I want to change one more time.

Sunset yawned and stretched, her wings spread, but not too far, then locked back in a comfortable position. But she didn’t dare move– After all, her beloved girlfriend was in her embrace still sleeping– And they were comfortable.

It seemed to be a windy, cloudy morning outside their Community Center, the perfect kind of morning to stay in bed for just a bit longer.

And feeling the stirring in her embrace made her involuntarily smile.

“Good morning, Sparkles.”

“...Good morning, Sunsun…!” She yawned cutely.

“...Lazy day?”

“Hm…” She affirmed with a quiet hum back, nuzzling her softly.

That was all she needed. She closed her eyes and smiled, kissing the top of Twilight’s head and reveling on her warmth, all while her future wife did the same.

It took several minutes before either of them dared to whisper anything. “...Celestia is expecting us to be there by midday…”

“Lazy day versus Twilight Sparkle punctuality.” Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle. “Who will win…?.”

With a little tiny groan of annoyance, her girlfriend immediately pivoted to a giggle. “...Five more minutes.”

“I’m up for an hour if you are.” Sunset smiled warmly, a warmth rivaled only by the one they felt in each other’s embrace.

“...Why do you have to be so comfy…!” Twilight moaned quietly, resting her muzzle on the crook of Sunset's neck.

“Just to mess with you.” Sunset grinned. “I’m this nice and cozy just because–”

They both shivered in unison. Their hides warning them of incoming danger.

Their heads involuntarily sprung up, looking at the curtained windows, unable to see what was happening outside.

“...You felt that too, didn’t you?”

“Let’s go.” Through swift movements, they both left bed and opened their curtains.

A meteor, one as big as a house, cut through the clouds, distinctively landing on the Everfree Forest, shaking the trees and the ground with its impact.

They both carefully observed the form of the meteor, as the flames surrounding it dissipated.

And with an inhuman, alien, robotic noise, the shape in the crater began moving.

They both looked at each other and nodded.

“Lazy day postponed?”

“Yeah.”

This was their first encounter with the Argent.

It wouldn’t be the last.

An eternal setting sun.

Music, deafening.

The Princess of Hope appeared with a flash, and landed in soft carpeting– Despite being thankful for it, she still glanced around nervously.

There was an organ playing, and she was directly next to it. It’s song incredibly evocative, incredibly fierce, endlessly repeating, dozens of notes mashed at once in a cacophony of rage.

And at the foot of it, playing with her magic…

…Was the demon queen, Sunset Shimmer.

The Valkyrie narrowed her eyes as she glared at this figure, entering a battle stance.

She was big. Maybe bigger than the other demon Sunsets she had seen in the multiverse, maybe smaller– but her limbs were even more crooked, her fangs poking out of her mouth with an eternal grimace, her skin cracked, her mane flaming, her eyes closed, brows furrowed… And a crown that did not belong to her resting atop her head.

She moved ever so slightly, ever so erratically to the rhythm of the melody she was playing, her blood-red magic’s glow moving the piano keys aggressively.

And above all, completely unresponsive at the Valkyrie.

Exiting her battle stance, yet still wary, she looked around.

This was undeniably, unmistakably the Canterlot palace– And it seemed deserted. Windows unkempt, furniture overturned, stained glass windows shattered, banners and carpeting tattered.

And outside, the sun was setting.

Unmoving. Even the alicorn could tell it wasn’t doing that naturally.

She bitterly beheld her counterpart who continued to play, and gritted her teeth. “...Hey.”

“If you’re here for a fight, take the first shot. If not, fuck off.” The Demon’s raspy response was instant and barely audible over the instrument.

The alicorn’s expression softened. “...I’m you.”

The demon sneered, opening a single eye, inspecting the Valkyrie for a second, and then closing her eye and ignoring her. “...Really? You don’t look like me.”

The alicorn made motions to insist, to open her mouth and argue.

But she didn’t have the energy to care.

Sunset sighed. “...You know what…? Whatever.” She turned around, and walked away.

The demon made no motion to look back or even acknowledge her presence or lack there off. She simply continued playing.

Sunset left the room behind, and the song, previously overwhelming, slowly became an echo.

She studied the halls of the palace she knew so well, in this world, in ruins, claw marks littering the walls and floors, sometimes even ceilings. Paintings were misplaced, chandeliers were collapsed, furniture was overturned.

She passed by a room with a rotting bear carcass in it, flies and maggots digging at its entrails, she tried not breathing, not considering that this was what passed for a meal to her demon counterpart.

She passed by a balcony, and glanced outside– Equestria was still here, clearly. Canterlot, however, was deserted– But she could see signs of life. Lights in the distance, maybe a few carriages moving on roads far from this one.

Ponyville… Still somehow clinging to itself.

The world hadn’t ended– But whatever had happened here, the capital had paid the price.

She struggled to care, to feel as attached– To care about yet another dying world.

Until she walked to the throne room.

The music continued to echo through the walls of the palace.

Same exact treatment. Tatters, ruin, damage.

But there were statues.

Positioned to face the throne, littering the entire room, were statues, contorted grimaces, battle stances, fearful cowers.

People she recognized, loved. Elements of Harmony, neighbours, world leaders. Even enemies– Chrysalis, Discord, Princesses, many faces she knew.

Undoubtedly, all petrified, all challengers, once upon a time.

She stopped when she saw the final straw.

Twilight Sparkle, frozen right next to Celestia, in poses that indicated they were locked in fierce conflict when they were petrified.

She gritted her teeth with sorrow– This Twilight was so small, compared. Her wings seemed new.

And here she was, frozen in time, locked into an eternal prison, by a counterpart of herself.

She shuddered, coming closer, placing a hoof on the statue, not feeling anything, considering the exact parameters of un-petrifying creatures, the exact spell, wondering what she could do for them, until…

…The music stopped.

The echoes of the organ ceased reverberating through the palace, and nearly immediately, with a crack and a flash, the Demon Sunset Shimmer teleported inside the room. “Who dares mess with my subjects– Oh.” She paused, measuring the alicorn with her gaze. “It’s you.”

“So this is what’s left of you.” The Princess of Hope spoke coldly, not even dignifying her with a glance. “This is what’s left of the shadow that I cast.”

“Do not touch my subjects.” The demon’s horn crackled with electricity. “What are you doing here, trespasser? And why are you pretending to be an alicorn?”

“Pretending?” Sunset scoffed, moving away from the statues, facing her down. “If I’m ‘pretending’ to be an alicorn, then I’m in good company.”

There was a hair trigger anger response– The flame of the demon’s hair flared, burned brighter, but with gritted teeth, she spoke calmly. “You’ve disrespected your queen. Bow, now.”

“I don’t think so. You’re not my queen– You’re not a queen at all.” She scowled, looking down on her. “You put on a crown, and you made the world kneel. Congratulations. Are you happy?”

“Oh… I see what this is now.” With an eerie smile, the demon began circling her prey. “After years of cowering and begging, the poor, pitiful, worms of my world have finally declared a champion among their midst. Someone that can come here and challenge me– To fight me, one on one, saving my poor subjects, saving the world, a hero, who finally claims my crown?”

“That crown isn’t yours. It never was.” She affirmed almost with a sympathetic glance. “And how can you call yourself a queen with a kingdom like this?”

With a crooked grin, she waved her bat like wings, pointing around the room. “Look around you, I’ve achieved Harmony. The leaders of Equestria challenged me, and I beat them all.” She approached one of the larger statues, grinning madly. “My dear old mentor fell before my strength– And my replacement– Saint that she was, fell all the same.” She dragged a claw across a petrified Twilight’s cheek. “They all fell. I am the strongest being in the world, and they all bow to me. And here we finally have a consensus. I AM THE STRONGEST BEING IN EQUESTRIA!”

“And can you say you’re anything more?”

Silence.

The demon spent a few seconds with rage festering, building up, her mane flaring more and more, until she stepped forward, inches from her alicorn counterpart. “...I make it a rule to not battle in my throne room. I don’t want to hurt my subjects, after all.” She tilted her head with an eerie smile, her horn began crackling. “...But given your attitude, I presume you would like to join them?”

“I’m not interested in fighting you.” The Valkyrie replied coldly, raising an eyebrow, shrugging. “I’ve already beaten you.”

“Cocky little bastard, huh?” Almost chuckling, the demon flared her wings. “I’ve never lost a fight.”

“You’ve lost everything.” Sunset came closer, spreading her wings to point at the surrounding room. “You could have had a world with Harmony. You could have had a world with love and friendship– A world where you were loved. Instead you choose this. Do you even remember your name?”

“I’m a winner!” She barked out, snarling. “I’ve beaten them all– I’m the strongest being in this world, I have all the power I could have ever wanted! Who do you think you are, asshole?!”

“I’m the one that had what you never had.” She affirmed almost with a smile, as she stepped forward and touched her. “And I’m going to show you.”

Our world was threatened. All of us. None of us were safe.

High above Equestria, airships flew higher and higher, above storm clouds, but not spared of rain. Together, in a cacophony of unity, hundreds of different Equestrian flying vessels travelled.

The night was warm. It was filled with anticipation. The hums of engines, the shouting of orders, the hugging of loved ones, the smiles of confidence.

All together now.

Sunset took a moment to drink it all in. Dragons, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Yaks, Changelings, Ponies, and much, much more. All together, flying in the same direction.

As one.

“Trixie, this might be a bit too much gunpowder.” Starlight grimaced, observing their handiwork. “We want to make the cannon stronger, not to blow the entire airship up!”

“Excuse me, my great and powerful wife!” She performatively waved a hoof, as she fiddled with several boxes of different high grade explosives and loaded them appropriately, or as close as she could. “Which of us is the expert in tricks with flair and presentation!?”

Before Starlight could respond, Sunburst piped in. “W-well, um, the manual alone indicates that placing fireworks inside the cannon might not be the safest idea…!”

“It’s called area damage.” Trixie clarified with a pout. “We will be blowing those alien dummies right out of the sky, and we’ll look good doing it, too!”

Sunset couldn’t help but snicker. “Well, everything seems to be in order. Starlight, if the cannon does blow up, at least you’ll be here to stop the fire from spreading.”

“A-and hopefully stop us from falling to our deaths…?!” Sunburst shot a quick, worried glance towards the storm below. It was a long way down.

“You got this.” Sunset declared with complete confidence, patting him with a wing. “But yeah, don’t blow up the ship, Trix.”

“It will be our enemies who will blow up!” She declared dramatically. “All the way back into space!!”

“I-I’ve probably got a hang of things here, Sunset.” With a nervous nod, Starlight smiled. “Thanks for checking in on us!”

“Yo, Sunset!” Rainbow Dash arrived in flight, a careful flight considering the strong winds outside and the armor she wore. “We’re getting close, your girl asked me to get you to the helm!”

“Of course, how far are we?”

“She didn’t say! But my guess is–”

A speaker crackled to life, its voice echoing through the ship. “Estimated time of arrival to the Argent hivemind brain… Thirty minutes! Get ready, everycreature. This is going to be a long day. For Equestria!”

This was going to be the fight of our lives.

“There you go, thirty minutes!” Rainbow affirmed with a grin, that quickly faded. “I’m gonna uh, go check on the others, while there’s still time.”

“Please do. Pinkie is a good inspirer, but I don’t want her throwing a party below deck when the battle breaks out; Make sure she’s done with her morale boosting antics before we get there. Oh– And get AJ down on maintenance with Rarity when you can– They’ve been on the kitchen too long. We’ve got this. Together.” Sunset offered a hoof and Rainbow dash fistbumped it.

“Damn right. I’m gonna go make sure Flutters isn’t alone when we get there too. Honestly, I might propose to her, too. It’s been a weird day!” She nodded, and took flight. “Though I might save it for after we’ve beaten all these alien jerks! We’ll see!”

“Wait, propose? What?” Sunset blinked in surprise.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, dude!” The pegasus saluted with a grin. “Best not to leave things unsaid, y’know? And I feel fine!”

She took off, and the Valkyrie was left with her own thoughts– The carefree nature of a declaration of love in the middle of a battlefield did not seem like the best idea.

But then again. Considering they were possibly all about to die…

No time like the present.

The walk to the helm was methodical. The airship became busy, creatures of all sorts began running around with more intent and desperation. Changelings here, Crystal ponies there, they let her pass and nodded at her, some even saluted.

“At ease.”

She was nearing the helm, and passed by the main hall where she could see several of her friends gathering, preparing, giving her confident looks. She approached Queen Celestia, who was conversing with another creature sternly.

Those days, it was always wonderful to see her. My mentor, my teacher.

“I do not wish to babysit you through this conflict, Chrysalis. You best behave.” She affirmed with a cold glare.

“Oh, my flame, I will be on my best behaviour!” The changeling ex-queen affirmed with a coy smile. “You must admit, it is quite amusing– To think that the entire world would need to be threatened for us to finally work together...”

“As long as we do work together.” The Alicorn reaffirmed with a stern gaze. “This is what I tried teaching you since the first time we fought, centuries ago, Chrysalis. That Equestria is stronger united.”

“Call me a slow learner if you’d like, heheh...” She grinned maliciously. “I suppose we are about to see, aren’t we? These brutes from outer space will learn the hard way that Equestria is my flower to plunder, not theirs.”

“Hey, Chrysalis.” Sunset approached sternly, but grinning confidently. “Step out of line, and you’ll get the same treatment I gave Tirek. This is your one warning.”

The changeling queen’s confident demeanor faltered for a moment, as her toothy smile failed her, until she recovered her composure, shooting a careful glance towards Celestia. “...My Flame, you really did train a brutish daughter.”

“Not my daughter.”

“Not my mom.”

“Why do you two keep saying that? You look exactly alike?!”

“I’m ORANGE?!”

“She is orange.”

Chrysalis blinked in confusion. “...What is orange?”

They both sighed in unison, but Celestia did smile warmly upon seeing Sunset here. “How goes the inspection, little one?”

“Supplies, cannons, crew, all ready to go.” She nodded confidently, but quickly shuddered. “And, I’m, uh, a bit… Antsy.”

“First war?” Chrysalis spoke in almost a mocking tone, almost genuine. “The first ones are always a bit nerve wracking. You’ll get used to it, if we live through this one.”

Celestia shot her a brief annoyed pout and a disapproving glare, before turning to Sunset, and speaking calmly. “All will be well. We are all together, and we did all we could up until this point– if you and Twilight had not been quick to act and to gather our allies, things could have gone much worse…”

“I’ll say.” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Those alien wretches nearly ate my whole kingdom with their weird ships!”

“You are not a queen anymore.” Celestia pouted at her with annoyance again.

“And it’s not your kingdom, dude!” Sunset noted with a grimace.

“Semantics!” The changeling shrugged. “The point is, we are all here, ready to be obliterated together, thanks to you and that nerdy girlfriend of yours. Congrats!” She applauded quietly with a sarcastic grin.

Weeks of hard work, weeks of not resting, weeks of uniting Equestria amidst an invasion.

“Ahem.” Celestia cleared her throat with a forced smile. “Let us continue this conversation over here, little one. Away from distractions.”

“H-hey! I’m not chopped liver!” Chrysalis complained with a wave. “If you leave me unsupervised, I might do something evil! Give me your undivided attention, Celestia!!!”

Sunset stuck out her tongue as they found their way to a more comfortable corner. “You should go see Twilight– She is waiting for you. But I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you, alright?”

She said that often, those days.

I never got tired of hearing it.

“Thanks, mo– Celestia. Thanks, Celestia.” She corrected with an awkward grin. “You’re really confident about this one, but… You never fought aliens before have you…? Are you sure we’ll win?”

There was a somber, hardening of her expression, as she looked down. “I’ll make sure we do. If all else fails…” She shook her head with an exhale. “Today is your day, Sunset. Yours and Twilights. Together, you got us this far. What happens next will be your victory, as well.”

“I-if you say so…!” She gave a quick nervous glance towards the room around them, dozens of creatures of all walks of life were up and ready to follow her into battle.

A battle we might not win.

She tried moving her thoughts elsewhere. “Um, sidebar. Do you think a battlefield would be the best time to propose–”

“Excuse me, you two.” Queen Luna passed by, already fully armored, with a teasing grin. “But there is a war going on, haven’t you heard? Twilight is expecting you, Shimmer! Hug it out and let’s go.”

With a lighthearted chuckle, Celestia shook her head. “Forgive my sister, this is her first war in a thousand years, and she–”

Sunset hugged Celestia tightly.

I miss you.

They exchanged no words, simply remained on that embraced quietly, if not for a moment.

And Luna regarded them, for a moment, if nothing else, happily.

It could have been our final moments.

So I was going to cherish that, for even just a little bit longer.

The speaker crackled to life. “Ten minutes! Princess Sunset, please meet Princess Twilight at the helm! For Equestria!”

“...G-gotta go.” She shook the nerves away with a whisper.

“Everything is going to be okay.” The Queen of the Sun noted with a warm, assuring, smile, and seemingly unending confidence.

It was hard not to believe it, when she said it.

“Wonderful. Let us be in high spirits!” Luna declared, handing Celestia her helmet. “Today is a great day for all of us. Let us make it greater.”

We hadn’t won it yet.

“We haven’t won yet, Lulu.” Celestia raised an eyebrow, smiling as she took her helmet. “But if we are to–”

“Do I get armor too?” Chrysalis was suddenly among them, pouting sadly.

If Luna’s glare could kill, the changeling queen would have been incinerated on the spot. “No. In fact, feel free to perish on the battlefield at your leisure.”

“You wish, moonbutt.” She stuck out her tongue mockingly.

“Listen here, you wretch–”

“Behave, you two!” Celestia complained, separating them with her wings.

“Okay, I’m out of here.” Sunset declared. “See you all on the main deck!”

Sunset left them, and climbed up to the helm, unable to wait any longer.

The scene was hectic, and the mood was fearful. They were in a control room that doubled as a strategy room, with maps of the Equestrian airspace spread across a table, directly near the controls and steering of the ship, manned by dozens of skilled ponies.

The windows showed dark, stormy clouds. Lightning crackled on occasion, shuddering the ship.

The Princess of Friendship sat by the strategy table beside her brother, both lost in thought.

As if she could sense her, smell her, feel her approach, Twilight turned and immediately embraced Sunset.

I missed her too. Barely thirty minutes, and I missed her.

“G-good! Good, you’re here.” She affirmed with a fearful whisper.

“I’m here, Twi. The whole ship’s in good condition, and in… moderately high spirits. Cannons are in order, AJ and Rarity are keeping the crew fed and prepared, Pinkie will not be distracting them during the fight, Trixie has not blown all the ammunition away, and Chrysalis is behaving.”

“G-good, good, good…!” The Princess continued to affirm with whispers. “And you, you’re good?”

“I’m ready.” She nodded courageously, carefully. “...You?”

“G-good. I’m good. Very good.”

Twilight has never been good at hiding her fears and anxieties.

She didn’t have them as much, in those months, and the ones that followed.

Somehow, she often tried hiding those feelings– And she was always bad at it.

Sometimes she still tried doing so near me.

And I never let it slide.

“She’s been doing that for the last half hour ever since you left.” Her brother chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s good to see you, Shimmer.”

“Thanks, Shining. You should get back to your airship, we’ve got things here.” Sunset affirmed with a smile. “Cadance won’t want to deal with this one alone.”

“Yeah, yeah… She’s not the boss of me, you know?” He blew raspberries, shaking his head at the thought of his ex. “...But yeah, I’ll go, of course. She needs me. Twi, you got me?” He came closer, nudging her gently. “And, uh, please don’t teleport me into the storm.”

“I got you! T-thanks for helping, thank you.” She affirmed clumsily, before hugging her brother. “Thank you…!”

“C’mon, sis. The day’s not over yet, don’t go Twilinanas, alright?” He affirmed warmly, almost jokingly, making light of the situation. “Oh, and Shimmer, nice job killing Tirek. Seriously, I think the aliens are more than enough for us to deal with, having him running around trying to eat magic would be… Blargh.”

“Don’t mention it.” She responded absentmindedly, while regarding her future wife with concern.

All she could do is make a few Twilight noises of concern and tiredness.

Sunset nuzzled her instinctively.

Nothing will cause worry. Not while I’m here.

“Good luck, you two. You’ve got the Crystal Empire’s full support, remember that.” He saluted.

Channeling her magic with an exhale, She lit the room, and transported her brother to another airship safely, carefully.

“...I’m here, Twi. What’s going on?” Sunset spoke worryingly, lovingly, closely.

“W-well, um, well…” she muttered fearfully, cautiously.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Coming closer, Sunset nuzzled her, feeling her thoughts, her emotions, her fears.

I’m scared.

There’s a lot of them.

The ones we fought, the progress we thought we made, everything we’ve done these past few days… It was only the tip of the iceberg.

What if uniting Equestria like this just gives the enemy a way to take us all out in one strike? What If I’m sending our family, our friends, our allies, to a slaughter?

This enemy is unfeeling, uncaring, automated, and all it wants is to feed, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever faced before, and I’m scared.

Think about it. This isn’t the first world they consumed. We’re likely just next in line after hundreds if not thousands of innocent worlds they cracked.

What chance to we stand?

I don’t know how much time we have, I don’t know if we’re going to survive this, and I just want to say–

“I love you too.” Sunset gave her a supportive, incredibly warm smile. “I’m right here, okay? We’re doing this together, no matter what happens. Now c’mon. We’ve got a bit less than ten minutes. Breathe, and walk me through your notes again, if it’ll help…?”

With an exhale, Twilight Sparkle smiled, trying to center herself, and walked over to the map they had, where several other annotations they gathered lied. “...Okay. We’ve gathered only what we could from our encounters with the Argent, but from what I could decipher, they’re… Automatons. Robotic, a hive mind– And their only purpose is to feed on planet’s worth of resources endlessly to resupply themselves and to multiply; Likely sustaining their galactic travels as they do it.”

“Like very aggressive, parasitic bees?” Sunset tilted her head. “...In an endless cycle of conquest and consumption. Sheesh.”

“Something like that! They are a hive, but instead of producing bees, they just produce more drones, warships, scouts, like the one we fought on Everfree, and the… Feeding ships that we saw on the changeling kingdom– Who were reported to be spotted all over Equestria as well–”

“Sucking up the world’s resources and fighting off anything that tries to stop them.” She nodded. “So, since we destroyed those feeding ships, shouldn’t they…?”

“It’s not over. They can rebuild their forces.” Twilight’s grimace was fearful and hesitant. “What we’re about to see is the brain, the central nervous system of this hivemind, it's from there that they make the bigger ships that make the smaller ships. It’s bound to be their ultimate line of defense, and they likely have the resources of dozens of worlds that allow them to keep up an unending supply of forces and I don’t know if we can possibly–”

“Breathe, Twi. Breathe.” Again, she comforted her as calmly as she could.

No matter how difficult I was managing myself, my emotions, my feelings…

Whenever I saw her falter, I would instantly collect myself.

And it felt easy, for her.

“Excellent presentation, Sparkles.” She assured a bit jokingly, a bit flirtingly. “What do you think is the origin of these aliens, professor?”

Her giggle was weary, but genuine. “...Well, my astute student, my theory is that some alien race once upon a time wanted to make a hive mind capable of warmongering for them, and not only was it their own undoing, but it outlived them. These automatons are self sustaining, learning, and they clearly can access different threat levels and respond in kind...”

“Some alien jerks left their robots on autopilot, and now it's our world’s problem. Wonderful.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “No wonder Luna was so mad, before– They could actually eat her whole moon.”

“And they might…” Twilight muttered feartfully, staring at nothing.

“We’ll end it, Twi.” Sunset affirmed sternly, bravely. “This is the end of the Argent– Today.”

“...I hope so…!” Her insecurities were in pure display.

Breathing in, she tried lightening the mood. “Professor Sparkle, important question, how do we kill these space invaders?” She raised a wing politely, jokingly.

“...Brute force?” She grimaced wearily. “...We’ve got the brain of the hivemind cornered, it’s calling all the shots. So in theory, all we need to do is pull the plug, and the rest of the Argent would just shut down.”

“Yuck. Let’s hope there’s no Argent queen.”

“Unlikely. They’re organized, but they don’t have free will– It’s not mind control, it’s by design. I bet that whatever brain is ordering these things around, it has as much free will as the drones it orders.”

“...So it’s like their intelligence is artificial, I see. That’s… Cold.”

Machines that can think, but never decide. Never feel, never love, never connect.

“...Very. We don’t have anything like this in Equestria, it truly is alien… But hopefully, when we pull the plug, we–”

“Princess Twilight! We’re approaching the target!” A guard came closer, clearly hesitant and antsy. “Shall I inform the queens as well?”

With a nod, the Princess signaled to Sunset, who went to the ship’s speaker. “...All hooves on deck! We’re approaching the Argent hivemind, look alive!”

A massive portion of the crew began gathering atop the airship, on the main deck, where they couldn’t yet see the incoming threat, still blanketed in clouds.

“Finally, let us finish this!” Queen Luna passed by them with excitement, dressed for war. “Do not dawdle, my students!”

“Sunset, Twilight… Shall we?” Celestia passed by them beckoning them with a friendly wing, speaking carefully.

Sunset came closer, and kissed Twilight sweetly, gently.

Everything is going to be okay.

Everything is going to be okay…!

“It is time, Equestria.” Celestia raised her wings, her voice booming, her horn shining, her message spreading across the fleet of airships and dragons that soared together intently.

Even now, they could see unnatural lights and shapes through the clouds as they approached.

Sunset and Twilight joined the two queens at the airship’s bow.

Casting a glance behind them, all their friends, all their subjects, all giving them confident, determined, careful glances.

Casting a glance around them, they could see their allies and their airships– Dozens upon dozens, all gazing at the same sight, all readying for the same clash. Dragons of all sizes, pegasi and griffons and Hippogriffs flew before them, while all others rode in the airships.

All together now.

“This is it…!” Twilight whispered with expectation.

“ENEMY SIGHTED! LET’S TAKE THEM!” A dragon declared with excitement and courage, and creatures in the air and airships around them all cheered.

The cheers died soon enough.

I didn’t need emotion-sensing powers to feel what was all around me.

The clouds parted, revealing their enemy, previously blanketed by the storm and night sky, lit by lightning.

Despair.

The Argent Brain, the Argent central hivemind, from this perspective, looked as large as a moon, looked as grotesque as a mechanical grey matter with branches sprawling out like nerves, which detached into their own ships.

It was an alien sight, in every sense of the word, an inhuman, automated machine force, that existed for nothing else than to consume worlds and increase in numbers and spread.

It was enormous. Dwarfing all of them.

And worse of all, the fleet.

Crooked metallic lifeless drones floated in the air ominously, only with hints of light indicating their weapons primed and ready. Seemingly, they were endless, enormous, hundreds upon hundreds, littering the night sky so much they could see no stars.

Any chanting or celebration or excitement that had once been spread across the ships had now died down, replaced by an ominous hush accentuated by the engines and the storm.

All of Equestria was here for a fight.

And they were outnumbered.

Hopelessness.

The crew members looked at each other silently, frightened, and then their gaze landed on the Princesses.

Sunset’s gaze, however, was fixed on Twilight.

The Princess of Friendship was hesitating. And she was scared. She was silent.

And the Princess of Hope could feel all of it.

“Listen to me.” The Valkyrie declared, stepping forward to the edge of the ship, raising her wings, turning to the whole crew. With a flash, she adorned her Valkyrie armor. “LISTEN!”

Her horn flared, lighting up, calling attention, as she spread her wings and shouted for the entire deck to hear. “Look around you! Look at all of your friends, your allies, your loved ones! Think of all your fighting for, think of all of Equestria! We haven’t assembled our world into a single banner to fall apart now!”

Twilight Sparkle smiled, a relieved, loving smile, watching Sunset speak.

“Our enemy is lifeless, mindless, cold and unfeeling. While we have each other, our families, our loved ones, our lives– We WILL win this day!” She continued courageously, all while Celestia regarded her with pride. “By the strength we’ve gained through surviving until this day, from enduring countless battles and struggles, by the courage of our hearts, and a help from our friends and the ones we love– We are NOT giving up, not now, not EVER!”

Celestia stepped forward, Her horn alight, her voice now propagating to the entire Equestrian fleet. “Listen to the Princess of the Sun’s wisdom. Heed not to the fear you may feel in your heart. We are all here, and we are ready to fight! Together, Equestria! Together!”

“We may not outnumber them–” Luna stepped forward, doing the same, all in the fleet could hear her. “But we out-strengthen them. Our bonds makes us stronger! Victory WILL be ours!”

Twilight, finally, happily, proudly, took the stage, joining them, side by side, flank to flank with her future wife. “I know it may seem bleak– I know it may be frightening to face such a cold, unfeeling enemy, but look around you– We have no reason to fear, Equestria! We are together–” She took only a moment to breathe and nuzzle Sunset. “And with the power we gain from our union, with our hearts beating as one, we are invincible! And we will win this day!”

The airships around them began chanting. And soon, theirs was, as well.

Dragons roared, unleashing flames joyfully, griffons sang loudly, and ponies all around yelled out their battlecries.

Hope.

Sunset, with the widest, most courageous, most proud grin, stepped atop the railing. “THE WIND IS ON OUR SIDE, EQUESTRIA!” The airships around them sang as one, with hope in their hearts once more. “THAT'S ALL WE NEED!”

And together, shouting out into the storm, Equestria began their assault.

Together, as one, we began the fight of our lives.

And not an hour after, I would be proposing to my wife.

Right onto that battlefield, where hope remained.

“...You… Mother fucker.” The demon whispered slowly, as she sat down, folding her wings close, pitch black tears welling up on her eyes. “...I… I didn’t even recognize you. I didn’t even recognize… me.”

“...Do you see it now?” The Valkyrie spoke softly, expectantly. “Do you see what you’ve done, what you could have been…? What your world… Could have been?”

“I see.” Bitterly, quietly, she looked around her, to all her victims. “...I see a world that will never come to pass.”

“Help me bring Twilight and Celestia back. With their help, you can free the others.” The Valkyrie was already making her way to them. “Then we can think about the world.”

The demon did not respond.

Slowly, she removed her crown. It was a task that took effort, and it was violent. The crown had ingrained itself into the base oher skull, entangled in her hair, drafted onto her skin. But she did not scream as she did it.

The Valkyrie watched with surprise, the sickening squelch and drips of blood that followed, and the silence that came after.

The demon stared onto the crown's gem, seeing her own deformed reflection. Her own blood stained it entirely, and now dripped onto the marble of her throne room.

“...There’s no coming back from what I did. It’s too late.” She spoke firmly, roughly, without flinching. “...It’s over. There is no Sunset Shimmer anymore. I killed her, long ago, and didn’t even realize it.”

And just like that, she let go of the crown, letting it clink on the floor absentmindedly.

“Thanks for reminding me of my old name. Of the old me.” She spoke, completely uninterested. “But this, this–”She raised her wings far, and demonstrated her crooked limbs. “It’s irreversible. …Goodbye.”

She began making her way to the nearest broken window. Intent on escaping, running, finding a dark empty corner of Equestria to hide in.

And the Valkyrie stopped her. With a flash, she teleported before the demon. “No.”

“Move aside.”

“No. You don’t get to escape this.” Again, the Princess of Hope affirmed coldly. “You don’t get to run away. Not after everything you did.”

“Heh. Of course.” She grinned, not maliciously, but ironically. “You’re the hero. Celestia’s perfect little pupil… You’re the lucky one.” She raised her wings. “Of course, you want to beat the bad guy, bring her to justice, save the world.”

“No. You have to do it.”

“...What?”

“You heard me. You ruined your world. You fix it.” She took a step forward, glaring her down. “You made your bed. Fucking lie in it.”

“What a joke. Are you serious? Have you looked at me? I’m a monster– I’m THE monster.” She waved a wing towards the petrified denizens of the room. “The second they’re free, their first thought will be ‘where’s the monster that petrified me, and can I kill her?’ There is no reality in which I–”

“--I don’t give a shit.” The Valkyrie forced her to recoil by stepping forward again. “I don’t care about your excuses, your self pity, your self loathing– I’ve seen it all before– You forget, I’m you. All I care about is this– The world is broken. You broke it. You have the power to help fix it. So you will do it. And don’t you dare say ‘make me’ because you KNOW what happens if you do.” Her horn crackled and glowed menacingly.

All the demon did was breathe weakly, looking down, pitch black tears streaming from her eyes involuntarily. “...What a joke. Do you think they’re going to hold my hooves and sing my woes away? Do you think that Twilight will forgive me, and we’ll be married in a year?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “I’m not you. I’m not the hero. There’s no happy ending at the end of this– I broke the world. And I got what I deserve.”

"If you run away now, you're exactly the monster you think you are." Stomping a hoof on the floor, she stopped the demon from walking forward. “How many more memories do I have to show you so you understand why you need to do this?” The Princess of Hope’s expression softened. “How much do you need to see of a better, kinder world, before you realise that you want one too, and that you have to make it? There’s another way, Sunset. And it starts with you.”

“...It’s… It’s not up to me! It’s never been up to me– It’s too late…” She muttered quietly, gritting her teeth, her tears staining the marble below them. “I-I can’t–”

“You can. You can.” She reaffirmed, sternly. “Don’t make the same mistakes again. You know now. You know how things can be better. No, your world might never be like mine– But you’re here. And you can try. So try.”

Silence, as the demon shuddered, looking back.

Looking back at the punishment, the reckoning, the responsibility.

Looking back, knowing she’d never have what the Valkyrie has. Knowing that the world would hate her until she died, and her death could be soon.

Knowing that escape could at least grant her freedom.

But it wouldn’t bring her peace.

Waking up from being petrified wasn’t like waking up from sleep exactly.

The passage of time wasn’t noticeable, if anything, Twilight felt like it had only been seconds. But her body told a different story.

She gasped for air, as if she had been underwater for minutes, breathing shallow, weak breaths. Her muscles caved, and she fell to the floor, only to be held.

Her vision was still adjusting, as she stabilized her breathing and her senses returned.

And she wondered why the creature holding her was crying.

“I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…!” The voice didn’t seem familiar, except it was profoundly so. Her sobs were weak, raspy, as her claws helped the Princess of Friendship stand once more.

“S-Sunset…? Is that you…?”

“I didn’t know there was another way…!”

Author's Note

Well, this chapter took longer to write than I hoped, I got busy with the coolab, and wound up distracted. But damn, it was fun to write.

So, we're on the home stretch. Three more universes to explore. Three more characters to address, and importantly, in these next few chapters, there will be Argent flashbacks in all of them; I'm finally submitting to my desire of writing proper oc antagonists lmao. here comes an alien robot hivemind!

Jokes aside, I do think this would have been the plot of an excellent mlp movie, gathering all of Equestria, uniting all their friends and allies for one incredible showdown with an enormous extraterrestrial threat that only true unity can combat. Though I'm too inspired by other media that does it better, lmao.

My inspirations for the Argent were twofold, for one, I was inspired by Kid Icarus Uprising, in an arc of the game, every villan and protagonist bands together to fight an alien threat and its incredible. It's so fun to see 'pure evil' bad guys just... begrudgingly siding with the good guys just because if they don't, even their home turf gets torched. The second inspo was from Stargate Universe! My memory of it is finicky, but I distinctively remember like, 'automated intergalactic war AI that has outlived those that build it' being a concept there and it was fucking AWESOME.

I'm going to be alternating from this and other fics, naturally! I got my fair share of new ideas, and am still working on that Tartarus Heist one, of course. But I'm VERY exited to wrap shimmerverse up. I even plan on renaming this fic and even giving it a new cover!

And since you've been very awesome to read this far, here, I'll show you the sketch for the new cover I've made so far, heheh:

That was a fun universe. Sunset had to drag her demon self by the EAR to do the goddamn right thing. You're going to help fix your damn mess if it KILLS you.

It's also a strange mark: This is the first universe where Sunset 'won', and 'got everything she ever wanted'. And as expected, she was empty.

OH and if you want to read the coolab I made, it's essentially a little Shimmerverse chapter on it's own rights, it's part of the Isekai series, in which there's a sunset that runs a multiversal bar. Our dear Valkyrie gets thrown into that and nihilism ensues, heh.

Honestly I might even take a hiatus when I get to the finale of this fic-- There's so many damn arts I want to draw for the finale of this fic, that it'd be worth taking a break from it entirely.

But either way. See you in the next chapter, 'I want to kiss you one more time.'