It was about nine at night, and the four girls at Shimmer Manor were having – oddly enough – a great time. Sunset was wearing a red tank top with orange pajama shorts, Shimmer was wearing the same thing, but the colors were reversed. Pinkie wore an oversized shirt, and just her underwear underneath it, and Twilight was in the same pajamas from earlier today. The two Sunsets hadn’t stopped blushing from their little episode earlier, Pinkie had snapped several pictures and was cycling through them, and it didn’t help that Twilight was looking at them too.

“For the last time, we were not doing anything…sexual…” Shimmer clarified, the last word making her cringe a little.

“Seriously, why in the world would I get it on with someone who’s practically my twin?” Sunset asked.

Twilight pulled at the collar of her shirt, “Well…statistically speaking…while Shimmer resembles you physically, even I can tell that there are some differences between you both mentally. Differences that could be enough to not see the other as the same person, but as an individual.”

Both Sunsets glanced at each other and raised an eyebrow.

“Well for me, I just thought it was HOT,” said Pinkie.

“Saw that coming,” said Sunset.

“Well, there’s only one thing to do,” said Shimmer.

“Oh, oh, are you two going to make out in front us to replace the thing we saw in the closet?! If you are, I need to set up my camera to record it!”

Twilight blushed as the very idea of both Sunsets engaging in French kissing was, much to her chagrin, making her feel excited inside.

“Nope, we’re just going to beat it out of your heads with my pillows,” said Sunset.

Twilight and Pinkie paused when they saw both Sunsets wielding pillows in both hands and wearing identical smirks.

“Twilight, RUN!”

“Why?”

The answer came when Pinkie got smacked in the head with a pillow, sending her to the floor. “Oh…this is a pillow fight, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Shimmer answered.

“But it’ll be more like a slaughter,” said Sunset. “Sorry, Sparky.”

Twilight took a deep breath, screamed, and then ran around the room like a chicken with its head cut off. Sunset and Shimmer tossed one pillow after the other to nail Twilight, strangely enough, Twilight was quite nimble and dodged most of the pillows that were tossed at her. But then both Sunsets managed to corner her, literally, they cornered her in a corner of the room.

“No more running, Twi,” said Shimmer.

“Any last words, Sparky?” Sunset asked.

Twilight’s eyes darted between the two Sunset Shimmers. “Um…just a few…Donec tandem assumptis adversario victus spiritus trahitur!”

Shimmer looked at Twilight with confusion. “What did she say? It sounded like old Ponish.”

“That’s Latin, basically she just said, ‘Never assume your opponent is defeated until their last breath is drawn…’ Oh hell…”

Sunset and Shimmer noticed a shadow looming over them, and that’s when they turned around. Pinkie Pie was holding two large pillows and bearing a grin that would make the Mad Hatter proud. Before either of the Sunsets could turn around, Pinkie pelted them with both pillows right to their faces. She then whirled her arms around in a windmill fashion as dozens of pillows flew at them. The two Sunsets were powerless before the near unending barrage of Pinkie’s assault, flailing about until they fell to the ground and were subsequently buried in a mound of pillows.

Twilight sighed in relief as she walked towards Pinkie with her hands behind her back. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“No thanks necessary, all’s far in love and war…” Pinkie Pie slowly held up another pillow.

“P-Pinkie…y-you’re not going to hit me with a pillow, are you?” Twilight asked.

“You were the perfect distraction to get both our Sunsets in one spot, but now…sadly…I must end you, only one shall stand, and one shall fall!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed as she held the pillow aloft in the air.

Twilight lowered her head. “Yes…one shall stand, and one shall fall…” Without warning, Twilight whipped the pillow she was holding behind her back and swiped Pinkie across the face, sending the pink girl onto the floor. The same pillow that Pinkie had been holding was thrown into the air, and then landed right over Pinkie’s face. “I stand, and you fall!”

Sunset and Shimmer managed to dig themselves out of the hill of pillows they were buried under, just in time to watch Twilight deck Pinkie with her pillow surprise attack.

“Damn, Sparky, that was hot!” Sunset stated.

Twilight squeaked as she turned around and bashfully smiled. “I…I may have gotten caught up in the heat of the moment…heh, heh.” The young genius turned around and looked down at Pinkie with concern. “Pinkie, a-are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Pinkie sat up quickly, sending the pillow flying to the side, she looked up at Twilight and gave her a wide grin. “That was super sneaky, and totally cool, Twilight! I mean, honestly, I should’ve suspected that you had a pillow behind your back, but I was too wrapped up in my victory high.” A low grumble came from Pinkie’s stomach. “Now I’m hungry! Sunset, how do you get pizza up here?”

Sunset stood up and chuckled, “Please, ordering delivery up here? My home unfortunately falls outside the delivery mileage they’re willing to go. I’ve got some frozen stuff in my fridge.”

Pinkie Pie stood up and gasped. “WHAT?! Uh-uh, we are not doing frozen for this special occasion! To the kitchen! C’mon, Twilight!”

“Who, me? WHA!”

Before Twilight could ask why, Pinkie gently took her by the wrist and whisked her away out of the room. Sunset and Shimmer blinked, the former looking to her double.

“Your girlfriend is way random, you know that?” Sunset asked.

“Yep, and I wouldn’t change a thing about her,” said Shimmer.

Sunset smiled as the two of them followed after their girlfriends. “I’m just glad that Sparky’s becoming more comfortable around her, I thought for sure she’d be skeptical of other people.”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow, she could hear the level of concern for Twilight in Sunset’s voice, and it made her wonder. “Has…Has Twilight been hurt or something?”

Sunset faltered a moment. “W-What makes you ask that?”

“You’re me, I can tell. You seem almost protective of her, I know you guys go to Crystal Prep, and I have heard things about that place, but is it really that bad?” Shimmer asked.

Sunset balled her hands into fists, her jaw clenching a bit. “It’s not my place to tell you, I’ll leave that to Twilight if she wants to tell you. But I’ll say this, I wish I was there sooner.”

Shimmer was worried now. When they got downstairs, they spotted Pinkie Pie in the kitchen, already getting out ingredients to make homemade pizza. Shimmer’s eyes fell on Twilight, the teen genius was smiling as she spoke to Pinkie Pie, occasionally giggling at something Pinkie said. All the while, Shimmer wondered exactly what kind of hardships this Twilight went through, what pain was she hiding under that smile?

While Pinkie Pie was tossing up some dough, Twilight felt her cellphone buzzing in her pajama pants pocket. She took out the phone and saw that it was Cadence calling.

“Who is it?” Sunset asked.

“Cadence, she’s probably calling to check up on us,” said Twilight.

“Tell her we’re in the middle of a big orgy and to call back later!” Shimmer suggested as they began to aid Pinkie in the pizza making.

Twilight blushed and shot a glare at Shimmer. “I’m not telling her that! What will she think?!”

Sunset slid up next to Twilight hand wrapped her arms around Twilight’s waist. “That she’s happy you’re being showered with love from three sexy girls?”

Twilight shivered delightfully under Sunset’s touch. “Jeez, are all of you horny or something?”

“Yep,” Pinkie answered.

“Totally,” Shimmer replied.

“For you, always,” said Sunset.

Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled, nonetheless. She quickly answered the phone and said, “Hi, Cadence.”

{Twilight is Sunset Shimmer with you?! The one from CHS!}

Twilight’s brow furrowed with worry when she heard the almost desperate tone in Cadence’s voice. “Y-Yes, she is, Cadence what’s wrong?”

{Put me on speaker phone!} Twilight did as she said. {Sunset, you have to go and help Shining Armor, right now!}

Shimmer cleaned off her hands and rushed to Twilight, Sunset released Twilight and put on a serious expression.

“I’m here, what’s going on?!” Shimmer asked.

{Shining’s precinct is under attack by the Blood Kings! I couldn’t hear much before he hung up, but the news is reporting that the entire city block around the precinct is in total blackout!}

Shimmer knew what that meant, the Darkness grew stronger in the shadows, and with an entire city block now blacked out, the Blacknights would be stronger and the Sentinels would be much weaker. “This is bold, Sombra’s never launched an attack against police precincts before, why is he doing that now? Never mind, I’ll head out!”

{I’m sorry to be asking you this of you, Sunset, but I don’t know who else to turn to or ask! Please, please be careful!}

“I will.”

Cadence hung up, leaving Twilight to shake in fear of what she just heard. Her big brother’s place of work was under attack by monsters, and they were in the dark, literally. Pinkie Pie came up behind Twilight, catching her before she could collapse.

“Don’t worry, Twilight, I’ll save him,” said Shimmer.

Shimmer prepared to leave but was stopped when she felt her left wrist getting grabbed. The former unicorn looked over her shoulder and saw that Sunset was staring at her right in the eyes.

“Not without me you’re not,” said Sunset. “The odds of saving Sparky’s big bro and those people go up more if we fight ‘em together.”

Shimmer turned around and said, “Sunset, you don’t have to get involved in this fight. What happened last night was because you were protecting Twilight and yourself, that was self-defense, but this is different. You’re going to go in and engage in a fight. This is my responsibility, not yours.”

Sunset shook her head. “If it involves Sparky’s family, then that’s more than enough reason to get into the fight for me. I promise I’ll follow your lead in this.”

Shimmer looked at Pinkie, she could tell she was worried, but more so for Shining Armor, but there was a glimmer of hope that Shimmer would allow Sunset to fight beside her. When she looked at Twilight, she could see the same thing, Twilight obviously knew how strong Sunset was when she used the Ember Stone, and Twilight also knew of Shimmer’s power due to her exploits as Witchblade, so the two of them working together, in her mind, doubled the chances that her sibling would be saved.

With that thought in mind, Shimmer nodded to Sunset. “Alright, you follow my lead. We get in there and take down the Blood Kings and save the officers under attack. The faster we take them out, the faster we can save Shining Armor, got it?”

“Got it,” Sunset replied.

“By the way, are these your favorite pajamas?”

Sunset shot Shimmer a confused look. “Uh, no, I got tons of different sleepwear.”

“Okay, good, sorry in advance anyway.”

Shimmer took a few steps back. The crimson gemstone on her bracelet began to shine as the metal strands exploded outward. The strands shot towards her body, ripping apart the clothes that covered her body and replacing it with the supernatural armor that was the Witchblade. When it was over, Shimmer stood before her double, Twilight, and Pinkie, the shredded remains of her clothes lying on the floor as she flexed her clawed digits.

“Huh, I see what you mean. You and I are going to go clothes shopping this weekend,” said Sunset.

“Thanks,” said Shimmer.

“Guess it’s my turn, let’s do this out in the backyard, I don’t want to set off the fire alarms,” said Sunset.

Shimmer nodded and followed Sunset out to the backyard, with Pinkie Pie and Twilight following behind. Despite the situation, Twilight couldn’t help but stare at Shimmer, the way the armor hugged her body, and revealed other parts made her blush hard. She knew that that wasn’t the Sunset she fell in love with, but it was hard to differentiate the two without listening to them.

Pinkie leaned in close to Twilight and asked, “You sneaking glances at my Sunny’s rear?”

“I…I…!”

Pinkie giggled, “Heh, heh, it’s alright, I am too. But no touchy unless given permission.”

Twilight cleared her throat and said, “Y-Yes, understood.”

When the four girls entered the backyard and, once on the patio, Sunset took out her Ember Stone. The ruby colored gemstone glowed a bright red color, and instantly, Sunset was engulfed in raging flames that swirled around her body. In a matter of seconds, the flames died out, revealing Sunset in her own armor and flaming hair.

Pinkie and Twilight blushed now seeing the armored-up forms of their girlfriends, side by side, they were quite attractive.

“Alright, follow me, I know where the precinct is.” Shimmer’s armor sprouted two bat-like metal wings from her back. “Can you keep up?”

Sunset scoffed, her flames erupted around her, solidifying and changing into the form of a motorcycle construct. Sunset mounted the bike and twisted the throttle, making the construct’s engine roar as more flames spewed from the tailpipes. “I should ask you that question.”

Shimmer smirked as she leapt into the air and flew in the direction of the city. Sunset made a few donuts with her bike before shooting off into the air and following right beside Shimmer. From the ground, Twilight and Pinkie could only stand by and watch their loved ones fly off to battle against monsters, but they were comforted by the fact that the Sunsets were both wielding powerful Artifacts, and secondly, that they were both strong women who wouldn’t give up until they won.

“Let’s head inside, maybe the news is reporting on it,” Pinkie suggested.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Tonight was not a good night for Precinct 17, not only were they getting attacked by the Blood Kings, but an entire city block, their block, was now pitch black. The officers knew enough that nighttime was the time when the Blacknights were at their strongest and when the Sentinels were at their weakest. But that’s with normal Blacknights, what was attacking them was far worse than just Blacknights.

Gaghiel was currently in a standoff with a demonic leopard. The large cat had yellow eyes that shined in the dark, its legs and body were donned in black armor that had wispy shadows wafting off them. Its fur was a dark red, with violet spots, black fangs and claws that gleamed in the dim light that Gaghiel radiated.

“Vile beast! Creation of the Darkness, I, Gaghiel, will end your existence in the name of my Mistress, the Angelus!”

The jaguar chuckled at the liger and replied, “That so? Then let’s play! My name is Flauros, just so you know!”

Gaghiel and Flauros charged and slammed into each other, primal roars echoed in the street as they raked their claws against the others’ armor and biting at any opening they could get. The two beasts rolled on the asphalt until they slammed into a parked car, Flauros kicked off Gaghiel, backed up, and then rammed into the liger’s side, crushing the door and shattering the SUV’s windows from the impact. The SUV t-boned and wrapped around Gaghiel, trapping him. Flauros jumped back again, his body was wrapped in crimson and black shadows, and with a flourish, the demonic beast had transformed.

Flauros had achieved a bipedal form, a man-beast creature with lean muscles rippling under the crimson fur. The armor had adjusted to fit his new form, but now he sported a black cape, and a skull helmet in the shape of a sabretooth tiger’s head, shadows covered his face, allowing only his fierce yellow eyes to be seen. In both hands, Flauros wielded a six-foot, flamberge sword. Flauros scraped the blades of his swords together, producing sparks before he raised them up to cut down Gaghiel.

The Beast of God roared loudly as his body shined bright with light. In less than a second, Gaghiel had achieved his own man-beast form, blocking both of Flauros’ blades with his claw blade gauntlets.

“Good! This’d be boring if I just killed you fast!”

“I’ll bite off your head!”

While this battle was going on, Araquiel was engaged in her own battle, the earth beneath her feet rumbled as she thrust her arms forward. Upon doing so, the ground erupted with two giant spikes made of concrete and rock, both of which aimed right for the Darkness’ servant. The two spikes struck against its chest, pushing it back for a few seconds until the Servant flexed its muscles and shattered the two spikes.

The Servant was at least seven feet tall, all muscle, with four arms that each bore a black armored gauntlet. Its skin was beige in color, with a black helmet that had two curved horns, his mouth was covered by a black face plate, but his yellow eyes were able to be seen. Around his waist was a chainmail skirt, held by a black leather belt, and upon his legs were black greaves.

“Little girl, your elemental power will not make the mighty Guison bend,” said the Servant.

“All things bend to the elements! Only God and the Angelus are above them! You are neither, so you will fall!” Araquiel proclaimed.

Araquiel slammed her right hand against the ground, and immediately after, dozens of rock fists jutted out from the street and began striking at Guison. The brute lashed out with his fists, hitting the fists head on with his own. Despite his great bulk and size, he wasn’t slow, his fists were flying fast in the air. When Guison smashed another of the rock fists, he was caught by surprise. Araquiel had flown through the barrage and was now right in front of him. The Sentinel cocked back her right fist and slammed it against Guison’s face, making the brute of a Servant stumble backwards for a few seconds before he stamped his feet into the ground and regained his balance. Araquiel flew in again and struck him in the gut, sending a shockwave roaring through him and nearly lifted him off the ground.

Guison flexed his muscles and forced Araquiel back, a smirk forming under his helmet. “It seems I underestimated your strength.”

“My strength is the strength of the Earth! My fists carry the full might of the earth itself! Can your fists stand up to that?!” Araquiel asked as she assumed a fighting stance.

Guison chuckled as he knocked both sets of his fists together and said, “It’ll be fun to find out!”

Meanwhile, Ayil was doing her best to provide cover fire for her fellow Sentinels, but her opponent was making it difficult to do so. The Servant she fought bared a three horned crest on his black helmet, the Servant’s gauntlets had long claws, but that didn’t seem to impede his use of his weapons. The Servant was about five-eleven and hunched over, its body was silver colored, with black armor covering its chest, legs, arms, and head. On its back was a whip-like tail that had a sharp blade at the end. In his right hand it wielded a large claymore sword, while his left hand he held a cudgel.

Ayil notched an arrow of light and shot it at the Servant, the Servant, who was surprisingly swift, dodged the arrow and charged for the angelic centaur. Ayil transformed her bow into twin swords, as the Servant came down with its claymore, fortunately, Ayil was able to block it with just her one sword, but she had to jump back as there was no way her sword could block his club.

The Servant sighed as he rested his club on his left shoulder. “You’re really quick for someone with four legs.”

“I am the Archer of the Stars, swiftness, power, and accuracy are my stables! Servant!” Ayil replied.

“Hmm, well, I was thinking this would be quick, but I guess not. My name’s Barbatos, by the way, what’s yours?” Barbatos asked in a neutral voice.

Ayil reformed her bow and notched another light arrow. “I-I have no need to give my name to a Servant of the Darkness!”

“Oh well, doesn’t matter.” Barbatos’ whip-tail launched from his back, slashing the ground as it snaked its way towards Ayil, the angelic centaur ran and fired arrows at Barbatos, forcing him to back away, but he was not deterred.

While this was going on, Hadriel was battling it out with several Blacknights, he used his command of the winds to slice and slam them, but due to the darkness around them, their wounds were healing fast, and Hadriel was getting weaker. While the Sentinels didn’t necessarily grow weaker in darkness, their reserves of energy were depleted faster, and without the light to rejuvenate them, it would only be a matter of time before the Darkness’ forces overwhelmed them.

The officers were held up inside, the Sentinels relegating them to the last line of defense, but right now, that wasn’t much of a comfort. If the Sentinels died, then they would be quickly slaughtered. Shining Armor marshalled some of his fellow officers to create barricades and round up all the flashbangs that they could find. The emergency lighting had already kicked on, but as dim as it was, there was no chance that it would give them an edge over the Blacknights.

Just then, high in the sky, an orange light shined above. That orange light exploded and transformed into a giant fireball that shined bright in the night sky. Barbatos, Flauros, and Guison hissed in pain from the light that was bearing down on them. From that sphere of fire, two beings plummeted down to the ground below, causing a shockwave that ripped through the streets. The Servants and Sentinels ceased their battle long enough to see who it was that dropped in on their fight.

Both Sunsets rose to their feet, one clad in obsidian colored armor and wielding two katanas, and the other donned in fiery armor, her hands still aglow with flames.

“Sorry for the wait,” said Sunset.

“We were trying to figure out the best kind of entrance to make, and it looks like we nailed,” said Shimmer.

“Host of Mistress’ son! Wait, who is that?!” Gaghiel asked.

“Oh, I’m not really your ally. I’m more Witchblade’s, but you can call me Ember,” said Sunset.

“Ember, I got the beast, do you mind taking on the big one?” Shimmer suggested.

“I could use a workout, let’s do it,” said Sunset as she held up her fist.

Shimmer held up her fist and bumped it before both teens dashed off for their opponents. Shimmer clashed swords with Flauros, forcing the man-beast away from Gaghiel as she got into an attack stance.

“This one’s different from a Blacknight,” said Shimmer.

“He is not a Blacknight, he’s a creation of the Darkness!” Gaghiel corrected.

Shimmer looked upon this monster with more scrutiny, this was the first time that Sombra sent out a monster that was created from his own power, unlike the Blacknights who used Tar, which was a piece of the Darkness, to transform into monsters, these things were literally spawned from the primordial being like the Sentinels.

“Fall back, I’ll take him,” said Shimmer.

“I will not disgrace my Mistress by letting a Servant of the Darkness best me!” Gaghiel fumed.

“I honestly don’t care who’s going to fight me, I’m still going to kill you all!” Flauros declared.

Flauros dashed across the street and slashed in a wide arch. Gaghiel and Shimmer jumped in different directions and managed to avoid the attack, Shimmer dashed across the street and began her attack on Flauros. The Servant and Keeper of Balance clashed blades, sending sparks flying with each strike of their swords, the air humming with the ring of metal hitting metal. In a way, Shimmer was grateful that this wasn’t a Blacknight, because it meant she didn’t need to hold back against it.

Shimmer smirked as she dug her heel into the ground, causing it to fracture and buckle under the force of her power. Just then Shimmer shot two chains from her waist that struck the asphalt, the force from their quick deployment sent Shimmer into the air, she released those chains and tossed her swords at Flauros. The Servant deflected the blades but was too slow to dodge Shimmer’s next attack. While Flauros was busy deflecting the two swords, Shimmer formed her giant greatsword and brought it down on Flauros.

The beast warrior tried to block it with his left blade, but the weight and power behind the strike shattered his flamberge and cleaved through his left arm. Flauros’ cries of pain were drowned out when Shimmer’s blade impacted against the ground, sending a shockwave that buffeted and threw Flauros through three lampposts before rolling onto the ground. Flauros felt his black blood oozing out of his wound, he looked to a patch of shadows underneath a car, he concentrated on that shadow and immediately, the shadows rushed to him, accelerating his healing.

“That’s not happening!” Shimmer shouted.

The bearer of the Witchblade jumped into the air, she formed a spear in her left hand and channeled her flames into it, setting the blade on fire. Keeping her eye on her target, Shimmer tossed her spear right at Flauros. The burning weapon pierced through the air as it struck him right in the back. Shimmer pointed her right fist at the spear and shouted, “BURST!” as she flexed her hand.

The spear released a fiery explosion, causing Flauros to disintegrate from the intense heat and light that was emitted from the attack. Shimmer landed next to her spear, satisfied that she had destroyed Flauros. She turned her gaze to Gaghiel and said, “Defend the precinct! We got this!”

Guison was currently in a fist fight with Araquiel, and Araquiel was having a hard time keeping up with his quadruple armored fists. As Guison readied to deliver a powerful punch to the Earth angel, a torrent of flames struck Guison in the chest, pushing the Servant backwards as he tried to weather the flame storm bearing down on him. Once he was backed away, Sunset landed on the ground and readied to attack Guison.

“Ember, is it? Thanks for the assist,” said Araquiel.

“Don’t thank me just yet. I’m not doing this to save you a-holes, I’m here to save the cops! Mostly because a couple of you guys almost killed me and one of my friends!” Sunset spat as her flame hair rose. “For now, these things are my enemy, so step back.”

Flames swirled around Sunset as her body began to change. She grew a tail, flaming wings, claws, a long neck, horns, and rows of razor-sharp teeth. When the roaring flames ended, another roar erupted, one that emanated from the maw of the great fire dragon that stood before them. Unlike Sunset’s previous transformation, she scaled down the dragon form to allow her to match the height of Guison.

“That’s more like it! C’mon big guy, let’s rumble!” Sunset taunted.

Guison cracked his neck and charged without a second thought towards Sunset. The fire dragon roared again as she flapped her wings. The result created an ember laced wind that slammed into Guison, momentarily stopping him, and a moment was all she needed. Sunset cocked back her right fist and drove it into Guison’s face, the blow was strong, but what really hurt more was the light that Sunset’s body was giving off due to her flames. Sunset attacked again, striking Guison right in the stomach with a left uppercut, the flame dragon spun in place and whipped her tail, slamming it into this side and sending the brute into the side of an adjacent building

Guison flexed his muscles and burst free from the concrete, he growled when he felt the sting of the damage that Sunset’s flames did to his face, with his cheek exposing the bones of his jaw and fangs. Still, Gusion charged for Sunset and landed a double punch with his right fists to her midsection. Sunset coughed up smoke from the painful blow, but before she could recover, Guison came down with both his left fists across the right side of her muzzle, sending Sunset to the ground.

The fire dragon growled up at Guison as he prepared to come down with a quadruple hammer fist, but her long tail shot out like a cobra and wrapped itself around his left leg. Sunset’s muzzle angled upwards into a cocky grin, with a flap of her mighty wings, Sunset shot straight into the air, taking Guison with her. Sunset roared mightily as she whipped Guison upwards, and then turned and opened her maw to release a forceful deluge of burning flames right at the brutish demon. The flames impacted against Guison’s chest and propelled him upwards higher and higher.

Guison tried to fight against the flames, but his strength was waning the closer he got to the giant fireball in the sky. The Servant of the Darkness yelled as the light of the fireball and the column of flames destroyed his body, turning him into ash. Sunset huffed out a plume of smoke and polished her claws on her chest.

Araquiel crossed her arms and said, “No one likes a showoff.”

Sunset dismissed her dragon form and smirked at the Sentinel. “Don’t hate ‘cause I’m a badass.”

“AAAAAAAHHHH!”

Sunset, Araquiel, Shimmer, Gaghiel, and Hadriel all watched as Barbatos managed to get in close and stab Ayil through her chest with his claymore. The centaur Sentinel dropped her bow as white ichor flowed from her wound, hands trembling at the sight before her. Barbatos only stared blankly as he pulled back and withdrew his sword, jumped up, and swung down his cudgel, crushing Ayil’s head into her chest. The Sentinel’s body fell over into a white bloody mess on the ground before her body transformed into particles of light.

“Well, that’s one down.” Barbatos glanced to the Sunset and Shimmer as they came walking towards him. “Hmm, I sense part of the Master coming from you. His son, Witchblade. The other, I don’t know what you are.”

Sunset and Shimmer glanced at each other, their eyes meeting for a brief second before they locked onto Barbatos. The twin Sunsets bolted for Barbatos, at the same time, Barbatos took off to meet them head on. Sunset channeled her flames into her right arm and created a giant fist construct, while Shimmer formed a ōdachi. The heroines and demon met at the center, with Shimmer’s blade clanging against Barbatos’ sword at the same time as Sunset’s giant fist impacting against the cudgel. The result from their impacts sent a shockwave that shook the ground and air, and nearly sent a few parked cars into the air.

Barbatos’ stinger tail rose up and launched itself towards Shimmer. The Witchblade armor reacted by shooting out an arrowhead tipped chain from her left shoulder, the chain and stinger struck as their clang resonated in the air, Shimmer pushed Barbatos back with her ōdachi, allowing Sunset to create a second giant fist with her left arm. The two Sunsets began their tandem attack on the Servant, Sunset came in swinging with her fists, the nimble Barbatos dodged her punches, but when one got too close, he struck back with his cudgel, causing Sunset to rebound. But the moment that happened, Shimmer tagged in and swung her long sword in a sweeping motion. Barbatos jumped back as far as he could to avoid the slash and narrowly did as the tip of the ōdachi scratched his chest armor. Shimmer immediately jumped up into the air and then spun rapidly in midair as she descended, turning into a Buzzsaw. Barbatos swung his sword at the incoming Buzzsaw, the moment he made contact, his muscles tightened and his teeth grit, the silver warrior’s feet dug into the asphalt as Shimmer’s attack pushed him back, despite his best efforts, strangely enough, Barbatos’ expression remained neutral, neither showing distress, anger, or glee in this exchange of blows.

Sunset jetted in from the left, making flames erupt from the soles of her feet to accelerate herself towards Barbatos. The wielder of the Ember Stone thrust her right fist forward, that same fist swiftly transforming into a fire serpent as it quickly wrapped itself around Barbatos’ left arm, sinking its fangs into the shoulder armor. Shimmer ceased her attack and changed the ōdachi’s blade into a large chain that snaked around Barbatos’ right arm, with the end turning into a sharp hook that buried itself into Barbatos’ right shoulder pauldron.

“Oh…”

“TIME TO GO FOR A RIDE!” Sunset and Shimmer shouted at the same time.

Shimmer spread her metallic wings and Sunset rose into the air with her jet flames to match Shimmer’s height. Both women released loud cries as they heaved and pulled Barbatos up off the ground and into the air. The twin Sunsets yelled yet again as they threw their arms forward, whipping their chains in that direction and sending the Servant of the Darkness over their heads and plummeting straight down into the ground. Barbatos landed with a loud “BOOM” into the street, making a crater at least three feet deep.

“READY?!”

“YEAH!”

Shimmer and Sunset stood side to side, with Shimmer’s right hand thrust forward and Sunset’s left hand right beside it. Their hands ignited with flames, those flames mingled with the others and transformed into a fireball that grew bigger and bigger with each passing second. Barbatos stood up from the crater and looked straight up to see his enemies preparing to strike, but he had no intention of dodging their attack.

Both Sunsets shouted their battle cry as they fired their combined fireball. The swirling mass of fire crackled and roared as it blazed, hurtling itself right for the crater. Barbatos met the fireball with its sword and cudgel, the resulting explosion shook everyone off their feet, making even the Blacknights stop their assault. Sunset and Shimmer hovered in the air and waited to see if that attack was enough to fell Barbatos.

Suddenly, the howl of a wolf shattered their confidence in his demise. Barbatos rose up, his left arm was missing, his armor cracked, parts of his body were burned, and others were trying to reform but remained as wispy shadows. The silver Servant still had his helmet and stinger tail, but his yellow eyes shifted to a blood red color, the quick movement of his head to look up at the Sunsets created red streaks in his wake.

“Looks like this one’s made tougher than the others,” said Shimmer.

“I can get tough too! Just let me–!”

Shimmer raised her right hand in a stopping gesture. “I’ll take care of it. Ready, partner?”

}}} You’re asking if I’m ready to cut down another of my Father’s creations? Is that even a question? {{{

Shimmer smirked, her red gemstone shined brighter as she released a loud battle cry. Sunset backed away as she watched Shimmer’s body burst into crimson flames, and when they died down her armor had changed, turning to a crimson red color, the gemstones became violet, Shimmer’s hair changed to silver, and her eyes shifted to a gold color with wisps of golden energy coming from the corners of her eyes. And, on top of all that, she couldn’t help but notice that Shimmer’s womanly proportions were given more definition, even her height was increased a little. Her metallic bat wings transformed, becoming metallic feathered wings, Shimmer smirked as she got ready to attack Barbatos.

Shimmer briefly eyed Sunset, noticing her surprise over the transformation. “Like what you see?”

“Uh…I…how’s that fair?! I change and become a dragon, you change, and you become a bombshell!” Sunset grossed.

“Don’t hate ‘cause I’m hot.”

Barbatos howled and jumped into the air with amazing speed, the red streaks of his eyes were the only thing that could be seen as he appeared before Shimmer. His clawed right hand shot forward and grabbed her by the throat and then took her further into the air and away from the battlefield.

Sunset and Barbatos landed a few meters away, crashing through one building after the other before finally stopping in the middle of the road. They were further away from the fireball that was acting like a makeshift sun, the area around them was covered in shadows, something that Barbatos needed. His wounds weren’t healing as fast, but that didn’t bother him. Sunset’s armor produced three metal claws from each arm, she raked both claws together, causing sparks to fly that lit up the area around her. In the shadows, most of what could be seen were their glowing eyes, one pair red as blood and the other golden.

The street beneath their feet buckled as they took off, streaks of red and gold following close behind in their wake. Barbatos leaped into the air and used his stinger tail to strike at Sunset. But like a baseball player, she slid against the asphalt, causing sparks to scatter about as she dodged the tail. Sunset vaulted off the ground, spun in the air and reformed her metal wings. With a single flap, dozens of knife-like feathers showered Barbatos, the demon used his tail to whip the feathers out of the air before they could reach him, but that was merely a distraction as Sunset flew in and thrust her left arm towards him.

Three blades pierced through Barbatos’ damaged chest armor and came out the other end. Despite this, Barbatos didn’t seem to care about his injury, or the ones he sustained earlier due to the combined fireball attack. Barbatos wrapped his clawed hand around Sunset’s forearm and tore her tri-claws from his chest, another loud wolf howl rang through the air as Barbatos whipped Sunset up and threw her straight to the ground. The impact created an earthquake that shattered the windows around them, however, when Barbatos landed the ground shook again.

Five crimson chains burst forth from the street like demonic sandworms, each one fitted with an arrowhead blade that was burning with crimson flames. The first two zipped along the ground and wrapped themselves around his ankles, the third coiled around his right forearm, and the fourth around his neck. The fifth was currently engaged with Barbatos’ stinger tail, the blade tip and the chain clashed in the air until the arrowhead morphed into a pincer, that same pincer clamped itself at the base of the blade. All five chains were pulled taut, anchoring Barbatos to one spot.

Sunset emerged from her crater with a bow in her left hand. She entered an archer’s stance as the drawstring formed by her mental command. As she drew, an arrow formed from the armor, and was coated in the crimson flames. “You were a tough one, but it’s over.”

“Yeah…that’s too bad. I was having fun,” said Barbatos in his neutral tone.

}}} SUNSET, HE’S HERE! {{{

Before Sunset could launch her arrow, a black mass formed beneath her. Tendrils jutted out from the mass, each one was eel-like, displaying razor sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. Sunset dismissed her bow and formed two bastard swords, she spun in place and slashed the air, sending out a wave of crimson flames. The flames cut through the tendrils, making them hiss in pain. Sunset took this chance to jump out of the mass, but another eel tendril sprang out of the shadow and sank its teeth into her left leg. The fangs pierced the armor, sending pain shooting up Sunset’s leg.

The tendril whipped her to the left, slamming her into a parked car, and then to the right, through the wall of a brick building. That same tendril tore her out of the building and prepared to slam her down again, but Sunset willed the armor around her leg to produce dozens of spikes, and on command, the spikes sprouted, twelve inches long. The spikes pierced through the head of the eel tendril, making the light in its eyes go out as it released her. Sunset dismissed the spikes and landed on the street, going down on her right knee as she waited for her leg to heal.

However, it seemed that Sombra wasn’t going to allow her the chance to do that. The host of the Darkness jumped straight up from the mass of shadows and fired his hand cannon at her. The mass of black and gray energy sailed through the air and struck Sunset in the chest, exploding in a warbling, thunder-like sound that threw her further back.

Sombra chased after Sunset, using his gatling pistol to fire multiple shots at her. Sunset formed a shield with her left arm as the pellets of black and yellow energy impacted against it. She flipped around and planted her feet against the street, cutting grooves into it as she came to a halt. Sunset released a jet of flames with her right hand down the street, Sombra saw this and jumped away from the flames, but at that moment, Sunset had propelled herself into the air and readied to deck Sombra. The Wielder of Darkness used his armor fist to meet her own, the impact caused a more powerful shockwave to erupt throughout the block as father and son clashed. Both of their hosts grunted as they pushed against the other’s fist, their auras raging around them, creating sparks of electricity in the air.

“This ends tonight Sombra! This war! Your corruption! ALL OF IT!” Sunset declared.

“I may be bad kid, but at least I’m upfront about it! Can you say the same about the Angelus?!” Sombra asked.

“Right now, I’m more focused on you!”

The Balance Bringer and Darkness Wielder broke off and landed back on the street. Sunset summoned a fantasy sword-like weapon, which was oversized but weighed as much as a feather. Sombra created a large battleax, the metal around the flat looked deformed as if it had grown veins. The two hosts met at the center as their weapons impacted against each other, a flurry of slashes took place as Sunset and Sombra crossed blades.

“Do you think you can trust that broad?! You’ve seen the way she kills my guys! Hell, her ‘angels’ kill the ones who surrender!”

Sunset and Sombra’s blades crashed against each other, both locking in place. “I don’t like it! But this will all end when the Darkness is beaten!”

“Kid don’t be naïve; I can tell you’re smarter than that! Do you honestly think that Angelus will stop when I’m dead and the Darkness is gone? Hell no! She’s me, but she knows how to win people’s trust and make ‘em like her, convince them that her way is the only way! She’s like a fuckin’ politician on steroids!”

Sombra pushed Sunset back, raised his left fist, and struck the ground. The street buckled and exploded upwards, sending a plume of dust into the air. Sunset jumped up and landed on the rooftops, she scanned the area quickly, not wanting to let Sombra get away. Her chance to end this bloodbath was tonight and she was not about to let it slip by.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she jumped up, just as Sombra’s black ax slashed in a wide arch. The Bringer of Balance flipped around and landed a few feet away from where Sombra was, entering an attack stance as she readied to charge him again.

“Listen kid, at the end of the day, we’re not so different,” said Sombra.

Sunset scoffed. “Please, we couldn’t be more different! I’m not some scumbag gang leader looking to upend a city to rule as their own personal kingdom!”

Sombra turned around, and, for some reason, Sunset could feel that he was smirking under his face mask. “That true? ‘Cause I can feel it, you weren’t always the righteous hero. Nah, not with that aura about you. Tell me the truth, you were a bad girl or somethin’, right? Probably did some really bad shit.”

Sunset flinched. “H-How…?”

Sombra’s eyes glowed. “The Darkness gives me some other neat abilities. For instance, allowing me to see into your soul. I wasn’t paying attention before, but I can see it now, you’re not completely human.”

“What of it?”

Sombra shrugged. “Nothing, but I can also sense emotions, like regret. There’s a lot of that wafting off ya, along with pride and anger. Like I said, we ain’t that different.”

Sunset growled and yelled, “THE HELL WE ARE!!!” Sunset raised her sword and slashed forward, sending a crimson fire crescent straight for Sombra. The Darkness Wielder slashed the air as well, sending his own dark crescent to meet hers. The two crescents struck each other and exploded, caving in the roof.

Sombra and Sunset burst forth from the debris and squared off. “Look, kid, I don’t want to kill you. ‘Cause at the end of the day, Angelus is going to kill us both. Hell, I’m pretty sure she’d be happy if we kill each other. Work with me kid, you can’t trust Angelus.”

“And I can trust you?!”

“At least I’m more honest about what I’m doin’ and what I want, unlike that fake angel of mercy,” said Sombra.

“Even if I wanted to, there’s someone important to me who’s acting as her host! I can’t run the risk of going against the Angelus until I can figure out a way to make sure she’s safe!”

Sombra raised his left and flexed his digits as a somber look appeared on his face, or at least what could be interpreted as one due to his armor. “I feel ya kid, but…she’s too dangerous to everyone, includin’ you and me. So…forgive me.”

Suddenly everything went black, and followed shortly after that, a massive explosion went off, destroying the building and making the entire structure crumble down to the ground. A fiery comet raced across the sky and flew down to the street across from the demolished structure.

“Oh shit…WITCHBLADE?!” There was no response. “Shit!” She rushed towards the pile of debris and started making constructs to dig.

However, her efforts were stopped when the flames erupted from the center, burning a hole through the debris. From that hole, Shimmer emerged, her armor had changed back to its standard obsidian color, no longer in its crimson state.

Sunset ran towards her double and threw her arms around her, hugging her interdimensional twin. “Fucking hell, you scared me! I thought you were dead!”

Shimmer chuckled. “Well, I did die twice, technically, so a third time wouldn’t be off the table. But don’t worry, I’m alright. Are Shining and the police okay?”

Sunset released Shimmer and surveyed the damage. “Yeah, after that last demon dragged you away, I made them run away when I turned into my dragon form again. But wow, you really did a number on this place, did that wolf demon thing give you that much trouble?”

Shimmer’s eyes widened when she remembered she was fighting Barbatos before Sombra arrived. She moved past Sunset and back into the streets, and unfortunately, Barbatos was gone, the remnants of the damage her chains did was still evident. “Dammit!”

“You didn’t kill him?”

“…Sombra appeared.”

Sunset’s gasped a bit from hearing his name. “That guy who has the Darkness! He showed up?! You fought him?!”

“Yep.”

Sunset fumed. “Son of a bitch, I knew I should’ve come to back you up sooner! That’s it, next time, I’m not leaving you alone!”

Shimmer placed her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. “Wow, someone’s acting like a big sister. Y’know, we never really established who is the big sister.”

“Well that’s obvious, I am. This is my world, so I was born first.”

Shimmer chuckled. “Well, technically, I was. Back in Equestria, before I leaped through the portal, I was a fully grown, twenty-one-year-old mare.”

Sunset shook her head. “Yeah, I’m calling bullshit.”

“Let’s go check on Shining Armor, and then I’ll make you eat crow after,” said Shimmer as she summoned her wings.

“Ha! If you’re telling the truth, I’ll go commando for a week,” said Sunset.

“Make it two weeks and you’ve got a…whoa…” Shimmer stumbled a bit, feeling dizzy.

Sunset hurried to her twin’s side and asked, “Hey, you alright? Maybe we should head back to my place instead?”

Shimmer shook her head in the negative as she smiled. “Nah, I’m alright, just tired. It happens whenever I use that form, drains me a lot. C’mon.”

Sunset and Shimmer flew into the air, with the former keeping an eye on the latter. What Sunset didn’t notice was that there was a faint black spot in the center of Witchblade’s red gemstone.