The tendrils of the Valkyr of Justice's wings drooped lifelessly over the sides of the cloud she lay upon as she drifted across the Equestrian skies. They had scored a great victory over the forces of darkness, but for Taraiel, that victory had been Pyrrhic.

With the exception of the Valkyr of Wisdom, Shariel, the Valkyr had long ago accepted their destiny that had been foreseen upon Urdiel's Scroll of Fate. Taraiel knew she should have fallen with her sisters, and she now knew why Baphomeena had spared her life. Baphomeena's act of spite had ultimately assured her own downfall, but it appeared she was having the last laugh. The guilt of surviving, compounded with the sorrow of losing her sisters was almost too much for Taraiel to bear.  

Taraiel stared vacantly into the sky as the sun began to set. As she watched the stars begin to sparkle in the twilight sky, she growled and slapped her hooves against the cloud. She tilted her head towards the setting sun and asked, "How is this justice?"

Taraiel sighed, and as she turned her head back towards the heavens her heart skipped a beat. She sprung to her feet and stared at the twinkling of a star. She blinked and rubbed at her eyes in disbelief, but the light was still there. Could it be? Yes! Her sister had returned!

The Valkyr bolted into the air, furiously flapping her wings. She soared faster and faster into the heavens, the stars merging into streaks of light around her, until finally they became a sheet of light. Taraiel gasped as she stepped through the light and saw what had become of the Valkyr's ancient home, Sancti Sepulchri. As part of Queen Azazandra's plans, a legion of demons had been sent to sack the heavenly city of the Valkyr. Smoke billowed in the distance, and the once pristine ivory buildings were now charred and defiled.

Taraiel stood before the great golden gates to Sancti Sepulchri, which lay bent and twisted on the ground. Her lips drew back and her hooves trembled with rage. She snarled, "Sacrilege!"

Taraiel thrust out her hoof, summoning her runeblade to her grasp. She was torn between punishing those responsible, or finding her sister. She could detect the foul stench of demons amidst the smoke as she flew into Sancti Sepulchri. Her decision was made. Shariel had been gone so long, what was a few minutes more? These demons had to suffer for what they had done.

Taraiel could hear laughter as she approached the central spire that she and her sisters had used as their headquarters. The sound infuriated her and she spurred herself forwards. A trio of goat-like demons stood, guffawing as another demon read out-loud from Seraphiel's diary. Taraiel flew forwards like an arrow and snatched the book from his grasp with her wing tendril, then silenced them all with a flurry of slashes.

Taraiel gently placed the book on a windowsill, then continued onwards towards the council chamber. Demons fell where they stood as she hacked her way through their ranks. Her temple throbbed and a red mist began to gather in her sight as she lost herself to the ecstasy of unbridled wrath.

Three demons stood before the great doors to the council chamber. Taraiel grinned at the look of fear that came across their faces as she approached, her coat matted with sweat and the blood of their comrades. The demon in the center, which Taraiel identified as some kind of officer due to her elaborate armor, nervously glanced at her brethren, then lifted her sword towards the Valkyr.

Taraiel surged into action, severing the demon's sword arm in a flash of light. The officer's underlings fell in two swift, brutal, swipes of the enraged Valkyr's sword. The remaining demon clutched at her arm and fell backwards, her eyes going wide as she surveyed the remains of her comrades. One had been cut in two, the other lay doubled over, sliced from chin to groin.

Taraiel stepped forward, thrusting the tip of her sword under the demon's chin. She stood, her chest heaving, and silently stared into the terrified demon's eyes. Finally, Taraiel snarled, "Why have you done this?"

The demon responded, "We thought you were dead..."

With a snort, the Valkyr drew back her sword and struck out at the demon, decapitating her. Taraiel kicked the body aside and sighed. "Not hardly."

Taraiel was not prepared for what awaited her in the council chamber and she blinked in disbelief as she opened the doors and beheld piles of corpses within. An entire phalanx of demons lay dead all across the chamber. In the center knelt Shariel, the former Valkyr of Wisdom, now the Valkyr of Death. Her hooves were clasped in front of her and her eyes were shut. Shariel had a purple coat and sandy-blonde hair. Her wings glowed with purple light and the tendrils were sleek and ended in sharp points. A silver chalice was her cutie mark. Shariel was repeatedly whispering, "Non nobis, Lux, non nobis sed nomine tuo da gloriam." (Not to us, O Light, not to us but to your name bring glory.)

Taraiel gazed upon her elder sister in shock. It had been so long since she had last seen Shariel, and the years had not been well to her. Shariel looked frail and malnourished, but the light of her wings still blazed strong. The rage that had driven her moments before began to ebb and the runeblade clattered to the ground as tears began to fill Taraiel's eyes. She galloped forwards and grabbed at her sister, clutching Shariel to her breast as the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Taraiel tried to speak, but the words would not come. Shariel placed her hoof to her sister's lips, "Shhh."

The two continued their silent embrace for several minutes until Taraiel regained her composure. She still held her sister tight, did not want to let her go. Taraiel looked upon her sister's face and frowned. Shariel looked weary. Her long, sandy-blonde mane hung limp over her shoulders, and her dark blue eyes held deep sorrow.

"Why did you forsake us? How could you abandon us?" Taraiel demanded to know.

There was an icy fury in Taraiel's words, they stung Shariel. Shariel gently wiped at her sister's tears. "Oh, Taraiel! I know you believe what you say to be true, but I never abandoned you and our sisters. You are living, and I am quite pleased to be able to say that, mind you, living proof!"

Taraiel frowned. At least she knew it was truly her sister, as Shariel was prone to talk in riddles. "I do not quite understand, Shariel. If you did not forsake us, why were you not at the final battle? Why are you here now, when all of us should be dead?"

Shariel laughed. "Oh, Taraiel, it pleases me that you have not changed over the years. You see, sister, when Urdiel read from her scroll and told us that we would all die, I knew that could not be true. When I looked upon the waters of my Chalice of Wisdom, it showed me that there was a way, a way to beat fate itself. It showed me a future where all of us lived in peace. No more battles. No more demons! All these years I have been gone, I have been working to make that vision a reality, to save you and our sisters. As I said before, you are living proof that my efforts were not in vain!"

Taraiel sighed. Shariel had left her sisters to try and circumvent fate, yet she was the only one that survived? "Why me? Why did you not save the others?"

Shariel winked. "We will save them, Taraiel. Them and so many others."

Taraiel asked, "Others?"

A smile spread across Shariel's face. "Indeed, my sister. Everypony that has fallen in the crusade against the forces of darkness! We shall resurrect them."

Taraiel raised her eyebrow. "Have you gone barmy? That's impossible... Is it not?"

Shariel shook her head. "Do you recall what I told you all when I left?"

Taraiel nodded. "You were going to try and figure out the unknowable mysteries of life and death."

"Oh, there was knowledge to learn, my sister, but it was not unknowable," Shariel gleefully said.

Taraiel's eyes lit up. "Aha! So that is why you became Death instead of Wisdom! I must admit I was greatly troubled when the Princess Celestia told me you had cast aside Wisdom for Death."

"It was in Wisdom's guidance that I became Death. It was the only way to save you, to save everypony," Shariel solemnly said.

"Then you really can resurrect the dead? And not as living corpses?" Taraiel asked.

"Yes, but I can not do it alone, sister. I need you by my side, but not as you are now. There is a time for Justice, but it is not now, Taraiel," Shariel said.

Taraiel glanced down at the golden scales on her flank. "You wish for me to abandon my own aspect as well? I... I do not know if I can, Shariel, I am justice itself!"

"Trust me, sister," Shariel said. "You can do it, you must do it. I will help you. I want you to close your eyes and remember our sisters. Remember all the injustice you have helped to correct over the millennia."

Taraiel shut her eyes and a scowl formed on her face as she remembered the deaths of their sisters. Shariel placed her hooves on her sister's chest. "Yes," Shariel said, "I can sense your rage. It blazes like an inferno in your heart. I need you to let go, Taraiel. You need to cast aside your petty restraints. We need you to embrace this burning fury within, it is the only way to save our sisters."

Memories stampeded through Taraiel's mind: memories of her sisters, memories of evil and those who commit evil deeds. She remembered it all, remembered how she had thirsted for justice for countless victims, but now, all she wanted was revenge. An eye for an eye, a hoof for a hoof, a life for a life. The tendrils of her wings began to writhe spastically. Taraiel's temple throbbed, her blood boiled, and she jumped to her feet, shoving her sister to the ground. She snorted. "You! You turned your back on all of us! Left us to die!"

Shariel just smirked in response. Taraiel ignored her, looked around the room at the fallen demons. Demons! In the Valkyr's sacred hall! The red mist began to cloud her vision once more. She screamed, "Sacrilege!"

Thrusting forth her hoof, Taraiel summoned the runeblade into her grasp once more. She stared into the magnificent blade, transfixed by her reflection. Her eyes went wide as she saw the blade begin to transform. The edges became serrated and the runes swirled and changed, their color fading from blue to a dark red. She shut her eyes and began to breathe deeply to calm herself. When she opened them, Shariel stood before her, smiling.

"You are ready, Taraiel," Shariel said.

Taraiel nodded slowly. "Yes... The light forgive me... I have forsaken Justice to become Wrath."