Neighsay floated over city hall, having essentially adopted it as his base. The empowered Cardinal had taken the liberty of having his Sworn remove Maria Mare’s corpse from the office on the night that he came into power, afterwards he brought her body to the police outside so that they may give her a proper burial, he may’ve been an all-powerful being, but he wasn’t so cruel as to not allow the deceased body of someone who – although forced – assisted him to be left out for the crows to feast on.

It was truly exhilarating to have this power, he could feel all things around him, those who dwelled in the shadows, and those who walked amongst the day. The spirits of the dead were clear for him to see as well, some were lost souls that were taken abruptly from this world, either through criminal acts of violence or from the killings during the demon takeover of the city months ago.

Now I have the power to right the wrongs of the world, and save the souls of the righteous, but I am far from complete, thought Neighsay.

While he had a great amount of power thanks to taking the Angelus and the Darkness’ essence, it still wasn’t all their power. And thanks to that small percentage that remained, he was unable to track their locations in the city. However, with a barrier that stretched all the way to the outskirts of the city, there was no way they could escape. Neighsay looked up into the sky, watching as a natural phenomenon was happening before his eyes. The sun was almost eclipsed by the moon, he remembered hearing news of this happening today, but paid it little mind. Although, now that he thought about it, ancient people saw eclipses as ill omens, but Neighsay saw it differently. It was indeed an omen, but an omen of a new age that was about to come.

More and more, little by little, Neighsay witnessed the total eclipse of the sun, creating an odd twilight throughout the sky and turning the sun black as bands of light rippled around it. Neighsay noted an odd feeling the moment this happened, his powers felt…odd, somewhat weakened and somewhat strengthened. This is a strange feeling…

“My lord.” Neighsay turned around and spotted his newest Sworn creation, he had a torso that was black as night, with white claws on his fingers. His head, however, was that of a white lion, with yellow eyes, and his lower half was covered in white fur was black wings sprouted from his back. The Sworn stood at seven feet tall, but currently he was kneeling before his lord and master.

“Ah, Mastema, I’m glad you’ve arrived. Tell me, what have you found?”

“Unfortunately, nothing, but I promise, if it takes us tearing apart the city, we’ll find them,” said Mastema.

“I know you all won’t let me down.”

Suddenly, a large explosion went off towards the northwest of the city. Mastema and Neighsay flew higher and saw multiple explosions take place over in that area as more and more of the Sworn swarmed. Neighsay glared towards that direction and smirked behind his helm, he knew who it was that was causing that noise and he was glad that they had spared him the trouble of searching for them.

“It would seem our quarry has decided to stop hiding. Mastema, go forth and bring me the Angelus and the Darkness, but DO NOT kill them. If they die, then the last remnants of their power will flow into another host and it could be years before I find them again,” Neighsay ordered.

“As you command!” Mastema flared his wings and took off swiftly towards where the commotion was happening.

Neighsay smiled broadly, they must’ve been desperate to initiate an assault now, but he could hardly blame them. They were low on options and had no chance of beating him with the power he now wielded, who else could possibly stand against him?

His answer came in the form of a massive fireball hurtling towards him. Neighsay turned around at the last second and released a burst of black and white energy that dispersed the fireball into embers. Hovering in the air a few feet away from Neighsay floated the ones responsible for firing at him. The two Sunsets, one bearing the Witchblade and the other the Ember Stone. Both girls were glaring at him with great disdain and anger, fists clenched and power flaring.

“I see, a diversion, was it? I assume that the Darkness and Angelus hosts are over there, but your real goal is to get me alone and fight me together.”

“We don’t need to explain anything to you,” said Sunset.

“The only thing you need to know is that you’re going down, and you’ll never get your hands on the power you seek,” Shimmer proclaimed.

Neighsay wagged his right index finger back and forth as if scolding the two teens. “Now, now, you simply can’t just stand in the way of fate.”

Shimmer scanned the area, knowing that Fluttershy wasn’t far away, there was no way that Neighsay wouldn’t keep her close by. She floated a little closer to her sister and asked, “You remember the plan?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, just be careful. Don’t get dead.”

“Same to you.”

Shimmer readied to attack, but at that moment a streak of gold came rushing towards her. Sunset unleashed a flame shield that encircled the both of them. The thick wall of flames proved effective in keeping the streak from hitting them, but while Sunset was defending, they could both see that the one behind the attack was none other than Fluttershy, wearing a white face mask. Sunset made her flame shield release fire serpents that sprouted out and lashed out towards Fluttershy, rather, the Magdalena. Magdalena saw what was happening and cancelled her attack as she allowed herself to go into freefall to avoid getting attacked by the fire serpents. Seeing this, Sunset brought down her shield and took off after her. Now only Shimmer and Neighsay remained.

“I see, divide and conquer. But you should know that I am the only one who can disable the command that I have on your friend, if you kill me, she’ll never be freed and will just keep attacking you and anyone I deemed an enemy to the Church. Unless, of course, you’ve resigned yourself to killing her?”

Shimmer created a claymore and katana and assumed a fighting stance. “You talk too fucking much, you know that?!”

Neighsay created a golden khopesh sword in his right hand, the blade taking on a feathered design, and in his left hand he formed a dual sided black ax, the ax blades were shaped to look like bat wings. With little more to talk about, the Bringer of Balance and the Usurper of the Balance rushed towards each other, when they met in the middle, a flash of light went off as a powerful shockwave erupted through the area.

To the northwest of Canterlot City, thankfully, it seemed that Neighsay had evacuated the city proper. Whether that was because Neighsay saw this coming, or because Neighsay didn’t want to be bothered, that was unclear, but it was a great relief for Celestia as she didn’t want innocent people getting caught in the crossfire.

Celestia and Sombra walked down the street, and flanking their right was Gaghiel and on their left was Barbatos. The Sworn littered the air and ground, all armed with black fire swords and obsidian colored shields. Both hosts were already donned in their armor and ready for battle, along with the Sentinel and Servant.

“We just need to keep these things occupied while the girls do their thing. We don’t need to get swarmed,” Sombra reminded.

“I know, but that’s not stopping me from tearing them apart.” Celestia glanced at Sombra with a narrow gaze. “Just know that at the end of this, you’re going to answer for everything you put us through.”

“Probably, and I said I was sorry already! I told you most of that wasn’t my idea! Well, kind of, but the Darkness was doin’ some kind of mind trick on me. I’m still pissed about that by the way.”

<^> I will not apologize for doing what I needed to do to get what I wanted! <^>

“You’re so going into the Siphon when this is over.”

The first wave of Sworn charged straight for them, Sombra summoned his Darkness Pistols and began opening fire on the multitudes before them. His aim was true as one after another of the Sworn were shot out of the air, pierced by the smaller rounds of the gatling pistol, while many more were blown away by the explosive power of the hand cannon pistol. Celestia slammed her palms together and formed a claymore sword, the blade glowing a bright white. The Bearer of the Angelus dashed towards the closest Sworn and slashed it down the middle, not losing momentum, Celestia sped towards the next one, slicing it horizontally around its stomach before throwing a roundhouse kick to another that was coming up behind her.

Another one tried to attack Celestia from her right, but Gaghiel roared and charged for it, clamping his powerful jaws around its throat and tearing it out, letting golden ichor spray out from the wound before the Sworn disappeared. Two more closed in to attack Gaghiel, but the Beast of God transformed into his humanoid form and used his left claw gauntlet to skewer the first one in the stomach, he spun around on his left heel and slammed it into the one that was attacking from the right. The second Sworn was thrown to the ground and pinned there thanks to the body of its dead alley, Gaghiel took advantage of this, jumping into the air and coming down with his right claw gauntlet, piercing through the both of them at once.

Some of the Sworn tried to attack Sombra, but Barbatos made them regret that. Using its stinger tail to pierce and slice the foes that tried to attack it from behind, while in front, Barbatos used his long sword and cudgel to slice and smash a few of them. Barbatos’ natural combat prowess allowed him to feel the area around him, this was shown when four of the sworn attacked him from different directions. The wolf demon threw his long sword at the Sworn in front of him, piercing the Sworn in the chest, Barbatos dashed towards it while at the same time launching his stinger tail. The wolf demon appeared before the impaled Sworn and said, “I’ll take this back now.”

As soon as Barbatos grabbed the hilt of the sword, the stinger tail found its home in the chest of the Sworn that was behind him. Using it like a grappling hook, Barbatos reeled himself back and held out both his sword and cudgel out at arm’s length. The two other sworn were about to attack, but before either of them could do so, Barbatos struck them both in the head as he passed them by, cleaving one Sworn’s head off while bashing the other into a pulp. Barbatos dug his clawed feet into the asphalt and anchored himself there as he let his stinger tail reel in the remaining Sworn, once it was close enough, Barbatos slashed with his long sworn, lobbing off its head and making it disappear into particles.

A couple of Sworn came after Sombra while Barbatos was busy, but he wasn’t exactly helpless. Blades appeared below the grips of his pistols and Sombra went to work. He used the gatling pistol and took aim at the first Sworn, forcing him to raise his shield to defend himself. Sombra launched his Darkness eels from the shadow cape, one wrapped around the Sworn’s forearm while the other widened its jaws and chomped down on the Sworn’s right shoulder. The sharp fangs of the eel pierced the armor, shattering bone and rending muscle and tissue, the eel tentacle thrashed about and ripped the arm right off the Sworn’s body. The creation of Neighsay cried out in pain as its golden ichor sprayed outwards. Sombra got up close to the Sworn, put the cannon pistol’s barrel in the Sworn’s face, and pulled the trigger. The shot blew off its head with one shot, the second Sworn tried to avenge his fallen alley, but Sombra whipped around and thrust the butt of his left gun into the side of the Sworn’s skull, using the knife to pierce through its temple and into its brain. The second Sworn went still and fell to the ground when Sombra removed his blade.

Another of the Sworn was coming for Sombra, but a golden light spear hit the creation from behind and killed it instantly. The thrower, Celestia, walked towards him, still looking displeased with him. Sombra chuckled and said, “Thanks for the assist.”

“Dying isn’t part of the plan, and despite everything, your death wouldn’t help us,” Celestia explained as she formed her claymore and stood beside him.

Sombra scoffed and reloaded his pistols with dark energy. “Whatever ya say Miss Celestia.”

“Just ‘Celestia’.”

Sunset (human) was having a bit of trouble fighting Magdalena, the goal was to get their friend back and make sure she was strong enough to fight against Neighsay, if she was willing to after everything that has happened to her. That being said, the Magdalena, on the other hand, had no trouble trying to kill Sunset. The holy assassin tried to pierce Sunset with her Spear of Destiny, but thankfully Sunset managed to narrowly avoid a fatal blow each time, that’s not to say that she didn’t get some hits in.

Both girls were in the middle of the street, Sunset’s body had glowing scars on it, some were almost closed while others were slowly healing, a testament to the power of the Spear of Destiny. Magdalena twirled her spear around and dashed towards Sunset, the flame wielder unleashed a dozen pyro snakes from her right hand. The flaming serpents hissed as they zigzagged through the air and closed in on their target, Magdalena stopped in her tracks and assumed a defensive stance.

The first pyro snake lunged for her arm, but Magdalena snapped her spear upwards and cut its head off, two other pyro snakes wrapped themselves around her ankles and lifted her up into the air, another two lashed out and wrapped themselves around her arms, completely immobilizing her.

“Fluttershy, please sit still and we can end this nightmare!” Sunset stated.

“I am the Magdalena; I am the chosen warrior of the holy Church. I have no identity, I have no ambitions, I have but one purpose. To eliminate all those who defy the will of God and the will of Cardinal Neighsay. You, bearer of hellfire, will be punished in His name,” spoke Magdalena.

The holy assassin released the Spear of Destiny and let it hit the ground. She made a fist with her right hand and stuck other middle and index fingers out, and with a flick of wrist, pointed them at Sunset. Suddenly, the Spear of Destiny had gold light outline its form as it rose and hurled itself straight for Sunset. Panicked by this development, Sunset released Magdalena and dodged to the right, avoiding the flying spear as it whizzed past her. Magdalena landed on her feet and turned to face her foe, using her two fingers, Magdalena began making more gestures, and in so doing, made the Spear of Destiny attack.

Sunset was forced to dodge; Magdalena wasn’t giving her a moment to recover as the spear came flying in from different directions. It came from the left and made her spun in place to avoid it, but then it doubled back towards Sunset, she fell onto her back and had the weapon miss her, but then it flipped up into the air and plummeted down to impale her. Sunset rolled away just as the spear struck the asphalt and made a crater five inches wide and five inches deep. Sunset rolled to a stop and got back to her feet as she panted heavily from having to dodge again and again. “Okay, that’s new! I didn’t know you could control it with your mind!”

Magdalena flicked her wrist towards herself, the Spear of Destiny rose and flipped around in the air until it was floating next to her. “The Spear of Destiny isn’t just controlled with my mind; it’s controlled by my power as well. But that is not the only power it possesses, allow me to demonstrate. Spear of Destiny, Second Form: Unum Milia Nostre Gladii!”

The Spear of Destiny glowed a bright gold and then broke down into several hundreds of light particles that littered the area. The light particles soon took shape and then took physical form, transforming into a thousand golden swords, and each one bore a Knights Templar cross at the end of the pommel and on the tips of the cross guard.

“Oh, you have got to be shitting me…!” Sunset groaned.

“You should feel honored, heathen, not many beings have forced a Magdalena to reveal another form of the Spear of Destiny. Now, fall before the holy blades of the knights of the Church!”

Magdalena swiped her hand in front of her, giving the command for the Crusaders Swords to fly at Sunset. But the wielder of the Ember Stone wasn’t about to go down that easily. Sunset widened her stance, held out her arms in front of her to form a loose “X” formation, small fire pillars began to form all over her body, as if her armor had made holes and was venting the fire inside her body. When the swords got close, Sunset ignited her flames and spun rapidly, the motion created a spinning dome of fire that generated a powerful shockwave of heat that buffeted Magdalena and made the swords struggle to get close to her. A low rumble shook the ground beneath Magdalena, her danger sense alerted her to something, and she immediately jumped up as high as she could go. Her senses were proven right as a giant flaming maw crunched the ground beneath her and turned it into molten rock, that mouth rose, showing that it was a flaming eastern dragon.

Sunset appeared inside the fire construct’s head and lashed out with a claw, the swords flew towards the claw and pierced it from several directions, disrupting the construct’s claw and breaking it apart. The disruption was only temporary as the construct reformed its arm and attacked with its left claw, more of the blades attacked, but this time they combined into a circle and spun towards the construct’s head like a buzz saw. The golden ring cut off the construct’s head, but before it did, Sunset had dropped low into the construct’s chest, from there she changed the construct’s form, making the body bulky and stronger, and from that severed part, two more heads sprouted out.

Magdalena furrowed her brow in annoyance and willed more blades to cut down the heads. But as soon as she did that, four heads appeared, again and again, she cut down the heads, but each time another head regrew until there were at least a dozen heads.

“It’s a hydra, sweetie, you cut one head, two more grow back! I can do this all day!”

The Magdalena growled in frustration and willed all the swords to attack at the same time. A thousand swords rained down on the hydra construct, each one turned into a golden streak of light as they rained down on the hydra at the same time. Sunset burst forth from the hydra construct’s chest and used her flames to give herself a speed boost, closing the distance between herself and Magdalena in less than a few seconds. The wielder of the Ember Stone barreled into the holy assassin, causing both of them to roll around on the ground. They came to a stop with Sunset on top of Magdalena, pinning her there.

“Dammit, Shy, you’re not making this easy!” Sunset stated as she let the armor around her hip open and revealed a device.

“Spear of Destiny, Third Form: Virtutum Armis!”

The swords all turned into light and joined together into a single ball of golden light. That light shot towards Magdalena and layered itself over her body, forcing Sunset to back off her. When Magdalena rose to her feet, she was covered in golden armor, which Sunset was going to wager was trying to compete with Witchblade in the skimpy armor department. A pair of golden gauntlets covered Magdalena’s arms from her shoulders all the way to her hands. Her upper body was covered in armor but allowed a small window of cleavage to show. Her midriff was visible, but her crotch and rear were covered in what could only be described as metal panties. The lower half of Magdalena’s legs were covered in armored boots, and lastly, her head was completely encased in a golden helmet, with only two emerald eyes looking right at Sunset. The armor pieces each had a symbol engraved on them, on the gauntlets it was on the tops of the palms, on the chest armor there was one located over the heart, another was on the crotch armor, and two more were on the boots for a total of seven.

“Okay…what the hell is that?”

“This is the Armor of Virtue. My right fist is Patience, my left is Humility. My heart is protected by Kindness, and of course my purity is guarded by Chastity. My left leg bears Temperance while my right bears Charity, and lastly, my helm defends me with Diligence,” Magdalena explained.

Sunset eyed Magdalena up and down and said, “Yeah, you do know that that armor doesn’t cover all of you, right? You’re more or less wearing a bikini.”

Magdalena huffed. “Of course, only a person whose mind is steeped in lustful thoughts would only see such things, my armor is powered by the divine, not by pagan magic!”

“Okay, first off, I just call it like it is, you’re wearing sexy armor! Second, if I do have ‘lustful’ thoughts, they’re only about my girlfriend!”

Magdalena got into a runner’s stance and took off for Sunset, her sudden bolting caused the ground beneath her to crumble and shatter from her power. The holy assassin was upon Sunset and drove her left fist into Sunset’s stomach, the pyromancer let out a harsh cough as pain erupted from her abdomen. The blow sent Sunset flying backwards down the street, skipping like a stone on water until she landed, back first, into a parked car, leaving a body sized dent in it.

Sunset peeled herself off the car, and then just threw up onto the ground. She wiped her mouth, realizing that she had vomited blood, Sunset wasn’t too surprised, the blow hurt like hell and she was sure that she heard the sounds of ribs breaking and some organs popping inside her. Thankfully, the flames of the Ember Stone had already healed her and was beginning to nullify the pain.

“I’m sorry, Sis, but Fluttershy’s playing for keeps.” Sunset briefly took out the device that Twilight had given her from her armor. A rectangular device with a pause, play, stop, and record button.

“It’s done, Miss Meadowbrook and I were able to create an exact facsimile of Neighsay’s voice. However, for it to be one-hundred percent effective, you’ll need to play it right next to her ear.”

“The only way I’m going to get her to hear this is if I get serious…Sorry, Fluttershy, this will hurt, but I’m going to get you back, for Sis, for your friends!”

Sunset put the device away, her entire body erupted with flames, turning her into a walking wildfire. Magdalena was rushing towards her, intent on killing Sunset, but Sunset wasn’t dying, not with a family and girlfriend to go back to. Sunset made flames ignite beneath her feet and gave her a boost, both girls cocked back their right fists and punched, their blows met in the middle and created a powerful explosion that shattered the glass of the buildings around them.

The skies above Canterlot City were alive with the sounds of blades clashing. Sunset (pony) and Neighsay dueled ferociously, the former unicorn was proving to be a match for the empowered former Cardinal. Despite having the powers of the Angelus and the Darkness, Neighsay’s combat experience was nowhere near the same level as Sunset’s. She had honed her body in the absence of magic, as well as her mind, and when she obtained the Witchblade, her fighting abilities only got better thanks in part to her fighting the Wendigos, and more recently the Darkness, the Servants, and the Blacknights.

Even still, Neighsay wasn’t a slouch either, he was learning as he fought. The powers of Angelus and the Darkness did grant him some combat knowledge and ability, but Neighsay wasn’t a fighter, he hadn’t ever been in a fight, preferring to outwit and ensnare his enemies in whatever clever ploys or traps he had set up.

Sunset and Neighsay flew at each other and clashed their blades, both struggled against the other, grunting and growling as they glared at one another. The Witchblade had gone into full armor mode, instinctively knowing that Neighsay was a real threat to his host, but at the same time, the weapon of light and darkness knew that his host had a chance of beating this mortal fool.

“I must say, Sunset Shimmer, you’re more of a handful than I gave you credit for,” said Neighsay.

“That supposed to be a complement?!” Sunset snarked as she batted him away and put some space between them.

“It is, you deduced that this time, the time of the eclipse, would be your best opportunity to defeat me. A time when it is neither day nor night, when my powers would be slightly dampened due to this unique time of twilight. You used the hosts of Angelus and the Darkness to lure the majority of my Sworn forces away, and had your twin take on my ward while you come and deal the killing blow.” Neighsay took on a more laid-back demeanor as he continued. “Do you think that last part was wise though? I am the only one who can undo the command that makes Magdalena obey me, if you kill me, there won’t be any way to break the mental command.”

Sunset scoffed. “Let me worry about that, you worry about yourself!”

The former Equestrian dismissed her swords and formed a bow in her left hand. She pulled on the drawstring which instantly formed arrows, in a matter of seconds, Sunset loosed three arrows towards Neighsay. The stealer of light and darkness easily dodged them, letting the arrows fly by him with little effort, however, what he didn’t realize was that those arrows had very thin, very fine metal wire connected to them. Sunset pulled on the wires and made the arrows explode; the strands weaved together to form a giant metal net behind Neighsay. The Bringer of Balance pulled back on the net and made it envelop Neighsay, much to his surprise.

Now ensnared, Sunset summoned her fire power and released that energy through the net. The metal heated up rapidly, and inside the net, flames ignited until it turned into a blast furnace, exploding into a raging ball of flames that completely surrounded Neighsay. Sunset cut off the wires and smirked at her good work, however, her smirk didn’t last long as a wave of light sliced through the fireball. The sphere of flames broke apart into embers and revealed an unharmed Neighsay, his khopesh sword held outwards to his right side.

“That was impressive, Sunset Shimmer, very clever. I can see why you were able to gain control of your fellow students at your school so easily,” Neighsay commented.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Great, you know about my checkered history at CHS, big deal.”

The Usurper of the Balance chuckled. “Oh, I know a great deal more about you than that. The Magdalena told me some interesting things, like, for instance, that you are not in fact human, but a sapient equine creature from another world.”

Sunset flinched upon mention of her little secret, but she maintained her composure. “So what?”

“I also know that you were quite the personification of some of the seven sins. Prideful in your abilities, Envious of one whom you believed robbed you of what was yours, Greedy for more and more power, never satisfied with your station, and lastly, your Wrath was brought down on any that would deny you your perceived rightful place.” Neighsay dismissed his weapons and placed his hands behind his back as he began to move in a circle around Sunset.

“I know the sins I’ve committed in the past, but my past doesn’t define me! Who I am now, and who I become in the future is what I’m looking towards! And I’ve atoned for what I’ve done!” Sunset shot back.

“Hmmm, have you? You ran from your homeland and came into a world that is not yours to commit more sins, to try and achieve that which you demanded from someone who is like a living god in your world. You haven’t atoned for anything; you’ve simply ran away from the consequences. True atonement is facing your past, come what may.”

Sunset created two arm blades and readied to attack. “You do well to remember those words when I cut off your head and take the Siphon and Prism from you!”

Neighsay stopped a few feet in front of Sunset and said, “But you should know that I cannot allow this.”

“Allow what?”

“Allow a world that is filled with creatures that God himself deemed unnatural, unicorns, pegasi, and all manner of creatures from ancient times. They must all be eradicated, and to hear that there is a being there that dares to control the heavenly body that is the sun is an affront to God himself, a false god!” Neighsay’s aura flared black and white as he summoned his two weapons again. “I will slay this false deity and bring the truth to these paganistic beings!”

The world seemed to slow down in that moment, Neighsay had just threatened to invade Equestria, to bring harm to the ponies, and to kill the one mare in that world who gave a damn about her. With the powers Neighsay possessed, Sunset had no doubts that he could be more than a match for Princess Celestia, even with Princess Luna, Cadence, and Twilight fighting together, heck, she wasn’t even sure that the power of the Elements of Harmony could bring Neighsay down. And that’s not considering if he defeats all of them in this world and obtains the full powers of the Angelus and the Darkness. She couldn’t let that happen – she wouldn’t let that happen.

Partner…give me everything you’ve got!

}}} I shall make it so! {{{

Sunset’s body erupted with crimson light, her body and armor changed to that of the Crimson Form, but instead of Sunset’s normally confident, sultry look, pure anger was plastered on her visage. “You WILL NOT step one foot in my homeland! I’ll end you here and now!”

Neighsay cut the air in front of him with his batwing ax and created a black gash before him. That gash released dozens of Darkness eels that hissed and slithered towards Sunset. The former unicorn slashed three of the eels in one swing, five more were attacking her from behind, but Sunset formed a blade on the tip of her right foot and threw a roundhouse kick, slicing them all in one move. More and more eels tried to attack her, but this time Sunset created two chain swords in both hands. She set them both on fire, crimson flames licked the bladed whips as she began lashing the air around her, cutting them down and making it hard for even one of them to get near her.

Neighsay raised his right sword up, and as soon as he did his body shimmered. From his single body, four other copies appeared next to him, creating a total of five Neighsays. Sunset ceased her attack and glared at the multiple enemies before her, she shifted the two whips into swords and assumed a fighting stance.

“You’re determined to annoy the hell out of me, aren’t you?!”

Gaghiel and Barbatos were fighting back to back, the number of Sworn had increased in direct correlation to their threat. Apparently, they underestimated just how strong one Servant and Sentinel, and two hosts at twenty percent power could be. The four of them were slaughtering Sworn by the droves, unfortunately there still didn’t seem to be any end in sight.

“A Sentinel and a Servant fighting side by side, that’s something you don’t see every day,” said Barbatos.

“Don’t get used to it abomination! When this battle is over, I will come for your head!” Gaghiel replied.

Barbatos shrugged and cut down a Sworn about to attack Gaghiel from behind, Gaghiel, in turn, used his claw gauntlets and sliced two Sworn that were about to do the same. Despite the two creatures being born from two different forces of good and evil, they were, surprisingly, in sync with each other as they fought their enemies. The same could also be said for their masters.

Celestia and Sombra were in the air, fighting with even more of the Sworn. Sombra let loose more of his Darkness shots from his pistols, while Celestia continued to cut them down. Sometimes she would break away and barrel into a flock of the Sworn and begin hacking away at them, Sombra gave her cover fire, blasting away any of the ones that tried to close off her escape route. Some of the Sworn saw this as an opportunity to attack Sombra, but he made them regret that when he summoned his Darkness eels and tentacle spears. The hissing creatures would wind around their foes and snap their jaws around the jugulars of the Sworn, while the tentacles pierced through them and tore them apart, painting the air gold with their blood.

Celestia summoned swords of light and fired them straight for the flock of Sworn, hitting them in their heads, torsos, and clipping their wings. She decided to get a little creative when she formed a large, four bladed shuriken. Celestia flew higher, spun in the air to build up momentum, and then hurled the shuriken at the Sworn. The spinning blade sliced through several of Sworn at once, mincing them and making the sky rain down their body parts before they turned into particles of light. Celestia summoned another sword to her left hand, but then turned it around to combine it with the pommel of her right sword, creating a double-bladed sword. With her new weapon, she charged the blades and slashed the air before her, sending a crescent wave of light that cut down more and more.

Celestia retreated to Sombra’s position and asked, “How many of these things are there?!”

“What’s the matter, Celestia, gettin’ tired?” Sombra joked.

The school principal chuckled. “Heh, no, just annoyed! We need to get to Sunset and help her fight Neighsay!”

Sombra blasted a few more Sworn out of the sky before he replied, “That’s not the plan. If we go there, we’ll give ‘em what he wants and then it’s game over for everyone! The best thing we can do is stay here and just keep these rats with wings occupied! The less those kids have to worry about the better!”

Celestia knew he was right, if anything, the two of them being there would make them a liability, and Sunset wouldn’t be able to go all out if she was too worried about protecting her. Still, that didn’t mean she worried less about what was happening. This was her idea, but it was the Sunsets that were executing the most dangerous portion of it.

Suddenly, the Sworn stopped their movements and just hovered in place. Gaghiel and Barbatos looked around, just as confused as their masters. The Sworn parted themselves as two Sworn, different from the rest, flew in. The biggest Sworn by far, and the most bestial, Mastema, hovered before Sombra and Celestia. The second was female, she had similar wings to Mastema, but wore no armor. She instead wore a black and white dress with gold accents, her skin was a dark violet color, while her hair was pure white. Contrasting this was a pair of striking red, ruby colored eyes, and a fanged grin, she also sported curvy hips, and a generous bust. She was, to say the least, quite the sight.

“Okay, I’ll bite, who the hell are you two?” Sombra asked.

“We are Master Neighsay’s elite, I am Mastema,” spoke the man-beast.

The female Sworn giggled and said, “And I am Lilith, pleased to meet you, hosts of the Darkness and Angelus.”

“I see Neighsay’s decided to stop screwing around and take us seriously then!” Celestia stated.

Lilith gasped and shook her head. “Oh no, no, no, don’t take it like that! Master Neighsay does take you seriously! He very much wants you both! So, of course, he sent the two of us!”

“Uh-huh, so, which one you want?” Sombra asked.

“Depends, are you going to get distracted by that one’s chest?”

“Really?”

Lilith giggled again. “I honestly don’t care who my partner is.” The Sworn Elite ran her hands over her chest and down her hips before licking her fangs and smiling deviously at the two hosts. “Man or woman, fun can be had with either.”

Celestia and Sombra shivered at the way Lilith put that.

“Ooookay, I’ll take the whore and you take the beast,” said Celestia.

“Whatever floats your boat,” Sombra replied as he reloaded his pistols.

The two hosts quickly took off towards their respective foes. Celestia wasted little time in driving her double-bladed sword straight through Lilith’s chest, carrying her higher into the sky as she did so. But, instead of anger or painful cries, which Celestia expected to hear from Lilith, the Sworn did something else that made Celestia cringe hard.

“Oh, yes, that hurts so good!” Lilith cried out in bliss. “Deeper, push that sword deeper into my chest!”

“W-What the–?!” Celestia pulled her sword out of Lilith’s chest, and the moment she did Lilith made a pleasurable moaning sound.

Lilith clutched at the wound on her chest, staining her hands with the golden ichor that flowed from it. The wound healed quickly, and Lilith licked the blood off her fingers. “Hmm…more, please, hurt me more!”

What in the hell is wrong with her?

Celestia decided to not think about it too hard as she flew towards Lilith again, this time, instead of stabbing her, she cut off the Sworn’s right arm, followed up with another slash, cutting off her left leg. However, just like before, instead of wails of pain, Lilith only made shrieks of pleasure.

“OH YES! HURT ME MORE! STAB ME, CUT ME, BURN ME! DAMAGE ME!!!”

“I’m sorry, but you’re really freaking me out right now!” Celestia dismissed her sword, breaking it down into light particles. She reformed them into a mass of energy into both of her right hand and fired it all in one shot. The beam of light bathed over Lilith and flung her all the back down to the ground. The moment she and the beam impacted, an explosion went off, burning a hole at least five feet deep and three feet wide. “There…”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t over. From the smoldering crater, Lilith stood up. Her skin was burned severely, some parts had bone exposed, even her hair was singed off. And yet, despite this, she was smiling, as best as she could with a half-melted face. The damage didn’t last as the injuries she sustained were completely healed in a matter of seconds, and to make matters worse, about the only thing that did get damaged and destroyed were her clothes.

“Hmm, host of Angelus, you’ve given me such ecstasy with that last attack!” Lilith, in an extremely lewd act, placed two fingers between her legs and brought them up to show clear strands of fluid on them. “See, you made me have an orgasm! I thank you dearly for that!”

Angelus…what…what is she?!

\\\/// I am…just as disturbed as you are right now…\\\///

“Now…” A red halo appeared over Lilith’s head as she widened her stance and smiled menacingly up at Celestia. “It’s my turn to give you the same pleasure you’ve shown me!”

Lilith bent her knees, causing the ground below her to buckle. The Sworn Elite jumped high into the air, destroying the ground beneath her from the sheer force of her take off. Lilith closed in on Celestia and drove her knee into her stomach, causing the air to leave Celestia’s lungs. Lilith put her hands together and brought them down in a double hammer fist to Celestia’s back, sending the host of Angelus plummeting into the streets below.

Celestia coughed and took in a deep, raspy breath, she didn’t have time to stay down, she needed to get back up. Thankfully, it was just in time as Lilith formed a red construct energy whip with her right hand. Her left hand formed claws on her fingers made of the same red energy, all the while, Lilith’s eyes shined red with sadistic glee. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”

Meanwhile, Sombra wasn’t faring too well either. Mastema was vicious and relentless. Sombra tried to shoot the man-beast Sworn, but it seemed as if the shots weren’t registering when they hit Mastema. When the Sworn Elite got close, Sombra dismissed his guns and went for hand-to-hand combat. Mastema swiped with his claw, but Sombra managed to dodge the attack, allowing him to throw a right hook into Mastema’s left side. The impact seemed to register as Mastema noticeably grunted from the impact. Sombra smirked and went on the offensive, throwing one punch after the other, landing body shots before hitting Mastema with an uppercut to the man-beast’s lower jaw.

Mastema skidded backwards but managed to stop himself. The creature grinned as he spat some of his gold blood, a red halo formed over his head and for some reason, the air seemed to change around him. The man-beast roared at Sombra and charged straight for him, Sombra chuckled with a bit of bloodlust fun as he did the same. The two fighters threw a punch, both fists collided against each other and created a shockwave that blew both of them back. Mastema recovered first and flew towards Sombra, he grabbed him by the left ankle and threw him against the side of a building.

Sombra let out a gasp of pain, gritting his teeth, he summoned four tentacles that lashed out towards Mastema. One of them pierced through Mastema’s right shoulder, pain surged through the Sworn’s arm, making Mastema release Sombra. The tentacle retracted and quickly wrapped itself around Mastema’s neck, while the other three tied up his left wrist and both ankles. The wound that Mastema received hissed as it quickly healed and allowed him to use his right claw to tear the tentacles apart. Sombra summoned his hand cannon pistol into his right hand, and with his left he formed a shadow sword.

The host of the Darkness stabbed Mastema in the thigh, causing the Sworn to roar in pain. While Mastema had his mouth open, Sombra shoved the barrel of the hand cannon into the Sworn’s mouth, causing Mastema’s eyes to widen as he coughed in protest. Sombra smirked underneath his face mask and narrowed his eyes as he said, “Chew on this kitty!”

Sombra pulled the trigger and immediately a powerful explosion went off in Mastema’s mouth, shrouding his head in smoke as he was sent flying backwards onto the street. The host of the Darkness twirled the gun around on his index finger and brought it to his mouth, he lowered the armor around his mouth and blew away the smoke coming out of the barrel.

“Now that that’s done, guess I should give Celestia a hand.” Sombra took a moment to watch the fight between Celestia and Lilith. The gangster cringed as he watched the angelic warrior fight against a naked Sworn who was laughing maniacally. “Yeesh, she’s a freak. Guess I picked the lesser of two evils.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Sombra turned his gaze back to Mastema’s body and watched as the Sworn rose from the ground, the smoke that concealed his head finally lifted and revealed that his head was completely intact. “What the hell?! I shot you in the mouth, with a cannon!”

Mastema slammed his fists together and growled as he approached Sombra. “Fighting only makes me stronger, the more aggression the better! And with each punch thrown, with every blow taken and dealt back, my body adapts, and my power grows. As opposed to Lilith, she revels in receiving and giving pain, it’s a form of lustful energy that she enjoys. So, the more you try to hurt her, the more she enjoys it, and the more she enjoys, the more powerful she becomes.”

Sombra face palmed himself as he dragged his armored hand down his face. “Goddammit, what, was Neighsay fucking high when he made you two?!”

Mastema vanished from sight, making Sombra create a sphere of shadows around himself to protect against Mastema’s inevitable attack. The attack did come, Mastema smashed his fist through the shield and right into Sombra with the force of a wrecking ball. However, Mastema didn’t stop there, he continued driving his fist into Sombra’s chest and carried him upwards through the building, smashing through one floor after the other until they burst through the roof and into the air. Mastema vanished again and inhaled deeply, red light began to build up in the back of Mastema’s throat, growing brighter and brighter. The man-beast Sworn released a powerful roar that accompanied a column sized beam of crimson light that washed over Sombra and carried him all the way down to the street where it exploded.

Celestia paused in the air when she saw what happened and called out, “SOMBRA!”

Lilith took advantage of this little distraction; she lashed her whip towards Celestia and wrapped it around her. She pulled the whip hard, making it go taut and completely immobilize Celestia. Lilith reeled Celestia in like a fish and brought her close to her body. “Hmm, you are incredibly beautiful. You know, I am not beyond being convinced to spare you if you agree to be mine. What do you say, host of Angelus? All my Master wants is the remnants of Angelus that dwell within you, after that he could care less what happens to you. But if you are with me, I can promise to keep you safe and show you pleasures that you could only dream of.” As if to punctuate her point, Lilith licked the side of Celestia’s helmet.

“I’ll pass you glorified nympho!” Celestia barked.

Lilith shrugged. “Oh well, worth a shot.”

The sadomasochist Sworn stabbed her construct claws into Celestia’s abdomen, forcing Celestia to drop the helm as she coughed up blood. Lilith removed her claws and whipped Celestia towards where Sombra was, and with a twist of her wrist, sent a bolt of energy along the line straight to Celestia. Another explosion went off, throwing Celestia right beside Sombra. The host of the Darkness was lying on his back, while Celestia was face down, both in great pain.

“…Just checking…but we’re screwed right?” Sombra asked.

“…Kind of…I think…” Celestia replied.

The two hosts rose to their feet, Celestia’s wounds were already healed, along with Sombra’s. The wielders of light and darkness were not in a good place right now, at this rate, Neigshay’s Sworn were going to beat them down enough to drag their unconscious bodies to the psychopath. Just then, above the city, a sphere of light shined in the sky, a dark sphere followed right behind it and merged with the white one, creating a bigger sphere of the two dual energies of light and darkness. It was right about then that they, through the Darkness and Angelus, felt something, a feeling of danger and of pain, not theirs, but someone else’s.

\\\/// Witchblade! \\\///

<^> Something is happening to him! <^>

Celestia’s eyes widened with fear as she looked upon the swirling mass of white and black with new horror. “Sunset’s in trouble! We have to help her!”

“I’m with you there, but those two aren’t going to let us get by them…” Sombra noted with annoyance.

Angelus and the Darkness went silent for a moment, their hosts could feel that they were thinking about something, but what exactly they didn’t know. Finally, after a few more seconds, they felt that their entities had come to an accord.

<^> Sombra. <^>

\\\/// Celestia. \\\///

<^> Send us to our Son. \\\///

\\\/// We will release our consciousness and become pure power. Our minds will be sent to the Siphon and Prism. \\\///

<^> But we will send our essence, our power, to our Son. He was born of us, but if he is given more of our power, he may stand a chance of defeating Neighsay. <^>

“And what about Sunset, will she survive something like that?!” Celestia asked.

<^> Hard to say, there was only one instance thousands of years ago, when a host of mine was able to take my Son from his host and merge our powers together. One of the only times I was not in control. The merger granted my host untold power, which was predictable since we are family. <^>

“But what happened to your host?” Sombra asked.

<^> He was able to devastate what he wanted before his body gave out and I was forced to find a new host. <^>

\\\/// It is a gamble, a great risk. But Sunset is not a normal human being, she was originally from a world that is permeated with magic, and she was once a being who wielded great amounts of magical power, and still does to a degree. So, she might have a chance of being able to contain the merger of our three powers. \\\///

“And if you’re wrong?! She dies and Neighsay wins!” Celestia argued.

Sombra placed his armored hand on Celestia's shoulder. “Either way, she’ll die, at least our way she’ll get a fighting chance.”

Celestia didn’t like it, there was no option that didn’t involve risking Sunset’s life, but Sombra was right, either way, they all would die by Neighsay’s hands once he got what he wanted. The school principal looked higher up into the sky and saw the eclipse, the sun was becoming somewhat more visible. Time and circumstances were not on their side, and that only left one option.

“Okay…”

“Let’s do it.”

Celestia and Sombra began to glow, golden light enveloped Celestia’s body while Sombra was covered in dark, inky shadows. The two hosts felt the consciousness of Angelus and the Darkness fade away as they became pure power, they only had one shot at this, and they needed to make it count.

“Uh, Mastema, what are they doing?” Lilith asked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it! Stop them!”

Before Mastema and Lilith could act, Barbatos appeared behind them. His eyes blazed with red light as he held his long sword and cudgel aloft. Barbatos slashed Lilith across the back, cleaving her through in one stroke and severing her into two parts, with his cudgel, he slammed it on top of Mastema’s head, caving the Sworn Elite’s head in. But Barbatos wasn’t done yet, as he skidded to a stop in front of the two bodies and made sure that they stayed down a little longer. The wolf demon slammed his cudgel repeatedly against Lilith’s body until she was golden mush splattered onto the street, and once that was done, Barbatos quickly sliced up Mastema until his body was laying in parts strewn all over the ground.

“Good work, Barbatos!”

“One last thing I could do before I go,” said Barbatos.

Sombra and Celestia’s armor began to fade away as they channeled the last bits of their power into their hands, forming two orbs of gold and black. Unfortunately, Barbatos’ onslaught didn’t slow down the two Sworn Elite long as they began to pull themselves back together. Mastema was the first to reform, following right behind him was Lilith, who looked like she was in pure bliss.

“Hmm~ Now that was savage, please hurt me mo – humph!”

Before Lilith could finish her sentence, Barbatos tossed his sword at Mastema, lodging it in the beast’s heart, he dashed with great swiftness and clamped his right claw over Lilith’s mouth. “You’re too disturbing to allow to live, and I’m saying that as a demon.” Lilith made more noises, but Barbatos paid them no heed as he instantly clenched his claw into a fist and crushed her head.

Mastema growled with anger as he pulled the sword out of his chest and used it to cleave Barbato’s right arm off. The wolf demon was not deterred as his eyes continued to blaze red, he whipped himself around and bashed Mastema in the head with his cudgel. But Mastema caught it in his jaws and crushed the weapon between his jaws. Barbatos had no fear of death, he was a Servant, a construct of the Darkness, an aspect of his Master. And the one aspect he embodied was Sombra’s savage determination and ferocity. Undeterred by the destruction of his club, Barbatos threw a kick at Mastema’s head, sending the man-beast flying into a building. However, just as he did that, Lilith came up from behind him and impaled him with her claw construct.

Barbatos launched his stinger tail and returned his impalement with one of his own. The bladed tip transformed as it produced four hook prongs that latched themselves onto Lilith’s body. The tail jerked backwards and pulled her away, along with her claw construct. Barbatos whipped his tail around and threw her into the same building as he did Mastema. Lilith was sent flying until she struck against Mastema, sending the both of them back to the ground. Barbatos widened his stance as he lowered his upper body, his stinger tail whipping back and forth as he opened his maw and bared his fangs. Black energy wafted off his body as his eyes shined brighter, releasing arcs of red lightning. The wolf demon took one last glance as his master and Celestia, and then to Gaghiel who was fighting off the other Sworn. For a moment, an understanding passed between them, this was the one and only time a Sentinel would acknowledge and respect a Servant of the Darkness.

Barbatos released a loud and mighty howl as he charged straight for both the Sworn Elite. Building up more and more power until he reached critical mass, the wolf demon reared back his good left arm and thrust forward, piercing Lilith’s chest and continuing until his whole arm was through her body and into Mastema’s. Barbatos’ claw felt something hard, a bone of some kind, whatever it was, he grabbed it tight and held on.

Lilith coughed up golden blood as she said, “Oh, wolfy, you hurt me so good! Please take me now!!”

“You stupid whore, get him off of us!” Mastema ordered.

“You two aren’t going to live, this is the end for the both you…Die.”

“Wait wha–?!!!”

“You son of a–!!!”

A pillar of black and red light shot up from inside creating a powerful explosion that leveled the entire building, bringing it down in a massive heap of twisted metal and melted cement.

“I think we’re good!” Sombra stated.

“Gaghiel!” Celestia ordered.

The Beast of God charged his claw gauntlets and released wide crescent energy blades in every direction, clearing a wide berth for himself. Celestia and Sombra fired the twin spheres right at him, and like a pro dodgeball player, took hold of both spheres in both hands. Gaghiel channeled his energy into his wings, making them glow gold. He gave them a strong flap and shot towards the black and white sphere in the sky. The Sworn looked from the retreating Gaghiel and back to the now entity-less hosts.

“Sorry, but what you’re lookin’ for just went off that way,” said Sombra as he pointed in Gaghiel’s direction.

Celestia crossed her arms and added, “You wouldn’t want to disappoint your master by bothering with us instead of getting what he wants, right?”

The remaining Sworn looked to each other and realized that they were right. Without even giving it a second thought, they ignored Celestia and Sombra and chased after Gaghiel, but it was obvious that the Beast of God was already miles ahead of them and only getting further away, their attempts to reach him were in vain, but the two humans thought that it was probably a better option than incurring the wrath of their master.

Celestia finally lost strength in her legs and began to collapse, but Sombra quickly caught her and gently guided Celestia down and propped her up against a car. Sombra took a seat next to her and sighed in exhaustion.

“It’s all up to the kids from here on, this is fucked up,” said Sombra. “They don’t need to be doin’ this kind of crap.”

“I agree, they don’t. They should only have to worry about normal things, dates, school, social events, parties, college, their careers, but instead, they’re fighting to save the world…and we’re here sitting on our asses,” Celestia lamented.

“Guess this is the universe’s way of sayin’ we’re not meant to keep the world safe, it’s in the hands of the next generation, right?”

Celestia sighed and nodded slightly. She turned her gaze back to the sphere and prayed that Sunset was alright.

Fire erupted everywhere as Sunset and Magdalena continued to duke it out. Sunset knew the only way to stop Fluttershy and get her to listen to the device was to put her down long enough to play it, and of course, Fluttershy – or rather, the Magdalena – wasn’t making it easy. The Armor of Virtue was proving to be a lot tougher than it looked, despite the obvious gaps in the armor, it seemed that the armor created an invisible layer of light armor that only appeared when something hit the exposed area. Sunset believed it was probably done that way on purpose, to lure the enemy into thinking they had an easy spot to stab or shoot her, but only to find out too late that that wasn’t the case.

Sunset spun in the air, turning into a fire wheel for a few seconds before shooting forth with a flying, flaming kick towards Magdalena. The holy assassin brought her arms up in an “X” formation, letting Sunset’s kick strike the center of the “X” block. Sunset ignited her hair and turned it into a jet of flames that propelled her forward, driving the kick further and pushing Magdalena back. The Church’s Secret Soldier dug her heels into the asphalt, but it did little to slow her down as she cut grooves into the street. The symbols on Magdalena’s armor began to shine, and in a second, created a bubble of golden light that pushed back against Sunset’s kick.

The wielder of the Ember Stone was successfully pushed back as the barrier expanded to a good five-foot radius. But Sunset wasn’t done, she summoned a giant fire claw and brought it down over the barrier in a hammer fist attack. The blow caused the street to buckle as the barrier pushed against the ground below Magdalena, each impact creating fissures that reached the sidewalk and up the walls of the surrounding buildings. Sunset created a second claw and joined both claws together for a double handed hammer fist. Magdalena took advantage of this moment and dashed towards Sunset, barreling into her stomach, and sending the both of them pinballing against parked cars, lampposts, and building walls before they smashed through the window of a high-rise building.

Magdalena began punching Sunset in the face over and over again as she straddled her stomach, each impact made the floor shake violently, threatening to fall apart at any moment. When Magdalena cocked back her fist for another punch, Sunset opened her mouth and bellowed out a stream of flames. Magdalena was forced to back off Sunset, allowing her to get back to her feet as she charged the holy assassin. Sunset released a jet blast of fire from her left fist, propelling her elbow into Magdalena’s stomach. When Magdalena bent over from the impact, Sunset ignited the sole of her right foot, sending her knee rocketing for the bottom of Magdalena’s armored jaw.

Clearly dazed, Sunset grabbed ahold of Magdalena’s arm and spun her around rapidly before tossing her with all the strength she had. Magdalena smashed through several walls before ending up smacking back first into a brick wall, she shook her head from the daze, and quickly peeled herself off the wall and took off into the sky. As predicted, Sunset took off after her, both women ended up on the rooftop of the second building and squared off for another round.

“Fluttershy, I know you’re in there! Try and fight the control! I can get you back, but you need to fight and give me a moment to do what I need to do!” Sunset pleaded.

Magdalena’s right hand began to shake, she looked at it in confusion, but growled and clenched her fist. “I am not ‘Fluttershy’! I cast my identity away to become the right hand of judgement for the holy Church! For his holiness, Cardinal Neighsay!”

“No! You’re not just the Magdalena! You’re Fluttershy! The kindest, sweetest, most gentle person I’ve ever met! I may not have known you long like Sis, but even I can tell that much just from the way you talked to Sparky and made her feel better about being around other people! That kindness, that person deep inside, is still there and she’s trying to fight her way back!”

Magdalena’s hands still shook, her head was starting to hurt as well. As if something was pushing from deep inside her mind itself, trying to break through to this moment. The holy assassin snarled in frustration and anger as her armor glowed. “No more of your mind games! I’ll end this now! Spear of Destiny, Fourth Form: Vincula Divina Subjugatio!”

The armor released from Magdalena’s body, returning her to her original clothes. Behind her formed a large gold, metal halo, the halo’s center glowed gold and from it shot forth dozens of golden chains. Each one was tipped with an arrowhead that whistled as they cut through the air. Dozens and dozens more poured out of the portal in a seemingly endless stream, and all of them floated in the air as they awaited the command of their summoner. “These chains are a variation of the ones I used to bind the Angelus and the Darkness, two big differences though. One: they don’t require me to recite a chant to make them bind my target, and two: they can cut through almost anything.”

“Fuck me sideways, how many forms does that spear have?!”

Magdalena swiped her hand through the air, giving the command to attack. The chains rained down on Sunset, but Sunset hurriedly dodged them, running around the rooftop to avoid getting skewered by them. When she dodged another round, a chain rose from the roof and slashed her across the chest, causing blood to spray out into the air. Sunset yelled in pain and backed away. The wound was slow to heal as usual, but what caught her interest was the fact that the chain that attacked her didn’t break through the roof, in fact, it looked as if it was phasing through it.

“What the hell is that about?!” Sunset asked as she pointed to the chain in question.

“Oh, did I forget to mention one thing. These chains can pass through any physical object that I deem an obstacle to my target,” Magdalena explained.

“UGH! That spear is really starting to annoy me!”

Sunset released an infernal burst of flames that blinded Magdalena for a moment, and that moment was all she needed as Sunset dashed towards the holy assassin. Channeling the Ember Stone’s flames, Sunset coated her right fist with fire as she readied to put Magdalena down. But just before that happened, four chains phased through Magdalena’s body, one pierced Sunset’s left shoulder, the second pierced the right, and the last two anchored themselves in her thighs. Sunset grunted in pain from the attack, feeling the spear tips release barbs into her flesh to keep themselves secured.

“Well…that’s bullshit…they can even go through you…!”

Magdalena made a gesture with her hand and the chains moved until they were no longer passing through her and were angled around her body. The holy assassin walked towards Sunset, looking her right in the eyes. “They can, and you’ll also find that your powers are effectively sealed so long as they are touching you.” Sunset tried to ignite her flames, but it was becoming clear that Magdalena’s claims were true. “No need to struggle, it’ll all be over soon enough. Do you wish to pray before I execute you, or do you have any last words to speak?”

“Just a few…” Sunset smirked. “Breakfast is served with a silver spoon.”

Magdalena raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What is the significance of those words?”

“This.”

{Breakfast is served with a silver spoon.}

Magdalena’s eyes went wide as her pupils shrank to pinpricks. She glanced to her right and saw a creature made of flames, it looked like a little fairy, and in its hands, it held the voice recorder that Sunset had brought with her. Upon realizing that she was found out, the fire fairy pressed it again.

{Breakfast is served with a silver spoon.}

Magdalena held her head as she walked backwards away from Sunset, the halo behind her began to spark and then it became unstable. In a flash, all the chains disappeared as the Spear of Destiny transformed back to its original form. Sunset fell to her knees, the wounds in her shoulders and thighs throbbed from the puncture wounds, but thankfully her power was healing her, but again, not as fast due to the effects of the Spear. Magdalena continued to hold her head, something was happening, and Sunset was worried that Neighsay may have foreseen something like this and tricked them with a different command phrase.

After a minute, Magdalena was on her knees as well, panting heavily as she brought one hand to the ground. Sunset gulped, not sure if the person before her was the kind and caring girl she got to know, or the assassin. “Fluttershy…?”

The Magdalena pulled back her hood and slowly raised her head. She removed the mask on her face and revealed the distraught, yet happy look on her face. “S-S-Sunset…?”

Sunset smiled in relief, the coldness in Fluttershy’s voice was gone, replaced with her familiar soft tone. “Welcome back.”

“Oh my…my God…what…have I done?!” Fluttershy whimpered as tears fell from her eyes. “I…I killed people…I hurt Principal Celestia…I tried to kill you!…I…I’m so sorry…!”

Sunset stood on shaky legs, mostly from pain, and managed to set on her rear next to Fluttershy. She placed a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly. “I’m sorry…I know you must’ve suffered while trapped in your own mind. That wasn’t you. None of that was you, and if Sis was here, she’d say the same thing. You were being controlled.”

“But…” Fluttershy sat on her knees and looked at her hands. “My hands…these hands have killed people…I was trapped, but I saw everything…it was my body, my actions…”

“Yes, it was your body, and your body’s actions, but not your intent. Fluttershy, there’s only one person to blame for this, one person at fault, and that’s the son of a bitch who’s up there in the sky fighting my sister!”

As soon as Sunset said those words a sphere of light appeared in the sky, followed behind that was a dark sphere. The two spheres merged together and formed into a ball of pure chaotic power, black and white light swirled around the surface as the dual powers of light and darkness mixed and thrashed about.

Sunset got back to her feet, the wounds were closed now, and she was ready to battle. “Speak of the devil.” The wielder of the Ember Stone looked down at Fluttershy and held out her left hand. “Fluttershy, I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need you. If you think you need redemption, then here’s your chance! Fight with us and help us take down Neighsay, otherwise, he’ll make innocent people suffer all over the world!”

Fluttershy glanced to the swirling mass of energy in the sky, and then to Sunset’s hand. The shy girl narrowed her gaze and picked up her mask, placing it on her belt as she took Sunset’s hand and stood up. Fluttershy opened her left hand and summoned the Spear of Destiny, and instantly, the Artifact rose into the air and went directly into her hand.

Fluttershy made the sign of the cross before twirling the Spear of Destiny around and readying herself. “For my friends, and the innocents who suffered, I will punish Neighsay in the name of God!” Fluttershy paused a moment as she saw something fly towards the sphere. “Wait, what’s that?!”

Sunset (pony) was getting exhausted, and her body was in pain, she had maintained the Crimson Form for longer than what she should’ve. The amount of strain it put on her only got worse the longer she stayed in that form, but it was the only edge she had over Neighsay, but even that didn’t seem to be enough.

}}} Sunset, if I tap into any more of your magic, I’ll have to draw upon your lifeforce. You have to end this form now! {{{

I know…I know…but at this rate, we won’t be able to win! We can’t let Neighsay beat us, the last line of defense is right here, all of us! If we fail, then two worlds are going to suffer!

Neighsay had returned his clones to his body and held his hands behind his back, floating above Sunset in a show of superiority. “You don’t look as fiery as you were before my dear. Perhaps you’re losing steam? I, on the other hand, still have power to spare. I’ll show you my graciousness and give you one last chance to end this and join me in my reformation of the world. If you do, I swear to you, I will not touch your world, Sunset Shimmer. They will continue to live in their own peaceful existence. So, what is your answer?”

Sunset panted and formed her huge, “dragon slayer” sword, which was basically an oversized single edged sword. “You can take your offer and shove it! I won’t forsake this world! It’s my home now, and I’ll defend it with everything I have from the likes of you!”

Neighsay sighed and shook his head. “Valiant, and worthy of praise, Sunset Shimmer. I assure you, when the record of this battle is written, I will make sure that you’re written as a noble warrior. But now it is time we brought an end to this. The hour grows late, and I have a world to change. By now my Sworn have either surrounded or captured the two hosts, so I no longer need to play along.”

Neighsay brought his hands forward, his left was ablaze with dark energy, while his right was coated in white light. Sunset prepared herself, not knowing what Neighsay had up his sleeve now. With a wave of his hand, Neighsay unleashed a wave of black lightning. Sunset slashed the air with her sword, releasing a crimson fire crescent at it, but the flames were overpowered by the lightning, destroying Sunset’s attack as it kept coming for her. The black lightning surrounded and struck her, causing pain not only to her, but to Witchblade as well. Neighsay teleported out of sight and reappeared right in front of Sunset, with wicked glee, he thrust his right hand forward and pierced Sunset in her chest.

Sunset gasped in pain and loss of breath, Neighsay retracted his hand and let her fall back as her Crimson Form switched back to the Witchblade’s normal state. As Sunset fell, Neighsay concentrated his light power into his right hand and fired off a giant sphere of light energy, the sphere dropped until it hit Sunset, but it didn’t explode, it merely engulfed her and held her at the center. With his left hand, Neighsay formed a sphere of equal size, but made of dark energy. He released this sphere and let it collide with the light sphere, the two spheres merged together and became a swirling mass of light and darkness, two contrasting powers waging war with each other, and at the center was Sunset, who was in great amounts of pain. The dual powers were tearing her apart, or at least trying to, but the Witchblade’s protection wasn’t going to last, and even it could not withstand his onslaught for long.

“The more you struggle against it, Sunset, the more pain you will endure. Release the armor and I promise it will be over quickly.”

}}} Sunset! {{{

Don’t you dare release! I’m not giving up!

}}} Never even crossed my mind! I will die with you if that is to be our fate! {{{

Neighsay leisurely watched all this unfold, enjoying the sight of his foe squirming in pain. However, something caught his attention, a blue and gold streak of light was heading right for them, followed closely behind it were several of his Sworn creations. Neighsay raised a curious eyebrow and focused more on the object, upon looking more closely, he noticed that it was actually one of the Sentinels, the one that managed to get Celestia out of his grasp. “What in the world is he–?” The Sentinel was heading for the sphere, and in both of his hands he held two spheres of his own, something about them resonated with Neighsay, they were pulsing familiarly to him. Too late, Neighsay understood what this feeling was as he lashed out with a dual light and dark energy beam for the Beast of God screaming, “NOOOOO!!!!”

Gaghiel saw the beam coming, but didn’t alter his course, he held out both of his arms with the spheres still clutched between his fingers and sped up. The beam struck the liger, but only managed to destroy his lower half as he slammed both spheres into the side of Sunset’s torture confinement.

Sunset turned her head in the direction of the Sentinel, eyes wide with shock. “Gaghiel?!”

“MAKE THE USURPER PAY! RAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!”

Gaghiel called on all the power he had left and pushed himself into the sphere. The rest of his body was destroyed, but the essence of the Darkness and Angelus remained.

“W-What is that?!”

}}} It can’t be…! {{{

The essence homed in on Witchblade and immediately flew towards the ruby gemstone on Sunset’s gauntlet. When they entered the gemstone, Sunset and Witchblade roared as one when they felt the influx of power coursing through both of them. The sphere that Sunset was kept inside of was shattered like fragile glass before the three great powers that were now inside of Sunset. Neighsay shook his head as he witnessed this, he couldn’t believe the power that he sought was now inside of Sunset Shimmer, but it seemed like he wouldn’t have to wait long, as it looked like her body might not be able to withstand it.

The Witchblade armor was behaving erratically, taking on different shapes and colors as if confused about what it wanted to be. Sunset, in the meantime, was crying out in pain as she felt the three powers in her body try to fight for supremacy, her mind and body crying out for it all to end.

Rainbow Dash had gotten onto the roof of her house through her bedroom window, she knew she couldn’t be there for Sunset and her twin, so the best she could do was watch from a distance. And during these long minutes, she could hear all manner of explosions, and see lights flashing in the distance, knowing that her friends, and school principal were in the middle of that chaos. Now though, now she felt something was off, a light was shining in the skies above Canterlot City, and that same something was telling her Sunset was in trouble and that she needed help.

“Sunset, I left you alone when you needed me, you needed loyalty and I wasn’t there for you!” Rainbow Dash clenched her fists as she stared at the strange light. “But that’s not me now! I’m with you Sunset, I’ll be there with you ‘til the very end!”

When Rainbow Dash uttered these words, she felt a power surge through her, it was a familiar surge, the power of magic, the Magic of Friendship. Rainbow’s back sprouted feathered wings, her hair was redone into a ponytail, and atop her head she grew pony ears. Rainbow Dash reached up with her right hand and pointed it towards the glow in the sky, as if the magic inside her was guiding her actions. From her right hand, a beam of cyan light shot forth and flew towards the greater light in the sky.

“I’m here with you, Sunset!”

Rarity held her little sister close, she had become very frightened during this whole ordeal, thinking that this was it, that this was the moment that she and her friends were going to be punished for their role in Anon-A-Miss.

“I’m going to die…I’m going to hell for sure…!” Sweetie whimpered as she buried her face in Rarity's chest.

“Shh, shh, no you are not Sweetie.” Rarity consoled. “You all made a mistake, and you have to live with the consequences, but you can work to redeem yourselves, just as Sunset has.”

Sweetie sniffled as she looked up at her big sister with teary eyes. “Are you sure…?”

Rarity stroked Sweetie’s hair gently and smiled down at her, “Of course I am, even now, our dear friend is out there, fighting to keep us safe. To protect us from a true monster…” Rarity’s gaze drifted towards the window, it was perfectly positioned to look towards the city, and she knew that a great battle was going on downtown.

Suddenly, Rarity began to glow, making Sweetie Belle release her big sister as she crawled backwards. “R-Rarity, what’s going on?!”

Rarity looked at her body with confusion, she wasn’t afraid, mostly because the sensation behind this glow was very familiar. But then she felt it, a cry for help that echoed within her soul. Rarity, by guidance of her magic, got out of the bed and rushed towards the window. “Sunset’s in danger…” A purple aura outlined her body, her long violet locks shimmered and transformed into a long ponytail as pony ears formed atop her head. “I have to help her!” Rarity raised her right hand, and from it a stream of magic shot from it and towards the city.

Pinkie Pie was at Shimmer Manor, Sunset had wanted her to go back home to be with her family, but Pinkie Pie was unrelenting in her commitment to stay at the manor and wait for Sunset’s return. Before Sunset left for the final battle, she had written to Princess Twilight in the magical journal she brought from her home. She looked over the words that were exchanged between the two, and it was clear that Princess Twilight was equally worried.

Princess Twilight, I’ve been keeping you up to date with what’s been happening, but not the most recent bit of news. A man named Neighsay has taken partial control of two powerful forces of light and darkness. My dimensional twin, Principal Celestia, this world’s Sombra, and myself are going to enact our plan today to stop him. I’m not sure what will happen between now and then, but I thought it best to let you know in case the worst-case scenario happened.

Sunset that’s terrible! Do you want me to come there and help?! I’m sure if we pull our magic together, we might be able to stop him if we unite together!

Thanks…but no, this…I’m not sure if our magic is strong enough to stop this. Neighsay is wielding the power of two entities that have been around since the beginning, they are – for all intents and purposes – the very embodiments of light and darkness, of order and chaos. And the only thing that has a chance of defeating him is the Witchblade I possess, of which was born of that same power. At the very least, I’m hoping that I wound him greatly enough that, if it comes down to you needing to come over, you’ll have a better chance of defeating him then. But that doesn’t mean I’m planning on losing.

I understand…please be careful.

I will…and Twilight, please tell Pinkie Pie (my Pinkie), if I don’t come back, that she’s the best thing to have come into my life. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would’ve been able to endure those last few months of Anon-A-Miss, nor that time after you left. She’s been the light that’s kept me from the darkness, and I love her for that.

I won’t, because you’re going to tell her yourself when you come back.

I get it. Alright, it’s almost time. The eclipse is going to start soon, our window is an hour to defeat Neighsay. If you don’t hear back from me or one of the girls by then…

I understand, good luck.

Pinkie had reread that line many times over, she held the journal close to her chest as she sat in the bed that they made love in. Part of her wanted to go outside towards the balcony to see what she could see of the battle, but another part of her told her not to go, to wait here in this bed for her lover to return. So that when Sunset did come back, they would make love again, a celebration of their being alive, and to enjoy the comfort of the other’s embrace.

“Sunset, you’ve been through a lot, you’ve suffered, and risen above so much. Yourself, the accusations, the Wendigos, dying, and I know you’ll rise above this too!” Pinkie proclaimed into the empty room. “I love you Sunset Shimmer, and when you come back, I’m going to say it to you as many times as I can!”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie felt a pain inside her, it wasn’t so much a pain coming from her body, but more like she was sensing it. It didn’t take the party girl more than a second to know what this was, to know who it was from.

“Sunset!”

Almost immediately, her body glowed pink, her long curly hair wrapped itself into a ponytail, her human ears disappeared and were replaced by her pony ears. Pinkie’s face scrunched in determination as she raised her right hand into the air.

“Fight, Sunset!”

A beam of pink magical energy shot out of Pinkie’s right hand, passing through the ceiling until it reached the outside and angled itself straight towards the city.

There was much chaos going on in the city, and people she cared about were in mortal danger. So, Applejack, in this moment of crisis, turned to the only thing she could to focus her mind on and keep it off the troubles brewing around her, the apple orchard.

She kicked the tree next to her, causing the fruit bearing plant to release its spoils. Multiple soft thuds hit the ground, littering the area with many bright red apples. Applejack bent down and started picking up the ones that hadn’t fallen in the baskets she set up around the tree. She had been at it for most of the hour, she knew this because she would sneak glances at her phone every couple of minutes. Despite all she was doing, having harvested at least five trees worth of apples, AJ wasn’t feeling any less de-stressed.

She had taken to beating on a tree when it had clearly been relieved of all its fruit, punching, and kicking it repeatedly until she was drenched in sweat and forced to remove her shirt. Of course, she had a sports bra on, she wasn’t crass, and even if she didn’t, she was on her own property in the middle of the orchard, and it wasn’t like anyone aside from her family was going to see her anyway.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!’ Applejack grunted with each punch. She eventually relented and sat at the base of the tree. “My best friend and Principal, along with her twin, are out there fightin’ to save the world and we’re sidelined! Not to mention Shy’s been brainwashed and they’re probably fightin’ her too!”

Applejack was not one to just sit back and let things happen, she was a woman who, if she saw a problem, would do what she could to fix it. If a friend was in trouble, she would go to them and help. She was a woman of action, but right now, even she knew that their presence, herself, and the rest of their friends, would only serve to hinder Sunset from doing what she needed to do.

Most of this frustration stemmed from the Anon-A-Miss incident. Even if Sunset had forgiven them, Applejack hadn’t forgiven herself for abandoning her friend when she needed her the most. And even more so because the one who was responsible for igniting that firestorm, was her own flesh and blood little sister. Applejack loved Apple Bloom and always would, but she breached the trust they once shared, and the honesty that built the Apple Family.

Applejack chuckled darkly at that thought, talking about honesty when she and her big brother were having sex, while Big Mac was still dating Sugar Belle. They had stopped when the incident with the Flim Flam brothers happened, but they had both agreed to just relegate that as a distant memory and never bring it up. She knew someday she and Macintosh would have to answer for that, and Applejack was hoping she could show near the same amount of strength for that trial as Sunset had shown in hers.

“Sunset…Ah wish Ah could help ya…somehow…some way…”

It was at that moment that Applejack felt a sensation within her, something that drove her to stand up quickly. She could sense that someone was in pain, that someone needed help, and it was becoming all too clear who that someone was.

“SUNSET!”

Orange magical energy shimmered around Applejack, her long blonde hair twisted around until it was in the form of a braided ponytail. The human ears on the sides of her head disappeared and were replaced by the magical pony ears that accompanied their magical pony ups.

“Don’t worry, sugar cube, help’s on the way!”

With that declaration, Applejack thrust her right hand into the air, releasing a beam of orange magical energy that soared high into the sky and aimed itself right towards the city.

Fluttershy and Sunset watched as something collided against the giant sphere, but then something broke free from it. Neither girl needed to see it clearly to know that it had to be Shimmer.

“Dammit, we’re too late!” Sunset lamented.

“No, something else is happening, I can feel it,” said Fluttershy with determination. “Sun – Shimmer’s in pain, but she’s not gone! There’s a way to help her!”

Sunset looked upon Fluttershy as her body glowed yellow. Fluttershy pulled back her hood, allowing her pink hair to transform into a ponytail, wings flared from her back, and pony ears appeared on her head. Sunset blinked at the transformation and asked, “What the actual hell is happening to you?! Is…Is this something else your Spear of Destiny can do?”

“No, this is something else. Something that my friends and I could wield before we obtained the weapons we have; this is the Magic of Friendship!” Fluttershy and Sunset watched as beams of light shot by, colored blue, purple, orange, and pink. “And right now, Shimmer needs it!” Fluttershy reached up with her right hand and channeled her magic towards the light in the sky.

Sunset was still yelling, the pain she was feeling was excruciating, it didn’t just feel as if her body was being torn apart at the atomic level, but her very soul too. Thoughts were hard to form in her mind, and every nerve ending was on fire with pain. She could also hear the screams of the Witchblade as even he had trouble trying to bring the influx of the two powers under control inside them both. A moment of clarity allowed Sunset to wonder if this was the end, if this was the way she was going?

However, that thought was cut off when she saw five beams of different colored light come flying towards her. Those five beams united into a swirling aurora that collided with Sunset and wrapped her in a ball of multicolored light. In that light, there was no pain, there was no agony, there was peace. Sunset panted as she clutched at her chest, the Witchblade armor was still in a state of flux, not sure what form to take. Just then, five beings appeared before her, they were her friends, each one a construct made of their individual light.

“Girls…?”

“We’re here with you, Sunset.”

“You don’t have to face this on yer own sugar cube.”

“We may not have the power to fight that beast of a man, but we can at least give you the strength you need.”

Sunset looked to Fluttershy, seeing her brought tears to her eyes. “Fluttershy…y-you’re alright?! You’re back?!”

The Fluttershy construct nodded. “I am, and I will be there soon to fight by your side.”

Sunset glanced at her girlfriend. “Pinkie…”

“I’m here, Sunny, we’re all here! You can do this!”

The constructs all came closer to Sunset and gave her a hug. Sunset felt the warmth of their embrace, it seeped into her being, into every fiber, connecting to the magic within her. The Witchblade seemed to resonate with this power as well, its fluctuating state finally calming until it was at peace.

}}} Sunset, I am ready. {{{

“So am I.”

The sphere of light became a pillar of aurora light that stretched high into the heavens and all the way down to the ground, smashing through the barrier that confined the city and its outskirts. The power it generated sent a shockwave that shook the air and land, causing the Sworn and even Neighsay to pause and gaze upon the phenomenon before them. Neighsay shook his head, he couldn’t believe it, no, he wouldn’t allow this to happen. The Usurper of the Balance, with a wave of his hand, dismissed his legion of Sworn, drawing in all that power for himself. His right hand shined white, while his left bellowed with black light, Neighsay brought both hands together and fired a massive beam of both powers towards the pillar of rainbow light.

From that pillar of aurora light, construct bat limbs broke through the sides, flaring the digits wide. However, instead of a membrane, the gabs bloomed with a full plumage of feathers. The wings folded forward, acting as a shield as the beam struck against them. Neighsay released a loud battle cry as he shunted more power into his attack to break through the wings. But it seemed to be a losing battle as the wings flexed and flared, sending a shimmering wave of aurora particles that broke down the attack into nothing.

The pillar finally broke apart, the pieces transforming into feathers of aurora light that cascaded all around the city. From the pillar emerged a new form of the Witchblade. Black pauldrons adorned Sunset’s shoulders, segmented into three parts, the biceps were covered in white armor that transitioned into black as it reached her forearms, changing again to white for the fingers and bottom of the palms, atop the forearms was a small white wing-like protrusion with metal feathers. Sunset’s chest armor had changed as well, over her right bosom was a node with a gold colored gemstone, surrounded by white metal. Over her left bosom was a violet colored gemstone, surrounded by black metal. Around her naval was a red gemstone, this one was covered in one half white metal and the other half black metal.

The two nodes over her chest formed strips of metal of their white and black coloring that followed a “V” pattern down to the third node to show the two halves merging. Two more strips of metal went upwards, connecting to the armor that covered most of her neck and shoulders. This left most of her front exposed, as the armor usually does, but going lower, it covered her groin with a piece of the dual colored metal. Her thighs were wrapped in black metal, which transitioned into white metal below the knee, and finally back to black around the feet. The outsides of her ankles sported small black bat wing protrusions to contrast to the white wings on her arms. The armor continued onto her back, forming a long, rigid spine that followed the curve of her back and mostly covered her rear, but just above where her tailbone would be, the armor created a seven-foot long tail that whipped back and forth, the tip of which was a white arrowed head. The armor covered her shoulder blades, allowing her wings to flare out majestically. They bore the same design as the construct wings, but these bat-like appendages were made of black metal, but with white feathers filling the gaps between them, and each feather had a thin aurora line outlining them. Between the gaps of the armor on her arms, legs, hands, and feet, where the joints would be, they were filled with aurora light, even in the segments in the tail.

Sunset’s head was adorned with a crown, a white tiara, with two black horns rising from the sides of her head, and a third, white horn, coming out of the forehead. Her hair had changed completely, taking on the aurora colors of violet, pink, blue, yellow, orange, red, and white. When Sunset opened her eyes, they were pools of shining light as black and gold lightning arced out of the corners of her eyes. Sunset had become the embodiment of light, darkness, and magic unified into one being, she was order and chaos, harmony and discord, this was the perfect union of father, mother, and son, her new form, Trinity Form.

Sunset turned her head to the left and watched as a large dragon flew towards them, she smiled upon seeing her “little sister” flying towards her, and riding on Dragon Shimmer’s back was Fluttershy, her hood was down and her mask hung on her belt beside her, allowing Sunset to see the pony ears, tail, and wings. When the two women arrived, they both gasped in shock upon seeing Sunset’s newest transformation.

“Sunset, are you alright?!” Fluttershy asked as she jumped off Dragon Shimmer and flew towards her.

“I’m alright, actually, better than alright.”

Dragon Shimmer changed back to normal and looked like she wanted to hug her “big sister” but wasn’t sure if that was a good idea right now. “Are you sure?! What happened to you?!”

“I think Celestia and Sombra sent their remnants of Angelus and the Darkness to me, to give me and Witchblade more power, and believing that it would magnify within him since he’s their son. It almost didn’t work,” Sunset’s gaze turned towards Fluttershy. “That is until you and the girls sent your magic to me, it managed to bring the chaos under control and allowed Witchblade to unify the powers inside him.”

“YOU INSOLENT, INTERFERING WHORES!!!!” Neighsay shouted at the top of his lungs, gaining the girls’ attention. “HOW DARE YOU TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!!! I’LL TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN TEARING THAT POWER FROM YOUR BODY! AND YOU MAGDALENA, HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!”

Fluttershy glared at Neighsay, spun her spear around, and assumed an attack stance. “I am no longer your pawn, Neighsay! I am my own person now, and I’ll fight to protect my friends, my family, and this world from people like you!!!”

Dragon Shimmer’s body flared with bellowing flames. “You’re going down, here and now, your ambitions end!”

“Neighsay, your sins will not be forgiven! Not in this life or the next! No…not even then, because I’ll send you to the same place I sent the Wendigos, to Oblivion!” Sunset declared.

“I WON’T LET YOU!!! MY CAUSE IS RIGHTEOUS, AND THOSE WHO GET IN THE WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS ARE DOOMED TO FALL!!!”

Neighsay unleashed a blitz attack of white light beams and black lightning that were all aimed towards the three girls. Dragon Shimmer released jet streams from her feet, propelling her at great speeds to avoid the attacks, while Fluttershy flapped her wings, nimbly and gracefully dodging each of the attacks, and for those that she couldn’t she deflected with the Spear of Destiny. Sunset moved like a mirage, she left an afterimage of herself wherever she went, making it hard for Neighsay to tell if he was hitting the real Sunset or her afterimage.

Dragon Shimmer sped towards Neighsay, getting high above him as she transformed into her full dragon form and coming down on him with a powerful tail whip. Neighsay focused his energy upward and formed a light shield that absorbed the impact of the blow, creating a powerful rumble through the sky like that of thunder. While he was distracted by this, Fluttershy hurled the Spear of Destiny and called upon its Second Form. The Spear of Destiny transformed and became a thousand golden swords, all of which aimed themselves right for Neighsay.

The Usurper of the Balance saw the attack coming at him from all sides and released an explosion attack of black and white energy, forcing Dragon Shimmer to back off and preventing the blades from hitting their target, but that didn’t prevent them from pressing against it, essentially forcing Neighsay to keep the explosion of energy going or else he’d get skewered by a thousand holy swords. Sunset had gotten some distance and took a runner’s stance as aurora, white, and black light wafted off her body. With a flap of her wings, Sunset dashed across the sky, creating a sonic boom that echoed for miles. The Trinity Warrior spun rapidly, creating a tornado of light that came roaring at Neighsay’s explosion attack. Fluttershy made a motion with her hands to make the blades retreat just in time as Sunset’s attack smashed against the side of Neighsay’s attack.

The tornado grinded against Neighsay’s bubble, with the latter pouring more power into the attack to keep her from getting at him. But Sunset would not be denied. She flipped around and dove in with a flying kick, piercing through Neighsay’s attack and nailing him right in the gut. The two attacks cancelled each other out as Sunset’s attack carried the two of them across the sky, further and further out of the city proper and close to the mountain range in the distance.

Before they could collide, Neighsay teleported at the last second and appeared above her, channeling his dual power into his hands, and firing a burst of it at Sunset. The blast hit and sent Sunset flying down into the rockface of the mountain range. Neighsay didn’t get a moment of reprieve as he was assailed by a blazing storm of hellfire raining down on him. Neighsay created a physical shield and an energy shield with his left hand to protect himself from the blaze, but Dragon Shimmer didn’t let up. She bellowed harder and harder, focusing on the flames to burn hotter and harder. The effort eventually transformed the flame into a pure red and yellow plasma beam that doubled in size and engulfed Neighsay.

An explosion went off in the middle of the beam where Neighsay was, sending him spiraling upwards into the air. The Usurper growled in frustration and summoned a spear of light and hurled it at Dragon Shimmer. The spear hit its target, but only succeeded in embedding itself in Dragon Shimmer’s left shoulder, still the draconic warrior roared in pain as she staggered to keep herself airborne. However, Neighsay wasn’t done, he hurled two more spears, one hitting Dragon Shimmer in her right hind thigh and one piercing her left side. Neighsay launched a fourth light spear, but when it flew, the spear was intercepted by the Spear of Destiny. The construct spear and holy weapon clashed in the air until the construct couldn’t withstand the power of the holy Artifact any longer and shattered like glass.

Fluttershy flew in and willed the spear back to her hands as she prepared to enter close combat. Neighsay formed his ax and sword and readied himself, well, as best as he could. Fluttershy thrust forward with her spear, making Neighsay back up to avoid its edge. He wasn’t a fool, there was a reason why he wanted to make sure that Fluttershy was under his control, because the Spear of Destiny was the only other weapon that posed a very real threat to him. That was, of course, before he knew of the Ember Stone, the man wasn’t stupid, he knew he was on the bad end of a four way, with Witchblade’s recent transformation, and now the addition of these two Artifacts, the odds were not in his favor. Still, he refused to back down, refused to let his ambitions, his goals, all his planning to be undone by three teenage girls.

Neighsay roared with fury as he counterattacked, slashing with his ax, but Fluttershy spun her spear to deflect, but Neighsay didn’t relent as he attacked with his sword, and yet again, Fluttershy deflected. The two traded blows back and forth, when Fluttershy thought he was getting too close, she would swing the Spear of Destiny in a wide arch to give her some breathing room. Neighsay tried to go in for the kill again, but Fluttershy thrust with her spear rapidly, filling the airspace between them with dozens upon dozens of streaking bronze lights. Neighsay backed away and cut the space between them with his ax, opening a shadow portal, and allowing hundreds of Darkness eels to come slithering forth.

Fluttershy ceased her attack and transformed the spear into its Fourth Form. The golden halo appeared on her back, and the divine chains shot forth, it was a war of striking vipers as the chains and eels went at it in the air, piercing, biting, winding, and weaving, each eel doggedly trying to get to Fluttershy and tear her apart, but the halo continued producing chains upon chains to either entangle the eels or kill them outright. Neighsay cut more gashes in the air before him, making more Darkness eels pour forth, and making Fluttershy have to summon more chains to kill them all.

Neighsay teleported until he was behind Fluttershy, he raised his ax and sword, ready to cleave the traitor to his cause. That action was not realized as Sunset burst forth from the mountainside and roared up to meet Neighsay face to face. The Usurper was startled for a moment when he suddenly saw the teenage girl appear in his field of vision, causing him to back away quickly. Sunset raised her left hand, calling on the metal to shift and transform. When it was done, Sunset was now sporting a large cannon arm, the barrel glowed with violet and black light, as Sunset charged it. With a mere thought, Sunset fired the cannon, the head of the beam took on the form of a Darkness eel as it hissed on its way towards Neighsay.

The column sized beam opened its great maw and chomped down on Neighsay, the beam wound through the air like a serpent until it finally struck the mountain peak, exploding on impact and creating an avalanche in the process. Neighsay laid in a smoldering crater and began peeling himself out of it but stopped when he saw Sunset floating high above his position. Sunset’s right arm transformed into a gatling gun with eight rotating barrels. The cannon and gatling gun charged up and then fired, the gatling gun rained down white and gold energy bullets while the cannon fired huge beams of violet and black energy down on Neighsay. Sunset yelled loudly as she barraged the Usurper of the Balance, not stopping until the peak of the mountain itself exploded into rubble.

Sunset knew better than to think that that had taken him down easily, which was why her tail shot backwards. At that moment, Neighsay teleported right in the path of her tail, and was pierced through the chest. The former Cardinal looked upon himself, seeing the appendage lodged in his chest and then looking back at Sunset. The Trinity Warrior paid Neighsay no heed as she reeled his body in, with a flick of her tail she threw his body towards her right. Just as she did that, another Neighsay appeared and collided with the first Neighsay. Sunset teleported behind the second Neighsay and formed a large forearm blade to pierce the two of the in one move. Sunset retracted her blade and watched as the sky was littered with dozens of Neighsay clones.

Sunset crossed her arms, looking unimpressed by this show of force. All twelve dozen Neighsays slashed their air in front of them with their swords, creating light crescents that headed right for Sunset. The Bringer of Balance didn’t even avoid the attack as all the crescents hit her at once, exploding on her position. The clones readied for another volley, but stopped when they saw the dust clear, seeing Sunset in a bubble of aurora light, completely unscathed. Sunset wagged her finger and then pointed upwards with the right index finger.

When she did that, hundreds of fireballs came raining down from the sky above them. Sunset teleported away, allowing Dragon Shimmer’s attack to take the stage, the Neighsays flew around wildly, trying to avoid the fireballs, some failed as they exploded before they reached the ground below, but their situation quickly escalated. The thousand holy swords of the Spear of Destiny swarmed the air space, attacking from all different angles and making it impossible for the clones to avoid any of them. Some were destroyed by fireballs, others by impalement, not a single one of them survived the double attack, but the real Neighsay was not among them.

Fluttershy, Dragon Shimmer, who had assumed her humanoid form, and Sunset looked around, but quickly found out where he was. High above them, Neighsay had been gathering power, condensing it so that they wouldn’t notice, and now it was too late. He would destroy everything, scorch the Earth, wipe the mountains and city off the map, it wouldn’t matter in the long run so long as he obtained the power he sought. Neighsay funneled all that power into his right hand, he gripped his right wrist with his left hand to stabilize, and then unleashed the power he had gathered into a small, marble sized orb. The orb broke open and unleashed a beam of monochrome light that nearly consumed the sky as far as the eye could see.

Sunset gathered the power she had, the three nodes glowed at the same time, resonating with her command. Into her right hand, that power formed a sword, the hilt was black, with the pommel featuring two ivory fangs. The guard was that of a silver, upward facing triangle, with white wings coming out the sides, the guard had the same three gemstones as the nodes on Sunset’s chest. Sunset nodded to both Dragon Shimmer and Fluttershy to take hold of the hilt. Dragon Shimmer gripped it with her left hand while Fluttershy held it with her right, all three girls lifted the sword into the air and pointed it at the coming attack.

The Ember Stone on Dragon Shimmer’s chest shined along with the Spear of Destiny in Fluttershy’s right hand. The gemstones on the sword and on Sunset’s chest glowed as well, resonating with each other on a level that felt strange and yet somehow familiar. With a united battle cry, the sword unleashed its own beam of light, a flaming, golden, aurora beam that formed a blade, cutting straight up towards Neighsay’s attack. Compared to the giant beam coming down towards them, it looked like a toothpick was about to take on a skyscraper. But when the two attacks struck each other, the thin beam actually held the opposing attack back.

Neighsay couldn’t believe what was happening right now, he was pouring his all into this attack, so why, why was such a small attack, from those three girls, matching him? That’s when he figured it out, that’s when he realized his mistake. This wasn’t just the power of three Artifacts being united, no, this was the power five in one. The girls roared their defiance even louder into the air, the beam of light the Trinity Sword fired answered their call and grew enormously huge, eclipsing Neighsay’s attack as it roared towards him. The beam was too big to dodge, and he was locked into his own attack, so there was no way to move. The Usurper of the Balance cried out in pain as the beam of light struck him, sparks of lightning within the beam attacking him from every different angle as the attack raged on around him.

Dragon Shimmer and Fluttershy released the sword and stopped the attack, the three girls all flew high into the sky following right behind the tail end of their beam.

Neighsay floated there for a moment as the attack had ended, but it wasn’t over. Dragon Shimmer and Fluttershy appeared in the distance, Dragon Shimmer fired another concentrated fire beam towards Neighsay, and at the same time, Fluttershy hurled her Spear of Destiny. The Spear and beam combined together, becoming a fiery comet that became faster with each passing second. Neighsay created a multilayered energy shield in front him, trying to keep the attack from hitting. But that proved to be an effort that was in vain as the combined attack pierced through one layer after the other, moving faster with each breakthrough until the blazing comet finally pierced through its main target.

The Usurper of the Balance coughed as his face plate fell away to spit up blood, he looked down and saw a large gaping hole in his chest. The power of the Spear and Ember Stone prevented the wound from closing quickly, leaving Neighsay stunned. Above them, Sunset gathered all the power she had left, changing into a being of pure power and light as feathers and sparkling particles fluttered around her. She dove down toward Neighsay, he had no more defenses, he was weakened, his army was gone, this was the end.

Neighsay looked up at the last second and witnessed what he believed in that moment, to be the embodiment of God’s wrath made manifest.

Sunset brought down her Trinity Sword, the action leaving a streak of blue light in its wake. There was a delayed reaction as Neighsay hovered there in the air, but then one side began to slant, and shortly after that, a grand explosion erupted in the skies above the Earth. Fluttershy and Dragon Shimmer had to close their eyes from the sheer intensity of the light that was being emitted from the detonation. Within the explosion, while still in her light form, Sunset witnessed as Neighsay’s body evaporated, shortly thereafter, she saw an outline of his soul, and that too, was evaporated, erased from existence. She also saw the two objects that gave Neighsay his power. With her right hand, she grabbed the Prism, and with her left, she took hold of the Siphon. Sunset released another war cry as she focused the power that was inside her, the power of Angelus and the Darkness, and poured them into their respective prisons. The gemstone on the Prism glowed gold while the Siphon opened and absorbed the Darkness’ essence.

When the explosion finally died out, Dragon Shimmer and Fluttershy flew towards where Sunset was, they stopped once they were a foot away and watched as Sunset turned around. Sunset was no longer in her Trinity Form, the Witchblade had resumed its original form, and in Sunset’s hands she held the Prism and Siphon and smiled at her “little sister” and friend.

“It’s over guys…it’s…it’s finally over…”

Sunset began to drop in altitude, Dragon Shimmer and Fluttershy hurried to Sunset and caught her before she could fall from the sky. Witchblade seemed to pass out too as the armor retracted from Sunset’s body and returned into its bracelet form, leaving the former unicorn completely bare.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy gasped as she blushed.

“Guess they’re both out of it,” said Dragon Shimmer as she chuckled.

The “younger” Shimmer used her flames to cover up her “big sister”, and to keep her from getting frostbite at the high altitude they were at. Despite being unconscious and exhausted, both girls noticed that Sunset held a firm grip on the two Artifacts, even knocked out, she wasn’t about to let go of the things that caused so much trouble to everyone she cared about, she would hold onto them, and prevent anyone from getting them.

“My Sis sure is something, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s the best friend any of us could ask for.”

The Final Showdown Arc: End

Next Chapter: Fallout Estimated time remaining: 42 Minutes