Power Ponies and the Malicious Machinations of the Malevolent Machine!

Sunset Shimmer let out a yawn, and leaned back on her chair, resting her eyes from overlooking paperwork, if only for a moment. Without even moving, she used her magic to bring a cup of coffee to her lips, and drank from it slightly.

The building shook a little, and sounds of fighting were heard from the distance, but she didn’t mind it much. Placing the coffee down without spilling a drop, she stretched.

Until, of course, the sounds of the distraught mayor came from out of her room and into the actual office space that Sunset was working on. She was carrying a couple of things, in a bit of a frantic, but questionably controlled panic, but she stopped when she saw Sunset still in the building. “Um, Miss Shimmer, why are you still here? Haven’t you heard or seen the giant robot attacking the city?!” She spoke in disbelief, her hair untying from a bob, with her frantically trying to adjust it with magic, as she pointed at the windows.

“Heya, mayor Celestia. I’m just getting some paperwork done before I leave, don’t mind me.” The office worker grinned, looking back at her papers, ignoring the danger.

And of course, the mayor wasn’t going to let this one go. “I ordered to evacuate City Hall, I don’t want to see any of my employees hurt! That includes you– What if that giant robot shoots lasers or missiles here! Hm?”

Blowing raspberries, Sunset absentmindedly flipped a couple of pages. “Hey, the Power Ponies are on it. That robot is probably toast by now.”

Another set of explosions cascaded on the streets outside, a roar could be heard, and while Celestia flinched, Sunset’s ears barely twitched.

“By the way, my assistant, Twilight, she evacuated, right? I didn’t see her with the group that I escorted out…!” Celestia looked over at her secretary’s table, which was empty.

Shrugging, Sunset did not avert her eyes from her work. “Meh. She said something about going to the bathroom, before you even told us to leave. Knowing that nerd, she ran very, very fast to the opposite way of the giant robot. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Narrowing her eyes, Celestia approached her employee, with a disappointed, motherly tone. “Sunset Shimmer. You know I value your diligent and efficient work as my employee, and that I am glad you’re back working with us– But you are evacuating with me now and that’s final.”

Blowing raspberries, Sunset knew that there was no talking her out of this. “Sure, mom.” She said mockingly, accepting to leave, ignoring the explosions outside seemingly increasing in density. She spoke in an uninterested tone, as she gathered her things. “But I'm telling you, the moment we’re out, the Power Ponies will have saved the day or whatever– We really don’t need to worry this much.”

The Mayor couldn’t help but let out a snicker, at being called mother, and seeing her employee’s disinterested demeanor, but she remained still, until she knew Shimmer was ready to go.

Which gave Sunset a couple more seconds to complain. “I mean, knowing them, they’re gonna have another deus ex machina moment or whatever, just saving the city at the last moment–”

She was interrupted, of course, by the Princess of Valor appearing in the air, and falling through her table. Both of the other ponies yelled in surprise, while the Valkyrie complained.

“Augh, FUCK! Another table! Why is there always a table–” She groaned, before getting up, and scanning her strange new surroundings, in great confusion.

And of course, the office worker was shocked. “What the fuck are you?!”

It was a night like any other, in Maretropolis– That is to say, trouble was afoot. And wherever trouble is to be found, the Power Ponies are sure to be there to save the day!

Running through rooftops, they ran towards danger, never away from it!! The was sky illuminated by the bright lights of the shining city and its spotlights; And by the mighty battle that would soon ensue!

Our valiant heroes, six of them, no more, no less– Bravely face any threats to our beloved city, outmatching, outsmarting, outperforming any foe! Best of friends, best of heroes, it’s the Power Ponies!

The fearless leader, ‘Masked Matter-Horn’, with her incredible magic of all sorts, and unmatched intelligence! “Okay girls, report, what’s going on?”

The fastest of the bunch, blink and you’ll miss her, ‘Filly-Second!’ With her amazing, lightning-fast super speed! “A meteor went FWOOSH!! And fell smack dab on 25st street!! And then it turned out it was a giant robot!! I got the civilians out of the area, but…”

The strong, the unbreakable, unyielding and courageous ‘Mistress Mare-Velous’! With her lasso of truth! “...Cops are tryin’ to fight it, of course, Hooray. We gotta get in there before those idiots get themselves killed!”

The electrifying storm master, and expert flier, ‘Zapp’! With her control over storms! “So hang on a second. Are you saying it fell from the sky– are we fighting alien robots now? Sheesh! This day just keeps getting better!”

The beautiful and elegant, not to mention fashionable, ‘Radiance’! With her construct magical abilities! “Please, darling. I doubt it’d be from outer space– Just likely having been built by one of our lovely supervillains, just catapulted into our fair city. Let’s stop mingling and stop it, shall we?”

And last but certainly not least, The soft-spoken, but secretly hiding rage within, ‘Saddle Rager’! With her incredible monstrous abilities! “O-oh my goodness… Maybe the aliens are friendly…??”

An explosion rang out, and the leader’s ears twitched– the Masked Matter-Horn ran forward, to the edge of the roof of the building the super friends stood on, valiantly scanning the streets! “I don’t think so, Rager!” And she was certainly correct– This massive, house sized robot, was moving about with octopus-like limbs, tossing cars aside, crashing its inverted-pyramid-like body against buildings, all the while the police’s attacks did nothing against its metal armor!

“Power Ponies, go!” The leader commanded courageously, spreading her wings and gloriously jumping off the building, with a single determined direction! Naturally, her friends followed along with equal gusto!

And of course, the leader wasted no time, inspecting her opponent, considering strategies and possible plans of attack! “It seems the robot is stopping to… Scan things?!” She observed eloquently, noticing the robot seemingly inspecting objects, buildings and even ponies, while on occasion, fighting back against the assailants!

Shaking her head, she was about to land; Not before giving her fellow heroes proper battle instructions. “Filly-Second! Get those cops far away from the fight, and keep an eye out for civilians, too!”

“On it, boss!” Her super speedster friend saluted, not before dashing forward with impressive speed, much to her rescuers dismay!

And the police, of course, complained. “Power Ponies, stay outta this! Leave this to the professionals!” One of the cops barked rudely, right before being scooped away from a vicious claw strike from the strange machine! “You’re welcome, donut-muncher!!” Filly-Second giggled, while forcibly removing them all from the scene; Keeping the streets clear for our valiant heroes!

The leader smiled, but kept her gaze inspecting the robot, which had not yet cared for their presence! “Radiance! Mare-Velous! Stay on the ground, distract it, and if possible, test to see just how durable that shell is!”

“On it, Darling!” The former, using her beautiful powers, began skating on the streets with construct rollerblades, and summoned a handful of cannons to fire with gusto!

“Roger that, Yeehaw!!” The latter leapt forward with power, tossing a police car at the robot, nigh making a dent! And yet she persisted, intent on bucking the machine from up close!

“Zapp!” The leader flew high, near her ally! “Shoot some lightning bolts at it from above! Test its resistance!”

With a courageous nod, Zapp took flight! “I got this, boss!” And began unleashing her barrage of crackling thunder, with the enemy barely feeling it! “What kind of a robot is resistant to electricity?! What a rip off!!”

And last, but not least… “Rager!” The leader called to the one that was lagging behind! “Now may be a good time to get angry!”

Shaking her head with fear in her eyes, the shy pegasus muttered nearly too quietly: “I’m mostly just scared right now!! What if this IS an alien?!”

“We’ll deal with it, together!” The Masked Matter-Horn gloriously proclaimed; “Now onwards, everypony!”

She began launching a barrage of blasts at the malevolent machine; Alternating between fire and ice, observing its results, and was surprised to see nearly no effect! The machine moved unimpeded!

And just then, it whirred and grinded internally; As it scanned its assailants, the Power Ponies, and its behavior seemed to change! It suddenly became much more aggressive, focussing exclusively on its opponents, flailing its tentacular claws around wildly!

“Watch the claws! Don’t get grabbed!” The leader bellowed, as she flew in between the tentacular metallic legs of the beast, attempting to strike her blasts at its joints, to little effect!

“Hey boss– We ain’t barely doin’ a dent in this thing!” Mare-velous shouted, noticing how a powerful buck from her bent the metal only slightly! Its armor being unlike anything the Power Ponies had ever seen!

“I’ll say, it might indeed be from outer space!” Radiance proclaimed as she skillfully skated around the enemy blows, unleashing a barrage of her construct arrows at the machine’s metal hide, noticing little damage! “Our attacks are being shrugged off!” She blocked blows with construct shields, entangling some of the claws with a construct whip– And Mare-Velous followed suit, using her lasso!

“Gosh, how are we gonna bust this bunker?!” Filly-Second hastingly sped by, climbing on top of the creature, looking for any weak spots, staring down at what seemed to be the scanning receptacle of the metallic beast! “Wait, maybe it doesn’t know it’s bad to destroy things, because it’s out of town!” She giggled, attempting to stare down the machine with a smile; “Hey, you mean big gizmo! Destroying our city is RUDE!”

“WATCH IT, WATCH IT!” Zapp flew by, yanking her compatriot aside just before a vicious claw struck her! “Thanks Zapp! I’ll repay you in cupcakes!”

“Don’t mention it! I don’t think this robot can understand us, everypony!” Zapp yelled out, returning to the fight, not before placing Filly-Second down, then unleashing some more balls of lightning!

“Uu-umm,” Saddle Rager considered, thoughtfully and worryingly! “M-maybe if we ask really nicely, it’ll go away…?”

The leader, increasing the intensity of her barrage, doubted that statement! “I don’t think so, Rager! It seems hellbent on hellish destruction!! Are you feeling any angrier?”

“Well, not exactly…! Kind of just scared…!” The Rager hesitated, and nearly got struck by a claw attack! Luckily, Zapp was there to move her out of the way. “Anytime now, Rager! C’mon, Get mad!” the pegasus of storms suggested, before leaping into battle once more!

Viciously, the Machine flailed its arms and claws, grabbing cars and tossing them aside, or violently towards our brave heroes, who narrowly dodged its dastardly strikes!

CRASH! BANG! BOOM!

Radiance cleared off of the metallic beast, getting a good look at it, “Boss! Shall I suggest attack combo six?”

“Excellent idea, Radiance!” The leader shouted with a smile, landing next to her. “Mare-Velous, you know what to do!”

“Alright girls, but please don’t blow my mane out, ya hear?!” The hero agreed, with little hesitation! With their combined mights, Radiance constructed a cannon, the Masked Matter-Horn imbued it with fiery-propulsive-might, and Mistress Mare-Velous was the ammunition!

“Filly-second! Make a clear target!” The leader commanded gloriously, and the speedster complied with gumption, as she ran around the robotic claws, teasing her opponent, making rude gestures, purposefully narrowingly avoiding strikes, to leave it still just in time for…

“...Three-two-one-GO!” The leader commanded, and just like that, Mare-Velous was shot at the enemy like a powerful cannonball– Connecting with its target with a fiery, powerful BUCK!

BANG!!!!!

The robot crashed onto the street violently, but it was few seconds of reprieve for our brave heroes– Quiet settled on the city for merely a moment– For the Malevolent Machine stood up with its claws near instantly; And despite the fiery horseshoe-marks on it’s side, and the bending of its armor, it seemed nigh-unstoppable!

Just then, the robot unleashed strange sounds, like an incomprehensible language, strange robotic garbles they couldn’t make out, as it stood up and prepared to fight once more…

And not just that; But from previously unforeseen holes, it unleashed even more clawed tentacles, near doubling its number of appendages to swipe and strike our heroes with!

“Unbelievable–” Mare-Velous gasped in surprise! “What else can we throw at this darn thing?!”

“RAGER!” The Leader called out courageously! “YOUR TURN!”

The Shy pegasus landed meekly, with a frail nod, as she started grunting, gritting her teeth, and channeling all the anger she could muster from inside!

“C’mon, you can do this!!” Zapp encouraged her with a confident smile, flying by!

Which made Rager stop everything to smile at her; much to every one of the heroes’s disappointment! “Awwww, thank you, Zapp! I’m trying my best!”

Every other hero groaned in annoyance, seeing all of Saddle Rager’s anger recoil to square one. “Sorry, guys!” Zapp Apologetically flew by– But just then!

Wildly, the machine flailed its metallic limbs at the heroes, striking multiple of them– Including Zapp, throwing her through the windows of a building!

“ZAPP! NO!” Rager bellowed in sadness, watching not only Zapp, but multiple of her friends get hurt– And just like that, she snapped!

“Are. You. KIDDING ME? We were having a NICE MOMENT!! And you interrupted it, to HURT MY FRIENDS!!??” Groaning, wincing, her eyes went bloodshot, she snarled, with her voice slowly becoming more monstrous! “I’ve got HALF A MIND TO TURN YOU INTO SCRAP METAL AND THROW YOU BACK INTO SPACE YOU MEANIE!!”

and at an alarming, grotesque pace, she transformed into a huge, hulking, terrifying monster!!

ROOOAAAAAAAARRR!!!

Her monstrous, bloodthirsty scream echoed through the streets of Maretropolis, as the Raging monster LEAPT into the robotic machine and began unleashing savage blow after savage blow!!

With mighty yanks, she even managed to tear off some of the robotic tentacles with her wild untamed incredible strength!!

“ATTAGIRL!” Zapp yelled gleefully, as she took flight once more, and her friends joined in celebration!

And what’s more, all redoubled their efforts on attacking the malevolent machine with their combined might, unleashing all they could at it!

The leader inspected their damage carefully as she flew by with carefulness– Noticing that although Rager was most definitely denting the beast, it didn’t seem to be enough to truly pierce its hide! The gears in her head turned, as she considered her options…

RAAAAAAARGH!!!

With a powerful roar, Rager pinned the massive machine down, ignoring its claws swiping at her oversized monstrous body. “FLUTTER…SMASH!!!”She yelled out, before slamming the robot with her massive arms, cracking the floor of the streets below it; And immediately after, she grabbed a bundle of its robotic tentacular arms, and tossed it overhead!!

All of the heroes watched as the machine fell on the opposite end of the street– Narrowly crashing upon a point of interest; Nearly crushing city hall!

The leader let out a relieved sigh, seeing the robot miss a very unfortunate target, but instead crashing on the street itself! “PHEW! She almost hit City hall! Thank goodness it didn’t!!”

ROAAAAAAARR!!!

Rager let out another shout at the enemy, as she stood on the streets, ready to charge. The five other heroes gathered around her, observing the robot in its crashed state.

“Is it… Over?” Breathing heavily, Marve-velous narrowed her eyes, inspecting the unresponsive opponent. “Did we bust it?”

“Stay sharp, everypony!” The leader commanded. “This isn’t over yet–”

And just like that, the robot stood– Its claws lifting it aloft, with clear glitches and stalls on its movement, but shaking it off, it once again unleashing a barrage of words in an incomprehensible language!

Sweat dripped down her forehead, as the Masked Matter-Horn looked at her friends, and formulated a strategy; One she had been considering for a bit! “Listen up, everypony; Especially you, Rager! Metal is softer when it’s heated– I’m going to burn the robot as much as possible, and then we have to unleash the most powerful hit we can to pierce its hide! Ready?!”

All of her friends complied, and Rager roared once more, in agreement, and just like that, they prepared to take off…!

With its claws wild, the Robot unleashed a new set of weapons– from seemingly inside it, it pulled out an uncountable amount of cannons; Its threat level rising exponentially every time they knocked it down, becoming even more dangerous!!

“Oh, c-crap…!” The Leader allowed herself only a mere moment of weakness, before shaking her head, and raising her wings with determination once more!

“Okay, Rager! Let’s go!” Riding her monstrous ally, using her as a steed and shield, she commanded her friends to charge behind her, and with a roar, Saddle Rager dashed forward in brutal anger, and the leader proclaimed their last stand! “THIS IS IT! EVERYPONY BE READY!!”

The massive malignant machine charged forward with untamed destructive intent, approaching our daring heroes at breakneck speeds, closer and closer, its metallic sounds echoing and raging, charging its laser cannons with mighty force, until...!!!!

An interruption.

Like a flaming arrow, like a meteor, like a blinding, lightning fast piercing bolt, the Princess of Valor tore through the robot from behind in a singular corkscrew strike, piercing its hide, and coming out the other side just as fiercely, landing on the floor, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

The drone’s whirring and movement ceased immediately, sparks coming from inside it quickly fizzled out, the massive gaping hole in its body leaking, and its metallic body crashed on the street, dead.

“That’s that.” She waved her mane, exhaling steam, adjusting her armor; Which still glowed near red, with its intense temperatures.

“W…WHAT?!” All of the heroes shouted at once in complete confusion.

The Leader landed right in front of her, inspecting the armored Alicorn with curiosity and surprise, but before she could muster any questions… “Wow, you look so cute in that costume, Twi…!” A smile appeared on the Valkyrie’s lips, as she tilted her head, observing the significantly smaller Alicorn that stood in front of her.

“Whuh?!” The leader shook her head in confusion, recoiling. The other heroes moved forward, inspecting the newcomer in confusion, Rager only unleashing a couple of confused grunts.

“So are you girls like… The ‘Power Ponies’ in this universe? Like from the comics? What a strange world…!” The Valkyrie analyzed the friends that surrounded her curiously.

“H-hey!” Zapp complained. “The comics came after us…! And we don’t get royalties…” Her pout of disappointment clearly displayed the struggle to pay rent when you have to moonlight in saving the world.

Chuckling, the Princess of Valor examined the biggest in the group. Her eyes widened in surprise, as she looked at Rager, who towered over all of them, snarling. “Holy shit, that monster is Fluttershy. What the hell.” Of which the hulking monstrosity only groaned.

“H-how do you– Wh–?!” Twilight’s jaw slacked, as she stared in complete confusion.

Moving closer with insatiable curiosity, Filly-Second approached the Valkyrie, sniffing and poking her. “Wow! Another super hero!! That’s so cool!! I thought we were the only ones!!” OW!”

“Careful Pinkie– it’s best not to touch me after a fight, my armor’s pretty superheated right now.” Smiling, the Princess of Valor amused herself on seeing her friend waddle around cutely.

Flapping her wings excitedly, Zapp gushed.“B-but seriously, Dude, that attack was LEGENDARY!! You beat that robot jerk in like ONE STRIKE!!”

“Thanks, Rainbow. I’ve beaten these guys before, so it’s not that big of a deal.” The Valkyrie shrugged, still smiling.

“B-but, what the…! How, when…?!” Twilight still gasped in confusion, overlooking this insanely confusing scene.

Approaching her carefully so as to not be burnt, Radiance inspected the superheated Valkyrie. “Darling, your armor is simply fabulous! It’s divine! Certainly a tad medieval, but I adore it! What is your hero name?”

Blinking a couple times in confusion, Sunset tilted her head, considering the question. “Hero… Name? dunno, Rarity– Maybe umm. Maybe ‘The Valkyrie?’ That’s pretty good! Oh, wait, maybe ‘Lightwing!’ A friend of mine calls me that. That’s a good one.”

“Hey, names aside, um, Valkyrie lady,” Mistress Mare-Velous approached hesitantly, inspecting the newcomer up and down. “How in the hay do you know all our secret identities?!–”

And then Twilight snapped, all of the confusion and stress from the day unleashed, flapping her wings in frustration. “WHO ARE YOU, WHY ARE YOU SO FAMILIAR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, WHAT WAS THAT ROBOT, AND HOW DID YOU BEAT IT SO EASILY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL, PLEASE STOP SAYING OUR SECRET IDENTITIES OUT LOUD, HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THEM?!?!!?!!!”

“W-woah! Easy, Sparkles! It’s okay! I can explain!” The Valkyrie consoled her with a kind smile.

“S-ss-s-s-sparkles?!!” She muttered, her cheeks getting red, in a stark realization of why the Alicorn in front of her looked so familiar, beneath her armor. “S-Sunset Shimmer?!?!”

“Yep. But not the one you know.” Tilting her head, Sunset continued to be amused by this superhero version of her wife.

Rainbow taped her muzzle with a hoof, pensively. “Wait. ‘Sunset Shimmer’, meaning the ‘hot’ punk unicorn you told us is your coworker?”

Hopping around giddily, teasing Twilight, Pinkie made kissy faces. “The ‘hot punk coworker’ you tooooootally don’t think is out of your league and toooootally don’t have a crush on??”

This made Twilight groan and fluster in embarrassment, and Sunset snicker with joy.

Widening her eyes in surprise, Applejack looked at Twilight in confusion. “Sunset Shimmer the punk girl that went ballistic and became a super villain a couple years ago?!”

Blowing raspberries, Sunset narrowed her eyes, at embarrassment of her other self. “...Yep. That’s the one.”

Fluttershy, still in her hulking monstrous form, roared in confusion at her friends, and Rainbow was quick to act.

“Eaaaasy, big guy!! Fight’s over!” she flew to the hulking monster’s shoulder and started petting her, while saying a couple of calming affirmations; And slowly, with a few quiet giggles, Fluttershy turned back into her normal, dainty pegasus self. “There ya go!” Dash gave her a smile before joining the others again.

Sunset had a grimace of disgust, and yet, respect for her shy friend having such power. “Wow. That’s grotesque. Good for you, Fluttershy.”

With a giggle, the pegasus approached her friends properly. “T-thank you, stranger! So are you the ‘Sunset Shimmer’ that Twilight gave a job position side by side with her at the mayor’s office?”

Twilight, still a bit embarrassed, turning to her hero friends, a bit frantic, gave them commands. “Radiance! Cage the Valkyrie, now!”

“Oh–-I guess, if you say so, darling!” With a wave of her horn, Rarity made a construct cage around Sunset, who didn’t even flinch. She merely looked at Twilight. “This really isn’t necessary, Twi. I can just teleport out of this, you know?”

“Mare-Velous! Ready the lasso of truth!!” Twilight commanded Applejack, who stepped forward, hesitantly to touch the fiery Alicorn.

And Sunset, of course, didn’t even flinch. “Whenever you’re done being suspicious of me, I have to tell you about that alien robot– It’s pretty important. I won't be in this universe for very much longer, so…”

“O-okay, y-you… Sunset! If that IS who you really are!” Twilight stood in front of the cage, having to look up to her prisoner, who, for the sake of practicality, decided to simply lay down and lounge, while smiling at her fearlessly and with amusement.

Applejack hesitantly approached the Valkyrie, and offered her the lasso, while she still held it with her teeth. “Um, tie this in your hoof or somethin, lady.”

The Princess of Valor complied, amusingly following along. The lasso began glowing as it was wrapped in one of her front legs.

“Okay, okay then!” Twilight scanned the prisoner with her gaze. “Who are you, really!! Why do you look like the Sunset Shimmer I know, except taller, and umm,”

“Buff as hell???” Pinkie asked, snickering.

“Super awesome and cool?” Rainbow chuckled along.

“Less sleep deprived?” Rarity giggled.

Blowing raspberries, Twilight frowned. “J-just answer the question, please, you…!”

Snickering, Sunset began talking, and found that through the effects of the lasso, she couldn’t stop. “I am Sunset Shimmer from another universe. One in which I’m married to you, and we’re both Princesses that will inherit Equestria. I miss you so much, even when I meet other versions of you– And it feels especially painful sometimes, like the multiverse is mocking me. So many worlds in which I actively avoided you, so many worlds in which I’m never close to you. I’ve been kind of pushing to get other versions of me to be with you, because I know that you were the best thing that ever happened to me; You’re everything, and I’m never surprised, whenever I go into a universe, and see you in a position of leadership and power, while retaining your humility and kindness, and it’s just so beautiful—”

“O-okay you can stop talking now!!” Twilight, flustering like hell, smiled sheepishly at the information dump that just crashed on her.

Sunset blinked a couple times, staring at the lasso that entangled her, and then looking back at the heroes. “Um. What exactly is this rope doing to me?”

Rarity giggled, bringing a hoof to her lips. “Sounds like the new hero in town has a thing for you, darling!”

Snickering, Rainbow dash side eyed Twilight. “Sounds like a lot more than just a thing, heheh.”

Hopping closer with a jokey giggle, Pinkie teased her leader. “Wow, congrats on the wedding, boss!”

Shaking herself off, ignoring her friend’s comments, Twilight tried letting go of the fluster, and asked her prisoner another question. “H-hey!! We’re not done! Sunset, um, why did you come here, and how?!”

And, through the effects of the lasso, the Valkyrie began talking and did not stop. “I’m not here on purpose– I’m cursed. I was cursed by somepony on my world, and every hour I’m shot into another universe, landing right next to the Sunset that lived or died in it. I just landed in the office on city hall, besides your Sunset, too– She doesn’t know you’re a superhero. Which, by the way, how does anypony not know? Hell, maybe I’m biased, but I’d recognize your cute face anywhere. Either way, I’ve been trying to help the universes I run into to pass the time, while I wait for my wife to pick me up– But I’m slowly realizing just how difficult that might be, and hesitantly accepting the idea that I might die long before she finds me—” Quickly, she untied the lasso off her hoof, teleported out of the cage, and stared at the floor, breathing heavily.

“U-um… Are you okay…?” Twilight asked, tilting her head in concern.

Shaking her head, the Valkyrie stepped closer. “I’m fine. Let’s continue.” She said, as AJ offered the lasso again, and she tied it once more, this time, uncaged.

“Okay, so… How do you know all of us, and our secret identities…?” Twilight asked, significantly calmer.

Exhaling, the Valkyrie spoke once more. “We’re best friends in my universe. We’re all part of a team– Me and my Twilight are the leaders, and we save the world often, much like all of you. It’s pretty hard not to recognize my friends, when I spend so much time with them day by day– But one thing that has been twisting at me in the multiverse, is that Sunset Shimmer– The other Sunset Shimmers; They are rarely if ever even close to being part of the team. I’m constantly seeing myself on the sidelines, or even further. I don’t know if I should feel lucky in my world, or just sad over the others– it’s so often that I see the six of you together, but so rarely am I ever a part of it, and it makes me feel–” She untied the lasso again, huffing, grunting.

“I-it's okay. Take your time…” Twilight nodded slowly, coming to terms with how the hero in front of her might truly be feeling.

Sniffling, Fluttershy winced. “G-gosh, that is just so sad…!”

All of the heroes regarded her with pity and confusion, the lasso of truth compelled her to speak her mind, and it was easy to notice she was hurting, but not physically.

“It’s fine.” Sunset tied the lasso on her hoof again. “C’mon, in less than an hour, I’ll be shot into the next universe, ask me about the robot.”

“O-okay…!” Twilight nodded, quickly glancing at the defeated machine behind the Valkyrie. “Okay, so… What is that thing, and how did you beat it so easily…?”

“That is only a scout– A scout of an ancient alien automaton hivemind, created only for war and harvesting planets, who are called ‘Argent’– There is no living being controlling it, the creators are long extinct, all they do is harvest planets and multiply, in perpetual war. That scout was here to scan the planet for its resources, and assess its threat level. If it was here, it’s possible that you’re due for an alien robot invasion in a month, but lucky for you, not nearly all of them are as tough as the scouts. They will come to harvest your planet of all its resources, and eliminate all of the living things here. I know all of this, because I beat them– Me, my friends, my wife, pretty much all of Equestria united as one to destroy them a year ago, and it was when me and my wife actually got married, funny enough. Despite being a war where all our friends and foes gathered together under the same banner of unity, all that really matters to me about that day is that in that battlefield in the skies, I realized I wanted to spend an eternity with Twilight Sparkle, and she realized the same, so–” She untied the lasso, her face getting redder, muttering in frustration. “I hate this fucking thing.”

Swooning a bit, Rarity added her two scents. “Awww, that is so romantic!~”

Applejack tilted her head in confusion. “Romantic??-- Rares they got married in a war!”

Shaking her head, before putting the lasso on again, Sunset addressed the leader. “Twilight, the Argent are serious business- I need to tell you as much information as possible so you can save your world, okay? Remember, I’ll only be in this universe for a little while longer!”

“Right!” Twilight nodded, and just then, Civilians finally started coming out to the buildings and streets, applauding and cheering for the battle the Power Ponies had just won. “Um, maybe we should continue this elsewhere…?”

“I’ll follow your lead.” Sunset smiled, with the obvious nostalgia of having said those same words to her wife an uncountable number of times.

“Alright, everypony!” Twilight beckoned the heroes, who followed her. “To the ‘Power Pony Penthouse’!”

Managing her two lives was always a struggle for our beloved hero, Twilight Sparkle– The great responsibility of being a hero that saves the city, and sometimes the world, matched by her responsibility of being a hard working mare on a day-to-day basis, both were in a constant battle for dominance of her attention!

A day after the incident with the alien robot, she went to work as usual, blessing her luck for the battle not having destroyed City Hall, after all, it was her workplace, and a place she loved to work in!

Greeting Mayor Celestia, attempting to be casual about the incident, she went straight for her object of interest at the moment, her coworker, Sunset Shimmer, who worked only a table away from her!

“Hey, Sparkles. I’d ask you if you heard about the giant robot attack, but it’s hard to ignore the huge crater in our front door, heh.” The Punk Unicorn smiled deviously, reveling on her casual courage, which could always be mistaken as a self destructive instinct by some!

“Y-yes!” Our hero nodded nervously, getting a bit closer to her coworkers desk, with a shy smile, adjusting her glasses! “U-um, it must have been pretty crazy!! Did you get to see it from up close…?”

With a shrug and a smile, the love interest of our hero drank a bit of coffee, before smiling at her, while touching her now replaced table! “Sorta. The Mayor dragged me outta the building before we could. But it’s kind of nuts– That robot was not the strangest thing that happened to me yesterday. The weirdest thing, right here…”

“Want to tell me over dinner?” Our hero gave her a toothy grin, suppressing her awkward fluster, as she took a courageous emotional leap forward! “I-I mean, after work, if you’d like, we could go out…?”

For a moment, Sunset simply analyzed her coworker with her gaze, but then she smiled, much to our hero’s relief– nodding! “Sure, why not.”

A huge wave of relief passed by our hero, as she sat back on her desk, and returned to work. She had a lot to worry over, a lot to consider and overthink– And now, on that list of worries, was a date with none other but her coworker, Sunset Shimmer!

She considered for a moment, the strangeness of having met another version of her coworker, one that was valiant, powerful– Maybe more powerful than any foe she had ever faced, maybe more powerful than any of her friends– And how that inspired her to commit to the feelings she might have towards Sunset Shimmer…!

Will Twilight manage to balance the responsibilities of being a hero, as she tries to balance a normal life?

Will Twilight manage to have a wonderful date with her coworker, in which none of her hero responsibilities interfere, where she can simply devote herself to a normal relationship with Sunset Shimmer?

Will a mighty alien invasion truly come to threaten our beloved Maretropolis?

Find out next time, on Power Ponies and the Ravenous Rampage of the Robotic Androids from another galaxy, part 1!

Author's Note

SUNSET SHIMMER VS THE ARGENT.

INFO: Sunset has not only beaten them before, but is even stronger than she was back then. A single scout is nothing, to the Valkyrie Phoenix, who can burn as fiercely as molten lava, melting through steel.

VERDICT: Another flawless victory from the Princess of Valor.

As you can see, some of these chapters are gonna get... Quite quirky. Some of them will very much be an experimentation with a different kind of narration style, some of them will have more flashbacks than others, this one? Just a fun excuse for me to shout out the Power Ponies, a surprisingly cute spinoff on gen 4 that I'm surprised didn't have more episodes regarding it.

Generally they picked the heroes rly well, matching the personality of the mane 6, and I think that's pretty fun! They already joked in EQG how the mane 6 are basicaly super heroes, so why not have that be literal, heh?

The masked matter horn! Behold!

Also the Hulk is my favorite, ngl. Having uncontrollable power be your power is really interesting, and it's specially funny when its on someone as cute and shy as friggin Fluttershy, of all people, lmao.

Some of these universes are gonna get a little wilder than the others! Some will be more grounded. This one? quirky.

Also I named the chapter like a captain underpants book, and on purpose. Those slap

And hey, I'm enjoying writing episodic stuff. I have some really derangedly fun ideas that will go insane on the membrane, later on, but I must contain myself! One step at a time!

Next chapter, vampires, heh.