When the two Valkyr had returned to Equestria, they had arrived in Canterlot to much fanfare. Large amounts of the populace had already been in Canterlot, due to the royal wedding and the following demon invasion, and they were all amazed to see the strange ponies from the heavens with their radiant wings. Upon their arrival, the Valkyr had announced that they had an important message to tell in the wake of the victory over the Three Sisters.

Princess Celestia arranged for the Valkyr to give their speech at Canterlot Castle, and Twilight Sparkle and many students of the School for Gifted Unicorns volunteered to magically project images of the Valkyr, so that all might hear their wisdom. As the hour approached, illusionary images of the two Valkyr sprung up all across the world, inciting a brief panic. The two Valkyr wore elaborate robes of white trimmed with golden ornaments.

As she prepared to address the world, Shariel had a twinkle in her eyes and a sly smile. She knew that her next scheme was as crazy as it was brilliant, especially considering the ponies she needed to sell it to. In secret, she had gone to Star Swirl's tower and stole a certain relic he had secured ages ago. It was an evil artifact, the silver-coated, preserved tongue of a wicked unicorn named Silver Tongue, who had used his charismatic talents of both magic and words to beguile and rob. The tongue imbided the bearer with the same powers of persuasion that its original owner possessed. Anything you said, anypony would fully believe, no matter how outlandish.

Taraiel's face, on the other hoof, was grim. Her emerald-green eyes reflected the turmoil she still felt from her betrayal of Justice. Her eyes were like those of a wild boar who had fallen into the hunter's trap; a cruel mix of anger and deep sorrow. She did not know of her sister's pending betrayal, which was good for Shariel as Taraiel would have surely struck her down in her rage-filled state.

Princess Celestia, Star Swirl the Bearded, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Winny, and the Unliving Queen all sat together on a private balcony to observe the Valkyr. Applejack asked Celestia, "What's this all about?"

"I'm afraid I know as much as you do, dear," Celestia said.

"More demon attacks?" Rarity suggested.

"I don't think so," Star Swirl said. "If the matter was urgent, surely they would have come to us immediately instead of arranging all of this."

Pinkie started to drool. "I hope they came to share some ancient recipes that only they know! Can you imagine? There could be cupcakes, waffles, biscuits, casseroles, tarts, cakes, puddings... Mmmm...."

Taraiel began to speak. Her voice was loud and thunderous, and her expression remained dour. "Citizens of Equestria, behold! I am Taraiel, and this is my sister, Shariel. We are the Valkyr, transcendent pegasi that were blessed with mystical powers."

Taraiel demonstrated her powers by spreading her wings of light and holding up a hoof to summon her runeblade. Ponies whispered in amazement as they saw the strange display.

Taraiel continued, "I know you are all well aware of the evil that was wrought upon your world recently. Even the beautiful skies themselves were tarnished by the demonic pollution. Through the actions of my sisters and a band of heroic ponies, the demon sisters that spread their filth and corruption to your world were vanquished; a tremendous victory for the forces of light. This victory came at a high cost - three of my sisters perished in order to secure the demons' defeat. Sadly, those three sisters were not the only demons, more exist in the realm we call Pandemaneium as well as the magical realm known as the Netherworld. It shames me to say, but these demons remain unchallenged, blights upon all that is good and righteous. On whom therefore is the labor of avenging these wrongs, of vanquishing these demons, if not upon us ponies?"

Taraiel bowed her head and nodded at her sister.

Shariel spread her beautiful wings of light and stood on her hind legs. Shariel began to address the audience, one leg was tucked inside her robe, her hoof caressing the evil relic. "Long ago, I embarked on a quest for unknowable knowledge. I sought the mysteries of life and death, and I found them. It is with this knowledge that we have come to you all, for I have learned the secrets that shall forever change our way of life. Death is an unfortunate reality of our world. It claims our loved ones, smites our foes, but it is neither malevolent nor benevolent. It is merely a sad fact of life. Until now!"

Shariel raised her hoof above her head and a scythe, emblazoned with runes, appeared in her grasp. "Behold! I am the Valkyr of Death. The wisdom I found has presented us all with an opportunity, an opportunity I do not believe anypony would deny. What if I told you that I can bring back to life anypony that has ever perished? I am not talking about a return to unholy undeath, either. Living, breathing, loving, life."

One of the audience members yelled, "I thought when we passed on from this life we all went to the great meadows of paradise of the Underworld?"

"Yeah!" a mare shouted. "Death... sucks for all those affected, but knowing that an eternity of happiness and joy awaits is what makes it all not seem so bad. Why would anypony want to leave such a wondrous place?"

"Fear not, friends," Shariel replied. "The paradise that awaits is very real, I have seen it with my own eyes. As Valkyr of Death, I was able to transcend the barrier between the realm of the living and the dead. I saw the beautiful, blissful meadows. I feasted on the endless fruits and vegetables that grow in the shady, tranquil groves the souls call home. I drank from the crystal-clear streams and springs. I danced with the merry souls..."

Shariel sighed and looked down, slowly shaking her head. She clenched the relic. "It was then that I had a terrible revelation. The souls that were there, there were demon souls amongst them! All of our friends and family, our neighbors, our teachers, our loved ones, everypony that passes is forced to spend their eternity with the most vile, disgusting, evil filth known as demons."

Shariel smiled smugly and nodded as the audience murmured in concern. "That is why I am here today before you. I have the power, I have the knowledge, to restore our loved ones back to life in this world. Allow me to demonstrate."

The Unliving Queen found herself transported in front of the Valkyr as Shariel pointed her scythe towards her. The Queen's unholy image joined theirs in the magical projections. Shariel smiled at her. "Look at this abomination you see before you! This thing that is a mockery of life! This foul unicorn that brazenly assaulted the capitol of Equestria itself with an unholy army, that committed such horrid deeds that I shan't dare to repeat them!"

Rainbow Dash angrily flapped her wings and hovered in the air. "Hey, leave Twilight alone!"

Shariel dismissed the scythe and placed her front hooves on the sides of the Queen's head. A radiant, purple light began to emanate from the hooves, and soon the Queen's entire body began to glow as Shariel channeled the energies of life into her.

Winny looked nervously at Celestia, "What's she doing to her?"

Celestia frowned. She didn't know, but she hoped Shariel wasn't trying to destroy the Queen. The light began to grow brighter and brighter, and the Queen began to moan.

Rainbow had had enough and darted towards the Valkyr. "Don't hurt her!"

Taraiel appeared in Rainbow's path and put her legs around her, pinning Rainbow's wings to her body. Rainbow thrashed, trying to break the Valkyr's hold. "Let me go! She's killing my friend!"

"No, child. Shariel is saving her," Taraiel replied.

Rainbow craned her neck to look over the Valkyr's shoulders and saw Shariel step back from the Queen. The light began to fade and Rainbow gasped at what she saw. The Queen was alive! Her undead body had been frozen at the age she had died, but Shariel's laying on of hooves had returned her body to life at its proper age, several decades older. Her coat and mane had returned to its normal coloring, but her hair now featured streaks of white. The Queen looked down at herself in wonderment.

Shariel stood on all fours, breathing heavily. Restoring the Queen to life had taken far more energy than she had expected. She held out her hoof and helped the Queen to her feet. "Behold! I have returned from undeath this lovely mare!"

Cheers erupted around the world at this display. Some felt doubt, tempted to dismiss the feat as a trick, but they could feel In their hearts that it was true. Plus, the evil magic of the silver tongue convinced even the most skeptical of ponies, no matter how severe their doubts. The sounds of clapping and stomping hooves resounded all across the world.

Taraiel released Rainbow and she flew to the Queen and embraced her, relishing the Queen's newly restored body heat. She couldn't believe it. "Wow! It's real! You're back, Twilight!"

The Queen looked up at Shariel with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you!"

Shariel nodded at the Queen. "You are most welcome, my sweet plum."

The Queen looked back at Shariel as if she'd seen an apparition. Something about those words, 'my sweet plum,' troubled the Queen. She had heard them before. Somepony used to call her that, she was sure of it, but who? She couldn't remember, and that made her uneasy.

Twilight teleported herself onto the stage and smiled at her aged self. "I can't wait until Shining Armor gets his eyes on you! You look just like Grandma Sparky!"

Rainbow moved from the Queen and into Twilight's outstretched legs. "This is so awesome!"

The rest of the ponies from Celestia's balcony rushed down to see their restored friend. Applejack couldn't believe what she saw, and she poked and prodded at the Queen, trying to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. She finally determined that what she saw was real, and she felt her eyes begin to well up. The Apple family was large, with branches spanning all across Equestria. Applejack had lost so many relatives, even in her brief life-time, and now there was a way to get them back. She was overwhelmed with joy.

Shariel nodded at the unicorns broadcasting the event, and they expanded their projections to include the group of happy ponies. She tucked her hoof back into her robe and touched the object once more. "Now you can see what joys I seek to bring to you all. You may be asking yourselves, 'If she can do this, why is my auntie Featherbottom not here? Where is papa?' I am afraid even my powers are not absolute. I could resurrect this one because her soul and body were still in one place. This is not true for your loved ones, but fear not! There is a way to get them back, but we will need your help.

"There is an old principle: an eye for an eye, a hoof for a hoof, and most importantly, a life for a life. I have spent hundreds of years researching how I could accomplish my desires, and it was that phrase that is the key. I have a ritual that will restore those we have lost, but it needs a catalyst - other souls. Demons' souls! For every demon we kill, we can bring back one of our loved ones! I will need your help to accomplish this task, we can achieve something wondrous if you will join us on this quest. Aid me in bringing death to all demons, and we can build our own paradise here in this world!"

The silver tongue's magic continued to bend the audience to Shariel's will, but nopony was aware. All across the world, those watching the magical transmission began to feel a compulsion to help Shariel. Even Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness herself, found herself cheering and stomping at the thought of helping the Valkyr of Death commit genocide.

Taraiel stepped up. "Everypony that wishes to participate in this grand crusade, prepare yourselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we strike back against the demonic filth! We shall purge our world of their corruption. we shall live in fear no longer, and we shall undo all the evil they have inflicted upon righteous ponies! Congregate in the major cities of your nations, my sister and I shall visit you all and get you ready to embark on what shall be the most blessed of days as we cleanse our world of evil, forever! For the light!"

The broadcast ended as the Valkyr disappeared in flashes of light. All across the world, ponies began to chant 'For the light!' as they excitedly discussed what they had just witnessed.

The Queen struggled to hear her friends over the din from the gathered ponies in Canterlot. She was still troubled by Shariel's words. My sweet plum. She knew it was important, and she felt a great sense of unease. She scanned the group of ponies around her in search of Winny. She wasn't there. The Queen's face paled and she gasped. As she thought of her daughter, it was as if a haze had been lifted from her mind. She remembered.

The Queen began to sob and she used her magic to pull Celestia's face to hers. "P-princess," the Queen cried, "please! I... I think something is horribly wr-wrong. Sh-shariel... She's... she's Winny's father!"