I want to live, I don't want to die.

There once was a unicorn named Sunset Shimmer.

She wasn’t often happy.

She often spent her days wanting.

She wanted wings.

She wanted to rule.

She wanted to be respected.

She wanted to be known.

She wanted to be happy.

She wanted to matter.

She wanted to paint her name on the stars themselves.

She wanted wings.

She wanted to be loved.

And she would spend her days wanting, trying, doing all but the right thing.

She hoped, with all her heart, that one day, she would matter.

She did all she could. She embraced her worst instincts, and she let go of all attachments.

She was lost. She was lost, and didn’t even know it.

She stole a crown.

And she regretted it.

She saw her true nature. She saw what she was, deep inside. What her future was, if she followed her worst instincts.

There once was an alicorn named Twilight Sparkle.

She showed Sunset Shimmer a better way.

She gave Sunset Shimmer better instincts.

She made Sunset Shimmer feel like she mattered.

She made Sunset Shimmer feel loved.

Sunset embraced these new instincts. And she embraced Twilight Sparkle. She embraced her new potential. And embraced her new future.

When did Sunset Shimmer begin living?

When did Sunset Shimmer begin to matter?

When did Sunset Shimmer become the foundation in which the future of Equestria lied upon?

When Twilight Sparkle began loving her.

There once was an alicorn named Sunset Shimmer.

She held under her wing, an alicorn named Twilight Sparkle.

And as she did, she found herself wanting nothing at all.

Nothing else but this moment. This perfect moment.

And in it…

She found herself mattering.

She found herself happy.

She found herself loved.

She found herself not wanting, but hoping.

Waves.

Rustling.

Echo.

The Princess of Hope landed in the next universe. And she found that she didn’t care.

She stood there, for a moment, not paying attention to her surroundings.

There was a fire in the cave she now resided in. And she stared at it coldly, blankly.

Twilight Sparkle was not looking for her. And if she was, she would not succeed in time.

And no matter the outcome, grief would likely break her.

She wanted to mourn her world. And what might happen in her absence. She wanted to mourn her friends, her family, who missed her, she wanted to mourn for all of Equestria, and how much they could do together.

But all she could think of was of Twilight Sparkle. The love of her life. Forced to live without her, for who knows how many decades or centuries.

The grief she had felt, the pain she had felt, from a Twilight that longed for her… Was that the pain her wife was feeling now?

She found herself unable to cry, as she watched those flames dance.

There was no reason to fight. Not anymore.

It was the end of everything.

Finally, after attempting to process these feelings with questionable results, she looked around, drinking in her surroundings absentmindedly.

She was in a cave. A cave on a hill, a cave on an island.

She walked outside, and saw the moon in the sky, surrounded by thousands of stars, a sky completely devoid of any light pollution.

Few clouds peppered the night, but the ocean was fast, and the stars above it even more.

She felt a certain coldness that did not belong anywhere near Equestria.

Palm trees danced in the rustling wind, and a bit further, waves crashed quietly on the shore.

The wreckage of a ship accompanied it.

She could sense, clear as day, that wherever she was… It was at the ends of the known seas.

Finally, readying herself for frustration, she turned around.

Sunset Shimmer, or rather what remained of her, was sleeping on the sandy cave floor, in a bed of leaves and a mattress of bushes.

Her mane was unkempt, unruly, and long, it would drag on the floor as she walked, and have months worth of sand and tree branches accumulating and gathering in between its strands.

This was her home. This cave. There were very few belongings to speak of– Some stockpiled food, some small structures made of wood, and drawings on the cave walls.

She observed those scrawlings quietly.

A demon, stealing a crown.

Flames taking her.

The Elements of Harmony shunning her.

A map of Equestria, with a single message written bitterly over it.

Not

Home

With a sigh, she approached her sleeping counterpart.

And touched her with a single hoof.

I am Sunset Shimmer. This is my home, my forever home, the hole I deserve to rot in, and I will be here forever, paying for everything I've done. I fled Equestria. I was the only survivor of a storm. I wanted to run away… And I succeeded.

There is no escape from this island. I was not worthy of Celestia. I was not worthy of Twilight’s crown. And now I will pay that price forever, for as long as I breathe–

“Wake up.” The Princess of Hope commanded, shaking her. “WAKE UP!”

The unicorn groaned and sighed, shuffling.

She blinked drowsily, there were heavy bags under her eyes.

She took a moment to observe the Valkyrie, looking at her up and down.

She chuckled.

And then simply turned to go back to bed.

“WAKE UP, ASSHOLE!” The Valkyrie forced her out of bed, sending her rolling onto the cave floor.

“Heheheh… It’s going to be one of those dreams, huh?” The unicorn grinned wearily, watching her with half lidded and weary eyes, not even bothering to get up. “Go on, then. Do your worst.”

Sunset glared at her coldly. “I’m you.”

“Really?” The exhausted unicorn didn’t stop grinning. “You don’t look like me.”

“GOD DAMNIT THIS IS NOT A JOKE!” Fiercely, violently, the Valkyrie grabbed her counterpart and pinned her against the cave wall forcefully. “Do you know how SICK I am of constantly running into runaways like YOU?!” She snarled. “SELF SABBOTAGING, SELF LOATHING, SUICIDAL RUNAWAYS, APATHETIC TO YOUR OWN FUCKING LIFE– YOU’RE WARM, COZY AND COMFORTABLE IN YOUR BLANKET OF BULLSHIT, AREN’T YOU?!”

The unicorn stopped grinning.

“EVERY GODDAMN TIME, A FUCKING CONSTANT, YOU RUN AWAY, AND YOU CONVINCE YOURSELF THAT YOU’RE HAPPY, IN SOME MISGUIDED SELF-FLAGELLATION OVER THINGS THAT THE PEOPLE THAT YOU HURT WOULD EASILY FORGIVE YOU OVER!” Her screams shook the nearby trees. “CELESTIA WOULD FORGIVE YOU, TWILIGHT WOULD FORGIVE YOU, YOU’RE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY!!!”

Silence.

She stood there, breathing heavily, glaring at her failed counterpart.

…Until the unicorn started chuckling.

It was a snicker, at first, and then full blown laughter.

“Look at you. Strong mare. Big mare.” She grinned ironically, looking at the alicorn that pinned her. Forcefully. “Celestia’s perfect little pet.” She sputtered out. “Congratulations. You got your wings. So why don’t you fly on out of here and fuck off?”

“Shut…” The Valkyrie inhaled bitterly, angrily, suppressing an unending amount of rage. “...UP.”

“Or what?” The unicorn shrugged, raising a defiant eyebrow. “...You’ll kill me?”

The Princess of Hope closed her eyes, breathing unsteadily.

“I’ll do worse than kill you.” She gritted her teeth, glaring at her. “I’ll show you what you lost.”

Pay attention, now.

Pay some fucking attention.

Pay attention to the best day of my life.

“THE WIND IS ON OUR SIDE, EQUESTRIA! THAT’S ALL WE NEED!”

Sunset Shimmer yelled out into the surrounding fleet, her voice propelled by magic for all to hear, and with it, they released battle cries as one.

She felt it in her heart, a stirring, a courage, an undeniability.

Her emotion powers could sense everything around her– They felt, stronger than ever, they felt higher than ever, the entire world felt it.

Hope.

She spared only a quick glance to Twilight Sparkle before taking off.

And her future wife regarded her with love and adoration. Sunset Shimmer gave her courage. She gave her love, she kept her upright, she kept her steady.

A kite and a line.

The Princess of Friendship was the second fighter to take off towards the Argent fleet, intent on sticking close to Sunset the entire time.

Equestria followed shortly after. No more words were needed to be exchanged, they held courage in their hearts, and charged forward together, whether in airships or in flight.

Hundreds upon hundreds of creatures united under the same banner.

It got chaotic from there, but they held on.

Hundreds of Argent drones flew down upon them flying erratically with intent on blasting them with lasers and electrocuting, even exploding on their opponents if need be.

A cold and unfeeling enemy.

We were better.

We were together.

Sunset fought viciously, incredibly precisely. She used her wings and horn, protected by armor, and liberal usage of fire and light magic to be as destructive and decisive with her enemies as possible.

The Valkyrie Phoenix.

Twilight Sparkle fought surgically, elegantly. She did not make drastic movements unless necessary, she focussed on her strong suit: Magic.

With it, she gathered drones by the dozens, forcing them onto each other, a massive mass of the enemy forced to conjoin, unable to fire, and blew them up as one like enormous firecrackers lit by a single wave of her horn.

Magic incarnate.

Celestia gave them space, as she focussed on the larger ships, cutting through them like an arrow, like a burning knife through butter, a piercing aurora of light.

Luna overwhelmed the enemy with magic and her mighty nightwings, joining her sister on the assault, fighting together, uniting light and darkness.

Sun and Moon.

Sunset didn’t count the seconds, nor the minutes.

She felt alive. She felt real.

An enemy was broken, and she would move to the next one, always sparing a glance towards Twilight, who did the same. They led the way together.

It was then that Sunset came to a realization.

One that seemed pretty obvious, in retrospect. One she already knew intimately.

As she watched Twilight Sparkle light the sky and obliterate their enemies…

…As together, they lit the way towards Equestria’s victory…

…She realised she loved Twilight Sparkle.

More than anything.

“TWILIGHT!” Sunset joined her, flying beside her, striking the same enemies, crushing them with ease, the storm raging around them, but she couldn’t help but smile. “WILL YOU MARRY ME?!”

The Princess of Friendship short circuited, for a moment– Her expression softened, in complete confusion, and a dumb smile. “I-I, um, what?!”

Sunset didn’t mind repeating herself, as she delivered a swift skewering to an enemy, and then turned to her again. “Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?!”

Finally the gears in her head spun, she swiftly dodged an enemy barrage, and tossed them aside, onto the assault of their allies’s cannons. “U-um, I’m not sure this is the best time?!”

Sunset’s smile was incredibly wide, manic, she felt happier than ever. “When else?!” She sliced apart several drones with her wings, and bucked one for good measure. “When else will we get the chance, Twi?! Look around you, I’m pretty sure our lives might be like this for a few centuries! And I’m ready for all of it, Twi! I’m ready!”

Lightning crackled somewhere, the skies lit up, as Twilight began smiling, more and more.

Sunset shielded her from an enemy strike, and swiftly countered, only to hold her closely.

“I love you!” She said with a single breath, and the most truthful smile.

More than anything.

There were a lot of things that passed through the Princess’s head, as she processed the moment. As often happened with Twilight Sparkle, she began overthinking.

This is a bad time to consider a ceremony, we can’t even have one here– We’d need to consider guests, a venue, we’d need to share the news with our friends and family, we’d need to share the news with Equestria, not to mention we need to first deal with the extraterrestrial threat in front of us, there are still a hundred motherships we need to get through before we even reach the hivemind’s brain, and I love you so much, I wish this day was more special, I hope I can spend the rest of my existence with–

“I love you!” Sunset affirmed again, stronger, smiling so genuinely, through quick breaths. “I love you! What do you want to do, Sparkles?”

All of the Princess of Friendship’s thoughts, all her worries, all her grievances were shafted aside, as she smiled truly, and looked above them. “CELESTIA! MARRY US!”

The Queen of the Sun was currently obliterating a few dozen enemy drones with her light magic, before she stuttered, blinked and turned to them. “E-excuse me?! Are we on the same battlefield, you two?!”

“Yep!” Sunset grinned as she joined the fight again, crushing a drone with a simple strike. “Marry us, please!”

“Celestia, now!” Twilight commanded, smiling just as wide.

The Queen had to suppress a chuckle, as she sliced an enemy with her wings, and bucked it away. “D-do not get me wrong, I am happy for you two, I really am–”

Sunset, turning to Twilight, shrugged and laughed. “Okay, Sparkles, let’s go ask Luna!”

“--DEARLY BELOVED, WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY–” Celestia immediately spread her wings wide, her light shining brightly across the battlefield, announcing to the two lovers. “--IN STORM AND FIRE, IN WAR AND LOVE–”

The three of them stopped, as a mother ship approached.

Sunset sliced at it from one side, Celestia from another, and Twilight tore it apart with her magic as it approached.

“--FOR THE REUNION OF THE TWO NEW PRINCESSES OF EQUESTRIA–” Celestia finished her strike, tearing an entire wing of the ship away, and joining them again. “INHERITORS OF THE SUN AND MOON, THEIR LOVE SHINES BRIGHT EVEN IN A STORM, THEIR LOVE INSPIRES US ALL, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SUNSET SHIM–”

An explosion rang out, and the sky was blanketed by blasts, they shielded each other as their allies chased the enemy.

“YOU MAY SAY YOUR VOWS NOW!!–” Celestia shielded them from an entire mothership, crashing down on Equestria below, tilting it away from them. “J-JUST SAY YOUR VOWS!!”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Sunset held her, smiling warmly, ignoring the storm, ignoring the war. “I love you more than anything! Do you take me to be your wife?”

“I will! I-I mean, I do!” She giggled out, stuttering her response.

“Great!” Sunset’s smile was dumb, goofy, the words being said settled upon her after she said them. They quickly parted, as an enemy ship crashed near them, and a lightning crackled in the air.

Twilight had to swiftly gather a few attacking drones and tear them apart with her magic before reuniting with Sunset once more. “Princess Sunset Shimmer! Do you–”

Luna was bringing down an entire mothership, riding it savagely, forcing it down on another, quickly giving them a salute as she passed by.

“Princess Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight reaffirmed, joining her again. “Do you take me to be your wife?”

“I do.”

Saying those two words never felt easier.

“BY THE POWER INVESTED IN ME AS QUEEN OF THE SUN, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU–” Cannons lit the air, they took cover from the barrage, shielding each other from the strikes. “BY THE POWER INVESTED IN ME, I NOW PRONOUNCE–”

An enormous dragon soared by, spewing flames, the Crystal Empire airship shot an enormous laser beam forward, another Argent mothership went down.

“JUST KISS!” Celestia declared, diving into battle once more.

They beheld each other with unending love, unending, adoration, as Twilight cast several barriers around them, and they embraced each other with their wings.

They began falling, together, letting go of anything else but each other.

Nothing else mattered.

Nothing else matters.

Lightning crackled, explosions resounded, and they ignored all of it, on free fall, upside down.

The world was above them. It was theirs. They had each other. Nothing else mattered.

And then they kissed.

I love you more than anything.

I love you more than everything.

And they kissed, embraced, and allowed each other to simply be, if only for a moment.

Nothing else mattered.

It was one of the longest days of my life.

And you know what?

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“What did I miss, my students?!” Luna declared, watching them rise back into the fight, crushing an enemy with her magic.

“WE’RE MARRIED!” They both shouted with glee, soaring together, wings interlocked, light and night together.

“Good!” She smiled shortly, nodding with a shrug. “Don’t let it distract you from the fight!”

Any pretence of that was swiftly quelled, as Twilight and Sunset flew side by side– Interlocking their right and left wing, flank to flank– And their other wings, spread out, were infused with the powers of the day and night. Uniting their horns, spinning in a corkscrew motion, their colors meshing and blending in a beautiful blend of lights, they descended upon an enemy airship, unleashing an incredibly powerful finishing move that lit the air beautifully with a fusion of sun and moon magic, cleaving it entwain.

It was so easy.

“Who is out here loving each other??!” Chrysalis sniffed the air in complete confusion, as she crushed part of an enemy with her jaws, looking around in disbelief. “In the middle of a battlefield?!”

“My two pupils just got married!” Celestia affirmed weightlessly, slicing an enemy apart, with her horn alight.

“In the middle of a battlefield?!” The changeling Queen repeated, grimacing in confusion.

Twilight and Sunset passed by, flying together, smiling widely. “Hey Chrysalis!” They grinned madly. “We’re married!”

“I can tell!” She affirmed, licking her lips. Just being near them, she could feel it, taste it. “Thanks for the power boost, you two!”

Turning around, she unleashed an enormous blast upon a mothership, melting it’s front entirely, and Celestia applauded the strike.

It was so easy with her.

“Somepony just got married.” Cadance affirmed almost sternly, with gravity in her voice, as she leaned closer to the glass on her airship.

“Stay away from the windows, please– Wait, what did you just say?!” Shining armor raised a confused eyebrow from the helm.

“Somepony just got married.” She reaffirmed, her horn crackling, her eyes glowing. “I can feel it.”

“Um… Cady, we’re literally at war.” He titled this head, looking beyond the windows, where another airship exploded before them. “...I know you’re a bloodhound for these things, but–”

Sunset and Twilight teleported inside the airship, drenched from the storm, already making their way out, breathing quickly, and smiling through all of it. “Hey Shiny, hey Cadance!” Twilight was nearly prancing. “We just got MARRIED!”

“AND I WASN’T THERE TO SEE IT?!?!??!”Cadance’s scream of indignation nearly cracked the glass near them.

“Crystal heart cannon ready to fire, captain!” One of the guards saluted with a smile.

Swiftly, without a word, the Princess of Love hugged the two brides, and leapt towards the crystal heart, and with the amount of love power coursing through her veins, she powered up the cannon, which shot a pink blast that pierced through five motherships in a single shot, blowing them all up in one go.

“Heh!” The Captain nodded with relaxed satisfaction. “Good for you, sis!”

It felt effortless.

“Alright Flutters! Ready up!” Rainbow Dash called out as she flew incredibly swiftly, incredibly precisely through the alien drones, drawing all their attention, and dodging all of their shots.

Fluttershy, manned one of the cannons at the side of the ship with as much agility as a pig could fly– But Rainbow Dash made it so easy for her. They made up for it in numbers, as some of her animal friends manned the cannons around them.

The Pegasus swooped beside the ship, and the drones followed the exact pattern that she wanted, leaving themselves completely vulnerable to the airship’s broadside fire.

Fluttershy, with an eep, didn’t even need to aim– A single fire, and tens of enemy drones were taken down at once.

Full of adrenaline, Fluttershy yelled out with a fury that nearby cannon managers and her animal friends couldn’t help but flinch from. “TAKE THAT YOU ALIEN MEANIES!!”

“BOOYAH! NICE SHOT! Hangon, I’ll get us some more customers!” Rainbow cheered, pumping a hoof into the air.

“Hey, Fluttershy, hey, Dash!” Sunset flew by, side by side with Twilight. “We’re married!!”

“O-oh my gosh!” Fluttershy’s demeanor immediately reverted to her normal demeanor. “I’m so happy for you two! When’s the ceremony?”

Rainbow had to take a second to laugh it off. “Hah! You beat me to it, nice going, Shimmer!”

It felt effortless with her.

“Okay, I know I doubted you, Trixie, but–” Sunburst flinched as Trixie’s tinkered cannon fired an obliterating barrage of fireworks that decimated a mothership in only two shots. “--I can’t deny efficiency when I see it!”

“That’s my Trix! That’s my wife!!” Starlight smiled widely, nearly in tears. “Ready up, let’s keep it coming!” With their magic, she and Sunburst loaded the cannon and primed it for another onslaught.

“Let this be a lesson to all of you!” Trixie smugly, proudly, raised her muzzle. “The great and powerful Trixie can do anything!”

“Hey, you three!” Twilight and Sunset flew by with glee. “We’re MARRIED!!”

“O-oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!” Starlight got so excited she dropped a load of ammunition off the edge. “W-we have to plan a ceremony we have to–”

“Took them long enough!” Trixie nodded shortly, and immediately fired her cannon into another Argent mothership.

“They married? “Sunburst’s jaw dropped. “As in, right now? Right here?”

We were unstoppable.

Straining, fiercely, Applejack put heavy machinery back in its place. “Engine C is back where it belongs! Y'all over there, keep engine A cooled! Rares, keep doing what yer doin, Pinkie, don’t stand on Engine D!”

“Right on, darling!” The seamstress kept handing out tools to the engineers as requested, and quickly ran a wet wipe over AJ’s forehead, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Talk to me, dear. Everything alright?”

“I-I think so. Damn, how long has it been since we started fightin’– Pinkie! What did I tell ya? Get down from there!!”

“I-I can’t help it! My Pinkie sense is tingling!!” She vibrated with the engine she stood on. “Something BIG just happened!!”

And right on cue, Twilight and Sunset teleported into the airship’s interior, all smiles, ready to make the same declaration they had the past hour.

Together, we would never be afraid of the dark.

We continued this for a while. Every friend, every loved one, every world leader, we met them on that field of battle to break the news.

I didn’t even care about winning, after a while. I just knew we would.

I was just enjoying being with her.

Do you understand, now–

“Stop, stop, stop STOP!!!” The unicorn shoved her aside, this time, she was no longer smiling, as she recoiled, yelling out. “I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE, I DON’T WANT YOUR PAIN!”

“Too bad.” The Valkyrie snarled, approaching her slowly. “That's all I have to give.”

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” She screamed, her mane dragged on the sandy floor of the cave, her shouts echoed. “YOU GOT YOUR WINGS, YOU LOST EVERYTHING, BOOHOO, NOT MY FUCKING PROBLEM!”

The Valkyrie stopped, regarding her bitterly.

“Y-you said it yourself.” The unicorn snarled. “I’m comfortable in my blanket of bullshit. I’m comfortable. I’m fine. I don’t need you to save me… You’ve got your fucking wings. So fly on out of here and fuck off.”

“No.” She didn’t even blink.

“Just fucking leave. There’s nothing for you here–”

“No. You don’t get to escape this.” Again, the Princess of Hope affirmed coldly. “You don’t get to keep running away. I won’t let you.”

She turned around, and walked to the entrance to the cave, and raised her wings, her horn alight.

“...What are you doing?” The unicorn dared to ask.

“Calling your mother.”

Without hesitating, without flinching, Sunset Shimmer raised the sun.

The clouds parted away, the stars left, the ocean reflected its light.

And she exhaled deeply– When did this get so easy?

“W-what…” the Unicorn watched in disbelief. “Wh-what did you do…?”

“I told you.” She kept looking at the sun, unwavering. “I’m not letting you run away. Not anymore. You don’t get to.”

Only a silent minute passed, until they saw her.

“WHO HAS RAISED MY SUN?!” Like a shooting star, like a meteor, Celestia approached the island, and landed with an enormous gust of wind.

And she immediately stopped herself, like she was seeing a ghost, like seeing a haunting memory. “S-Sunset?! Y-you’re here? You’re alive…! Y-you’ve ascended…?”

“I’m not your Sunset.” The Valkyrie shook her head, devoid of energy. “...She is.” Easily, she held her counterpart on a single-hoof headlock, one she struggled against.

“No no no no no…!”

“You were here…? All this time…? So far from Equestria…?!” Her words held grief, regret, sorrow. “...This island isn’t even on any map, Sunset…!”

“Leave me alone, please, just let me go, just let me go…!”

“No, Sunset.” Celestia’s expression hardened.

“Take her home.” The Princess of Hope pleaded, bringing her counterpart forward. “...Please. Whether she’s on a leash or in chains, with a slap on the wrist or in a cell… Don’t let her run away.”

“I won’t. Not again.” Mournfully, tragically, Celestia stepped forward. “Never again.”

Sunset Shimmer was going to survive, whether she liked it or not.

Sunset Shimmer was going to make amends, whether she liked it or not.

Her daughter was going to live, whether she liked it or not.

Her daughter was not going to die, until she wanted to live.

Author's Note

I've shown you a few specific things, in these last chapters.

1 - I showed you a reality in which Sunset succeeded in all she ever 'wanted'.

2 - I showed a reality where Sunset got everything she ever needed... And died.

3 - I showed a reality where Sunset succeeded in running away.

And amidst this trilogy, I told the history of the battle against the Argent, as well. I once considered writing these 3 chapters as one, since they were so thematically similar. But I realized nah, I'll just separate them into their distinct events of importance. Its why the three chapters are kind of similar in structure! When I reached this final 3 chapter stretch, I was kind of worried it'd be repetitive garbage, lmao.

...You tell me if you actually liked any of this, lol. Sometimes I'm so like, immersed on my writing, so hiperfocussed on my vision, I can't even tell if it's any good.

Celestia is going to give this girl the washing of a damn lifetime. She's going to be cuffed to the damn tub and scrubbed by like 6 sponges at once. And it won't be enough.

I feel almost sad that I didn't explore this universe as much as I absolutely could have-- But honestly, we've done this song and dance for so many chapters now, I don't want to retread old ground, I could turn any of these universes into full on fics and we all know it.

ALSO I hope you noticed some parallels with this and the first multiverse chapter, 'decaying by choice'! It was absolutely intentional, heheh.

But with that... That's the end of the normal Shimmerverse chapters. That's that. From now on, it's just intermissions and the climax. The chapter titles were inspired by a Porter Robinson song called 'Russian Roulette' I'm VERY fond of it.

And with this final standard chapter, as we enter the absolute final act, I made a new cover, and renamed the fic entirely.

SUNSET SHIMMER VS THE MULTIVERSE.

This is the last cover! It has to be the last one, goddamn, I will MAKE it the last one.

Also, y'know the marriage sequence? I was honestly originally planning on having Sunset and Twilight pass by literally every character of note in the battlefield to share the news. Like, every airship, every creature of importance, every single damn character that would be fighting that fight. Literally just showing up to Dragonlord Torch and his daughter and announce that. (tho tbh she likely wouldn't be there for the same reason spike isn't)

Like. imagine any character that WOULD be aiding in a war like this, up there. I was going to write them up there.

But I will NOT bloat my chapters any more than I have to!! (anymore lol)

And of course, I almost forgot to say: Their marriage scene was heavily inspired by that amazing scene from pirates of the caribbean 3, one of the best marriage scenes in all of fiction, heheh. I figured it was a perfect fit for smth like this.

Ah, Cadance is gonna be so pissed off when she's done being happy for them. She wanted to be there to see it lol <3

I hope I've managed to, if nothing else, convince you of how good this ship is so far. Sunlight, I mean. Through these dozens of chapters, I hope all of its deranged variants I've come up with have brought you joy.

I suppose the sheer potential is just what drives me nuts about them. How many possibilities they had to meet, how many possibilities they had to fall in love, and most specially of all, how a Twilight is propelled ever further by this love.

Through each other, they gain purpose.

Honestly, if you read this far and haven't put it in the comments yet; I'd love to know which chapter was your fave! Now's a perfect time, between the intermissions and the standard multiverse chapters, heheh.

Anyways. since you've been brave and strong, and endured reading all this way... Here's a chapter list name I wrote down of the ones that are to come-- With the current still included. (meaning there are only 5 chapters left!)

Next chapter I'll get to do something I've been wanting to do for a long while: Focus heavily on Twilight Prime, and all that she's gone through and learned so far.

...It's wonderful to be ahead of the curve, and to have hindsight.