. “I’ve always had a crush on Discord, and never told anypony!” The crowd gasped, and she blushed. “I know, I know! I just– I am simply not good enough for the Lord of Chaos…!” The crowd aww’d. “And speaking of Discord, here’s a fun little story. I once killed a titan by cutting his body into nine pieces, and then spread all of those parts in each layer of Tartarus. I know, it’s a bit grim, but desperate measures, you know?” With a wink, she sighed. “Of course, that punishment is not even close– It doesn’t equate to an iota, it is only a miniscule percentage of the fierce reckoning that I would unleash upon Discord if I could!”

“Ugh, again?” The Lord of Chaos groaned. “We’ve been over this, you’re supposed to be funny!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, handsome!” She pouted, and resumed juggling. “How about a song? Here goes: Turning you to stone was mercy, turning you to stone was mercy, turning you to stone was mercy, turning you to stone was mercy, turning you to stone was–”

“Cut, cut!!” He announced, shaking his head in disappointment. “Okay, let’s just go to the next one– I’m sure it can’t be as bad as this. Get your act together, Celestia!”

“I’m sorry, handsome!” She pleaded, going to sit on the corner with a dunce cap.

“Okay, okay. From the top. Who’s next?” He announced, snapping his fingers.

“Oh, it’s my time to shine!” A giggly voice echoed from the center of the stage.

Taking clumsy steps forward, was a wooden puppet, colored purple carelessly, and with limbs flailing about, puppeteered by strings tied to an unseen force above the theater. With a friendly wave, this would-be-unicorn did the closest a likeness could to smile. “Hello! I’m Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s star pupil, and the element of magic! Isn’t the magic of friendship wonderful, everypony? I used to wonder what friendship could beeee~”

Audience laughter was heard.

“--I’m going to be a princess some day, so better buy toys now, because the next line will have wings!” She winked, and her strange movements resembled that of a trot. “That’s right. The Princess of Friendship, can you believe it? And I would bring a golden age to Equestria, too! I would! But there’s a little wrench on that, of course… The simple fact that all this that you see before you can’t be undone! This is all we have, everypony!”

Discord chuckled and applauded lightly. More audience laughter was heard.

“Hah, but still, what is the deal with the Elements of Harmony, huh?” She joked, doing a little clumsy jig. “Why is magic an element of friendship? Sounds a bit goofy, if you ask me? And don’t even get me started on ‘laughter’, hah! Is laughing a part of friendship? But what do I know!” The audience laughed along. “And speaking of which, what did you do with the elements, Discord? What did you do with them? What did you do with them? What did you–”

“Get on with the show, please.” He sighed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be a broken record on stage, girl. You know how exhausting that is for me.”

“Hah! Look at that!” Twilight waved her wooden hooves. “The Lord of Chaos is mildly inconvenienced, everypony! We did it! We’re rebelling!”

Loud audience laughter was heard all around– deranged, manic, it kept going louder and louder.

Discord waved a hand, and all went quiet, he was only minorly amused, mostly annoyed. “Go on then.”

“Okay, okay, everypony! Do you all want to hear a story?” She gestured widely, garnering the invisible crowd's attention. “Do I’ve got a doozy one for you! You know me, I love books, so here’s a funny one I’ve read: In ancient times, a wise pony was punished for discovering fire and teaching it to his people; And for this transgression, he was tied to a rock and had pieces of his liver eaten by birds, and his liver would regrow each day! Funny story, right? Well I personally think he had it easy! I'd gladly switch places with him right now!”

The audience ate it up, laughing loudly.

“Ugh, you always insist on bringing the show down, don’t you?” Discord groaned, waving his hand dismissively. “Leave it to the little nerd to make the show be depressing with boring stories!”

More audience laughter.

“Onto the next one, you’re dismissed!” He huffed, pouting.

As soon as he announced that, the strings went dull and the puppet fell to the floor, unmoving.

Last, but not least, a mini Discord walked onstage, and sat on a chair. On his lap, was a nutcracker puppet that resembled what was left of another Princess.

“I am Princess Luna. The serious and pragmatic one.” The Puppet expressed unenthusiastically. “Do you ever feel like somepony has a hand up your ass controlling your every movement? Your every thought? Your every feeling? ‘Cause I sure do.”

The audience chuckled.

She continued with the same level of enthusiasm. “And let me just say: I’m glad Discord took our free will away, or even our capacity to speak freely to the furthest extent he could. Because I assure you all, that if I could speak my mind right now, all I would do is scream.”

“Stop, stop, that does it!” Discord stood from his chair, shaking his head. The Luna nutcracker was abandoned on the stage floor, rolling over. “You girls really need to work on your act! This isn’t good at all!”

“Why isn’t it working, handsome?” Celestia pouted from the corner, still wearing her dunce cap.

“D-do I honestly even need to say it?!” He threw his hands in the air with exasperation. “Okay, I’ll say it! Even with my monumental godly chaotic capabilities, I still can’t make you FUNNY! It’s like none of you are even trying!!”

“I’m trying, handsome!” exasperated, pleadingly, the clown crossed her arms. “Maybe it’s a problem with the script? What do you think, girls?”

The unicorn puppet carelessly unmoving on the ground spoke as best as she could; A considerably difficult task with her body immobile. “I’ve seen better creative writing.”

Luna, face down, tried her best to articulate. “I’ve got a story suggestion, if any of you are interested.”

“I’d like to hear it!”

“Me too!”

With a groan, Discord shrugged. “Sure, what is it?”

“You should kill yourself.” Luna stated simply.

“Okay, okay, show’s over.” He shook his head, and silenced the audience's laughter and the chuckles that emanated from the clown and the other puppet with a snap of his fingers. “Work on your game, girls. Next week we take it from the top, okay?”

He was about to snap his fingers once more, but his attention was drawn to an object rolling in the red carpet below him.

He only had the chance to narrow his eyes before the cherry bomb detonated, engulfing the stage in smoke and forcing him into a coughing fit.

“I-I’ve got you!” A familiar, annoying voice called out from the stage, and he was immediately frustrated.

With a snap of his fingers, an enormous fan manifested itself to rid him of the fog, and he was even madder at the sight.

“Pinkie Pie! Again?!” He groaned, closer to a snarl. “How many times do we–”

The Pink Pony didn’t wait. She cut the strings that held Twilight with her teeth, placed the puppet on her back, and began sprinting– But there was no time.

Discord snapped his fingers, and she ran face first into an invisible wall.

“That’s it! Mime jail for you!!” He affirmed, coming closer to the stage. “Now, now, hand over the puppet.”

“N-NO! AND SCREW YOU!” Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth, patting her surroundings, looking for a means of escape, but it was like she was inside a glass box.

“Honestly, what is this even accomplishing? You can’t beat me, girl.” Sitting down, he raised an eyebrow. “I don’t enjoy these pointless games.”

“O-oh yeah? And here I thought you loved games– BUT YOU’RE JUST A SORE LOSER!!” She yelled out in fury.

“A loser, you say? The world is mine, you fool. And I can do anything!” He amused himself, sitting back, waving a hand. “And you think this puppet can save you? Even if she were still a pony, there would be nothing she could do.”

“It’s true, Pinkie.” The puppet on her back spoke, mournfully. “The damage is irreversible. Discord won. There’s nothing we can do. You should give up.”

“D-don’t say that!! He’s making you say that!! I know we can still–” She was interrupted by the Lord of Chaos leaning forward, looming over her.

“You have no plan at all, do you? Really, Pinkie? It was amusing at first, but now it’s just sad.” He rolled his eyes, mocking her from up close. “But I suppose I appreciate that about you. I like to live life by the seat of my pants as myself. But you were barely a side character in the first place, you have no chance of–”

He was interrupted by her blowing a puff of glitter into his face, immediately blinding him.

He yelled in pain, clutching his eyes, and the building shuddered.

With swift, determined movements, she mimed the motion of picking a lock, and opened the invisible door to her jail cell, and began galloping away once more.

Discord snapped his fingers.

The floor below her sprung up, shoving her through the air towards his direction.

The Twilight Puppet rolled onto the floor.

He held the Pink Pony by the neck with a scowl.

“Augh, darnit, I keep falling for that one, haha…!” He rubbed his eyes in pain.

“Think of it as a running gag, you JERK!” She gritted her teeth, flailing, trying to escape.

After laughing at her expense, he shook his head. “You see, Pinkie, to be a sore loser… You have to lose first.” Grinning, he readied his hand, with burning eyes and a snarl of annoyance. “Now. We’re finally here– The final curtain. What shall I make you into?”

She struggled pointlessly, biting his fingers, flailing her hooves, whimpering.

“I must admit, at times, my creativity gets the better of me!” He giggled, closing his fist. “Too many ideas, you know? Do I make you into a sheep? A drawing on a wall? A footstool? That is, of course, if you don’t escape first and we do this song and dance some more, hehehehe!” He shrugged. “Or do I turn you into a cloud, a plushie, a–”

An arrow of light pierced the air.

The Valkyrie flew through the theater, slicing through Discords arms and safeguarding Pinkie, and with the same momentum, cut through the stage, the walls, and fled the stadium with impeccable speed.

“Ow!” he affirmed, with a pout. “Did anypony catch the number of that– Was that a Valkyrie?”

Silence, as he raised an eyebrow at the arrow of light that was farther and farther away.

With annoyed, rehearsed motions, he picked his arms back from the floor and screwed them back on. “Unbelievable, what sort of deux-ex-machinonsense is that Pink Pony up to now. Bah.”

But slowly, his grimace contorted into a smile. “This is quite interesting, though… New blood! Finally something exciting! I bet she will put on a better show than any of you sorry excuses for alicorns ever could. I’ll make her dance.”

“...Little one…?” Celestia muttered, beholding the crater that was once the walls of the stadium.

“What was that?” Discord took a single, long step, and was right besides her. “Do you know that Valkyrie? Hello? If you were stashing alicorns in your closet, Celestia, I would have liked to KNOW!”

“S-she’s ascended…!” A small, proud smile manifested into the clown's lips. “Oh, Sunset…!”

“Tell me everything you know about her.” Discord readied a snapping finger. “Now.”

What is the deal with Valkyries, huh?

And on a related question, what’s worse? A lack of purpose, or an abundance of it?

I am Pinkie Pie. And I am a survivor. I stopped counting the days and years.

I’m the only one left on this side of Equestria. Everypony else left or got… Turned into something else. They’re all something else. I’m the only one left.

But I won’t stop fighting. I won’t stop fighting. I know somepony out there can save the world from him–

Admittedly, reading Pinkie’s memories was a bad idea while flying.

Especially when the forecast had clouds that rained candy and buildings that flew through the air, and they were escaping the possible wrath of the Lord of Chaos.

“WA-AAAgh!!” Pinkie yelled out, clutching to the back of the alicorn. “Watch out for the chocolate clouds– Left, left! Go into that tunnel!”

“It’s literally painted on a wall, Pink!” The Valkyrie yelled out.

“Trust me!”

And Sunset did.

Somehow, instead of crashing against a wall, she passed through the tunnel and wound up elsewhere– Gravity was a joke at her expense, as she struggled to fly in this strange chaos vortex.

The sun and the moon danced in a mocking manner in the sky while she tried her best to keep composure, all while the Pink Pony clung to her desperately.

“W-WHAT NEXT, PINK– HOLY FUCKING SHIT–” An entire mountain passed by with a face in it, trying to eat them.

“WE GOTTA GET EATEN, GO GO GO GO GO FORWARD!!” Sunset trusted her implicitly, but this was insanity.

The Valkyrie felt like she was being power washed– The inside of the mountain was indeed wet and much like a maelstrom– She got spit out from the other side and tried not thinking about the implications.

“L-land, land! There, see that building?” She pointed forward, and Sunset could barely see through the sea of candy floating around her.

“Is that the sugarcube corner?!” The Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth.

“What’s left of it, c’mon!” The Earth pony noted, while covering her eyes from the onslaught of colorful beans they flew through. “We have to get to my safehouse before he finds us!”

Landing was clumsier than she hoped, with her almost rolling over. Pinkie landed on her hooves, and immediately went to the door.

Sunset spared only a brief glance to the interior of the sugarcube corner, which seemed nearly… Empty. So little furniture, essentially only wallpaper. Looking outside, the storm seemed to rage still, with pieces of candy raining from the sky, and elsewhere, multicolored lightning shook the clouds.

“Over here! Into my secret Par–”

“Party cave, yeah.” Sunset readied herself, leaping over the counter as the earth pony opened the passageway she expected.

“Close the trapdoor on the way down!” Pinkie announced before dive-bombing into the hole, and Sunset did as much.

It was about the same as she expected from her own universe– perhaps longer, and with more twists and turns. The tobogan spiraled, and finally, she landed skillfully, having experienced this insanity before.

I shine brightest in the dark. I am there but cannot be seen. To have me, costs you nothing, to be without me costs you everything. What am I? Who am I? Is there anyone still out there? Is she waiting for me?

Illuminating her surroundings with her horn, she felt alarmed. The area was similar to the one she faced when she landed in this universe– A backroom, seemingly a storage area. This time, for miscellaneous objects, many of which had eerie resemblances to ponies.

She took special care not to touch anything.

Startled, she flinched, as Pinkie grabbed a spotlight and shined it over the alicorn menacingly. “Okay, tough girl! Who are you, why are you here, how did you get those wings, and that cool armor too, and that sexy-ass mane, and what’s your name, and–”

Sunset grabbed hold of her, pulling her close.

Through her memory powers, she unveiled the most important information. That she was an unwilling visitor from another world, that her stay was temporary, who she was and what they meant to each other, and that above everything, she was glad to see Pinkie alive.

“...Are you okay?” The alicorn asked gently, watching the pink pony tear up. “Sorry, I hope that wasn’t… Too many memories at once. I’m sick of the song and dance of explaining shit by now.”

“S-sorry, it’s just…” She sniffled, shaking her head. “I forgot how green Everfree used to be…!”

“...Yeah. Discord turned it into a cacophony of barren colors in this world… Like he did everything else.” She let go of the Pinkie Pony, sitting down, thinking of the raging storm of colors outside. “I’m sorry this happened to your world. I’m sorry… I’m sorry this happened to you.”

“Nice to meet you… Weirdo from another world. Sunset Shimmer, right?” She offered a hoof.

“Yep. And you’re Pinkie Pie.” She accepted the shake, observing the features of the party pony, her mane had more colorful streaks, the bag she carried looked tattered and worn, and she had several bracelets in her legs, all matched by a clear exhaustion. “You’re my best friend– In my world, I mean. But in this one…?”

“I’ve never met you, sorry…” She shook her head, analyzing the armored alicorn. “But gosh, now I’m wishing I had… You’re a badass!! S-super buff!! And you totally saved my flank! I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of that one…! D-do you think you were sent to this world to help?”

“No, it’s random, sorry. There’s no purpose to the world I’m visiting, it's all just…” She gritted her teeth, shaking her head. “Suffering without purpose. You know how it is.”

“Hah! Now there’s a funny joke.” She forced a laugh, huffing. “As if suffering has purpose. It’s just pain! Ouch!”

“...Yeah.”

Slowly, the party pony led the way to one of the walls of her safehouse– A place with a few nightstands and tables, several miscellaneous objects lined the walls and corners.

She picked up an action figure that looked suspiciously like Rainbow Dash, and pulled a string behind her. “...Hey, Dash! Look at the cool mare I met…!

The speaker on the toy crackled to life. “Rainbow Dash says: I’ve got Kung-fu-action grip! And man, look at that armor! Can she kill Discord?”

“I hope so.” Pinkie muttered.

Sunset approached the wall. Carefully, she took out her own replica– The Plushie of her counterpart on this world, and placed her on the shelf carefully, mournfully.

She then saw a face observing her form a vanity mirror– Rarity, seemingly on the other side, mouthing words she couldn’t hear. “...Did he get all of you? All of the elements?”

“All except me…” She approached the mirror, and tapped on it. “He trapped Rarity inside here long ago. I can’t hear her, but… At least she doesn’t need to eat.”

The seamstress seemingly pouted and groaned, then pointed towards the valkyrie, making gestures she didn’t understand.

“He got my family, too…” Pinkie pointed at a seemingly innocuous rock pile, cluttering the corner of the room but safeguarded by a little diorama the earth pony had made. “Maud, Limestone, Marble, Mom and Dad…” She pointed at each rock specifically. “Then he got the cakes…”

In a shelf, there were a few round dolls made to store smaller round dolls inside them, each smaller than the other– All painted to seem like the cakes and their two foals, the family that had previously owned this place, now forced to be objects decorating it.

A small garble echoed from the other corner, and Sunset’s ears twitched, it was the sound of a baby.

In a little crib, Applejack garbled at her– Or in this case, a foal that resembled Applejack. Sunset’s eyes widened and she grimaced, noticing what had happened.

“He… he actually…”

“Yeah. He turned her into a baby.” Pinkie sighed, checking on her. “Hi AJ. I’m still alive, yeah. I didn’t find anything, well, healthy and edible for you this trip out, but here, I’ve still got from last week’s run…”

Sunset watched her carefully, the rehearsed motions of a survivor finding her stockpile of food and helping the foal eat it, holding a spoon carefully. This Pinkie Pie was living at a razor's edge– And the world seemed far from inhabitable, and yet…

“...You survived here, all this time?” She didn’t know if she should be impressed or feel pity. “...Wow, Pink.”

“Once you understand the rules of the world, it's not that hard.” She muttered, helping her friend eat properly. “Discord likes to think he’s omniscient– But he isn’t. He likes to say his world has no rules– But it does.”

“Rule of chaos. No wonder you of all ponies made it.” Sunset muttered, watching the surrounding area, and all that remained of the citizens of Ponyville, Pinkie had done her best to save them, to bring them here.

But she could do nothing else.

Quietly, the Pink Pony pulled the cord on the Rainbow Dash action figure. “What do you think, Rainbow…?”

The speaker sparked to life. “Rainbow Dash says: Scratch me behind the ears please! And also, kill Discord!”

“Kill Discowd!” Applejack nearly knocked over the spoon of soft food she was being fed with by flailing her hooves..

Sunset even heard tapping on the glass of the mirror Rarity was stuck in– She didn’t need to guess that the seamstress was reinforcing the idea.

“Can you help us, please, please…!” Pinkie pleaded, regarding Sunset, her eyes exhausted, her energy fading. “I-I’m… There’s only so much I can do! I’ve tried rescuing Twilight, seeing if she can come up with a plan– But I’m just an Earth Pony! I can’t do it– But you’re an alicorn! Can’t you kill him?”

“Look at what’s left of Celestia and Luna. What do you think?” Sunset looked away shamefully. “You can’t kill him by normal means– If I decapitate him, he’ll just screw his head back on. One snap of his fingers, and it’s over for me. I can’t take the risk.”

“Please, we have to try something!! Please, please!” She hurried over to the alicorn. “C-can you at least help me rescue Twilight?? Y-you can’t imagine how many times I’ve been trying to get her back– If we get her back, she might be able to think of something, I-I don’t know, anything that could bring back the Elements of Harmony, o-or–”

“I’m sorry, but Twilight won’t be able to help you, not in that state. I know better than anypony how much good she can do, but–” She shuddered in anger. “She only has a fraction of free will, and even if she could speak her mind fully, there’s nothing that can beat him. Without the Elements…”

“Hhhhrhghgh!!! GAH!!” The Pink pony shouted out angrily. “H-HOW DARE YOU! T-TO JUST WALTZ INTO MY WORLD, SAVE MY LIFE, AND TELL ME THERE’S NO HOPE!?!?! I DON’T BELIEVE YOU! I I DON’T BELIEVE YOU, I DON’T–”

“I’m sorry– But I'm not here by choice…!” She gritted her teeth mournfully and spoke gently. “You don’t understand. Discord exterminated valkyries just like me– Dozens upon dozens, likely even better than me, a thousand years ago. We don’t– I don’t have any moves I can use on him. It’s not a fight you can win with brute force– And yeah, I hate it too.”

The Pink Pony paced around the room angrily, infuriated, exasperated, desperate. “W-well maybe there’s something else you can do!! You’ve got magic, maybe there’s some spell–”

“--Most spells don’t mesh with chaos magic. Trust me, I’ve thought of it. I can’t kill him the same way I did Tirek– Muting all magic wouldn’t mute his.”

“T-there has to be some way. There has to be.” She pouted, looking down, tail wagging in frustration.

“And if we do kill him, there won’t be anypony left to fix the world. He’s the only chaos bearer in this universe, as he is in many.” Sunset huffed, shaking her head.

“Him being dead would at least bring the ones that are still here peace!” Pinkie muttered, sniffling. “Us survivors, we… We wouldn’t be afraid anymore.”

“I didn’t see a Cadance on stage…” The Valkyrie pondered, tilting her head pensively, wondering what two alicorns could do. “...Is she, maybe…”

“Fled Equestria.” Pinkie murmured mournfully. “When Discord started expanding his reach, she evacuated her whole kingdom. I-I… I don't know how many of the other races are still alive. For all I know, Discord got to them, or m-maybe at least all of the crystal ponies are living in a glacier somewhere… I thought about fleeing too, but… No.”

“...A better fate than this.” Sunset looked at her counterpart with a shudder. “...And Twilight’s brother?”

“Discord got him a long time ago. Back when Equestria was still fighting him– I… I have no clue where his remains are. I tried saving as many of us as I could, but…!”

“...Is there a Fluttershy in this world? There has to be, right?” Sunset looked around the room. “If you’re desperate enough, we could use her as bait of some kind. Because–”

“--She was the first to go.” Mournfully, Pinkie walked over to one of the corners, looking around some cardboard boxes. “Fluttershy…? It’s me, Pinkie, it’s okay…!”

Sunset’s heart pounded with anger and frustration at the injustice of this world– at the horror of it– She tried so strongly to remain numb to it, but it was harder by the second, with every new twisted thing.

Pinkie Pie approached her with a small, whimpering ferret creature, one that quickly hid in the Earth Pony’s mane, one that had colors and features that resembled a pony once called Fluttershy.

“...She was the first one he, well…” Pinkie sighed, pursing her lips. “She was actually tasked with helping him be reformed. Can you believe it…? T-that monster…”

“I believe it.” Sunset exhaled, looking away. “In my world, Discord is ‘reformed’, but… We had to exile him. Because of shit like this.” She waved a hoof absentmindedly around. “I’ve seen worlds where he ended Equestria by endorsing villains– After reformation.” She groaned, shaking her head.

“W-what a joke. He shouldn’t have ever been anything other than stone.” Pinkie murmured in anger.

“In my world, once he heard that Rainbow and Fluttershy were dating, he trapped Rainbow in a fucking labyrinth. She survived to snitch on him, but we saw that as a last straw– We knew he needed to learn about Friendship all over the world, not just with us. His codependency to Fluttershy was quite frankly, disgusting. We taught him that if he wanted to be worthy of friends, he wouldn’t ever use his powers for…”

“Evil? Gain? Murder? Malice? The destruction of everything everypony ever loved?!?!?!” Pinkie snarled, tapping her hooves on the floor angrily. “T-there’s no arguing with him! No talking! There’s no reforming!”

“Kill Discowd!!” Applejack reinstated from her crib.

The little ferret creature poked out of Pinkie’s mane and squeaked, then hid again.

The action figure’s speaker came to life. “Rainbow Dash says: Wait, I'm dating Fluttershy in your universe? W-what? Also kill Discord!”

“There’s no killing, either.” Sunset affirmed, shaking her head. “Look, in half an hour, if we’re lucky, I’ll be gone. I’m sorry, even if I could help, there’s no time…”

“W-what if he can take you back to your home, huh? What if you could make him?” She tried bribing.

“I’ve talked with other Discords in other universes. Most of them don’t even suspect the existence of the multiverse– or don’t care.” She murmured, shaking her head. “...Sorry, Pink.”

“W-well what about Twilight?? I-I saw through your memories!! Her gorgeous wings, her pretty face, don’t you want to rescue Twilight? This Twilight, I-I mean. Don’t you love her?! Aren’t you like, married??”

“Not my Twilight.” The Princess of Hope murmured quietly. “I’ve done the knight in shining armor routine in enough universes– King Sombra is one thing, but Discord…? I’m tired, Pink…”

After a loud squeal of frustration and anger, the Party Pony laid on the floor, defeated. “H-he plays games with our lives. It’s all a joke to him!! B-but it’s not funny. The joke is at our expense. The entire world’s expense…!”

“He was born into a power he didn’t earn… he’s not an alicorn.” She muttered, shaking his head. “No wonder he’d be devoid of empathy. We’re all toys to him. It’s his comedy style…”

“Well it’s not FUNNY!” Just like that, the Earth Pony was standing again, walking over to the valkyrie with a pleading pout. “P-please, there has to be something you can do in the time you’re still here, there has to be something we can try, anything, I’m up for anything! Even a suicide mission, I don’t care, anything!!”

Sunset closed her eyes.

In all truth, the only apprehension she had for throwing herself at this obstacle, this enemy, was her lack of expectation to win. Her lack of hope for any possibility of victory, and her decisive certainty that there was nothing she could do or even try.

But soon after that apprehension came the simplest realization.

The multiverse was going to kill her anyway.

Why wait?

Why drag this out?

She realized with a shiver and a nod, that there was no reason to avoid a fight, if all she wanted was to finally rest.

Was this that much worse than a kraken?

Besides…

Her best friend was asking her for help.

“Fuck it.” She shrugged, shaking her head, making her way to the tobogan of the party cave. “Let’s go kill Discord. I’ve got an idea.”

“O-oh!! Is it a good one??”

“Absolutely not.”

How many Sunset Shimmers does it take to kill Discord? The answer might surprise you!

“Sunset Shimmer, Sunset Shimmer, Sunset Shimmer…” Discord muttered to himself, while looking through the enormous claw machine filled with dozens upon dozens of ponies turned plushies. “Nope! None here! Gosh. You’d think you’d remember every single pony you alter the form of. You can never have too much of a good thing, that’s what I always say, hah!” His laughter echoed in the empty warehouse, and there was no response, no company.

“Well I thought it was funny. Tough crowd!” He commented to the ponies he made into inanimate objects before him, piled recklessly inside a glass box.

No response.

Pensively, he leaned on the air itself. “Now, if I was a valkyrie with vengeance in my blood and also the edgy non-child of Celestia all in one, where would I be…?”

He heard a loud explosion in the distance, and was surprised that he didn’t cause it.

Flying out of the warehouse, he sniffed the air, and saw flames erupting from his stadium.

“Oh! That’s easier. She’d come to me!” He smiled, and leapt through the air with glee. “Oh, I’m looking forward to this…!”

He picked up his opera glasses and reveled at the sight.

Written in flames at the roof of the stadium, was a message for him.

“Let’s play a game. Meet us in Everfree.”

Giggling like a schoolgirl, Discord began prancing.

There is no hope. There is no escape. There is no love. There is no you. There is no me. There is no heart. There is no way. There is no end. There is no beginning. There is no hope.

What remained of Everfree was hard to describe, even comprehend.

It wasn’t a desert, but it held as much life as one– little to none. Trees were like ashen needles, devoid of life, few and far between, pointing towards the sky in twisted patterns. The terrain was erratic, splattered with what seemed like multicolored paint that fell from the occasional rain, and yet, the land was significantly flatter than the forest of harmony once was.

And it was there that the Princess of Hope awaited for the end.

“...I made a magic nullifying bubble around the entire area so he couldn’t drain magic or cast it. And yeah, sure, I couldn’t cast it either–” Sunset grinned, tilting her head. “But that’s where fighting comes in. Real fighting.”

“Wow…!” Pinkie gasped, blushing slightly. “T-that’s so cool…!”

“Yeah. Appeal to the ego, and take away the only way a hyper-confident villain can use to fight. Tirek fell like a baby– Too accustomed to eating magic and spitting it back. When he was forced to fight without it…”

“You wrecked him! That’s so awesome…!”

“Yeah. Now, funny enough, throwing a Tirek at this Discord wouldn't be the worst idea– But it’d be trading one problem for another.” She sighed, looking away. “The same strategy wont work on Discord, I can’t– I can’t just block chaos magic. And I doubt he hasn’t sealed up Tartarus permanently somehow, though. Burying monsters alive seems like his style here.”

“I’ve never even heard of a Tirek before…” She pouted, tilting her head. “Would be nice for two bad guys to wreck of each other…!”

“Yeah. Point is, we have to rely on Discord’s own stupidity here. He’s not omniscient. He’s fallible.” She scanned the horizon with her gaze. “He’ll make a mistake– Not because of his lack of intelligence, but because of his confidence.”

“T-then we get him.”

“Yeah…” She nodded, completely devoid of faith.

She was well aware that these could be her last moments.

“...Pinkie, you don’t have to be here. You should go back to your safehouse– I can’t promise I’ll be able to protect you– Much less… much less win.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She stated without skipping a beat. “I’ve been fighting this fight for years. I want to be here if it ends…!”

“Heh…!” Letting out a weary chuckle, Sunset tilting her head. “You know what…? Being with you makes the prospect of being violated and obliterated by a god of chaos seem not half bad…!”

With a light blush, Pinkie giggled quietly. “I can see why another me is best friends with you…!” She let out a sigh with a tiny smile. “Things like these are better together... Win or lose…!”

“Probably lose.” Sunset exhaled out, closing her eyes.

She came to the realization of what she was doing, right at this moment. Picking a fight with an enemy she couldn’t beat, just so that she could die.

In this moment, she didn’t feel regret.

She felt sorrow.

Sorrow that her loved ones would never bury her, would never know what happened to her, would never get to say goodbye.

This was her decision. She was ready for the end– And she would go down fighting.

But her heart felt heavy.

“I… I… I’m sorry, Twi…!”

“...What did you say?” Pinkie tilted her head. Then she stopped– her tail vibrated, and she felt a shiver.

“Hello, my little po–”

Sunset turned and blasted the area behind them full force with light, creating a crater behind them and leveling several trees.

Covered in soot and ash, Discord pried himself off the ground, patting the dust of him. “I forgot that’s how Valkyries say ‘hello’-- Honestly, the things that slip your mind after a thousand years…!”

“Discord.” Sunset stated with a snarl, covering Pinkie with a wing, already adorned in armor.

“Sunset Shimmer!” He smiled and waved. “Ah, yes! I know your name. Your would-be mother was delighted to share! She shares a lot with me, these days…” His grin was malicious, twisted. “Although I feel hurt that no pony clued me in on this! But I recognize you now– The little filly that often studied alone in the Canterlot palace gardens– Being turned to stone doesn’t mean I can’t see or hear, you know?”

The Princess of Hope contained every fiber of her anger, every fiber of her desire of telling this Discord her true nature. It would make no difference, this wasn’t her world, and she wasn’t it’s Sunset. Focus on the target.

“This is cute, by the way!” He gestured vaguely at the two of them. “This little unlikely duo. The raging punk with a vengeful heart and the party girl hanging on by a thread. Both burned by me, wanting to burn back. I like it! Wonderful dynamic, lots of comedy potential! And of course, talk about shipping fodder, am I right?”

Time was running out, and Sunset ignored his words. “Let’s play a game.” She commanded, gritting her teeth.

“Oh yes. We shall.” He smiled deviously, and raised a hand to snap his fingers…

…And stopped.

Sunset covered Pinkie with a wing immediately ready to teleport out of the area, her horn flared as if they were both readying a draw on a duel.

“Eugh… So it’s like that, is it?” He crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. It’s like that.” Slowly, she moved her wing back, keeping her eyes on his every movement. “Raise those fingers and Pinkie and I are out of here. Simple as that.”

He rarely allowed others to make the rules. He would allow an exception for this moment. “Well then– You’ve got my attention! Color me intrigued! Fascinated, even! How is there a valkyrie before me, one that Celestia raised, no less– And above all, what is this game you’d like to play?” He sat down in the air, leaning forward.

She would only bother to explain the latter. “A fight to the death. Winner takes all.” She stated through gritted teeth.

“...Oh?” He titled his head, slowly losing interest.

“That’s right. No magic from either side. The loser dies– Really, really dies. A simple battle, mortal to mortal.” She affirmed, narrowing her eyes.

“Heh. Heheh.” He shook his head, tapping his fingers together. “Ah, you valkyries, all the same. Only solving problems with violence… And you think you could save the world by killing me? Oh, the bravado…!”

“No. Not save the world.” She stepped a hoof on the floor.

“We’re just here to kill you.” Pinkie sputtered out.

“Oh, how interesting! You want to erase the foundation of your new world out of spite! How quaint!” He giggled lightheartedly, waving his hands. “And you honestly thought you could convince me to briefly let go of my godhood advantage for a little scuffle with an alicorn. A valkyrie, no less. You two insult my intellect– And I don’t know why I expected any better out of either of you, to think I’m this gullible! How disappointing!”

“Yeah. I knew he’d be scared.” Sunset grinned, sitting back. “You were right, Pink.”

“Told you! He’s a yellow-belly-coward!” Pinkie giggled. “C’mon Sunset. Let’s get out of here!”

“Oh, adorable.” He rolled his eyes. “And what exactly do I lose by refusing to participate in this little foal’s game?”

“Us.” Sunset affirmed coldly. “We’re leaving. You won, you have Equestria. Pinkie and I are going to leave and you’ll never see us again– And you’ll never find us.”

He paused, only for a moment, understanding the gravity of the situation.

“You said it yourself, there’s no point in fighting you. So you win! I give up! And you suck butt, you little fuck!” Pinkie stuck her tongue out angrily.

“Oh my goodness, really, you two? You’re trying reverse psychology on me?” He was almost offended. “You think you can trick a trickster, outplay a player? Laughable!”

“You’re not even a player.” Sunset scowled. “You were born into power you didn’t earn, and you represent a fundamental force our world never needed. No wonder you’re such a man-child that ruins everyone’s lives for giggles.”

“Y-yeah!! Always making fun of us ponies for the magic of friendship– And Why wouldn’t you? You’re never going to understand it!” Pinkie mocked, blowing raspberries. “Well guess what? Even the plushies, even the puppets, even the FOOTSTOOLS you made our friends into have felt more love in their short lives than you EVER HAD OR WILL!!”

His eye twitched. “...Really. Petty insults? I’m above this.” Shooting his muzzle up, he crossed his arms. “The Lord of Chaos is above all of you– Look around you, and see how every fiber of this world has bent to my whim! If your friendship and your love were so great, it would have won, wouldn’t it? But you all fell with a snap of my fingers.”

“Enjoy your throne of skulls.” Sunset snarled. “Enjoy spending the rest of your existence ruling over a barren world of puppets that hate you. And take it from me: You’re never going to ever force Celestia to be funny.”

Pinkie taunted him by shaking her ass and wagging her tail. “And you’ll never ever catch ME!!!”

“Ugh. Ugh.” he groaned, covering his face in embarrassment. “You two fools didn’t think this through at all, did you? There is a substantial imbalance in the reward ratio for either of us winning here on this day…”

“Then we’re leaving– And you’ll never see us again.” Sunset shrugged, grabbing hold of Pinkie. “I don’t care for a song and dance. I care about definitive victory. I’m leaving Equestria, and I’m taking Pinkie with me. Congrats, Discord, you’ve won.”

The Lord of Chaos bitterly, for a single moment, had to reckon with the fact that his only source of free will entertainment was leaving, and taking the latest, most interesting development on his world in years with her.

Whether he liked it or not, he was critically, imperatively interested in these two– And wanted them here.

One could even declare Pinkie to be his nemesis. But that didn’t matter now.

And if he was going to destroy them either way… He would like to have fun with this little ending.

“Alright then. Let’s do your little scuffle.” he grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Shall I make an arena for us? I’ll make this epic–”

“No. Right here, right now. Rid yourself of your powers, and we’ll do it.” Sunset affirmed immediately, taking a battle stance. “Make yourself mortal.”

“Oh, I don’t need any fanfare either. The show is about to begin, after all.” His grin widened, as he raised his hand…

…And snapped his fingers.

Introducing the latest line– The Valkyrie action figure! She comes with accessories and armor! She comes with bendable wings and legs! She comes with a fiery unyielding determination to break her opponents! She comes with a bottomless hole that can't ever be filled! She comes with a lack of purpose and meaning and directive and direction and

“O-oh no…!” Pinkie muttered in terror.

Sunset fell over.

She felt dizzy– Stupefied, having to shake herself off. Her body felt strangely numb.

She shook her head, exhaled, inhaled, and looked behind her…

And saw two other Sunset Shimmers.

One with a horn, the other with wings. They were both just as dizzy as her, and she felt a pit descend in her stomach as the realization sunk in.

The realization that she couldn’t feel magic anymore.

With frail breaths, she tapped her forehead, and felt no horn. And in her back, despite her movements, no wings.

Her Valkyrie armor laid on the floor absentmindedly, tumbling on the barren dirt, in pieces.

“W-where’s my horn– Where the fuck is my horn?!” The Pegasus Sunset shouted out in a panic, fluttering her wings.

The Unicorn Sunset clutched her forehead, wincing, grunting, clearly in pain.

And Discord laughed. He laughed and laughed, he rolled on the floor laughing. “There you go, Sunset Shimmer! Now neither of us will fight with our magic!!”

The Unicorn began screaming in pain. Sunset Shimmer frantically looked around, trying to feel any magic whatsoever– But it was gone.

“A-are you okay?? Oh no, oh no…!” Pinkie couldn’t comfort them– It was an impossible task.

The Unicorn’s horn unleashed a blast– But not one for battle.

All of Sunset’s belongings scattered across the dirt of the barren Everfree– As an alicorn, she could preserve many objects with her magic, but as a unicorn, she couldn’t contain them all.

She looked around frantically, in a panic, breathing heavily, seeing all the objects that flew out of her.

All of the letters she had exchanged with Celestia since she had become an alicorn– Five year’s worth– Were now floating down to the ground. The cast that had safeguarded her leg as she healed after defeating Midnight Sparkle– With every single cutiemark from her loved ones signed on it– Laid on the dirt, cracked. Her canteen, her snacks, even some bits, every supply she had gathered to survive in the multiverse was scattered on the barren soil next to her armor. Even one of the only swords she kept from her initial valkyrie training, one she didn’t even use anymore, was discarded.

Her eyes watered, as she breathed panicked breaths– All three of them did.

As they saw Starswirl’s biography of spells– A book her wife commanded her to sleep with, a book that she had gotten signed by the real thing, intent on showing to her love someday, laid on the cold dirt.

And still, through all of it, Discord laughed. “HAH! Oh my goodness, I had forgotten how fun it is to do this to alicorns– You should see your faces! I haven’t had this much fun since the last Valkyries tried taking me on! Oh, never gets old!!! Ohohoho, Ohhh…!” And he kept laughing.

The Sunset Shimmers looked amongst each other in frantic panic.

“W-who are you?!” The Unicorn asked. “What’s going on, where’s my wings?!”

“I’m ME! Who are you?!” The Earth Pony snarled. “G-give me back my horn!”

“We’re all me, w-were all us, you idiots!” The Pegasus flared her wings. “Gah, my head hurts…!”

“Oh, this part is always so amusing! I wish I had popcorn!” Discord snickered, observing the show. “Here comes the tears, the bickering…!”

“S-Sunset?! Snap out of it!” Pinkie requested, trying to get their attention.

“Which one of us??! God fucking damnit!!” The Pegasus barked out, taking flight, desperately trying to collect the letters that were being taken by the breeze. “No, no, no, NO!!”

“No no no no…!” The earth pony clutched the book desperately, seeing the signature she had once so gleefully hoped to show her wife. “I–I I lost everything, I lost– I lost–”

“D-damnit, don’t let them fly away– There, damnit!” The Unicorn desperately used her magic to gather the letters, overshooting and miscalculating her now significantly reduced power, and tripping over the fallen armor, feeling the headache of having overexerted her magic.

“Oh, I love the three dummies routine!!” Discord clapped with glee.

My place among the stars
Six wings, Sacred distance
In for a penny, in till you die
I love you too, but so what?

Pinkie’s eyes darted frantically between the three panicking Sunsets, unsure what to do.

One flew, desperately trying to grab hold of flying letters, the other tried gathering her belongings with magic, and the other just cried, clutching a book.

“THE KRAKEN WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN THIS!!” The Pegasus shouted out with immense frustration. “WHY THE FUCK DID WE–”

“SHUT UP, OTHER ME!” The Unicorn replied angrily. “WE ALL HAD THE SAME IDEA!”

“It's over. It's over, it's over…!” The Earth Pony cried, leaning her forehead against that book. “I can’t feel you…!”

The Pegasus landed, huffing, groaning, yelling. “Will Hermes’s curse even work like this?? It can’t, right?!”

“It doesn't matter if it does or not!” The Unicorn muttered, dropping the letters, letting them simply tumble in the dirt. “No matter what– We can’t be fixed except by THAT asshole!” She pointed at Discord.

“Oooh wildly different reactions here!” The Lord of Chaos amused himself applauding. “This is quite the show!”

“Fucking imitation!” The Unicorn snarled, shoving the pegasus. “We can’t fight him like this– We can’t fight ANYTHING!”

“Oh I’m sorry!” The Pegasus shoved back, barking out. “Wasn’t our plan to die? And why are you blaming me, asshole, you’re ME!”

“EVERYPONY SHUT UP AND LOOK AT ME!!” Pinkie yelled out, silencing the Sunsets, and forcing them to look at her.

“L-look, I know you’re scared…! I’m scared too!” The Pink Pony pleaded, huddling them closer. “B-but this is it, girls!! This is where we stand and fight together!”

“Y-you’re joking, right Pink? We can’t fight him like this!” Flaring her wings, the Pegasus scoffed. “I-it’s over!!”

“Ugh, she– I’m right.” The Unicorn shook her head. “I should have seen this coming– This was a terrible, awful idea. I-I didn’t want it to end like this, I… I should have known better.”

“D-don’t say that! Either of you!” Pinkie affirmed, stomping the ground with a hoof. “This is our moment to shine, we can do this!”

“I-it’s too late.” The Earth Pony muttered, tears in her eyes, placing the book down, closing her eyes. “I knew this was going to happen sooner or later– I knew those wings weren’t going to stay in my back forever, I–”

“Stop.”

The three of them were silenced instantly, as soon as Pinkie’s tone indicated such stern, serious faith.

“You killed Tirek without alicorn magic.” She affirmed with stern confidence. “You said it yourself, you don’t need these to fight!”

The three Sunsets looked among each other.

“Whether you have wings or not– Whether you have a horn or not– You’re Sunset Shimmer!!” She affirmed fiercely.

Silence. Discord seemed invested in the drama.

The Pegasus chuckled. “...Yeah. That’s Pinkie Pie.”

With a weary, tired laugh, the Unicorn shook her head. “S-sorry, sorry for… I can’t believe I let myself fall like that. Thanks, Pink.” Tilting her head, gazing at her winged self, she smiled. “What do you say, other me? One more, for all the marbles?”

“What the hell. It’s the end of the world. I feel fine.” She grinned, but then her expression softened. “...Hey. How about you…?”

The Earth Pony grimaced with sorrow, looking down. “...What if we make it back home like this? Would she even recognize us?”

“She will.” The other two affirmed simultaneously.

“I… I don't know if I can fight like this…!” The Earth Pony looked down at her own hooves. “Without magic, without wings…!”

“You still have our strength.” The unicorn affirmed, with her magic, bringing forth the sword that had been discarded carelessly, and placing it before her.

“What else did we ever need?” The Pegasus tilted her head with a grin.

“...Strength…” She muttered, looking down at the sword. Then, with a slight smile, looked up to the party pony. “Pinkie… Thank you. Thank you for reminding me of me.” She exhaled, shaking her head. “I don’t know about these two, but… Thanks.”

The other two agreed immediately, almost feeling offended that she wouldn’t include them.

“Well then.” The Earth Pony’s expression hardened.

With single, determined movements, she picked up that sword, turned around, and faced Discord.

“Um, hello? Aren’t you supposed to be a weeping disharmonious mess?” He tilted his head with confusion. “...What happened to my show?”

“Just getting started.” The Earth Pony snarled, gripping the sword with her jaws.

Bend it until it breaks, bend them until they break
Clip your wings, Laugh at time
Zero Sum
What if it is, because it was?
What if it never was at all?

The next moments were frantic, especially for the Lord of Chaos.

After all, it was the first time he was bleeding.

The Earth Pony that was once an alicorn charged at him and struck viciously, combining slices and spins of her blade with hoof strikes and bucks– And Discord couldn’t simply fly away from the attacks, his wings were decorative now.

The Pegasus that was once an alicorn was impeccably agile. She would soar around him, constantly in his blind spot, striking at his limbs with her hooves, delivering swift punches to the back of his head and legs, knocking him off balance.

The Unicorn ran around him, functioning as support, keeping her allies out of harm's way and blasting him with magic wherever she could. Her horn would slice him, alight, and his multicolored blood would spray onto the dirt.

And Pinkie laughed– She laughed as she joined the fight and got to finally to do something she had wanted to for so, so long.

She punched Discord in the face.

“O-okay!! This is no longer amusing!” He affirmed, backing up, slapping them with his tail, flailing his claws.

“Oh, it’s funny.” The three Sunsets declared with glee.

With her strength, the Earth Pony tossed Pinkie in the air, directly towards his face. “BUT THIS TIME, THE JOKE’S ON YOU!”

With a swift punch, she delivered a smoke bomb directly at his face. The Pegasus carried her out of there, and the unicorn kept the smoke from blinding her allies, focussed entirely on the Lord of Chaos, who coughed and sputtered.

“N-now, now! Isn’t this unsportsmanlike??” He choked, waving his hands desperately trying to rid himself of smoke. “It’s against the rules?!”

“What’s wrong, Discord?!” The Pegasus bellowed with a smile.

“Afraid of a few ponies?!” The Unicorn shouted with glee.

He pinned the Earth Pony to the ground with hand, baring his uneven jaws. Leaning down, with her teeth, she bit down one of his thumbs and twisted it until it broke.

He never even landed his own hit, screaming in pain as the pegasus tossed Pinkie at him, who landed like a cannonball, and the unicorn sliced at his back.

“I AM ABOVE ALL OF YOU, HOW DARE–”

Pinkie tossed a rope made of taffy upwards, and the Pegasus grabbed it, and flying with impeccable speed, she began entangling the Lord of Chaos.

The Earth Pony sliced his right hand with a clean cut, leapt off of him, and delivered a swift right hook– The strength of an Earth Pony making the air around them shudder.

The Unicorn, with decisive horn movements, leaping forward, cleaved his other hand off, then pulled him down to the ground with her magic.

“A-alright, you b-blasted fools, I was hoping it would never come to this…!” He barked out madly, with a tangible hint of fear.

Sunset didn’t let him speak any longer. With a vicious battle cry, she leapt into the air, holding the blade, intent on finishing him off savagely…

A flash blinded them, and a puff of smoke.

She landed on something other than him, and bounced off.

The four combatants breathed incredibly heavily, watching the strange object that had replaced Discord.

He was now, to all of their surprises, a simple cocoon.

Vivisection of the parasite
Comedy comes in threes
Despite everything, you have nothing
Hope brings Joy

Sunset yelled out, leaping above the cocoon, and began striking it viciously. “COME ON OUT YOU BASTARD!!” She sliced, cleaved, and her blade was ineffective. “YOU FUCKING COWARD!! YOU THINK I’M AFRAID OF YOU??!?!! GAAAAAH!!!’

“W-what happened?” Pinkie looked around frantically, then back at the cocoon. “Where did he go?!”

“You’re looking at him. Goddamnit.” The Pegasus landed, and tried striking the cocoon, to no avail. “Is this for protection? Or is he morphing? He’s stalling, right?”

“Does it matter?!” The unicorn sat down, breathing deeply. “MotherFUCKER. H-how long do we have? Has it been an hour?”

“We have to be running out of time.” The Pegasus affirmed, circling the cocoon worringly, inspecting it. “I… Shit, shit.”

“FUCKING DIE, YOU BASTARD!!” The Earth Pony struck her opponent one final time, and let the sword roll off, and leapt away from the cocoon herself, defeated. “D-dammnit, DAMNIT!”

“I-I don’t understand, what does this mean?!” Pinkie’s ears twitched worryingly, as she inspected the object. “What is he doing?!”

“Hiding.” The Unicorn muttered, shaking her head. “Hiding from us, buying time… Damnit, it doesn’t matter. When he comes out of this shit, he’ll be back to normal, and let’s face it, I'll be gone to the next universe by then, too…”

“That is if he doesn’t come out different.” The Pegasus shuddered– “And if my multiversal curse even works with us divided like this.”

“F-fuck.” Groaning, sitting down, the Unicorn sighed. “We had him. We actually had him.”

“W-we did.” The Earth Pony agreed, joining them. “What else can we do while we’re here…? Is there something?”

“There HAS to be something you can do!! H-he’s exposed now, right?” Pinkie waved at him in desperation. “Blast him with magic or something! Stop him from coming back!! S-stop him!”

The three Sunsets paused, and looked at each other.

“...It’s a difficult spell. Can you pull it off?”

“He’s stationary and unresponsive– Not even asleep. I can easily do it, even just as an unicorn.”

“But it has to go somewhere. We can’t erase it.”

“Not it! Hah!”

“Obviously not it.”

“It can’t be any of us, we don’t even belong in this universe.”

“Um… What are you girls talking about?” Pinkie tilted her head in confusion.

The three Sunsets came to the same realization at the same time.

“...What if she can fix this?”

“...What if it does have a place in Harmony?”

“...What if chaos magic had to be earned, just like alicornhood?”

“G-girls, you lost me…?”

Stepping forward carefully, the unicorn regarded Pinkie with expectation and pity. “Pinkie… This is important. What if saving this world was possible, but only you could do it?”

“I would save it, of course!” She affirmed without hesitation.

“Yeah, but…” The pegasus stepped forward, just as gently. “What if it changed you permanently? Maybe for the worse?”

“...If I can save the world, I don’t care what happens to me! Everypony else here deserves to live!!” She reaffirmed. “I… If there’s even a chance that we can bring everypony back, we have to try.”

“Even if it kills you?” The Earth Pony regarded her with tremendous concern. “This might kill you, Pinkie. It might pop you like a grape…”

“She’s Pinkie Pie, she doesn’t mind exploding.”

“I don’t mind exploding!”

“See? Heh.”

The Unicorn pulled her closer, regarding her with fear. “Pinkie. This is it, okay? I know how to stop Discord, here and now, but it has to be you. Are you ready? I don’t know how much time we have…!”

“I’m ready. Let’s do it.” She nodded without hesitation.

I have nothing left to give, so I will give everything, Forgive me, my star.

With an inhale, the Unicorn began circling around the cocoon, with her horn pointed low.

Each circle she made, there were more runes on the ground, perfectly encasing the cocoon in a secondary layer of magic.

The more the runes were formed, the more they pulsated with light. The Pegasus and the Earth Pony backed away, keeping themselves at a wise distance.

“...Okay. Touch the cocoon.” Sunset commanded carefully, as she walked around the runic circle, double checking each incantation, every single detail. “It’s a simple spell, but incredibly hard to perform on normal means…!”

“...But incredibly easy if our target is a fucking orb.” The Pegasus frowned. “He can’t fight back, he can’t hear us…! How Ironic, we thought about Tirek so much…”

“Once we do this, he’s finished.” The Earth Pony affirmed. “But Pinkie, are you sure…? There’s no going back. And you might die here– We don’t know what will happen.”

“I’m sure! Fire it up, we don’t know how much time we have, c’mon!”

“Stand as still as you can…!” The Unicorn muttered, getting behind her. “A-and whatever you do, let it in, okay? Don’t resist…!”

A cacophony of prismatic light exploded inside the runic circle that contained Pinkie Pie and what was left of Discord.

The unicorn strained and huffed– This kind of spell was simple in theory, but in practice, insane– Especially with a target like this.

After all, power transfer spells couldn’t ever be performed on moving targets, or even conscious ones, but this was indeed a special case, and so much power…

Slowly, but intensely, and with absolute certainty…

The Lord of Chaos’s power was transferred to the Earth Pony, Pinkie Pie.

“Real, true power… The kind of power that is the bedrock of a world–” The Unicorn strained, winced, focussed entirely. “It should be earned.”

“And you’ve earned it, Pinkie.” The Pegasus nodded, observing the process carefully. “You want, above all else, to help others.”

“...And to see them smile.” The Earth Pony grinned hopefully. “I can’t think of a more fitting wielder…!”

The light increased even more, it engulfed Pinkie completely, she couldn’t even hear them anymore, much less feel anything.

“So, welcome to your new world…!” The unicorn smiled, as the spell reached its last moments. “...Princess of Chaos and Joy, Pinkie Pie!”

The light exploded, the air around them shook, and for a moment, all was still.

Floating down, Pinkie landed before them– Saturated, now with a horn and wings– A twisted horn, and mismatched wings, and full of colorful strips in her hair.

“I…I… oh gosh…!” She muttered, spreading her wings, looking at her new self. “I… Am I…?”

“You have all of Discord’s powers now.” the Three Sunsets bowed. “Use them wisely, Pink–”

Pinkie Pie vomited.

The birth of a star through the bleeding eye of a spider.
I’ve lately felt a profound enormous amount of nothing.
The forest are the trees, each forest is a tree.
Check ignition and put your helmet on. Ground control, to Major Tom.
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear?
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the Moon
The planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
And the end of the world
Was brought about by simple curiosity

“S-SNAP OUT OF IT, PINKIE!!” Sunset pleaded worryingly, as the three of them held her.

“...The end of the world brought about by curiosity, by a whim of careless man, one that never knew love or friendshi–GGAHHHH!H!!!!!” She yelled, clutching her head. “I-I can see it, all of it, every color, all of them dancing in my head in a kaleidoscope of madness!!”

“SLOW DOWN!! THIS ISN’T WHO YOU ARE!”

“THIS POWER DOESN'T CONTROL YOU, PINKIE!”

“WINGS OR NOT, HORN OR NOT, YOU’RE PINKIE PIE!!”

She stopped.

She stopped, and she giggled, giggled with relief, with weariness and joy.

Quickly and with love, she enveloped the three Sunsets in a tight hug, wings and all. “T-thank you…! Thank you so much…! I can feel everything, I can smell colors, I can see noises, and, and…!” She smiled truly, eyes watering. “I can thank you. So thank you. Thank you, from all of us.”

“N-no worries…!” The unicorn smiled, then looked behind her– The cocoon sat as still as it had before.

“He’s just an inanimate object now.” The pegasus affirmed with a scowl. “I doubt he can even feel anything– Much less think. Bigger mercy than he put on his victims…”

“Good riddance.” The Earth Pony scoffed for good measure. “...It’s over, then.”

“Not quite.” Pinkie murmured, floating above them, horn and eyes alight, flaring her wings.

The world trembled with her will. The ground below the cocoon opened, gave way, and swallowed it, deeper deeper, deeper…

“...Deeper than Tartarus.” Pinkie snarled, then let out an immense sigh of relief. “...Now it’s over.”

“Not bad for a first decree as the chaos bearer of your world, Pink.”

“I’d like to suggest a second decree–”

“Wait!” The Unicorn stopped them. “Maybe let’s not jump into this? She’s just getting used to her powers, she could mess us up REALLY badly if she got this wrong…!”

“It’s the least I can do…!” Pinkie murmured, with a proud, glad smile. “You deserve to be whole, Sunset. You deserve the world, you deserve everything…!”

“Let’s think about this– Hermes’s curse hasn’t taken effect, do you think…?” The Unicorn pondered. “An hour HAS to have passed by now. Maybe if we’re like this, it doesn’t work…?”

“I don’t want to stall in this world. No offense.” The Pegasus sat down. “...We’re needed elsewhere.”

“Look… You have Discord’s powers now. You should be able to unite me…!” The Earth Pony muttered with an exhausted shudder. “So please do it. I really, really miss being an alicorn…!”

“Well, yeah. Besides, it’d be weird to meet Twilight like this!” The Unicorn chuckled. “Three of me running around would get… Confusing.”

“Actually, she’d probably think it’s kinda hot.”

The other two Sunsets glared at the pegasus with respective flusters.

“What? We were literally all thinking it! Sheesh!”

Pinkie’s giggles felt like a heavenly choir, considering the amount of cosmic radiation coursed through her mind. “...I’m going to miss you, Sunset Shimmer.” She came closer, slightly flustered. “So, um… In other universes, is there any in which… You and me, um…”

“More than one.” The three Sunsets affirmed with proud grins. “And we never regret it.”

Her fluster only intensified, as she sat down, looking away. “G-gosh, if you weren’t married…!”

“Hey…. There’s a me in this world.”

“It’ll probably be a fixer upper, but…”

“Shoot your shot?”

Her eyes widened, and she smiled with teeth. “O-oh yeah! She’s back at the sugarcube corner, right?? Oh my gosh, I should go–” She was readying her wings clumsily as the three of them interrupted her

“Maybe fix the world first, Pink. Hell, maybe she’ll help you…!”

“Start with the Princesses– There’s a lot of work to be done still…”

“And a lot of the damage he did may be irreversible, but… Maybe with your help, you can bring everypony back– And they can start living here again.”

The Princess of Chaos and Joy took a deep breath. “Y-yeah. Yeah. I can do this. So…?”

“Let’s just… Think about this, for a moment.” The Unicorn suggested, sitting down. “If Hermes’s curse doesn’t work with me like this– Maybe, we should entertain the idea…?”

“Staying put in this world? That’s not a good move!” The Pegasus scoffed. “I don’t want to have my mind fractured for any longer than I have to– We don’t know what kind of side effect that’ll have on us– On me!”

“At least we’d finally get to sleep.” The Earth Pony sighed. “I don’t like it either but…!”

“Maybe if we stayed put, Twilight could finally find us?” Sighing, the Unicorn pondered. “I don't know if she’s even looking for us, but–”

“No, man. Think about this: If Hermes’s magic isn't working on us now, then what’s the chance that her using his tech would work too?” The Pegasus shook her head. “Besides. Even if she found this universe, she wouldn’t recognize us. She’d just move on to the next.”

“We’re working with a lot of hypotheticals here, ugh–” The Earth pony clutched her temples, groaning. “Sorry, Pink. I’m used to thinking my thoughts, not having to actually say them– This sucks.”

“Yeah. it really does.” The other two Sunsets agreed.

“I-it’s okay. It’s cute.” The Princess of Chaos giggled, letting her gaze wonder. “Ugh… There’s so much I’m going to have to fix– So many of us I need to bring back… I’ll… This is going to take years.”

“If anypony can, it’s you, Pink.” The unicorn affirmed with a proud smile, gathering her scattered belongings with magic. “I know you can.”

“Yeah… Chaos and Harmony don’t have to be opposing forces.” The Pegasus stated with a grin, helping her other self. “You can coexist– And whatever you make of this world, it’s going to be beautiful.”

With a chuckle, the Earth Pony shook her head. “...Aaaand I miss being an alicorn. C’mon, let’s do this. Try not to explode us, Pinkie.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” She grinned wildly, and got ready to zap them.

One more for the road, the three Sunsets hugged her tightly, lovingly, and she hugged back.

“You know what…?” letting out a weary chuckle, Pinkie giggled. “Being with you makes being a vessel of chaos who’s mind can see in a multitude of dimensions not seem half bad…!”

“You’re Pinkie Pie.” The three Sunsets affirmed without hesitation. “Never forget that above everything– Chaos and joy.”

“Especially joy.” She nodded in complete agreement, smiling warmly.

She readied herself.

With an exhale, entirely concentrated, and yet, feeling all forces of Harmony and Chaos singing together as one, Pinkie Pie united Sunset Shimmer once more.

After a prismatic blast, and a puff of smoke, the alicorn before her smiled truly, and hugged herself, spreading her wings, feeling her horn. “I’m… I’m me again!” She let out an immense sigh of relief. “O-oh, gosh, three memories in one, ouch…!”

And before she could do anything else, that light began enveloping her. The one she dreaded.

“O-okay, shit shit shit–” Using her magic, she gathered her belongings and her armor, bringing them closer, storing them like before. “S-sorry, I’ve gotta go! I wish we had more time…!”

“It’s okay!” Pinkie smiled truly. “We’ll both be okay. I know that now!”

“Thanks Pink…!” She reciprocated on the warmth, being taken by the light. “Don’t forget who you are, okay…? See you around…!”

And just like that, she was onto the next universe.

“...Onto the next universe…!” Pinkie murmured, looking at the sky with a weary smile. “Ah… I hate cliffhangers. See you around, Sunset Shimmer…!”

Turning around, flapping her wings clumsily, feeling her surroundings, she breathed deeply.

“Okay Pinkie. Let’s save the world.”

Hope Brings Joy.

Author's Note

SUNSET SHIMMER VS DISCORD.

INFO: Discord cannot be killed by normal means. Discord cannot be killed by normal means. Discord cannot be killed by normal means. Discord cannot be killed by normal means. Discord cannot be killed by normal means. Discord cannot be killed by normal means.

VERDICT: And yet, Pinkie Pie is no normal mean. neither could have won without the other. It was a decisive, joyful victory for the Princess of Hope and the Princess of chaos and joy.

The Princess of Chaos and Joy, Pinkie Pie!

Ngl I've had this idea in my head for such a long time. I'm not a fundamental hater of the canon, but I do think that Discords unending malice and lack of empathy was more endearing when he was a villan, not his 'reformed' stance.

Let's face it, he was reformed, but far from redeemed. I won't discuss this, if you get it you get it, and no, I'm not a fluttercord fan at ALL. It reeks of codependency and 'i can fix him' freedom, but still, I try not to let my biases affect my writing as much-- I still have and will write Discord as a decent guy in this fic and others.

Also I came to realize that a lot of the fandom is kind of predisposed to hyping Discord up? It feels like a lot of people think that he's infalible by default or something, like yeah, for sure, he's powerful, but he's not an omnicient god-being, he's a snoopy manchild that lives to disturb people and their peace lmao

also I think that earning a power, like alicornhood, should be much better for building someone to be worthy of it, rather than just being born with it. I think its phenomenal writing that a being like chaos is completely devoid of empathy, after all, he was born this way! And he sees the world as his playset bc it often is.

But hey. Pinkie would use this power semi wisely. The damage done to her world is definitely engrained at its core-- but someday, everyone will be back, and they'll be able to live decent lives again.

Also shoutout to that sequence on the theater, the show. 'Cause I wrote that before the hiatus, I was SO inspired.

I like the idea that Discord cant ever truly take free will away, especially from Alicorns. Luna says what we're all thinking.

Fun fact, I drew this MONTHS ago. Before I went into the hiatus, even, lmao. I planned this BIG in advance. The irony that Twilight is deadling with more than TEN Sunsets currently

Also if you don't know, the cocoon thing is from the comics! Discord was going to come out of that either as Accord, or as a more twisted creature. no matter what, he'd still be dangerous.

Speaking of which, I strongly considered referencing Cosmos here, but I realized that the chapter was as long as it is. But I was thinking of Sunset prime going "Btw Sunset, be carefull with his ex. She's crazy." And then Chaos Pinkie has to take down Cosmos 1 v 1, heh.

I do think it'd be easy to write an Cosmos story with Sunset Prime! She's shown how capable she is at resisting mind control, so she'd yoink that crystal amulet out and crush it, or do so with her wife, immediately sussing out that smth was wrong.

Oh also, Cadance did move all of the people she could to a glaciar somewhere, far enough that discord doesn't bother with them. Too cold. I did consider repercussions of this, and thought of how stupid it'd be if she stepped down from depression, and cult leader starlight took over, and had a civil war with Trixie that also wants to govern, leading to them becoming hate lovers in the north fucking pole lmao. A sordid, and dumb story.

And yes, Pinkie finds her own Sunset here, and Sunset gets to be chaos's babygirl, and they'd absolutely be in a polycule with twilight heheh. This allows me to make the low hanging fruit joke that Harmony and Chaos are both bangin sunset shimmer. Good for her.

Can you IMAGINE the parties she can throw now?? Like when she's sure she's brought everyone back she's going to toss an Equestria-wide party for SURE.

I hope you're enjoying the return of the shimmerverse, heh. I might write a one-shot next. Which, btw, if you want to see more of this Pinkie, go read 'Twilight vs Twilight' heh.

Next chapter will be more chill! not as fucked up and high stakes. and we'll have a bit more of Wallflower Blush-- Just a bit. A taste.