Prologue: What of the Dazzlings?
Adagio Dazzle stood and watched the empty road in dismay. There was little to do in the dim alleyway she and her sisters hung out in.
It was somewhere around 3 in the morning. The moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds. Perfect weather to describe how Adagio felt.
Like absolute garbage.
Opening her palm, she stared at the broken shards of her amulet. Or what was left of it. After the Battle of the Bands, Adagio had tried to find the pieces of her amulet in a feeble attempt to restore it to its former glory. But most of the shards from the three amulets were gone, swept away with the rest of the garbage.
She couldn't believe a month had passed since then.
"If only those cursed girls didn't have Sunset Shimmer," Adagio growled. A slight breeze made goosebumps crawl on her skin, but she ignored it.
"Adagio," Aria called out from behind Adagio. "How long are you going to stay out here?"
Adagio turned to face Aria. She crossed her arms and glared at her. "As long as I want," she replied. "Weren't you sleeping?"
"I was," Aria explained, "but it's getting cold down there."
"Well, maybe we should have taken more from the charity house," Adagio snapped, scanning Aria's clothing. She was dressed in a black T-shirt, dark blue pants, and checkered sneakers. Not enough to withstand the night chill.
"There wasn't anything left!" Aria yelled. "We took all that we could! Now, get back inside the basement. There's something I don't like about tonight."
"You're afraid of tonight?" Adagio asked, smirking as she placed her hands on her hips.
"No," Aria replied. She glanced up at the sky, a storm in the midst of brewing. "I just have this feeling..."
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll come inside," she said. She followed Aria to the hidden hole under a few empty wooden crates. Aria hopped into the hole and hit the ground running. Adagio lowered herself into the hole, stepping down on the iron bars which acted as bars. She kept her upper body out and was about to put the boxes on top of each other to conceal the hole when she heard lightning boom.
A lightning bolt rippled across the sky with an intense light. Seconds later, it was gone, but Adagio noticed something odd. The wind was picking up, making her hair fly to one side. The storm was becoming more extreme by the minute. More lightning crackled, thunder boomed, and the wind howled. A chill went up Adagio's back as she heard whispering.
The Pieces of Harmony are here.
They are hidden in this world.
We shall have the Pieces of Harmony, even if it takes the rest of our lives.
Adagio held in a gasp as she watched several figures in cloaks with hoods pass by. They each had their own aura, every aura more intense than the last. She counted a dozen of them.
The last figure had the strongest aura. Around Adagio, everything seemed to shake and crumble. She could feel her grip on reality slip away...
They all finally passed, making Adagio gasp for air, for reality. She took several breaths before a sharp pain pierced her chest. She suddenly remembered she had felt this exact pain before...
"No," she mumbled. The storm had stopped. All that was left of any sign of the dozen people were the clouds and a soft drizzle that fell on the ground.
"Adagio? What was that?" She heard Sonata ask from the basement.
Adagio quickly covered the hole with the boxes and clambered down into the basement. It was lit by ceiling office lights and a few candles. The basement was in a good condition, but they had found it worse for wear at the beginning. Right now, the ladder was in the bottom right corner of the room. There were two other rooms, a bathroom and a way to their apartment, but they preferred to stay in the basement.
Aria and Sonata were pale and shivering. Adagio had never seen them as scared as they were now. Adagio probably had the same look on her face.
"I'm not going to lie," Adagio said. "The storm was caused by the 12 Fragments. They're here. They're looking for the Pieces of Harmony."
Sonata and Aria paled even more if it was possible. "B-But only we know where they are!" Sonata said.
"I know," Adagio mumbled, "but they could find it. Then we'd have no chance to fix our amulets."
"How do we keep them safe?" Aria asked.
"We only have one way to keep them safe," Adagio said darkly. "And neither of you will like the plan."
"Do we have to do it tonight?" Sonata asked.
Adagio shook her head. "Not until we sense danger near the Pieces," she replied. "Right now, we can rest easy. Let's go back to bed."
Aria and Sonata exchanged uneasy looks as they went back to their apartment. Adagio clutched her broken amulet closely. Let's hope the Deadly Dozen don't find the Pieces of Harmony soon, she thought.
Months later...
Adagio woke up in a cold sweat. Her nightmare was anything but a dream.
"Sonata! Aria!" Adagio yelled, running out of bed.
She ran into the living room and found Aria and Sonata dressed in their usual clothing, the clothing they had worn to Canterlot High. Aria clamped a metal wrist crossbow onto her left arm, and Sonata cracked her knuckles nervously.
"It's go time," Aria said darkly, loading her crossbow.
Adagio nodded gravely. "Time to finish what Celestia started," she said. She turned and bolted to get changed and armed for battle.
Chapter 1: Out of Control
One week earlier...
"Happy birthday, Sunset Shimmer!"
Sunset looked up from her journal. She saw Twilight stand above her, smiling awkwardly.
Sunset Shimmer had been waiting for a message from her former mentor, Princess Celestia, from the other world of Equestria. Of course, it was just barely sunrise, so Sunset should have known a message at this hour was impractical. Or even a message at all. But she had asked the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria to deliver the journal to Princess Celestia for her birthday. After years away from Equestria, she wanted to hear some comforting words from Celestia.
"How did you know?" Sunset asked, putting away her phone. "Not that I'm not glad you knew. I just haven't told anyone. Didn't really think...anyone would care..."
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that last part," Twilight said, readjusting her glasses.
"Nevermind," Sunset said hastily. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Twilight said. "But me? I have AP History at 7:45. Can you believe it's the only earliest class here? And the latest class is AP Psychology, which ends at 3:30. How is that late? Back at Crystal Prep, the earliest class was at 7 and the latest " Her face fell. "This isn't Crystal Prep." She bit her lip nervously.
"Yeah," Sunset agreed. "But at least you have friends here."
Twilight nodded, but she frowned. "Anywho, it's November, and it's getting colder. Why are you out here so early?"
Sunset bit her lip. Should she lie? Twilight didn't exactly know about all the magic, including everything in Equestria. But trust was everything in friendship, and Sunset had to teach her.
"I'm waiting for a message," Sunset replied. She glanced quickly at the portal gateway. It was covered in a soft blanket of snow, which shouldn't have been possible, since it was only early November. Then again, the weather had been strange the past few months. A hurricane on the east coast, it was practically harmless, but few hurricanes were seen on the east coast. And one day it was so windy, everyone's hair was messed up, which nearly gave Rarity a heart attack. But right now, it was a cloud morning, soft snow on the ground, and definitely the right temperature to give up a leather jacket for a snow one.
"Oh," Twilight said. "Do you mind if I wait for you? I have a few minutes before I have to get to class anyway." There was a sudden panicky tone in her voice. "But I don't have to. You probably don't want to be disturbed. I'm sorry, I better get going "
"No, it's okay," Sunset assured her. "Take a seat."
Twilight brushed some snow off the spot next to Sunset and sat down. She glanced down at the journal in Sunset's lap. "Ooh, nice journal. What do you write in it?"
Sunset looked at her journal. "It's a...way for me to contact somepony in Equestria," she replied. "I write in here, and somepony from the other world can write to me through their own journal."
"Really? Has it worked before? Well, of course it's worked, you just explained the process. But how does the writing in one journal go to the other? Is there some kind of magical frequency or a spell? Spell. Spell! Equestria has spells, right?" Twilight said this in one breath.
"Yeah," Sunset said. She gently touched her journal.
"Are you waiting for a message from your family?" Twilight asked.
Sunset's hand jerked off her journal and curled into a fist. "No," Sunset said curtly.
"Then who's the message from?" Twilight asked.
"My old mentor," Sunset replied. "She's kinda like the last family I have."
Twilight frowned. "But aren't your parents worried? How long have you been in this world? Do they know where you are? Have they asked about you in Equestria? Don't you have a home back in Equestria "
"Twilight," Sunset said through gritted teeth. "Enough questions."
Twilight froze.
"Thank you," Sunset said. She unclenched her fist when she glanced at Twilight. She was crying.
"Twilight?" Sunset asked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get mad at you. My family in Equestria is just a touchy subject."
But Twilight still didn't speak. She was staring into oblivion, still crying.
"Twi?" Sunset was beginning to panic. It had only been a month, and Sunset was messing up as bad as she was on the first week. "Are you okay "
She had risen to help Twilight up, but a sharp pain pierced her mind. "ARGH!' Sunset lost her balance and tumbled down the stairs. She landed softly on the ground, but the pain in her head didn't go away.
Sunset yelled in pain as she tried to open her eyes. She got tunnel vision, the world somehow turning red. She heard ringing in her ears, and it wouldn't go away. The pain wouldn't go away, her heart beating rapidly. There were suddenly screams filling her ears.
In the tunnel vision, Sunset could see several items flashing. A caduceus, a flaming heart, a key...There were others, but pain was wracking Sunset's entire body.
Sunset Shimmer
Unicorn of Equestria
A Hidden Item of Harmony from No Group
Yet an important part of the Unity of Harmony
The Balance of the Groups
The Glue, the Leader Who Keeps the Groups Together
Sunset could see Adagio, shadows, Twilight, more shadows, the same floating objects, her body felt like it was on fire, and she was suddenly in a battle with Princess Celestia.
"I don't want to hurt you, Sunset!" Celestia cried, firing a beam of magic at her. Ashes floated in the air, the ground on fire. Sunset blocked her attack with a turquoise blue barrier.
"Just come home to Equestria!" Celestia pleaded. Sunset unleashed a beam of fire on the princess, who barely dodged the attack. Celeste's wing was scorched black. There were scars and cuts all over her. Tears fell onto the fires. "Come back! Your family misses you! I miss you! You miss Equestria, I know! Just take my hand..."
Celestia reached out her hand. Sunset wanted to take it so badly. She just wanted to go home...
"Sunset! Sunset! Are you okay?!"
Sunset blinked with difficulty. Her vision was slightly blurry, but she could see Twilight hovering above her with bloodshot eyes.
"Thank goodness you're awake!" Twilight said, obviously panicked. "I was just staring at the gateway portal when something happened, I really can't remember, and then I see you on the ground, yelling and crying. The snow's all gone. I-I think your hands were on fire..."
Sunset stood upright. Looking around, she could see all the snow had, in fact, melted. There were just puddles of water in their place.
"How?" Sunset asked. She blinked. "My journal." She glanced up to the staircase and a chill went up her spin.
Her journal was gone.
"My journal!" Sunset got up and dashed to the staircase. There was no sign of a journal, only some water.
"Sunset, don't worry!" Twilight said, bounding over to her. She held up Sunset's journal. "I have it. There was fire everywhere, and I took it before it could burn up."
"But nothing else was one fire, was it?" Sunset asked, taking back her journal. "None of the grass or bushes or anything got burned."
"No, but a corner of the journal caught fire," Twilight explained. "I took it out ASAP. Sunset..." She swallowed. "Did you see anything...strange in your condition."
"Yes," Sunset replied darkly. She grabbed a pen from her backpack.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"What happened to us didn't happen for no reason," Sunset said, flipping the book open. "This had something to do with magic. So obviously, we need help from somepony who happens to be an extreme professional on the subject."
"Who is it?" Twilight asked.
Sunset finally arrived to the last page she had written in. She flipped the page and clicked her pen.
"Why, Princess Twilight Sparkle, of course" Sunset replied as she started writing.
