Sensations spread through her as soon as she regained consciousness.

Pounding headache. Sore body. Dry throat. General exhaustion.

Sunset didn’t yet fully awake before she began shuffling. She felt her own sheets, her own mattress, and had little to no recollection of the night before. The textures told her she was in her apartment, but they weren’t enough to justify other sensations.

Consciousness came knocking as even with eyes closed she could see Sunlight bathing her room. That was her first reason to panic– Had her alarm not rung, or did she sleep through it?

Immediately after, her ears twitched. Noises from the kitchen– Someone was making breakfast, and the scent implied they weren’t very good at it. Her head shot up as she forced herself to rise from the pounding headache, sore body, and–

Final, and biggest reason to panic. She heard mumblings right next to her in bed; And not just that, there was a pony clinging to her side.

"Ladies and…. Gentlebwuh… Prepare to be amazed…!"

Her eyes widened, her adrenaline spiked and she felt both immense anger and panic. Trixie Lulamoon was sleeping in her bed.

“TRIXIE LULAMOON WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING IN MY BED!??!” She barked angrily, nudging the magician a bit harshly, who regained consciousness nearly immediately with a series of yelps and ‘eeks’.

To add to the panic, Starlight Glimmer’s voice could be heard– As her head peeked from the kitchen. “Oh! You’re finally awake! Don’t worry about breakfast, I’m trying something!”

“Starlight Glimmer why the fuck are you here?!” Her voice was sore, as was most of her, her energy was almost fully regained purely by her heart pounding so furiously in anger.

She seemed almost peppy, as she continued to cook. “Well, the bed was a bit crowded, and I was the first to wake up, so I thought I’d take some initiative!”

“W-why was the bed crowded?!” She nearly yelled in a panic, a vain futile question that her mind answered for her immediately, after all, it was pretty obvious.

From her side, Trixie scooched closer, wrapping hooves around her torso. “You’re so warm, hottie. C’mon, stop shuffling! Trixie needs her morning cuddles” As she made herself comfortable.

The display was both revolting and disgusting, and the Paladin quickly shoved her to the other side of the bed. “How the fuck did you two wind up sleeping in MY apartment?! What the hell happened last night?!”

Giggling, Trixie got in the most sexy position she could, which was decidedly, definitively unsexy, and quite revolting to the Paladin at the moment. “Is this your first hangover? Or is the first one this bad?”

“We were in PONYVILLE! How the hell did we get all the way to CANTERLOT?!”

“Bar hopping!” Starlight announced with a peppy demeanor from the kitchen. “You sort of took the reins of our carriage and showed us around town! It was unforgettable, hehe!”

“You got pretty frisky after you were a few glasses in.” Trixie raised an eyebrow in an infuriating manner. “It was kind of hard for us to drive the carriage and also pound it out–”

Sunset swiftly interrupted her with a pillow toss, striking true and directly on the magician's head, giving her a brief respite, where she could take a glance at the trashed nature of her apartment. Several articles of clothing and magician props laid about, what seemed like a full deck of cards was both scattered in the floor and in her bed, one of her curtains was completely torn, the crack in her wall was decidedly larger, and even from her bed she could see that her table was less broken, more shattered. “WHY DIDN’T WE JUST SLEEP IN THE CARRIAGE!?!”

“Oh you insisted on taking us here, actually!” Starlight amused herself “After all, you did crash the carriage. And then, um, well, broke all our hammocks inside the carriage. I’ll, uh, let you figure out how we did that by yourself.”

“Three’s a crowd, heheh.” Trixie snickered infuriatingly.

Sunset’s jaw was dropped both out of sheer incredulity and despair.

And the giggles of the magician laying beside her while her hoof was being traced on Sunset’s side unchastely didn’t help. “Hihihi… I love your sexy scars. I can’t wait to tell Twilight that I banged her bodyguard!! Oh, she is NEVER gonna live this down!” The sheer smugness on the voice of the magician was both revolting and infuriating, which nearly immediately prompted Sunset to choke her, a fact that she stopped herself from, due to being unsure of how much Trixie would enjoy it.

But there was another thing that stopped her. “Twilight— SHIT! Where is she?!? What did we do–”

“Still in Ponyville, probably!” Trixie shrugged, annoyed at the mention of her old ex-nemesis. “That little nerd always liked that backwater town.”

Starlight, unhelpfully from the kitchen, decided to weigh in. “Maybe she’s back here in Canterlot? You two did say something about catching a train here last night, right?”

Sunset’s panic twisted in her gut, or maybe that just was a nausea of her hangover. “Shit, fuck, SHIT! I’ve literally NEVER BEEN LATE!” And a quick glance to a window did not fill her with confidence. The Sun was high in the sky, it would likely be lunch time for some, soon. “No no nO!”

She quickly galloped around her apartment looking around frantically, passing by Starlight like a gust of wind, and whipping her head around desperately. “Where’s my armor?!?! I need to get to work, I’ve NEVER been late!!”

Trixie didn’t seem to have the energy nor constitution to get up, she was now laying upside down, watching the Paladin run around the apartment. “Your ‘costume’ is all over our carriage floor. Which is a mess, after we crashed, btw~.”

“GAH!” Sunset shouted loudly, bucking a wall, sending cracks into it. “First I fuck up, then I leave to get insanely drunk, then I fuck my Princess’s old enemies, then I trash my apartment, then I MISS MY SCHEDULE?!!”

Silence fell down the apartment, intercut only by the Paladin’s angry breaths.

The two other unicorns grimaced, exchanging glances at each other. Starlight was the first to speak, approaching Sunset sympathetically while wearing a greasy apron that likely belonged in their now trashed carriage, with the message ‘kiss the cook’ on it. “Gosh, you must really be doing bad, huh? Last night you were so sad, saying you had screwed up, and needed to… Trix, how did she put it?”

“Get butt-fuck-drunk?” The Magician giggled from the bedroom.

“The point is–” Starlight nodded affectionately. “--You’re being too hard on yourself! You shouldn’t worry so much. You’re working yourself to the bone and you deserve a break! Go wash your face, get yourself hydrated, we’ll take care of you!” She gave Sunset a kiss on the cheek, which the Paladin was surprised to not be repulsed nor revolted from, simply accepting it with resignation.

And with a final snicker, Starlight showcased her excitement. “And after all that, enjoy my premium caramel sliced apples!” She announced proudly.

“The apples are burning.” Sunset pointed at the stove, with the smoke being the clearest indicator.

With a quick yelp, Starlight’s attention was turned to the burning breakfast once more.

One thing was clear and cut, Sunset was in absolutely no condition to show up at work at the moment. She grabbed some cold water and desperately guzzled it as she made her way to the kitchen.

Sweet, sweet hydration. The cold both cleared the dry and focussed her mind– None of which was pleasant to focus on.

As she passed by the bed, Trixie made kissy faces at her, and was met with the flick of Sunset’s tail slapping her down.

She entered the bathroom and shut the door, immediately letting out an enormous sigh.

Turning on the sink was an act of desperation, splashing water in her face was an act of healing. Her eyes were baggy– Nothing new, but noticeably worse. Her mane, as long as ever, was incredibly unkempt, even more than usual.

She looked at her reflection and was met with the clearest, most simple revelation.

“I need to get my shit together. I NEED to get my shit together.”

It was a blank mantra– She had no idea what being held together firmly even meant– that concept was alien to her, it had been for a really long time.

She exhaled again, her head was feeling a bit better, but it wasn’t fixed, not by a long shot. That headache would accompany her through her entire day, that much she could tell with certainty.

And maybe she deserved it, for having screwed up this bad in the first place. She just hoped Twilight would forgive her for not only her insubordination, but her immense stupidity. She was well aware she would never be forgiven for laying with Trixie Lulamoon, but that much was a given, she would never forgive herself.

Slowly, the previous night was coming into focus.

She had embarrassed herself in front of Twilight– She didn’t even know why she wanted her bender to be a strong secret, but it was spilled thanks to Pinkie, and to make it worse, Sunset ran from the ensuing conversation.

It was secrecy for the sake of professionalism, she told herself.

And directly after that, she drank herself to a stupor with two ex-enemies of her Princess– A fact that was both infuriating, and exhausting. Clearly she had had fun running away from her problems.

With another sigh, she stretched. Self pity party was over, she must have had plenty of it when she was ‘butt-fuck-drunk’, either way. She quickly glanced around before exiting the bathroom, and…

“Why the FUCK is my bathtub BROKEN?!”

“Because three frisky mares were in it, duh!” Trixie snickered to herself from outside of the bathroom.

‘Broken’ was generous, her poor bathtub was shattered. She shivered in anger, blowing steam from her nostrils. “My landlord is going to lose his SHIT!” She announced to the rest of the apartment, and received no response.

She opened the door fiercely, and stomped out. “Trixie; Get out of my bed, NOW.” She commanded.

The tone made the magician comply immediately, with a wince, running to the kitchen, slipping on her own cape (which was carelessly crumpled on the floor) and crashing against a cupboard.

Her frown quickly formed into a mournful grimace as she gazed at her wall– Several of the precious photos of the recent weeks were clumsily on the floor.

Hastingly, she began gathering and rearranging, and was immediately met with irritating surprise.

Several of the pictures both in the floor and the wall were of last night; Of her, Starlight and Trixie. She couldn’t deny that she at least seemed to be having a lot of fun in the images depicted; Wild untamed joy, with no inhibitions, drunken bliss.

Starlight’s giggle was heard, as she shot a quick glance to the Paladin, and her photo wall. “I like that wall! It’s cute. It’s important to keep memories of your friends! And, uh, lovers, I suppose!” She broke out into another snicker.

“Well, at least Butt-fuck-drunk Shimmer was having fun.” Sunset grumbled, frowning starkly.

Her gaze quickly met a couple of pictures that must have been taken on the carriage and her apartment– Pictures that were decidedly unchaste, of the three mares intertwined savagely. “I’m, uh, not hanging some of these– Why the hell did we even take these?!”

“Your idea, actually!” Starlight had to contain her laughter. “You seemed pretty keen on that camera of yours. You said something about wanting to remember everything? It was exciting!”

She absolutely could not hang those pictures on a wall that would be seen by any visitor. “Yeah, I’m, uh, not hanging these.” She reaffirmed.

“Then yoink!” Trixie snickered, swiping the pictures with a flick of her cape all too agile for a hangover mare. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is keeping these for posterity! And for bragging rights– And maybe for blackmail!”

“You won’t live to blackmail me with those if you try.” Sunset snarled, making the magician fold instantly. “But whatever. Keep them. How's breakfast, Glimmer?” She exhaled in resignation.

“Done!” The unicorn proclaimed from the kitchen.

“Overdone!” Trixie mocked her, from the same location.

This was followed by the sounds of the two mares both slapping each other with their tails, then kissing.

Sunset sighed. This bender was getting out of control. She needed to go to work, and be incredibly professional.

…As professional as one could be, given the splitting headache..

Starlight tapped a hoof, humming to herself while serving a few plates.

“Um, we are distinctively lacking a table!” Trixie suppressed laughter, at the wooden mess on the kitchen floor.

“Sunset, help me with this? Two hungover mares are better than one, here…!” Starlight gave her an awkward smile, pointing at the shards of what used to be a table.

Sunset nodded, and the two got to work. Together, it was significantly easier, considering how they were both exhausted.

Slowly but surely, the splinters remended, as blue and red magic glows intertwined, and reshaped the furniture, back to its original forms.

“Lesson learned, eh?” Trixie spoke distractingly, while not helping. “Two mares banging on a table! Okay. Three? Nuh uh!”

The two other mares ignored her and continued to work, and efficiently, the table was back on its prime, and Starlight swiftly set it, with the three gathering around it. The paladin allowed herself only a moment of silent respect towards her helper, who seemed more competent in magic than she had let on.

Sunset wasn’t eating in a hurry. She literally did not have the energy to do so, simply letting her gaze wander, her vision blur.

She was pleasantly surprised to taste that breakfast was not completely ruined, and made the simple connection that Starlight was likely the cook of the relationship between the magician mares.

“I think I prefer drunk Sunset.” Trixie affirmed while munching, giving her a side eye. “Sober Sunset is really broody.”

Starlight gave her a quick hoof slap from under the table, and a look. “Trixie. You heard all the things she said last night, she has ample reason to be broody, so don’t judge.” She muttered, more than audible enough.

Trixie was halfway through an apologetic shrug before Sunset spoke.

“What did I say last night?” The question was muttered without emotion, plainly, out of morbid curiosity.

The two mares exchanged awkward glances, with face journeys, as if they were having an entire conversation telepathically.

“Well, um, a lot of things. Hard to remember them all, hahah!!” Starlight laughed nervously, taking a bite to force herself to shut up.

“Oh, a few things come to mind.” Trixie smiled deviously, grinning at the Paladin and once again raising a single eyebrow in an infuriating manner. “I recall a rather amusing commentary regarding Twilight Snarkle.”

Starlight swiftly shushed her, a gesture of reprimanded shame, but Sunset shook her head. “I want to know.” She commanded sternly.

“You said you’d rather die than watch her grow taller than you.” Trixie giggled to herself, with an amused shrug. “Oh, the tragedy of the little nerd getting an alicorn growth spurt. She’s going to be infuriating when she can look down on all of us, isn’t she?”

Sunset had no response, she just looked down bitterly, pursing her lips and clenching her jaw.

“C’mon, Twilight is always going to be humble!” Starlight professed wisely. “She’s not going to be a stuffy ruler– That much I’d bet money on!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t bet anything.” Trixie once again giggled, with that shit-eating grin. “You also said something about being terrified of dying of old age because of your mother? Something about wanting to die in battle?”

Sunset’s eyes widened as her glance went even lower.

“Oh yeah, that did confuse me–” Starlight tilted her head analytically. “You said something about your mother not aging? Do you have an immortal parent??”

“Oh! Do spill the lore!!~” Trixie nudged her giddily.

“I don’t, she’s not–” She bit her tongue, shaking her head, centering herself. “She’s not my mother. I-I mean I don’t have a mother! I was drunk, said stupid shit. Forget that.” She commanded sternly.

With a devious snicker, Trixie nudged the Paladin. “I mean, just saying, we could keep a secret, if theoretically, let’s say, you’re a demigod–”

“I’m not. Shut up.”

“Coulda fooled me, hottie.” Trixie winked while chewing her breakfast, actions that forced Sunset to simply groan.

“Oh, you also said something about… Wanting to protect the Princess until you die! So not all bad, I guess?” Starlight nodded pensively. “You talked a lot about death when you were drunk.”

Trixie gently and annoyingly caressed Sunset’s cheek, of which the Paladin swatted away. “Poor thing. Being in service of Twilight Sparkle for years must have been awful...”

“I hate you.”

“That's not what you said last night.” Trixie’s grin grew even wilder.

This prompted Sunset to rest her forehead uncomfortably on the table, and let out a sigh that held a couple thousand emotions at once.

Silence lingered for a moment, until Starlight spoke while chewing. “Are you, uh, okay?”

“No.” Sunset responded obviously.

Silence once more.

“I’ve never fucked up worse than this.” She muttered dryly, eyes closed, forehead on the table.

“Welcome to the club, heh…!” Starlight let out a weary chuckle.

“Look at us! Wow!” Trixie clapped her hooves. “We’re like the fuck-up trio!”

Sunset tilted her head slightly, and opened a single eye, looking at Starlight, who sighed, with a tired smile. “I, well…” She shrugged, and spilled the beans. “I was a cult leader; Very small village, to the northeast. Twilight beat me… Then I got consumed with the power of a nekromantic crown when trying to get revenge, and… Twilight saved me.”

Trixie giggled, adding to it. “I tried challenging her on a magic competition, she whooped me, then a duel, she whooped me again, then I trapped her on an cursed magical maze, she whooped it too, then I got consumed by the power of an evil amulet trying to get payback, and she saved me from it!”

“Wow, took you a while to learn, huh.” Sunset commented dryly, suppressing her own amusement, then she shook her head lightly, still resting her forehead. “I… Failed as a pupil of Celestia and got consumed by forces of darkness from the moon who turned me into a demon, then I rampaged in the castle, then Celestia banished me to a temple of darkness for two years… Then Twilight saved me.”

The two mares shared an understanding nod, and Starlight couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle. “Wow, we’re birds of a feather, aren’t we…?”

“And one common denominator…” Sunset muttered, thinking of Twilight Sparkle, in her endless quest for simply improving the lives of everyone around her, including her enemies.

The Paladin inhaled, done feeling pity for herself. She raised her head, and swallowed the rest of her food hastingly. “I have to go to work.” She stated plainly. “If I see you two here when I’m back, it better be because you’re cleaning.”

“We kind of have to be here– You crashed our carriage, remember?” Starlight gave her an awkward smile.

Trixie pouted and gave her big pleading eyes. “Can we pweeeeease stay until we fix our carriage?”

“Don’t worry, I promise we’ll tidy up!” Starlight assured, and weirdly enough, her promise counted enough for the Paladin, who nodded, with a sigh.

“Okay, fine.” She exhaled in resignation. “You two can stay. But I’m serious about cleaning up– And I’m sleeping on the couch if you two aren’t out of here by nightfall.”

Trixie booed the statement, crossing her arms in annoyance, while the other just shrugged and nodded with a smile.

“A couple of things!” Starlight raised a hoof. “First, don’t worry, we’ll take care of cleaning, and I’ll help you find the pieces of your armor. Secondly, tell Twilight we’re sorry for prying you from her!”

Sunset merely let out a grumble, for the admitted truth was that she was the one that ran away most cowardly, and she was openly, angrily ashamed.

Starlight’s voice turned to almost a shameful whisper. “Oh, and um, thirdly. You may want to get checked for fleas.”

“What.”

“What’s yours is mine, hottie!!” Trixie proclaimed while nudging her, an act that was now recontextualized, as Sunset glared at the magician’s fur.

“I need to get the fuck out of here” The words left the Paladin’s mouth robotically, immediately, as she stood from the table towards the door.

Trixie, still giggling to herself, waved goodbye. “And hey, if the bodyguard thing doesn’t work out, you’ll always have a spot in our carriage! I mean, it’ll be tight, but we can make the squeeze if you know what I mean–”

“I would honestly rather die.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe!”

Starlight, clearing her throat, stood, and accompanied the Paladin. “Um! Here! I’ll show you to the carriage, and help you get your armor.”

Sunset shot a single glance at the two of them before opening the door. “If anything happened to Twilight while I was busy with you two, I swear, I’m going to–”

“--Relax, hottie!” Trixie shrugged with entirely unearned confidence. “She was spending one night alone in Ponyville. What’s the worst that could have happened?”

THIS IS A RANSOM NOTE FROM THE FOLLOWERS OF TIREK.

WE HAVE TAKEN YOUR PRECIOUS PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP.

IF YOU WISH TO REGAIN HER UNHARMED, FOLLOW OUR DEMANDS:

- A SINGLE COURIER MUST DELIVERED A MILLION BITS IN GOLD TO OUR HIDEOUT IN MOSSHOOF HALL, EDGE OF EVERFREE WOODS, NORTHEAST.

- OUR LORD TIREK MUST BE FREED FROM HIS BINDS OF TARTARUS.

- YOU MUST COWER BEFORE THE NEW AGE OF THE MAGIC EATER.

Failure to comply with our demands will result in ill fate for your precious Princess, who will be returned to you with clipped wings and broken horn.

Comply today, and do not try any tricks, the Queens must not interfere, or else.

Her breathing intensified. Her nerves rose, as she began seeing red, all her muscles tensed. There was nothing in the world, except that note.

No throne room, no Queens watching her read it with worry, no expectations, no Twilight Sparkle.

It was her, and her rage.

“Those fools actually believe we would free their master.” Luna spoke in a snide snarl. “Tartarus will be his forever home.”

“They have certainly gotten daring…! But we cannot trust any demands. After all, Tirek would want to drain an Alicorn, and they have one in captivity– They will never let Twilight go. This is a problem…” Celestia’s voice was filled with significantly more worry than her sister, as her gaze turned to the Paladin. “Sunset, I hoped you would have accompanied Twilight to Ponyville? can we count on you to–”

This was her direct fault, her direct failing. This was the consequences of her idiocy, her lack of restraint, her incredible, unavoidable, unbelievable failing.

Her headache hangover continued to pound around her skull, her lack of proper nutrition didn’t help either.

She thought her morning was bad.

Her day had only gotten started.

She stomped a single, fierce hoof on the ground, as she dropped the note on the floor absentmindedly. “--I’m going to go get her.” She said simply, with a snarl, immediately turning around. “And I’m going to kill them all.” Leaving, she immediately broke into a gallop.

“Save a few for questioning, swee–” Celestia called out to her, and immediately reprimanded herself for almost using a pet name, old habits, deja vu. “Ahem. We should gather the royal guard to send after her, for the sake of diligence. I’d like Sunset to have back up.”

“...And we are allowing her to go alone?” Luna blinked a few times in confusion. “Is she not going against an entire cult?”

“Oh yes, you haven’t seen her on duty yet, have you?” Celestia smiled, on the realization of how recently Luna had been here– Simply glad her back. Her gaze moved to her old pupil, with a sigh. “It would be harder to stop her from rescuing Twilight than to simply let her go do her duty. Her methods are… Unpreferred, but efficient.”

“Is she capable of doing this?” Luna wasn’t one to worry, but she had grown to care for the Paladin. “How well did you train her, sister?” She asked analytically, observing the sight of Sunset leave the throne room, determinedly running towards an entire battalion’s worth of cultists.

Celestia exhaled, shaking her head, knowing what would come next. “Too well.”

Mosshoof hall had been a beautiful manor, once upon a time. The owners were rich, not abundantly, but more than enough to build a gorgeous manor in the edge of the Everfree forest, quietly distant from any major town, comfortable, and pretty.

This was all in the past. Tirek’s cult that had taken it over had made themselves at home, by trashing it. Marks of their master were painted or torn in most walls, plenty of paintings were either taken to be sold or used as kindled fire, many of the wall’s paints torn and damaged, plenty of carpets were filthy, and for Twilight, one of the bigger crimes– They had emptied most shelves of books and used those as kindling too.

Getting cold on the edge of Everfree was no excuse.

There were worse fates, however. After all, she had seen what remained of the owners, the cultists made sure of that. Strung up and burned by the entrance, as a warning, as scarecrows, to any other pony that thought it was safe to come near this building.

She had met them before at parties and galas– And they did not deserve this. To her, no one did.

She wasn’t entirely sure of the timeframe, but by the sun outside the windows, she could tell that almost a full day had passed… And no sign of rescue.

She was bound to chains in nearly every limb, horn included, ensuring she could not cast magic, and it was quite uncomfortable– The chains were connected to the walls, ceiling and floor, set up in the middle of a room like she was a display, or an offering. The room had nearly no decorations, but it had windows and several of her kidnappers.

The cultists around her all chatted, sitting by tables, eating and drinking, mostly only addressing her when they wanted to threaten or tease, neither of which were a good experience for her. She had tried counting them, but there were a lot of rooms in the mansion, and it was safe to say that there were dozens of them. Maybe even a hundred.

There were two leaders, a mare and a stallion, both unicorns, both branded themselves with Tireks mark, and were often arguing. Through careful listening, she had discerned that the former was named Sapphire and the later was named Twig.

“You know… Tirek has no guarantees for you. For any of you!” Twilight tried getting their attention, and several ponies indeed turned their heads towards her. “Your cult is one sided, he might not even know you exist– You’ll just be food to him, if he’s ever freed…!”

“Enough, already! I’m tired of your stupid friendship speeches!” Sapphire snarled at her. “Can’t you just be a quiet little hostage?!”

“It’s not a friendship speech, I promise!” Twilight recoiled, intimidated. “What I’m saying is perfectly logical– There is not a single legend or history book that ever tells tales of Tirek being merciful, much less benevolent. He’s a magic eater– All magic. That includes all of you!” She was genuinely concerned for their safety.

“Please. If we are loyal and free him, of course he’ll grant us mercy as he consumes Equestria. It’s inevitable!” Twig shrugged, ignoring her words.

“Ugh, at least catching her was easy. Wait for a night where her bodyguard isn’t around, then just take her.” The other leader grumbled, rolling her eyes. “And if you start ‘friendship speeching’ again, I swear I’m hurting you.” Snarling, she flared her horn.

Twilight tried her absolute best not to be intimidated. Her legs were sore, so were her wings, all bound by chains, and the threats they had made to mutilate her were still echoing in her mind. It was cruelty at its finest, stripping an alicorn of her wings and horn as a statement would affect all of Equestria.

Still, inhaling deeply, she tried her best to keep composure. “Magic eating is not a natural thing; And it is hostile to all living things! I understand, you’re all hanging on to hope and despair, all at once!” She addressed all of them, clumsily trying to spin on her chains, to look at as many of them as possible. “You think his escape from tartarus is inevitable, it isn't! You think he is infallible, he isn’t! And worst of all, you think that the only solution is blind loyalty to a being that does not love you!”

There were several ponies around her second guessing themselves, looking around seeking for disapproval or approval of their feelings. Twilight persisted, trying her best to inspire change. “You have to understand– Only the worst of the worst get put on Tartarus. Those we can’t negotiate with, those we can’t save…! look around you, all of you! None of you are beyond saving!”

She tried her absolute best to remain sympathetic, to appeal, to have all of their attention. “I don’t see hopeless cases, when I see you. I see ponies that might have done bad things– But can be better! Your lives aren’t over, there is still so much you can do!” Were she free of chains, she would have gestured even more, as she gave them earnest smiles. “I get it– you’re scared… I’m scared too! Sometimes, you hurt people… And then you just have to keep living! You have to keep trying!”

The room was substantially quieter now.

She raised her head with not confidence, but hope. “And I know that all of you could use all the energy you have here, to work together and contribute onto making Equestria a better place–”

She was interrupted by a swift, painful hoof slap from Sapphire directly on the jaw, quieting both her words and movement instantly.

“That was a friendship speech.” The leader snarled with anger, forcing Twilight to look at her. “Try that shit again and a slap will be the least of your worries.”

The Princess remained quiet, wincing, with shallow breaths as her eyes watered from the pain– She couldn’t even bring a hoof to her cheek to feel it or massage it, and the pain was radiating through.

She wondered if she had been in worse situations, she wondered if this would get even worse, and she wondered what would become of her.

The leader looked around angrily. “Well? What are you all looking at? The plan remains the same! Wait for the money then we bail! Hail Tirek!”

Everyone around her repeated the chant, which only served for Twilight’s ears to droop lower.

Whimpering quietly, Twilight closed her eyes, wondering if she could try sleeping in this uncomfortable position, and just hoped that the next day would be better, that rescue would come as she slept.

“Don’t fall asleep, now.” Twig commanded, nudging her awake. “You’re done when we’re done.”

Twilight could barely muster a frown or a glare– She mostly felt awful. All of her usual methods of dealing with her opponents had failed and she now started thinking of the worst possibilities.

“Sunset, where are you…?” She muttered to nothing, pleading to the very air.

And she got her answer.

The room shook, dust falling from the ceiling, in fact, the entire manor shook, and a sound akin to rubble or debris collapsing was heard, multiple floors below. Every habitant of the room tensed up.

“F-finally!” A smile perked up in her lips, as she let out an immense sigh of relief.

“Was that an earthquake?” One of the cultists asked, clutching his glass.

Several murmured around both agreeing and disagreeing. Twilight cleared her throat, and was almost giddy. “There are no unstable tectonic plates on central Equestria! If you want Earthquakes, you’d have to go much farther, in any cardinal direction! –Though northern Equestria is pretty stable as well!”

A scream was heard from a few floors below, and then several. She kept smiling.

“Squad A, go check it out.” With a shrug Twig commanded.

“Aww, there’s guys downstairs! They’ll take care of it!” A pony who was in the middle of a wonderful game of cards protested it. “Can’t some of the other floors do it?”

More screams. Indistinct shouting, sounds of magic and clashes, easy to recognize even from this far. A massive thud was heard, as if a door had collapsed, or an entire closet was flung.

“We might be under attack!” Ears twitching, Sapphire tensed up, and barked orders. “Go NOW squad A! And then come tell us who it was when you’re done dispatching them.”

Begrudgingly, with groans of dissatisfaction, a squad of ten ponies left the room.

The two leaders addressed each other, and Twilight listened attentively.

“You think the Queens wouldn’t hold up their end? Like c’mon, a million bits isn’t even too much for them to fork over, right?” Twig murmured in annoyance. “I was expecting them to stall freeing Tirek, but–”

“They probably sent somepony in disguise instead of a courier, to try to rescue the Princess, fuckin’ morons.” The other leader snarled. “We’ll cut them down to size, and send them back to the Queens in a box–”

They were interrupted by another explosion, the room shuddered, dust fell from the ceiling, and then more screams.

Still indistinct, but getting closer.

A few worried glances were shot around, a few murmurs and grumbles.

Twilight kept smiling confidently.

“Ahem. As I was saying. They probably sent a squad of saviors to rescue her– A whole team– Won’t be enough, though. We’ve got the numbers.” Sapphire spoke loud enough, almost as if to assure the others around her. “We WILL win this day. Hail Tirek!”

The chant was less enthusiastic this time.

“You know…!” Twilight got their attention, innocently fidgeting. “It’s not too late to surrender. Everypony walks out of this alive and okay!”

More screams– A horrible crunching noise was heard from below, occasionally a shout or a yell was interrupted by an explosion, or sickening indistinct sounds.

Twilight just blinked innocently. “Nopony else has to get hurt, if you surrender and let me go…?”

“Shut it, Princess. Do you want me to hit you again?!” Sapphire barked, approaching her menacingly.

This prompted the Princess to immediately be quiet, which only emphasized the screams in the distance, and the sounds of fighting.

“Squad B–” The leader couldn’t even finish the sentence before they heard the distinct noise of a chandelier crashing on another floor.

“...That was one floor below.” Twig’s eyes widened. “They’re, um, getting closer.”

“SQUAD B! Go support the others!!” Clearly shaken, Sapphire commanded, questionably hiding the hesitation in her voice. This time, the cultists did not hesitate, even if they were wary.

As they left the room, the leaders peeked out of the door, and saw no evidence of fighting, simply heard more and more audible screams of battle, and what looked like the light of fire magic.

Approaching the Princess with anger, Sapphire shoved her threateningly. “Alright, Princess. Who’s out there? Does Celestia have some form of elite squad??!”

“Not by my recollection?” Twilight replied innocently. “But if you’re worried, you could always surrender–”

With a yell of anger, the leader slapped the Princess again, who was at least a little bit more ready this time, but not nearly enough not to feel it.

Twilight had been feeling bad for the fate that would befall her captors, but slowly, that feeling was fading, the pain was too distracting for her to feel sorry.

“Easy! She’s our bargaining chip.” One leader held the other back, keeping his ears angled towards the door. “If we need a hostage, or even a shield, we’ll use her.”

“Ugh, I’m sick of her dainty little face.” The other shuddered in anger. “Maybe we should just–”

The screams were getting closer, and they heard a sound that could only be described as an entire piano flying through the air and crashing through the floor, and then some.

“T-that’s our floor. The piano–” Twig’s eyes widened, and the other leader shuddered. “Squad C, D and E, GO GO GO! The others need backup, go NOW!”

The groups hesitated, looking at each other, and the silence was filled with screams.

Twilight didn’t say another word, as she quietly winced at the pain.

“What are you idiots waiting for?! There’s like TWENTY of you!! Go!!!”

The squads waited no longer, running out of the room, some taking weapons like crossbows and bats with them. A quick peek of the open door showed a few cultists being hurled violently into the air at the end of the hall, even one that was completely and entirely engulfed in flames running around in a panic, and signs of full walls having been torn down. Parts of the manor seemed to be on fire now, and yet, the rooms beyond seemed darker.

With the squads leaving hastingly, it was only the two leaders and Twilight now.

And the screams persisted, even closer now, unmistakable– The sounds of battle were now distinct enough that the mind could wander and make vivid interpretations.

Some of the cultists were calling whatever they were fighting a monster, most were just screaming.

“WHAT'S OUT THERE?!” Sapphire addressed Twilight again, a bit desperate this time. “WHAT’S COMING FOR US?!”

“You had your chance.” Twilight muttered, bitterly at her. “I gave you every chance…!”

The leader pulled the Princess close, baring her teeth. “What is out there, and how do we kill it?”

“Hurting me will only make her angrier.” Twilight spoke with a confident smile. “Your last chance is to run now. And I mean now.”

The silence between their words were accentuated with the sounds of battle and struggle, closer still.

“M-maybe we should listen to her?!” Twig whimpered, retreating behind the Princess, keeping his eye on the door, seeing flashes of light and magic below it. With a swift spell, he ensured the door was closed and locked.

“Like HELL!” the other barked, but the courage was gone from her voice. She stood directly beside the princess, and pointed her horn at her neck, waiting worryingly for the moment she would or wouldn’t have to do it.

The screams and sounds of battle were incredibly close now– maybe in the hallway right outside their door, and the sounds they heard were distinct.

Some of them were begging for mercy, others were shouting regarding which limbs of them were broken, or severed.

Some were shouts of deserters, yelling at others to just run.

Windows were broken, wood became splinters, flesh became splatters.

Distinctively, a large tearing, meaty sound, followed by a splatter, and more screams.

The sound of breaking wood, as if an entire wall had been punched through.

The doorknob rattled, as desperate whimpering could be heard from the other side. They heard one of their fellow cultists begging to be let in, pounding fearfully on the door.

A scream of pain followed the sound of crunching bone– then a slice, and silence.

The silence was what made them panic the most– All they could hear was their own panicked breathing. Not a peep was heard in the entire manor anymore.

Slow, methodical, heavy footsteps were heard behind the door. Incredibly slow, as if premeditating their every move.

“I’LL SLICE HER THROAT IF YOU COME INSIDE, I’M WARNING YOU!” Sapphire bellowed, sweating, as she lit her horn, pointing it at Twilight's neck.

Silence. The blood of their comrade was now seeping from below the door.

“I-I’m warning you!! Get the fuck out of here, or I’ll tear her pretty little throat!!” She repeated, hopelessly.

No footsteps. No sign of life whatsoever beyond that door.

Twilight sniffled, frowning. “You shouldn’t have done that.” She muttered, addressing the Leader.

The leaders kept their gaze on the door, breathing frantically, and as the seconds passed, the fear rose.

And soon enough, something else worried them.

Despite the open windows, the room seemed to get darker, as if the sunlight was being blocked, either by curtains drawn, or anything else. Color itself seemed to be draining from around them.

Their gaze left the door, and now they were looking around frantically, and Twilight no longer had a horn against her throat, and while the cultists were terrified, back to back, glancing around, the Princess was entirely calm.

As if all windows had been blocked by darkness, as if there was a spotlight on only the ponies, the room became entirely bleak. The light from their horns seemed to do nothing.

Twilight spoke only once. She knew she only needed to say one thing to get this moving along.

“The one on the right slapped me. Twice.” She stated firmly, pointing out Sapphire.

“W-what?!” The cultist cried out, her gaze turning back on the Princess. “N-no I didn’t!! She’s lying!! She’s a little—” She tried addressing the darkness, but her response was swift. From a corner of the room, pitch black clawed hands and tendrils extended incredibly fast, wrapped themselves around her, and pulled her screaming and thrashing into the dark. Sapphire tried casting one or two magic blasts ineffectively, before it was over.

Silence followed quickly. No crash, no crunch, no slice, her voice simply ceased to be as soon as she was out of sight, and there was no sign of her.

The other leader was wiser, even if not terrified. He threw himself before the Princess, bowing, afraid for his life. “O-OKAY I’M SORRY! I SURRENDER! PLEASE! LET ME GO, THIS WHOLE CULT WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA, PLEASE JUST LET ME GO–” He continued to whimper endlessly, shooting glances at all his sides.

Twilight knew exactly where her savior was. She looked up to the ceiling, and saw a familiar pair of turquoise eyes shining in the dark, looking at her. It moved, as soon as the cultist began begging.

Slowly, as if part of shadows herself, Sunset Shimmer, upside down, walked from the ceiling to the wall, with the posture akin to that of a predator, seemingly unaffected by gravity, as if she was phasing through matter.

The shadows left her, perfectly meshed with her obsidian armor, as the Paladin reached the floor, and the whimpering cultist still hadn’t noticed her. The primary color in the room came from the blood she was drenched in.

Her expression was completely, entirely blank, except for her narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows, her entire way of movement implied both combat and murder.

“Sunset. No more.” Twilight commanded, with a smile, just happy to see her again.

The Paladin froze instantly, shooting a glance to the Princess, and the cultist finally noticed her– And he did not attempt to attack nor flee, he simply cowered.

The Unicorn made motions to advance, with the face entirely blank. “He hurt you. They all hurt you.” She spoke with a bitter, raspy snarl, eyes focussed on her prey.

“And you hurt them. It’s over– No more eye-for-an-eye. You’ve beaten them, so let’s just go…!”

Silence, only interrupted by the whimpering of the cultist, and the haggard breathing of the Paladin, who silently exchanged a look with the Princess.

“No more.” Twilight commanded one more time.

Silently, the Paladin approached the cowering cultist, and snarled plainly. “Go to the corner of the room. If you make a peep, I will kill you.” She promised.

After a brief, obedient shuffle, the room was quiet once more, and Sunset finally exited her battle stance, letting out a huge, weary exhale.

Color and light returned to their surroundings, the sun was setting outside, somewhere.

Her armor was drenched in blood, and had a few dents. She had more than a few bruises, one even forced an eye to not open as well as the other, her nose was bleeding, implying direct impact, and she distinctively had a broken arrow in her backside, piercing a blind spot in her armor.

Finally, her expression wasn’t blank anymore, she could demonstrate her pain and relief.

“I’m sorry.” Princess and Paladin both muttered in unison.

Sunset was so surprised to hear it, she let the Princess keep speaking. “I’m sorry! There were so many of them, I didn’t want to start a fight– I thought I could talk it out, I really, really tried…! It seemed to be working, but… It just didn’t, in the end. Maybe if I had just fought to begin with, none of this would have happened…!”

Blinking a few times in utter surprise, Sunset shook her head fiercely. “Princess, it’s my fault. I fucked up. If I was in Ponyville last night, this never would have happened. I… I’m so, so fucking sorry it took me so long to get you.”

And somehow, Twilight was peppy. “W-well, it’s like Celestia says! Better late than never!”

She couldn’t help but chuckle in response, a weary, pained chuckle that almost ended in a cough. She approached the Princess, inspecting her wounds gently. “They hit you, didn’t they? Those fucking savages–” A flash of anger appeared in her face.

“--It’s over. You beat them. No more violence, okay?” With a pout, Twilight commanded.

Her rage was extinguished instantly, and she nodded obediently, with relief. “...Okay.”

Swiftly, yet carefully, Sunset lit her horn like a blowtorch, and began freeing the Princess of her chains, holding her to ensure she wouldn’t be hurt.

And soon enough, Twilight was free, the chains tossed aside, and she sighed in relief.

“Can you walk?” Sunset asked almost with a whisper.

“I-I don’t think so– Those chains forced me to stand, I’m really, really sore…” Twilight bent and stretched her legs and wings, then simply beheld the Paladin. “...Could you carry me?”

“Twilight I’m… Covered in blood.” Sunset gestured to her armor, which was indeed filthy. “I don’t think–”

The Princess silenced her with a single hoof to her lips. “Well I think I’m tired and sweaty enough not to mind. Please just carry me out of here…!”

With a sigh and a smile, she nodded obediently. “Of course, my Princess.”

With one horn movement, Sunset lit the chains that laid on the floor, and they rapidly bound the whimpering cultist in the corner, violently pinning him on the floor. She paid him no more mind after that.

The motion they did was rehearsed, after all, they had done this before. Twilight made herself comfortable on the Paladin’s back, and simply exhaled with relief, of finally being rescued, making herself comfortable.

Sunset said no more as she approached the door. Before she even reached it, Twilight quietly stopped her. “Wait! Um…! How many did you kill…?”

“...More than you’re comfortable with.” She responded almost with an embarrassed whisper. “I can… Go through the window, if you’d prefer.”

With a quick reminder that they were on the fourth floor, Twilight shook her head with resignation. “N-no, no, I don’t want to fly or jump or teleport or anything right now– Let’s just walk.”

Sunset hovered a hoof over the doorknob, hesitating. “I, um, took some prisoners, if it makes you feel better?”

“Just open the door, Sunset.” Twilight huffed.

Opening the door was an instant atmospheric change. The smell of fresh blood was distinctive, and they could instantly hear quiet whimpers of pain here and there, echoing in the manor, and above all, she was greeted with a hallway full of bodies.

A decapitated head rolled over into the room, as soon as Sunset opened the door, and Twilight couldn’t help but mutter an “Oh my gosh.”

“You might want to save your ‘Oh my goshes’ for later.” Sunset grimaced, aware that this was the tip of the iceberg.

Twilight nodded quietly, and nudged the Paladin to carry her forward, of which she obeyed.

The sight could be described as butchering. There were very few ponies that were fully intact, without bloodstains and intact limbs. At best, Twilight could note a few unconscious cultists, with one or two limbs bent the wrong way, broken bones felt like mercy, seeing the rest.

…The rest were butchered. Severed limbs, torn open carcasses, bodies still burning, and beheaded foes. She tried her best to keep her eyes forward.

Sunset’s breathing was unsteady, still normalizing after the battle. She stumbled, and Twilight winced with worry. “W-what’s wrong?! Are you okay?!”

“Tripped on a body. Sorry.” She explained earnestly, steadying her pace.

“Oh.”

Silence, accentuated only by the occasional sound of whimpering around them, and Sunset’s heavy footsteps. They both saw a conscious cultist that was cradling a broken leg, wincing in pain. A single glare from Sunset made him silenced immediately.

“So, um.” The Paladin tried her best to fill the air with anything at all. “...What friendship speech did you try using?”

With a sigh of disappointment, Twilight rested her head on her rescuer’s neck. “...The one about ‘collective purpose’. It was really good too– I even explained all we know of Tirek, tried debunking their presumptions of him…”

“And that still didn’t work? Fucking assholes.” Sunset shuddered with anger, snarling. “It’s not your fault. These fuckers were hellbent, invested on a bad idea.”

“Sunk cost fallacy…” Twilight muttered, shooting glances at the rooms they were passing, seeing some bodies piled up. “Mob mentality, I suppose. If I had separated them, maybe I could have convinced them on an individual level…!”

“I'm sorry I took so long.” Sunset muttered, head low. “I don’t want to make any more excuses. I had a bad day, and you deserve better. That’s all.”

Twilight couldn’t help but snicker nervously, seeing one of the cultists was somehow stuck on the ceiling, at least their lower body was. “If this is what you’re capable of on a bad day…! I wonder what it’s like in a good one, hahah…?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t beat them all yourself, to be honest.” She tried her best to change the subject. “You’re more powerful than me. Why didn’t you?” It was a rhetorical question, she knew the answer. Twilight wasn’t prone to violence or anger, like her.

“The moment they invaded the library, I tried talking it out. I just wanted to understand why they wanted what they wanted, I wanted to give them a chance to, well, I dunno… Do better? I wanted to diffuse the problem…” Her voice trailed off, almost ashamed.

“...Celestia never gave you combat training like mine, did she?” Another rhetorical question.

“...No, not like yours. She gave me a lot of magical and social training… And, I’m, uh, I’m starting to see why.” Her gaze passed by a pile of charred corpses. An entire Piano was burning atop them.

“...Yeah… She didn’t want another me. Makes sense.” Sunset huffed, focussed only on taking the princess downstairs. “None of what I’m capable of is necessary for being a Princess. On the contrary.”

Twilight was silent, for a moment, only thinking. “Maybe… But you make for a reliable warrior, though.”

“A reliable butcher, maybe. Celestia made a mistake when she trained me.” She spoke earnestly, giving another glare to a whimpering survivor, who cowered silently. The underlying truth that they could both see was that combat was the easiest, most open outlet for Sunset’s anger. “All this is… Wrong.”

“You rescued me, though. Not many could do what you did today. You might be the only one, actually…!” The Princess thought openly, wondering, as she clung to Sunset’s back.

“Twilight, have you been counting the bodies?” She asked rhetorically, giving her a backwards glance. “Why would you want me to do what I did today?!”

“I tried my way, and it didn’t work. You tried yours, and it did.” She spoke logically, almost offended that Sunset was self deprecating. “I'm not saying that this is the best solution to our problems, but you saved the Princess! What you’re capable of isn’t worthless!”

The hangover wasn’t helping this conversation, the Paladin groaned, as she walked over another room, avoiding stepping on bodies and unconscious opponents.

…And of course, Twilight wouldn’t let it go. “You’re intelligent, incredibly skilled, amazingly diligent, super disciplined, you’re incredibly concerned and focused over my safety, and you’re even a bit ruthless. You would still make a great leader.”

“A ‘bit’ ruthless. Hah!” Sunset couldn’t help but laugh, shrugging, ignoring the statements.

Twilight kept her eyes open, even as she rested her head on Sunset’s neck. “...The royal guard isn’t here. They could never have done what you did today… Because they have no Captain. You could be their Captain.”

Sunset’s ears twitched, her tail involuntarily flicked, but she forced her gaze forward. “...No I couldn't. I’ve never even been a guard– There’s a due process, and I’m not a part of it. I’m unqualified.”

“... Well I could just make you my Captain.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, almost annoyed, clinging tighter.

“...No you couldn’t?” A merciful plea of a confused mare.

“Um, hello? Princess of Friendship? Yes I could!!” She huffed, pouting.

“I-I’m not qualified to lead anything, and you shouldn’t trust me with that either, I’d mess everything up–”

“You are uniquely qualified, and what’s more, Celestia would absolutely agree with both my decision and opinions of you.” Twilight spoke almost rehearsed, with her classic speech voice.

“Celestia would agree if you said you wanted to marry a Timber wolf, Twi. She’s kind of biased towards trusting you with everything, because you’re her star pupil–”

“And there we have it! I think it's a great idea, Celestia would too. Sunset Shimmer, do you want to be the Captain of the Canterlot royal guard, whose sole responsibility is to whip our protectors into shape, organize the best defenses against crises much like this, and above all, protect the Princess of Friendship?” She was almost peppy, spreading her wings, tilting her head, trying to see Sunset’s face.

Silence.

Sunset moved without saying a word, they finally reached the main hall, where a Massive chandelier had been tossed and crashed atop some cultists, and at the center of the room, there were a group of maybe fifteen cultists that were all bound by what could only be described as a metal railing having been magically fashioned into rope.

They all whimpered as soon as they saw the Paladin, who just glared at them, and ignored them.

“Sunset. Answer the question. Do you want to be my Captain?” Twilight nudged her, frowning.

Living in the castle again, being in charge of the training of the guard, organizing the defenses of the castle, getting to see Celestia more often, getting to matter to the world again. A role that would inherently allow her to redeem herself for her past failings, make a better impression, and above all, be even closer to the Princess of Friendship, protecting her from anything, especially crises like this.

“...I’m not fit for it, Twilight. I’m sorry. You’re asking the wrong mare.” She forced herself to speak, almost with a whisper, shamefully avoiding looking back.

“But you are! After everything we’ve been through–”

“--Look, I’m hungover, I’m wounded, and exhausted. Can we continue this conversation some other time?!” She pleaded, finally reaching the exit off that place.

“Humpf.” Twilight gave her the lightest of headbuts. “You’re perfect for the role. You single handedly saved me from a hundred cultists! Think of what you could do if you had a battalion with you– A lot less casualties, I’m sure!! This kind of mess would never happen again, and you wouldn’t be as hurt as you are now–”

“Twilight, please just stop.” She pleaded again, shaking her head.

Exhaling with resignation, Twilight nuzzled her, pouting. “This conversation is not over.”

No reply. Sunset opened the doors, and they were greeted with the fresh air of the Everfree woods.

…And also two airships landing before them, with a handful of royal guards clumsily readying themselves for a fight.

“Unbelievable.” Sunset snarled, coming closer to them, addressing the first group she saw. “Where the hell were you idiots?! I got here an hour ago!! You’re fucking lucky I was here to rescue the Princess!!”

The guards were all intimidated by the sight. Obsidian armor, covered in blood, with the Princess, calmly mounting her.

And she had more to say. “There’s several wounded inside, I captured a group in the main hall, can’t miss them; One of their leaders are tied up in the fourth floor, do not let the fucker escape. I also saw some of them bolting towards the woods over there– It’s unlikely that they’d ever try anything, but I think the Princess would feel better if they were all behind bars. You there! In the airship! The Princess needs to be returned to Canterlot safely, now!”

Frantically, with clumsy nods and salutes, the guards moved, and Sunset carried the Princess towards the airship.

Twilight giggled, not with a whisper, but speaking in a way only Sunset could hear. “Look at you, giving out orders. I bet you’ll be way nicer about it when you’re Captain.”

All the Paladin could do was grumble.

“We’re here.” Finally, in the safety of Canterlot Castle, by Twilight’s room, she could put the Princess down, inspecting her for wounds once more. It was difficult for the Princess to let go.

“I’m going to report to the Queens what happened, and check myself into the infirmary.” Sunset spoke with an exhale, stretching. “You should lay low, okay? Take the day off. Paladin’s orders.”

“Not ‘Captain’s’ orders?” Twilight tilted her head, with a slightly flustered smile.

“Nope.” She shrugged, amused at her attempts at convincing. “I’ll see you soon, Princess.”

“Sunset.” She stopped her in her tracks immediately. “I’m, uh…” Clumsily, Twilight fidgeted with her hooves. “I don’t think I want to be alone right now…! Could you stay with me?”

Her eyes widened as she analyzed the invitation, and how it was given. Twilight’s room looked incredibly inviting. Her mind wandered to parts she didn’t want to wander, and she quickly shot it down.

“I’m covered in blood.”

“I have a shower!”

“I’m hungover as shit, I’m exhausted!”

“I have snacks, water, and a king-sized bed!”

“I have an arrow on my ass!!”

“And I’m really good at healing magic!!”

The back and forth stopped.

Turquoise eyes were fixed on magenta eyes.

Her mind wandered to her recent experiences, in the past months, with other mares. It wandered, unwillingly, to the incredibly unchaste things she could do to the Princess, this perfect, adorable, loving, cherishing Princess that she had vowed to protect, all the things she could do if she spent a full day alone in the same room like this.

If she entered that room, she would do something she might regret.

She had to force herself to move. “I, um, s-sorry!” She stated poorly, weakly, and nearly galloped out of there, running away from the Princess.

Author's Note

SUNSET YOU PUSSY!!!!1!!

Me: Haha this fic is gonna be short and sweet!

My chapter lengths:

Poor cultists. If only Sunset hadn't dealt with Trixie in the morning. She would have been more merciful <3

Um, uh, can you tell that the Princess & the Peasant universe is what I get the most wild with my interpretations of these characters? definitely a bit wild.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm going overboard with the violence then I think nah, my fic my rules. I'm almost missing the Shimmerverse's fight scenes lol

Its worth stating, as part of the whole 'oc' subject regarding how I interpret these characters, that both P&P and this story as two stories that I could easily remake fully with original characters and make them my own, which would maybe even improve them-- but this also means that I'm occasionally writing these stories thinking of fingers in mind, of which ponies do not have.

Like MAN you have no idea how much I wanted to tell character and narrative through weapons; Having Twilight use the same magical staff she used since she was a teenager, being attached to it even if it isn't the best model or strongest, something comparatively different to Sunset, who would use dozens of different weapons available in the moment (like using the enemies's weapons against them) and even shit like having Celestia have a sun-spear that Sunset always, always wanted to use but was never worthy of-- But because of this, she's really skilled with spears and staff weapons (not even for casting-magic-staff, just whaking people staff) Which would be her most non-lethal choice, later on.

Having Twilight be a very non-phisical fighter, relying on a staff, but being immensely powerful with it.

Hell I even wanted Sunset to by standard dual-wield swords-- Something that is incredibly aggressive, and not very defensive.

I was even gonna apply this to P&P, where AJ never uses weapons, just her fists and lasso, while rarity constantly makes bows and spears with her magic to non-lethaly help in fights.

but uhh... Nah. Without fingers, none of this works. Shame. I almost am sad that I choose ponies and not anthros, hands are rly important, lol.

Speaking of anthros I would have made a joke that Trixie keeps trying to poke Sunset's abbs and she keeps getting her hand slapped away lmao

You can still see the skeleton of these ideas in the way I wrote elemental magic here, at least. Light magic is meant to be something you need to be in the right emotional state to use, and Sunset sucks at it, meanwhile, dark magic and fire magic is something she uses liberally.

I will say that my meta multiverse writing is getting to comical extents. Shout out to my "A place in my dreams" fans out there, ya'll know what I'm talkin about 😎 I did this on purpose.

And hey, Twilight offering to teach her light magic as an extension of their bond, and how Twilight makes her better heheheh.

Speak of the angel, I hope you've enjoyed the characterization with her. I actually don't think friendship speeches are dumb at all, I really do think that Twilight's pacifism and inherent drive for good are compelling traits, and I did not want to mock them at all in this chapter, on the contrary.

Sometimes, when all else fails, you bring a battering ram.

And why fault a battering ram for breaking down gates?

...Did this battering ram just give Twilight fleas